Kmflett's Blog

Below is an extract from a piece by former Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger about how the media pile on about Professor Jason Arday which ended so tragically, very largely ignored what Nathan Cofnas’s role was. He promoted the recent allegations against Arday and he appears to be a proud racist.

Rusbridger reveals (unreported elsewhere as far as I can see) that Cofnas had a discussion with David Starkey about the matter. The conversation I’m sure took place before Arday’s death but it still reflects an appalling perspective on this dreadful affair

Among those apparently enjoying a good laugh was Dr Nathan Cofnas, the sleuth who claimed the credit for unmasking Arday. Five days ago, he shared an at times gleeful YouTube conversation with David Starkey, the TV historian whose own Cambridge career had come to a shuddering halt six years ago when he pronounced that slavery was not genocide because of the survival of “so many damn blacks”.

It was a meeting of discarded souls. Cofnas related at some length how he had himself lost his role at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, earlier this year after publishing a long, rambling blog post in which he opined that Harvard would have virtually no Black professors if they were appointed purely on merit. Black people are, genetically speaking, too stupid, apparently

“The reason we are both grinning is that we are enjoying vengeance,” chortled Starkey at the top of the programme. “Good. honest, straightforward, and Christian vengeance … we can rejoice together.” Cofnas pronounced that “Sophocles himself could not have come up with a more appropriate person to break this story than me.”

Jason Arday was a victim of the worst kind of media pile-on

This could and should have happened weeks ago but Nathan Cofnas has now been suspended by the University of Ghent. Hopefully a long overdue spotlight will focus not just his racist views but the role he played he creating the media storm over Professor Jason Arday, and links he had to the far right

Academic who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism suspended by university – BBC News

A bit of radical history in the perhaps unlikely space of The Times.

Fifth Column are based on the Lockwood Industrial Estate in Tottenham, where Beavertown Brewery were based and Pressure Drop Brewery still is.

Much of England and all of Wales is in drought conditions with little or no rainfall for many weeks.

In this case a weatherman was not needed. Rather England started a Test Match against Pakistan in Leeds and in short order it rained.

Reform has purged Tim Montgomerie for reportedly breaking ‘party rules’ and making criticisms of Nigel Farage & Reform.

Montgomerie founded Conservative Home and is a former ally of Iain Duncan Smith MP. He joined Reform 18 months ago claiming he supported it’s hardline policy on immigration.

Montgomerie was critical of Farage’s failure to attend his own count in the Clacton By-Election last week.

He revealed that Reform HQ had sent him a little list of alleged transgressions and claimed that Farage was unaware of the purge. Rather he blamed unelected loudmouth Zia Yusuf who he claims plans to take the leadership of Reform from Farage.

At one level it is an excellent spectator sport. Its reminder however the Clacton By-Election was not the great success for Reform that was claimed and that the campaigning against its racist and bigoted policies is having an impact.

Marx on Brighton & Ramsgate 1870 & 1871. You do need a weatherman

In August Marx was often to be found at the seaside, sometimes with his family, sometimes alone if had been banished there by his doctor for health reasons.

In 1870 he stayed with his family in Ramsgate from the 9^th to 31^st August 1870. He wrote to Engels on 8^th August 1870 just before his departure from London noting that he was not going to Brighton as planned since ‘the former place turned out on inquiry to be too hot’. Its not clear what Marx’s precise meaning was but he often preferred sea breezes for health reasons.

However the following year he had relented and stayed alone in Brighton from 17^th to 29^th August recovering from ‘overstrain’. He wrote to Jenny Marx on 25^th August 1871

On the whole the weather here has been stormy and rainy, so
that  I have not ceased to have colds with accompanying cough .
But the wonderful air and the bath that I take daily have had a
very good effect on my GENERAL STATE OF HEALTH

Beard Liberation Front

19th August

Contact: BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to ZZ Top’s drummer Frank Beard who has died aged 77.

Beard was the only one of the ZZ Top trio not to have a full organic beard.

Dusty Hill died in 2021 leaving Billy Gibbons now as the only surviving original band member

The campaigners say that Frank Beard provided an important counterweight to the full beards of the other two original ZZ Top band members, framing their hirsuteness with an image of the follicular other.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Of course Frank Beard, often wore a beard but never the organic version favoured by the other two band members

In the Moon Under Water it is always quiet enough to talk. The house possesses neither a radio nor a piano, and even on Christmas Eve and such occasions the singing that happens is of a decorous kind.

George Orwell, The Listener, 1943

Meanwhile Tim Martin has banned speaker phones and tablets playing music etc in all Wetherspoons pubs. He argues that Spoons pubs should be an ‘oasis of tranquillity and contemplation’

This may seem optimistic but at least in the early period of Spoons, the 1980s and 1990s, Martin was much taken by Orwell’s ideal pub the Moon Under Water.

I drank in the first Spoons pub in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill (I still stop by Spoons on occasion btw) and if there was a significant noise it was that of Tim Martin (who has quite a loud voice) expanding on his views. In those times getting on for 50 years ago now, the views while robust were perhaps more palatable then they have been in more recent times

The Telegraph has found in a poll that 99% of its readers support Martin. How mant frequent Spoons is another matter.

Its important to underline though that Martin is not doing what the late Humphrey Smith (Sam Smiths) did and ban electronic devices in Spoons. Far from it. Most Spoons have ample power points and during the day people can be seen with laptops taking advantage of the free coffee refill policy. (that also brings complaints on the We Love Wetherspoons FB page)

Keni Badenoch is engaged in a Great Moving Right Show for the Tory Party. She is on record as saying that any Tory candidate including ex-MPs (there are lots) who wants to be on the Tory approved list must reject Net Zero and the ECHR. Both of course are already Reform ‘policies’. In addition during a varied Minsterial career Mordaunt was, or appeared to be, a supporter of trans rights. Not something that would commend her to Badenoch.

Former Minister Grant Shapps has already been purged, for unknown reasons. The Times (17th August) reports that Penny Mordaunt may be next for the chop. Best known for holding a ceremonial sword at King Charlie’s Coronation, Mordaunt was meant to have been told whether she was accepted or not in June. So far, nothing.

The Times reports that with Badenoch candidate selection is ground zero. It doesn’t matter if an applicant was a former Minister, it counts for nothing.

My interest of course is in the demise of the Tory Party and it looks like it is going well.

Picture JM on Facebook

An estimated 30,000 people have attended a vigil for Prof. Jason Arday in Trafalgar Square on 17th August. The vigil was called by Stand Up To Racism

BBC Report

Thousands gathered on Monday for a vigil organised by Stand Up To Racism in Trafalgar Square, where Labour MP Diane Abbott said Arday had been subject to a “vicious and bitter media campaign”. She said attacks by “people who didn’t believe a black man should be a Cambridge professor” started as soon as he was appointed by the university in 2023.

“This was a campaign against all of us,” she added

Cambridge chancellor criticises ‘racist feeding frenzy’ around Jason Arday – BBC News

The Chancellor of Cambridge University Chris Smith has said that there has been a ‘racist feeding frenzy’ around the late Prof. Arday

Guardian report

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/17/tens-of-thousands-pay-tribute-jason-arday-trafalgar-square-vigil?CMP=share_btn_url