The Shelley Tasker Show

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Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com

This week on the Shelley Tasker Show, I catch up with my co‑host Mr Mallificus Scott about soggy Cornish gardening, autumn nostalgia, Halloween prep, and the comedy of everyday life—from dentist phobias to rogue Facebook AI bios. We then dive into a packed agenda: the rapid creep of digital ID, including NatWest’s new in‑app carbon footprint tracker; lessons from Vietnam’s mass bank account closures tied to digital ID non‑compliance; and how to push back in practical ways with cash habits and fewer data breadcrumbs. We also tackle climate narratives and costs versus causation, NHS plans for compulsory antisemitism training and uniform guidance, and culture‑clash headlines from migration to local norms. Rounding out the hour, Mr Scott shares a ‘word of the week’—Tantalus—plus family history, records, and archival music gems, before introducing the next segment of “Other Losses.” As always, we keep sponsors out of the chat and focus on stories, sense‑checking, and a few much‑needed laughs. Tune in for thoughtful takes, practical tips, and some superb tracks from the PureOriginal archive.

[00:01:13] Unknown:

Good evening, you beautiful people out there. Happy Wednesday.   You're listening to the Shelley Tasker Show on radiosoapbox.com   and Clear Air FM, the sound of freedom.  

[00:02:02] Unknown:

Apologies.   Muted there. Muted.   Good evening, folks. It is the Shelley Tasker Show. I am mister Scott. And,   what have we got coming up this evening?   Cornwall sees surge in housing applications.   Wow. As if we didn't have enough already.  

[00:02:32] Unknown:

And they're pushing fast with a whole digital ID.   NatWest's   app. It now carries and shows your carbon footprint.  

[00:02:40] Unknown:

Oh dear. Oh dear.   Talking of which, climate disasters, the most costly on record in the last year. I wonder why.  

[00:03:13] Unknown:

And the NHS, they're going to make all of the NHS have antisemitism   training.   Why wouldn't you?  

[00:03:32] Unknown:

And this week I learned what a Tantalus was. I'll share that with you in a bit.  

[00:03:37] Unknown:

Oh, I'm excited.   Well, there we are. Good evening, you beautiful people, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, whoever's listening.   As I said, you are listening to the Shelley Tasker Show along with my wonderful co host, mister Malefika Scott,   And we are live going live on radiosoapbox.com   and also being reaired on Clear Air FM, the sound of freezer freedom.  

[00:04:34] Unknown:

Good evening, mister Scott. How are you doing? I have to say it's it's nice to be called wonderful once in a while. Thank you for that. That's right.   It's all a lie. Yeah. Well, I know I know, but they don't know that. We hate each other all fair.   Never speak. How How are you doing? Yeah. No. I'm I'm I'm good. Although it's been you know,   I I know British, the weather, and all that, but this this week has been cold and wet, Shelley. I've been out in the cold and wet working   and not been very nice.  

[00:05:07] Unknown:

You did decide to become a gardener.  

[00:05:10] Unknown:

I kind of it it kind of chose me, to be fair. But,   you know,   that's just better than working with nature. There's nothing better than working with nature. I love   it. And your beautiful wife, having your romantic little times in gardens and stuff. Oh, yes. I bring that up every week. Lots of those. She she has she had peanut butter sandwiches today.  

[00:05:32] Unknown:

So Did she? And what did you have?   Coronation chicken roll. That was lovely. How posh. How posh. Yeah. Indeed.   Dining in style.  

[00:05:42] Unknown:

Dining in style, outside, in the drizzle. Yep. Lovely.  

[00:05:47] Unknown:

I'm actually enjoying it now. It's like getting darker. And I know it's dark in the board is, and today it's been quite dark from like, probably about midday, actually. And then the rain came So you like this time of year then?   I like all times of the year. I love summer and don't get me wrong when we're in winter and we're coming out of it into spring,   usually springtime I'm ready for that sunshine, but I do like the change of seasons. Yes. Yeah.  

[00:06:13] Unknown:

I must admit. I love   every year seeing the leaves change on the trees.   One of the places that I go to, she's got, like, these beautiful maple trees that start off you know, they're they're really pale green   all summer, and then   they go through all manner of color changes while they give everything back to the tree.   So that, you know, they go, like, yellow, and then they go, like, really dark red and pink and purple and mauve and all these it's a huge tree, so there's a big spray of color at the end of the year. It's just beautiful. It's like a It is like a massive,  

[00:06:48] Unknown:

like, freeze frame of a firework going off that just changes very, very gradually. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And I love walking through all the leaves that are on the floor and, like, crunching them on and stuff, crunching on them and stuff like that, just yeah, I'm a bit nostalgic with things like that, and you know it's nearly Halloween,   and obviously I've got a 12 year old and they get excited about things like that, and it's like mum when are you going to decorate the house? And every year I think 'are we done with this yet?'   But I've realized that, do you know what, I'll probably always carry on because I've got a loft full of, like, Halloween decorations and stuff. Yeah. So it's got a big time. It's it's one of the it's funny. Halloween came up. I went and saw my dad.  



[00:07:25] Unknown:

My dad had a big lump cut off of his ear,   earlier this week. Oh, quirky. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's, you know, he he   well, he spent a lot of his life in Cornwall.   And back in the sixties and seventies, all you did really was wear a pair of very short denim shorts, and and that's about it.   I mean, my dad's shorts, I used to think they were quite disgraceful, actually.   That short, bloody hell, like, you know.   But no. And he he served also in the RAF, and he was out in Aden,   which obviously, you know, is really hot all the time in Aden.   And, you know, he's,   well, you know, he's   he's living been living with skin cancer for, like, for years.  

You know what I mean?   Yeah. Yeah. But this particular one, I I think he's yeah. It was a bit of a dodgy one. It was she was only supposed to be taking a little bit off the top of his ear. And then,   I've got I gotta share this with you because it made my toes curl a bit. Right? So I'm not if anyone's a bit squeamish, don't listen for a couple of minutes. Your ear.   No. But,   so,   basically, she said, I'm just gonna   shave a little bit off the top of your ear, basically. And when she actually got into it, obviously, this thing must have had some sort of root,   you know, which, you know, that tends to be quite nasty cancers, actually. You know? So it's a bit of a worry until we know what the score is. But,   so she actually   cut a big incision down his ear and then had to stitch it all back up again afterwards. So one ear is is   I won't say considerably   or even really that noticeably smaller than the other, but it definitely is.  

Do you know what I mean? I have to be dreaming about that. So he he had eight stitches. No. No. But this is this is the thing that is a bit toe curling. Right? So, obviously, he had anesthetic   for the incisions and blah blah blah blah. He said, but it was really strange. He said, because,   obviously, it's right next to your ear, and you can still hear perfectly. It doesn't anesthetize   the volume.   And so he could hear all this crunching and, like,   slicing and dicing and God. Puncturing and, oh, you can't even like, right next to your eardrum can't have been pleasant. So, yeah, there you go. There's my there's my toe curler for this week, folks. Sorry. You can Oh, I'm you can all listen again now. It's fine. I promise not to do it again.  

[00:09:49] Unknown:

Oh,   No. I can't stand anything like that. Any procedure, knock me out. Knock me out.   You know, even having a tooth removed years ago, crikey, I was on loads of diazepam, I was crying, and then I said, I think I'm gonna faint, and he took my pulse, and he, like,   put the chair back, and he was like, Crikey, you're not wrong, are you? But then, like, within a minute, you're thrown out because the next person's come in, and he just checks that I could walk down the stairs okay from the shock.   Shit. But, yeah, off you go, on your way.  

[00:10:19] Unknown:

Oh my word. Yeah. I mean, yeah. No. The dentist is not a very nice thing. But having said that, having been in there with, like, a a serious,   toothache before,   yeah, all that fear of going to the this is not nice having someone prodding and poking about in your mouth, is it?   And I I yeah. I think most people, if they're at all sane, have some sort of fear of the dentist even if it's mild,   you know. Mhmm.   But I have to admit my brother used to go as kids, we would argue who was gonna go first and get it over with. You know? Yeah. I think all kids did. I think all kids did. I think that was through encouragement by the parents, though. I think, you know, more I think a little bit of coercion, a little bit of,   rivalry. No. I'm gonna do it first. No. No. She went first last time. He can do it first this time. You know, that sort of thing.  

No. But, I think,   all that fear of of the dentist is completely outweighed,   I think, by any pain you might be in. And I think when I went to the dentist with, like, you know, quite a bad tooth, I had a a wisdom tooth that came through. Sorry, folks. It's a bit boring, ain't it? But I had a wisdom tooth that came through, but it didn't fully erupt. So part of it was trapped under the gum, and it just it it it there's nothing like I couldn't clean it. So   I had to have that extracted.   But   as soon as the needle went in, you could you know, that was that was minor compared to the pain I'd been used to. And then suddenly, this whole wave of, I can't feel it at all. Oh my goodness. It's so nice. So I think very quickly you kinda get over it, I think. Yeah. You do. But I've always said I I'd rather give birth than go to the dentist or have toothache, to be fair, because that is  

[00:12:02] Unknown:

agonising.  

[00:12:03] Unknown:

Well, it's insidious. Isn't it? You can't get rid of it. Shelling peas, giving birth is easy. Shelling peas.  

[00:12:09] Unknown:

Shelling peas.  

[00:12:12] Unknown:

Right. Yeah. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll ask me missus about that. See what she says. Yeah.   Well, you have three, haven't you? You've got three. Well, not me personally. Yes. I mean, I am a father of three, but she had to give birth to them. So, yeah, I wouldn't like to suggest. You know what? My my friend, actually, if you're listening,   Ryan Lander, sorry, close your ears. But,   he, he came around and and he he he kind of upset my missus a little bit because he said, oh, no. It's yeah. Because when he was talking about what pain he'd been in with his ankles and stuff,   and,   Shar was like, I've given birth. And he was like, yeah, but it's different. He said women have a far higher pain tolerance than men do. It's been proven.  



[00:12:59] Unknown:

It didn't go down too well.   No. I can imagine. I can imagine.   Yeah.   So what have you been up to?  

[00:13:08] Unknown:

So well, apart from,   creating little dragon's lairs and things in gardens,  

[00:13:14] Unknown:

so that was quite a fun project I did this week. Yeah. That did look nice. I've you know, I was I was kind of like, did you make that dragon? I thought No. No. More and more artistic by the week.  

[00:13:25] Unknown:

I mean, if I had the the tools, I would give it a go.  

[00:13:29] Unknown:

But, no. That was look like that?  

[00:13:32] Unknown:

I'd like to see It well, it might, but it'd probably take a a year or two. I'm   gonna just gonna do a little bit more on that and, you know, chisel away a bit more detail. Yeah.   No. But, the so the one of the ladies that I help out, she's,   got this patch in her garden that she didn't know what to do with, and a tree had fallen over nearby. And the tree surgeon had been in to cut it all down and chop it up into bits.   But the root was still there, so I had to literally dig out the root. And this is, you know, a bear in mind, it's quite a a little bit waterlogged as well.   Yeah. This blooming thing I don't know how much it weighed. It was a lot. It really weighed a lot. I mean,   it was a trunk that that I couldn't get my arms around. Do you know what I mean? It was Mhmm. You know, probably a good couple of feet   around, you know, between my hands. And I'm six foot one. So that's that's probably   about probably about, yeah, about a seven foot,   like, diameter.  

So I had to actually physically manhandle that into the little space that we'd created inside, like, an area of the garden that hadn't been used. And it's all surrounded by rhododendrons, but nothing's grown inside it. So we've just   cleared out the inside and put an archway in either side and,   dragged manhandled this tree trunk.   That was physically grueling.   And then, you know, fixed this beautiful dragon sculpture that she'd bought to the top of it nice and securely, and then promptly cut down a dead fir tree that had,   you know, been needed taken down for a long time. We cut that down and all the branches on it. It was the type of fir tree where the branches   sag downwards and then curl upwards.  

Right. And so we cut all the all the little wispy bits of branch off and everything. And and,   yeah, she's she then created a little nest around the top of the tree stump where I'd fix the dragon. So that was that was quite a cool little project. It's better than dredging a lagoon, for goodness sake. So yeah.  

[00:15:34] Unknown:

Oh, it sounds it. Rewarding.  

[00:15:36] Unknown:

Yeah. Rewarding, but I've been I've just got soaking wet all, like, loads of this week. So and once you're wet, you can't get unwed. And you wear waterproofs?   No. It's pointless.   It's pointless.   I'll tell you why it's pointless.   Because you can buy the most expensive,   breathable,   waterproofs in the world. And doing the sort of work I do,   which largely, you've got to admit in Cornwall, probably revolves around dealing with brambles   and all sorts of other prickly things like roses and blah blah blah blah blah.   So one interaction, doesn't matter how cheap or expensive your waterproofs are, one interaction with,   you know, a a bramble plant, a blackberry bush, and and they don't work anymore.  

Yeah, I suppose. I suppose. So it's kind of like, well, I may as well just have a change of clothes in the van and just, just get wet.  

[00:16:31] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're supposed to have rain, I think for the next week. It's on my,  

[00:16:35] Unknown:

04:00  

[00:16:36] Unknown:

app. Alright.   Yeah. I'm glad I don't work outside this time of year.  

[00:16:44] Unknown:

Keeps me fit and healthy. I have to say. Exactly. Breathing in the fresh air and all that. Breathing, you know, despite the elements. Yeah. Keeps you fit and healthy. All those natural pathogens that are floating around in the atmosphere that help you combat all those you know, I rarely get ill. I I got a bit ill a couple of weeks ago, and everyone else had sort of been knocked for six by this cold that had gone through the house. And and it lasted   literally about a day and a half, two days tops.   That's not bad for a man cold, is it? It's not bad at all. And I wasn't and I wasn't really, like, really under the weather with it either. I was still going to work and all that kind of stuff. Do you know what I mean? In You manned up. Yeah. Yeah. So,   yeah. Good. There we go. What about yourself? What have you, are you, I bet you've been up to exciting things this week. Oh. I've just got this inkling that you have. Have you? Have you? Well, I've been busy  

[00:17:31] Unknown:

partying though.   I've been out, it's funny because every weekend,   Piren goes with his dad for the weekend, and we do make the most of it, obviously, because Darren hasn't had any gigs for a few weeks, so it's like, right, we'll be out Saturday night, we'll be out Sunday night, so I've actually been to the cinema twice this weekend,   and I've been out for food twice.   And then the last couple of days,   we've had processed food because I've just got into the habit of being lazy.   It's just been busy, you know? It's,   I say on a Wednesday, I said to Darren, what what are you gonna have? Because obviously I've got radio, and you all seem to be late on a Wednesday, and I haven't got time to be faffing around. He's like, I'll have a tin of beans and sausages on toast. Job done. Wonderful. Job done. Yeah. I mean, yeah.  



[00:18:15] Unknown:

I I mean, I must admit, I don't know what's in those sausages, but I actually I quite I quite like them.   They're not like sausages I've ever, like, cooked at home. That's for sure. No. No. No. Yeah. They're they're more like they're more like faggots,   aren't they? Like, can can I even say that on the radio? Can I even say that on the radio? I'm not sure.   No. As in the food. As in the food. I do what   just to clarify.  

[00:18:43] Unknown:

Could have interpreted   it wrongly. Yes. Yeah. Could have offended someone. Well,  

[00:18:49] Unknown:

so let, let them be offended. It's, it's fine. They, they won't catch that pussy. It's okay.  

[00:18:54] Unknown:

So I've just literally, I could become a film critic because we bought one of these movie magic cards that gives you discount every time you go. And we watched a movie called Tron, amazing,   and it's all about, like, the future of computers and stuff like that.  

[00:19:09] Unknown:

Really good, really cool. Is this a remake of the eighties Tron?  

[00:19:14] Unknown:

Yes. Yes. Oh, okay. It was, oh, digitally wise, you know, the viewing experience and stuff, and you can't beat a big screen, can you? No. So that was that was really good, and it really got me thinking actually about where we are going with computers and the capabilities of them.   That was on the Monday, on the Saturday night. And then, on the Sunday we watched a film called I swear and it's based on the true story of a guy with Tourette's syndrome.  

[00:19:40] Unknown:

Oh, okay.  

[00:19:41] Unknown:

Oh, I'll tell you what. Yeah. It was a sad story too, but it was also so very funny. Of course   it is. I was, I like watching TikToks on people with Tourette's and all, and they got to be a point. My daughter said that she had to stop watching them because she was gonna, she was worried that she was going to wake up and just start ticcing one day.   You know, it must be horrendous.  

[00:20:02] Unknown:

I know, but you just think, you know, this is a good thing. Having said that, having said that there were, there were, there were old people in the old people's home that I worked in that didn't have dementia and they convinced themselves that they had.   Right. That's, that's an odd, odd thing, isn't it? So, yeah, no, I get where you're going. I get where you're going. I get, oh, I get where she's going with that. Yeah. Yeah. Just don't watch anymore, just in case, because they can just come out of nowhere,  

[00:20:25] Unknown:

you know, and it doesn't necessarily start when you're a child or anything like that, and you know the singer Louis Capaldi,   all the stress and all, I believe that he started ticking like later on in his career, and I watched an interview of him on the Jonathan Ross show the other day, and I love his music, but he's like twitching away and swearing, and he said that he's had to come out and say I've got Tourette's to say because everybody thought I was on cocaine with all the twitching I'm doing and everything.   But, you know, you've said I've seen videos of people trying to interview people, and then they're like, oh, I can't even say them because they're always really rude things that they say, really rude because it's just what automatically comes in their thought and film is there.  

So, okay. Anyway, but no. Good film. So,   yeah. Cinema twice, food out,   birthdays. It's been my mum's birthday. It's been my grandson's birthday. Happy birthday to your mum and happy birthday to your grandson.   Yeah. An expensive week. Bloody birthdays. They never stop. I'd like to think we had one month where there's not a birthday, but, hey.   It's only money.  

[00:21:29] Unknown:

It's only money. Yeah.   Yeah. It's it's true. It's only money. I know we need to survive,   but we are the only idiots that pay to live on the planet. Let's face it.  

[00:21:41] Unknown:

Indeed. Indeed. And it just makes me think actually what people buy as presents and stuff because I don't think I'm tight, but maybe I've not got out of like the whole concept, we've always had like £25   off my mum and dad for birthdays,   and £25 for Christmas,   and I suppose the value of money has gone up, but like I spent £30 on my grandson,   absolutely fine, and then I see another set of grandparents came in just giving him £60 cash, another one a present and £30 cash, I was like crikey am I tight or something?   I think they're just stupid, or perhaps actually it's their guilt that they don't see him that much,   Perhaps I would be like that. That sounds really bitchy, but,   you know, you can't buy these things, can you? Time. No.  



[00:22:24] Unknown:

No. You can't buy time. No. It's it's the   I've got to say it again. I'm damned if I'm working all day for somebody's birthday. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. But time is, as I've said so many times, is the most precious commodity that we, have been granted on this planet. And the older you get, the more precious it becomes.   It goes up in value, you know, the, you know, the the longer you're here.  

[00:22:48] Unknown:

So Definitely. Definitely.  

[00:22:50] Unknown:

Yeah. And and it's it's whatever happened to it, it's the thought that counts anyway. Exactly. Exactly.  

[00:22:57] Unknown:

And I always say to every, you know, my children don't don't go skin on my behalf, there's nothing I really want anyway, just a gesture,   but they all seem to be like they all go out so much, I don't mean go out, I mean   they just, to me they overspend.   I know it's nice, but I wish they wouldn't because I think, you know, lots of people are struggling with money and what have you, but   yeah, I suppose it's what   people, yeah, I spend more on them at Christmas than birthdays, but we've all got our own little ways, haven't we? Yeah, yeah, I mean,  

[00:23:27] Unknown:

I was gonna say, you know, about talking about these celebrations. You were talking about Halloween earlier.   And,   my my this came up earlier in the week, and my dad said, you know, all this Halloween nonsense, he said, we never had it before the blooming Americans came here.   And, and it's been a staple since then, and it's and it's such a   you know, for my for my dad's generation, it's like,   what what's all that about, really? Like, you know? So and he's he's only what is he? 80, 84.   So,   I mean, that's a that's a ripe old age. Don't get me wrong. But Yeah. Yeah.   Yeah. It's all it's all a nonsense to him. Just one of those things that was imported over with the Americans.  



[00:24:12] Unknown:

Well, it's, another marketing clause, isn't it? It's,  

[00:24:16] Unknown:

yeah. But the thing is it keeps what's what's irritating is is that these events have been processed in such a way that as soon as one event is finished, that it's only a month or half month and a half until the next event, and the shops   use it all as marketing.   So, I mean, there's been Christmas stuff on sale   for the last month in a lot of stores. Yeah. It's disgusting, ain't it? I mean, we   it just   it takes away from what Christmas is really about. And everyone goes, oh, you know, and gets all caught up with the hype. And I think Christmas is one of the, really, in some ways, one of the biggest travesties, because   particularly nowadays, kids are very expectant. I mean, kids are always expectant.  

I was expectant at Christmas when I was a kid. But, yeah, as you get older, you sort of realize, actually, you know, it's more about   spend you know, it's it's the one time of the year where you can guarantee more of the family will be together in most cases than they than they are throughout the year.  

[00:25:16] Unknown:

You know? Yeah. That's why I like it. Yeah. And that that And I miss that people don't give Christmas cards anymore because they all say I'm giving to charity. Well, to me, the whole, the whole of getting in the Christmas spirit when I was a kid and growing up, we used to get loads of Christmas cards and you would hang them on your wall  

[00:25:33] Unknown:

and people people don't get them anymore. You've never been to They used to sell they used to sell things to hang your Christmas cards on. I mean, I know another marketing gimmick, but,   you know, people that was a very common thing to give out Christmas cards, and nobody does anymore. I suppose they're all trying to save the planet.  

[00:25:50] Unknown:

Yeah, and that's, well I just think that's one of the nice traditions, but I do get a card for the last two years, I've had one from someone called Sharon and Mike. I haven't got a clue who they are.   Oh, it cracks up. It's nice that it's nice that they send you a card though. Isn't it just, yeah, hope you're well. We must catch up. Yeah. I don't I haven't got a clue who you are.  

[00:26:15] Unknown:

My word. Yeah. That's that's that's quite that's that's quite amazing. So you just get some random   card through the post. Yeah. That's that's funny.   Have you just forgotten who they are? Did anyone ever know know who they were? I I haven't got a clue. Nobody knows who they are. Nobody. What did you say their names were?   Sharon and Mike. Sharon and Mike, if you're listening to this at all, can you can you write a letter to Shelley and just just explain who you are, please?  

[00:26:43] Unknown:

Yeah.   But funnily enough, I don't know if I mentioned this the other week, but a couple of years ago I interviewed a guy, Mark Podgerski,   and he sent me over all of these crystals and these tonics and stuff   as a way of thanking me, and he didn't need to, but I was like, oh, gifts gratefully received in the post, lovely',   and I sent him a card back with a photo of my dog on it, and I just said, oh thank you so much for the card, all the gifts and what have you. He messaged me literally about two weeks ago with a picture of the card, and he said, did you send this to me? I said, yeah. Over two years ago. He said it came in the post yesterday.   Oh my word. I was like, where did that go for two years?  



[00:27:22] Unknown:

It just got dropped down behind something, didn't it, or something? And someone was having a tidy out. Shows how often they tidy out the offices, isn't it? Someone was having a tidy out. Oh, there's a card there. Oh, well, still still got a valid stamp. We can just, you know  

[00:27:38] Unknown:

Oh, crikey.   Still.   Yes.   So  

[00:27:43] Unknown:

without further ado, mister Scott, should we move on to your first song as we're reaching the bottom of the hour? Because we have nearly a million songs. Yeah. We we we may as well. Indeed. Okay. Well, you're listening live, folks, to radiosoapbox.com   and on prerecord   on Radio Free Air, The Sound of Freedom, apparently. I haven't actually had a chance. I I I feel awful, actually. I haven't really I haven't had a chance   to listen to any of the content on Radio Free Air yet. So It's still all coming That's a very guilty that's a that's a very guilty admission, isn't it? Considering they're actually airing our show. But I'm sorry, folks. I will get round to it. It's it's and it's clearer. Clear Air FM, the Sound of Freedom, and it's by it's all to do with the light newspaper.  

[00:28:26] Unknown:

So it's the same guy that's organised that, that's organised this radio station. It's not all fully up and running yet every day, but, he's getting there. So yeah. Oh, well, he's having having fun with the podcasting.  

[00:28:39] Unknown:

Yes.   Yeah. Okay. Well, this one is,   this one is actually out of the pure original archive, folks. So if you like any of the tunes that you hear from the pure original archive, feel free to give me a message.   Send me a message at maleficus@outlook.com,   and I will, point you in the right direction.   But, yeah. This one's called Surface of Me.   Quite a good tune, actually.  

[00:29:04] Unknown:

Oh, let's go to it.  

[00:29:12] Unknown:

They act as if   they can see  

[00:29:48] Unknown:

Don't want  

[00:29:52] Unknown:

you to listen on the inside   as I do.   Don't want you to feel the same on the inside as I do.  

[00:32:26] Unknown:

Yeah. The Surface of Me. Yeah. Surface of Me. I think that was a band called Chumley's Toy. I think they actually bought out an album. You might be able to find if you, have a little hunt around. But that was the one I promoted for them about twenty odd years ago.   So, yeah, it's nice to revisit some of these, I must admit. It's nice to hear new staff.  

[00:32:44] Unknown:

Yeah. Because they're obviously all new to me. So, no. Good choice, mister Scott. Yeah. And I've got to share this with you before I go on to topic because I was just looking at my phone for,   a couple of screenshots that I grabbed,   and I saved this because the other night I was on my Facebook page scrolling down and   a week ago now.   Facebook. Yes. A week ago now on my profile,   I share the Shelley Tasker shows posts. Okay? Oh, I love you.   Yeah. There you are. And it says tonight's show with myself and the awesome mister Maleficus Scott is about to air what have you. Anyway, because of this meter,   AI thing now, it all it always puts questions underneath. So, it says in like a little bar, who is Mr. Maleficus Scott? So, I clicked it.  

Right.   More about Mr. Maleficus Scott's background.   I love it. Go on. Mr Maleficar Scott's background is quite fascinating.   Born Malcolm Gregory Scott, he grew up in Oxford, Mississippi, where he was exposed to the theatre community and gay culture from a young age.  

[00:33:52] Unknown:

I must have said that to you. That's that's that's me. That's that's me. Yeah. Yeah. They've they've definitely got me there. This is AI. You're right. Didn't they? This is AI.   It makes me laugh. Oh, dear. Oh, that's brilliant.  

[00:34:10] Unknown:

That's brilliant. Yeah. I I, yeah, I I should try a search myself. What what which search engine did you? I take it you used Google. No. I didn't. On the oh, I it it wasn't under Google. It's just on the Facebook page. Whenever I know you don't do social media, but whenever you put posts up   quite often underneath a question will come up and it just said, want to know who Mr. Milafus because Scott is. So I clicked on it to see what it would say. And that's what it said. Yeah. Well, there you go. That that proves what we said at the beginning of the show. We don't get on outside the show.   She doesn't know anything about me at all. I know nothing. No. No. That was all news today. I thought you might be funny.  



[00:34:46] Unknown:

Well, I'm just I'm just I'm I'm a bit shocked that all my personal details are out there on the net, I have to say.  

[00:34:53] Unknown:

Yeah. Into gay theater from a young age. Gay theater. Well, you know,  

[00:34:57] Unknown:

well, that's a feather in my cap, darling. It's a feather in my cap. There you are.   Well, thank you for sharing that. That's alright. That's alright.  

[00:35:08] Unknown:

Right. Onwards.   Right. My my topic, my main topic this week has gotta be about the whole digital ID thing again, basically.   Because it popped up yesterday,   that the NatWest   banking app   now traces your carbon footprint.   Now because we know I'm a phone user,   I thought oh I'm gonna go and have a look. So basically I went on the app and it says explore more,   so   let me see where's that picture gone, bear with me, I found it quite interesting. You have a personal logged carbon footprint.   Is this what I'm reading? Correct? Am I reading this correctly? I'm going to leave it on for a few months just to see what it keeps generating about me, but I'm going to make some changes. We'll get onto that in a moment. You can turn this app. You can turn this part of the app off by the way. Yeah. You can turn it off for yourself.   Yeah. Yeah. But it's automatically  

[00:36:05] Unknown:

there. Right. So accept. So just cause it's rather like your favorites on YouTube. If you don't have your, your, your previously watched,   you can just turn it on   and everything you've previously watched will come up. Just because you've got it switched off, it doesn't mean it's not counting.  

[00:36:21] Unknown:

True. True. Okay. Right. Do you wanna know what my estimated foot print is for the first to the October 31?  

[00:36:29] Unknown:

Go on.  

[00:36:30] Unknown:

137   kilograms CO2.   And it says in the information box,   that's like flying from London to Toronto.   This is on my banking app. So that's my carbon footprint. And it says, we calculate your carbon footprint   by analyzing your monthly transactions   and matching them to their industry. I eat grocery energy transport.   Each transaction amount is multiplied by an emissions factor per industry category   to calculate the carbon footprint that you use.   So for it is estimate is generated an average for every pound you spend with different businesses.   So yeah, in a month,   mine is I've flown to London to Toronto.  

So it's,   I've just, I tell you what, the speed that this digital   ID is going is just, when you think we were literally three four weeks ago, told it's just going to be used to stop the illegal immigrants and to help people,   get a home, get a job, stuff like that. It is just escalated. Like we all said it would. Yeah. Cause the system's already in place.   System's already in place.   And it's actually,   they are,   they have got,   it's been trialed on veterans   at the moment.   And that's been going on. They don't have to participate, but they believe that this will help veterans   get accommodation if needed. This is another, like, something Another carrot.  



[00:38:00] Unknown:

Yes. Yes. Exactly.  

[00:38:01] Unknown:

So they they were trying it on the veterans because we like to moan that we've got lots of veterans   on the   street, but actually   in Wigan and Wales, they're doing pilot schemes   for children  

[00:38:14] Unknown:

through the NHS apps and stuff. Oh, you don't say, do you know what? It's a good job. I'm sat down Shelly, honestly.  

[00:38:22] Unknown:

Are you being sarcastic?  

[00:38:23] Unknown:

I I am slightly, but I'm not I'm not towards you, just towards the system itself.  

[00:38:29] Unknown:

Yeah. But I'm just how quick   it's come,   you know?   So  

[00:38:36] Unknown:

yeah, what does this mean? We can use it for everything, Shelley. We can just use it for everything. Wouldn't that be great?  

[00:38:42] Unknown:

I I'll tell you what. It's getting a little bit,   because in Vietnam,   this happened the last couple of days. 86,000,000   bank accounts have been closed   because people would not comply with the whole digital   scenario.   This is actually happening in Vietnam now. So it's, yeah. They've just somebody has said that Vietnam has just rolled out the nightmare of agenda 2030 in real life.   The government mandated a digital ID with biometric scanning for all bank accounts. And when millions refused, they didn't ask nicely. They shut down 86,000,000   bank accounts overnight.  

They even temporary seized assets inside them.   Millions of citizens were financially erased in an instant. Their crime was for choosing privacy over surrendering their biological data to state run surveillance system, so they were locked out of the economy,   unable to access their own money or participate in society.  

[00:39:37] Unknown:

Which is why they weren't rid of cash.  

[00:39:39] Unknown:

Yes. Yes. Yes. So that's that's already happening   in Vietnam   now.   But I was looking into this yesterday because it's like we're all what can we do, what we what can we do, and we do all need to make changes, and I know   I need to,   but somebody said what are you doing using online banking anyway?' and I was like well because I'm I've just become lazy like everybody else!'   So I am trying now, I'm going to try to make it, apparently it takes eight weeks for a habit to form, and I do need to get into that habit   of when I go shopping each week I draw out the cash,   and then they can't see   where it's going. So they can't, you know, Oh, you've spent this. Yeah. As long as you don't,  

[00:40:22] Unknown:

as long as you don't use any kind of loyalty card.  

[00:40:26] Unknown:

None. Well, this is it. I think the loyalty cards, I think that they they can't share that data.  

[00:40:32] Unknown:

I think you'll probably find I think you'll probably find if someone was in I well, I don't know at the moment. I and I don't know, but you can see that   if it's not on the road map,   it will be. So, therefore, if someone, say, is in investigated   for   tax fraud, like not paying all their tax or whatever,   and you go into a shop and you pay for your shopping with cash, but you use your loyalty card.   Mhmm. They still know where it's going. They still know where it's going. I bet it will add on to your digital carbon footprint,   etcetera.  

The the bank the banking app you're talking about,   is following it. Eventually, I'm not saying it is now, but I'm saying eventually No. It will all that info and you might get a reduction off of your carbon footprint for using   your loyalty   card.  

[00:41:22] Unknown:

Mhmm.   Well the try now, I keep seeing ads pop up, get your Tesco app.   I haven't got the app for Tesco's,   but I am gonna try and be good. So I'm gonna get into this new habit, which they reckon takes about eight weeks for a new habit   to form, because I know I'm lazy, okay. So, then I was really thinking about it last night thinking I wonder what else   we can pay for cash, and I mean when I go and get my hair done on my gym membership I pay cash,   but other places yeah I could easily use card,   but they've kind of got you   because   I was googling it last night for like phone contracts and things like that,   companies don't do it, you've got to pay by direct debit.  

The only thing you can actively use   is the pay point system to pay for your gas and electric and stuff like that. So I am going to look into that, but then will that pay point be used as like a bank account to say where that money's going anyway?  

[00:42:20] Unknown:

Can you ever actually be free from it? Well To hide for your cash and money. To be to be well, it's not a case about it. Because I mean,   anyone that tries to get away without, you know, without paying, like, their whatever tax they owe to the so called government,   I understand the motives, but it's just such a fool's errand because they'll come down on you so hard,   for, you know, for even a minor offense. And I I I was aware of one guy   who,   they basically said, you know, we put   your living costs at this. We put your business costs at this.   And,   they basically stitched him up for a, you know, a a very large tax bill even though he genuinely hadn't earned that much money. But because he hidden a little bit of it, they decided they would just,   as far as I'm aware,   pretty much just make up what they think he needed to support his cost of living,  

[00:43:22] Unknown:

you know? Yeah. Yeah. But I'm just wondering how much I mean, can you imagine if you and I'm not saying about necessarily, like, avoiding your tax bill, I'm just saying so they don't know   what you spend any of your money on. Yeah cash is always king,   cash is always king. It is, but you can't you can't pay your mortgage and things like that, I mean you can't- the post offices now they couldn't take a mortgage   payment, and I mean this has been slowly building up for years hasn't it? But it just made me think, yeah? I'm gonna go through a list of like all of my bills,   and I'm gonna try and see which ones I could. I don't mind if I've got to go into a post office and pay for something that way, but then if you pay if there's PayPoint kind of thing that people use,   it's probably linked well, it's gonna be linked to your name isn't it? So it's just a little bit of an account, where you're gonna be. Quote, yeah, you'll have an account. It's screwed   either way, really, but it's your luxuries and things that you wanna be drawing the cash out so they can't say, oh, you've spent x amount on McDonald's   or you've spent this at the cinema, Shelley. You've done this blah blah blah. You know? I mean, crikey, I've been to London and Toronto in four weeks. That's my carbon footprint.  



[00:44:31] Unknown:

And that's only really for things like fuel and shopping and things. Yeah. And I'm at when they bring in this whole carbon tax thing, which really, realistically, they're already bringing in because I will get into a bit of the climate change nonsense in a minute.   But, you know, when they bring all this stuff in, you're you're gonna be basically you know, you're you'll have a certain allowance allotted to you.   And if you go over it, you'll be taxed heavily on it.   And that's they they're they're stitching everyone up with a lie   because there's nothing there's no problem with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  

There's a brilliant clip. I I I should have downloaded it for the show, actually. There's a brilliant clip of, a guy who was,   in front of some senators in America. He was a farmer himself. He was a local he was the local representative. I don't know what you call it over in The States.   And he was questioning why he should have to replace,   you know,   you know, a 100,000   or a $150,000   piece of equipment for an electric one,   because that's what the state was asking that's what they were asking of the state.   And, he there was a panel of four,   guys from the government or guys and girls,   panel of four or five of them, and he asked them, what percentage of the Earth's atmosphere   is carbon dioxide?  

Can any of you tell me?   And this isn't this isn't a test for you, Shelley, but could you tell me?   I haven't got a clue. Okay. So one of the the average of the guesses   between the senators   was somewhere between 35%.   Yeah? And   the farmer and also local   congressman well, I don't know how it all works over there.   The local representative said, look. Okay. So   carbon dioxide makes up 0.04%   of of the Earth's atmosphere. Or or is it 0.004?   It's literally nothing.   And he said, you're you're talking about a rise   of maybe up to   0.005%,   but bear in mind that plant life on the planet starts dying off at 0.003%.  

So   we are talking you know, and even if you times it   by, you know, even if you times it by ten, it's still nothing.   It's still not even a percent.   So this is this is what we're all getting taxed upon.   Go and look it up for yourselves, folks. What percentage of the Earth's atmosphere   is carbon dioxide?   Like I say, if you can find that American senator giving that little talk and giving these people addressing down, it must have been so embarrassing for those guys who were up there. They've been fed all this nonsense,   and they can't even answer the most simple question on what the what the actual content of the Earth's atmosphere is supposed to be,   as far as carbon dioxide is concerned.  

It's just it's just ridiculous. The whole thing is like one of the it's   there's been many big scams   pulled on the public   over the last couple of centuries.   Many   big, big scams.   But this one takes the biscuit because this is going worldwide. We're even talking about   countries being compensated,   you know, lesser countries being compensated for the fact that the water level might rise a a little bit. You know? And I always say,   yeah. And we're talking, because I mentioned this on the show a few weeks back.   That, you know, they're talking about they could ask for reparations from,   the the largest offenders when it comes to climate change, those countries, whatever.  

Britain, America, France, China, whatever. They can ask for compensation, and they can even backdate it historically.   That's what they were planning on doing. That was the the plan that was put forward. Whether it will hold any water or not, I don't know. Probably, judging by the way that things are going,   it will.   So this   it's so frustrating   that you have all these people, you know, these extinction rebellion idiots and all that sort of stuff, super gluing their faces to pave me. You know, paid idiots   doing all this stuff. And, you know, look, I've I've got,   as I said at the beginning of the show, climate disasters in the 2025,   the costliest ever on record research   shows.  

So, basically, they're saying that   what they're equating this to is that the climate disasters have got worse. No. The cost of insurance   has gone up.   That's why it's the most costly,   on record   in the 2025   is because everyone now is paying through the nose for everything.   That's why the cost's gone. Obviously, it's got nothing to do with worse   climate disasters.   You know?  

[00:49:43] Unknown:

Yep. Yep.   So It's all down to inflation, isn't it, really? Oh, of course. Inflation.  

[00:49:50] Unknown:

You know, like, you know, like we said, you know, there there was an article, actually, I noticed earlier about,   how mortgage owners might appreciate the fact that,   of inflation.   You know? There was that was an article from The Guardian, I think. But this is all dressing up something that's a that's a nothing anyway.   You know? They Yeah. You know, they create money out of nothing and charge the government's interest upon it,   and they they choose when to put the interest rates up and down. Go and look at the Wall Street crash in the nineteen twenties and thirties. Do you know what I mean?   It's just   and I've got a a friend at the moment who's really into, I've mentioned him a few times, he's really into crypto,   and he's also into buying silver.  

And he's retired, but he works   here and there to pay for a bit more silver.   And I said, what are you gonna do with it, mate? I said, you're not gonna be able to go into a shop in in five years' time and pay for a loaf of bread with a lump of silver.   It's you know?   He said, yeah. But it'll always be worth something. Yeah. It will. But how are you gonna,   how are you going to get back that money? It'll have to be invested into their   system.   I they'll give you so many carbon credits, or they'll give you so many pounds sterling, if we still have pounds sterling.   You it'll still be invested back into their system when you get payment for whatever it is you're squirreling away.  

You know?  

[00:51:22] Unknown:

I do. I do.  

[00:51:24] Unknown:

Yeah. It's mental. Mental. This whole thing as well with with crypto and, and all that kind of thing, this is all just a precursor for the for the,   central bank digital currencies, the digital ones that they're gonna be bringing in all over the place anyway, which is, you know, again, you know, you there is no there is no physical money in the banks per se.   You know?   Not not that would cover the cost of everything that's going in and out. It's all digital. It's not even on paper anymore.   So this like you say, well bought up with the whole digital ID thing. You can see where it's all going.   But it is amazing. You're right. It is amazing that it is just   now they've got their foot in the door, the thin end of the wedge being for veterans and for migrants.  

The thing that pulls on the most,   you know, touches the most buttons for people at the moment. I mean, that's that's a double that's a that's a forked attack there because we're moaning about the migrants, and we're also moaning that we've got, you know, we should be looking after our veterans who are on the streets and everything. So that's a double pronged attack right there, mental attack from the government, I would say.   That's the thin end of the wedge. And now they're they're they're forcing that wedge in a rate of knots, and it's getting wider and   wider. Have I lost you?  

I have.  

[00:52:52] Unknown:

Got a big sign underneath and the sign says my pronouns are liar, traitor,   wanker.  

[00:53:00] Unknown:

You're going to have to, Shelly, Shelly, I lost you for about, lost you for about ten seconds. So you're going to have to repeat that? Sorry. I just got, I just got the last,   I got the punchline. So you're gonna have to, you've scored it now, but  

[00:53:13] Unknown:

go on. Let's know what, what was it? It's like a blow up doll hanging on a lamppost outside of 10 Downing Street,   and it's got Keir Starmer's face on it, and he's wearing black shorts and a red t shirt and holding a Brit card. And he's also holding a sign that says my pronouns are liar, traitor, wanker.  

[00:53:31] Unknown:

Oh,   dear. That's very harsh thing.  

[00:53:35] Unknown:

Taking photos of it, but   somebody's put whoever did this, I owe you a pint.  

[00:53:40] Unknown:

Yeah.   Yeah. But I mean, the thing is funny things going on. There are. There it's great, and it's great that people are are making the statements, but it's   it's   it's very disheartening. You're, it's very disheartening knowing what you know,   that people are still blaming governments   for things.   Because you'd be an idiot to think that anyone in your government is in control of the country.   In fact, I've got a very quick clip here to play for you. You know, Boris Johnson was has been hauled over the coals in this last week for his actions during COVID. So I've got a little clip for you here. I'm just gonna see what you think about this one.  

[00:54:21] Unknown:

Was very much,   hoping that we wouldn't have to close schools. I thought it was a nightmare idea.   But I think it would you know, I think as far as I can remember, you know, you had   other countries were starting to close schools. Yes. And   I I'm surprised   that the perm sec at the at the DFE,   didn't feel that it was necessary   to to look at the what contingency arrangements we had. And I've got to say that   given the the huge damage that   the,   closures have have done, given the loss of life chances that they've caused, you've got to ask yourself now,   whether,   as a whether we could have found other ways   of reducing the budget of risk   in, from COVID. Could there   if there if there were 10 to twenty percent of the,   of of the r,   was there some way of   of doing it without school without school closures? Now   all the advice I was getting was absolutely not. There's you've got to do this.  

And,   that they along with everything else,   school closures were unavoidable.   I thought the whole business of of scrapping exams was was damaging, and it must have been bitterly disappointing to   people, kids who'd,   students who'd prepared   and worked very, very hard. I didn't want to do it, and it was the logical   concomitant of of closing schools.   You know, we we   so on March 18,   it was part of the package, and, you know, we just we had no way no way around it.   That certainly, that's my my memory of the of the of the way   the way it went.  



[00:56:10] Unknown:

So there you go. Earlier. Yes. Yes.   Bubbling babbling buffoon here, isn't he? Yeah. Well, he used a very complicated word there, con concomitant.   He was saying that the,   quitting stopping the exams was concomitant   of, you know, the closing the schools down.   What does that mean? The meaning the meaning of it is,   is accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way.   So basically,   it it's   he just said it was part and parcel of it. That's basically what he was saying.   And one of the a couple of things that I thought I'd bring out from that is, you know,   he's got the audacity to sit there and say, as far as I can remember,   other countries were also closing schools.  

Right? There's one. Mhmm. Yeah. As far as I can remember.   Sorry?   Or was this you know, why did you need that at the beginning of the sentence?   This is just, again, diversion diversionary   tactics, blah blah blah blah blah.   But the most poignant thing out of that entire little minute clip there is the very fact that he said,   all the advice you know, I didn't want to close schools, but all the advice I was getting   said, absolutely not. We have to close the schools.   What does that tell you?   That tells you Yeah. He's not in control.   He's not in control. And going back to the Israeli statement,   you know, our prime minister during Victoria's time said governments do not govern. They simp they merely control the machinery of government themselves   being controlled by the hidden hand.  

He was our prime minister. Do you think he would be wrong about that?   I don't.  

[00:58:06] Unknown:

No. No.   No. Very good. Very interesting.   And I mean, you know, the likes of you and me, we we can see that, and I'm, we're learning all the time. You just don't stop, do you? Not if you're into this sort of thing anyway.  

[00:58:20] Unknown:

No. Well, yeah. There's there's there's there's so many things to, that you could run around like a headless chicken or another. Yeah. I think the main thing to focus on, again, as I say, is always sort of trying to put this across to the people that are   nearby you, like, in your local community, and just sort of trying to plant these seeds with people.  

[00:58:40] Unknown:

Yeah. And I do when I get chatting to people.   Yeah. If you're in the right place, dog walking. I know you like walking your dog and speaking to people.  

[00:58:49] Unknown:

Yeah. I think it's it's it's nice dog opportunity.   Yeah.   But just, you know, planting these seeds amongst your local community,   you know, in however surreptitious, not even surreptitious, but in however mild away,   You know? Oh, I don't think that because, you know, blah blah blah blah. You don't have to,   extrapolate on anything. You just leave people to think for themselves because you will Shelley, you know this. You will never get anyone to think for themselves.   They have to do it.   You know?  

[00:59:19] Unknown:

So Absolutely.  

[00:59:20] Unknown:

Yeah. Anyway, we're we're coming up to the top of the hour.  

[00:59:25] Unknown:

Crikey.  

[00:59:26] Unknown:

You best play another tune. Well, I will do. I will do. So, folks, you're listening live on radiosoapbox.com   to the Shelley Tasker Show,   with the wonderful host, apparently, mister Scott, which is, always nice to hear.   I'm gonna play this one, I don't know. I'm not quite sure what this one is. I kind of upload so this is a lucky dip, folks. Okay. From the pure original archive.   It might have been played on the show before. Not sure. Here we go.   Oh, I think it has.  

[01:00:12] Unknown:

Everything   that I believed in, every place that I belonged.   In the end, I am left standing   here.   Survival,   every step along the way,   far back as I can remember.   I've been all my   young,   every single  

[01:04:28] Unknown:

On my own,   straight out of the pureoriginal.com   archive, I will,   have to start digging out some of these artists names again, won't I?   You will. I like that. That was good. I think we have played that one fairly recently, actually.   I just didn't recognize the, because the the the name of it is all written as one word. So I just I thought, oh, that's a random one. It turned out not to be as random as I thought, but there we go.  

[01:04:54] Unknown:

Very good. Very good.   Right. Onwards. Do you want to have a quick list of stuff?  

[01:04:59] Unknown:

As I said at the beginning of the show, I discovered what a Tantalus  

[01:05:03] Unknown:

was this week. Tantalus. I love all these new words. Tantalus.  

[01:05:07] Unknown:

So a tantalus.   It was my granddad's   tantalus,   the one that wrote the book.   And, basically, a tantalus is,   well, in this case, is a fairly large lockable box,   with a lid,   and layers inside the top of the lid for storing things like cigar cutters,   matches,   cigarettes,   cigars.   And on either side of the lid so the lid extends past the box, and it has little   bits which come down and hold the tops on the two decanters,   one either side of the box, you see. I'll send you a photograph in a bit. It's quite good.   And at the bottom of the box is a is, at the front,   is a is a little section that you push one side of,   and it's got,   five little,   steel rings in there for holding glasses.  

It longs all by itself.   So if you if you shut the keys inside it, you're buggered.   But it was my granddad's the on the top of it, it's got   j cray Scott   ninety first highlanders.   So that box would have gone round with him to the various postings that he had.   But weird word, Tantalus. Do you wanna know where it comes from? Yes. Yes. Okay. So tantal and you'll love this. Right? The the reasoning behind the reasoning behind it,   so a tantalum is really I did   is   its purpose is to lock alcohol away. That's   and all the naughties like cigars and cigarettes and all that kind of thing. You wouldn't want you wouldn't want,   your children or in granddad's case, your subordinates or servants, whatever,   getting their hands on your best whiskey.  

So it would be put in the decanter and locked into the Tantalus, you see. So anyway, Tantalus.   I do like a new word. Yes. Come on. Sorry. He was a Greek mythological fig figure most famous for his punishment in Tartarus   for either revealing many secrets of the gods, or stealing ambrosia for them, or for trying to trick them into eating his son,   depending on which version of the story you read.   He was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches,   with the fruit ever eluding his grasp,   and the water always receding   before he could take a drink.  

This punishment,   although best known today,   was more unusual,   was a more unusual detail surviving in early Greek   sources.   Now,   the ancient Greeks used to refer to this   as Tantalene   punishment.   Okay?   In reference to people with nice things who are unable to experience them.   His name and punishment are also the source of the English word   tantalize,   meaning to torment   with the sight of something desired but out of reach.   Teased by arousing expectations that are repeatedly   disappointed.   So,   so there you go. So they called it a Tantalus, because, obviously,   it was rather tantalizing for all those that would like to get their hands on the whiskeys and the smokes.  

I know that. We should make it a regular thing. Word of the week. Yeah. Well, there you go. So I inherited my granddad's Tantalus   on Friday. Oh, lovely.   Was was very nice. I'd actually gone up to see if I could get hold of his medals, but I think they've gone to my weirdo cousin who lives in, Australia.   I'll tell you after the show.   Okay.   I don't use the word weirdo in a in a light way either, unfortunately.   But there we go.   So,   what's what's most disappointing is is that I know for a fact he will never have any children.   And therefore, when he goes,   those medals that my granddad earned   will disappear into the ether.  



[01:09:21] Unknown:

Yeah.  

[01:09:22] Unknown:

Sad. You know,   amongst those medals, apart from an OBE   and other things like that,   DSO,   distinguished service order that is.   Amongst it also was the French war cross in gold, which is not very,   very rarely awarded to any foreign,   person that isn't French, basically. But because grand granddad served on the French staff as well   over in World War one.   And despite being wounded, stayed on duty,   and helped direct things and, you know,   because he was a captain in the British army at that time.   So,   he he ended up being awarded the French war cross in gold, which is the the highest order that, you know, you can get.   Wow. And, you know, so all that will be lost to the ether when my when my cousin shakes off this mortal   coil. Such a big shame.  

Such a big shame. But, so,   I've also inherited a few other bits and bobs. In actual fact, there will be a new version of hidden government coming out at some point, probably next year,   some point towards the end of next year, I would imagine.   But I've got an awful lot of paperwork to go through, lots of new found articles that granddad wrote. I've also stumbled across this Shelly. Hang on. Let me just go and grab it.   Two seconds.   So sorry. I'm back. So How unprofessional.   How very unprofessional. I should have had it in front of me. So this is the British record   of rod caught fish committee. So,   it says at the top, species,   rainbow trout.  

Weight, eight pounds, eight ounces. Place, Blagdon.   Date, 09/09/1924.   Addressed to my granddad, Lieutenant Colonel J. Craig Scott.   This is to certify   that the above named holds the record for the largest rod caught specimen   of the above species ever caught in Great Britain at the date of capture.   So there you go. He was a record holder as well. I didn't know that about him.  

[01:11:42] Unknown:

Yeah. I seem to know quite a few people lately. Well, I bump into people that are, like, heavily into their fishing and stuff. It's it's quite a sport actually, isn't it? I didn't realize that there's a way that they fish and it's like, then they put the fish back and I was like, well, haven't you like really hurt the fish? And they're like, no, you buy these special hooks that have got something on them. I was quite intrigued. I was like,  

[01:12:05] Unknown:

Yeah. I I don't know much about fishing, I have to say. I know that,   one of the things that I have also inherited quite a while back,   was a book that my granddad started to write on fishing, but it contains in it lots of anecdotes about him fishing as a child, him taking a poacher's rod to France with him when he was stationed out, you know, in in in in the Great War. And,   there there was a there's a little entry in the book that just says,   Jerry, all quiet, gone fishing.   And then a bit later on, because apparently, one of his superiors had been looking for him, and and one of his younger junior officers had said,   I think he's gone fishing, sir.  

And then there's a little entry afterwards saying,   Gerry opened up, beat a hasty retreat. So obviously, he had to pack up all his fishing gear and get get back to his station.  

[01:13:00] Unknown:

I just love the way they spoke back in those times or wrote, you know? Yeah. Absolutely. Their language was just so different.  

[01:13:08] Unknown:

Yeah. Good. Yeah. So that's been that's that's been the I didn't mention at the beginning of the show because I thought I'd moan about the fact that I'd been rained on for most of the week.   It was it was forefront of my mind at the time, having just got out of the shower and just warmed up. Yeah. Yeah. That's how we start the show every week, weather.  

[01:13:26] Unknown:

Oh, dear. Well, I came across, there's it's funny actually, because we always,   in the week building up I save loads of things and then we never get around to doing them all, but there's always stuff to talk about. Anyway, I came across this,   so NHS in a new antisemitism   crackdown after recent incidents from doctors,   1,500,000   people employed by the NHS will be required to take antisemitism   training.   A crackdown on antisemitism will see NHS employees banned from wearing pro Palestine badges at work.   New guidance is set to be issued on NHS uniforms,   which will prohibit employees from wearing any political symbols at work. This includes badges promoting political causes,   shirts and scarves, but it does not include religious   symbols such as the Star of David or a cross.  

So you're allowed to wear those too.   The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that the urgent review into antisemitism   comes after recent incidents of antisemitism   from doctors,   which drew stark attention to problems of culture and the regulation in the health system.   A junior doctor in the NHS recently avoided punishment   after she referred to Hamas as martyrs,   made a slit your throat gesture to Jewish protesters,   and claimed the Holocaust was fabricated.   The new crackdown will also see every NHS staff member   undergo compulsory training on antisemitism   and antiracism.  



[01:14:58] Unknown:

So that Wow. Yeah. I I do you know what? My immediate thought on that   is that I don't think   I I honestly don't think that they'd be having to train up all these NHS staff if there weren't so many,   let's just say, other cultures who are far   more antisemitic   than British people have ever been,   working within the NHS?  

[01:15:23] Unknown:

Yeah.   It is the fact as well that they can wear,   you know, the Star of David or a cross, and I like the way they put the Star of David in first and then a cross. I mean, we are supposedly a Christian country,   but no other religions but the Star of David and a cross. Well, it doesn't sound very inclusive to me.   No. What about the other religions? Come on. Come on. Yeah. We're entering a multiculturalism  

[01:15:49] Unknown:

society, country, world. But it just shows you that they're doing they're they're saying one thing out of one side of their mouths and then doing something else out of the other. And it's there's always these double standards that are supposed to confuse us all   and make scratch our heads. And why are they doing this? And why are they doing that? And, you know, a friend of mine actually said he said, you know, because you had that dreadful attack in the,   the,   synagogue up country, a few weeks back.   You know,   sadly, you know, even,   some poor innocent guy got shot by the police by accident.  

So, you know, there's there's no two ways about it. It was a tragic event and all that kind of thing. But a friend of mine afterwards said, god, they're gonna really, really clamp down on antisemitism   now, after all that.   And, you know, as it's it's funny he said that a couple of weeks ago, because we're already seeing that now in the in the news. So or or in this article. So   yeah. Yeah. Interesting stuff, isn't it?  

[01:16:46] Unknown:

I guess It is.  

[01:16:49] Unknown:

Just the fact   that just the fact that you're only the what they they're only allowing those two types of religious symbols. Is that right?   Definitely?  

[01:16:59] Unknown:

Well, this is what it says in the news.   That was posted   in   let me just find in the express.   Oh, okay. I mean, we can take it all with a pinch of salt.   It just says does not include religious symbols such as the star of David or a cross, but it doesn't state that it's only those, but I just thought it was interesting   that it says those too.   So are they saying that, like, Christian Christianity   and Judaism are actually   the, the main religions of this country?  

[01:17:32] Unknown:

Yeah. But then you've got the other Abrahamic,   as they call them religions as well. Are they segregated from this? I expect if they are, there'll be some pushback. I can't see that there wouldn't be.  

[01:17:42] Unknown:

No.   No. But it's, yeah. All interesting stuff. Anyway, you're gonna love this one. I love this. I can't believe it. Right. A migrant deported to France under one in one out scheme   comes back on a small boat.  

[01:17:59] Unknown:

Oh, you could make it up. Could you? It's a good job. We, yeah, it's a good job. We have to sit down for this show. And it honestly,   you know?  

[01:18:08] Unknown:

Yeah. He was dropped to France. He was deported to France and he's traveled back to The UK again on a small boat.   They're saying it's a mockery   of the system.   The migrant claims he was threatened at gunpoint and abused by people smugglers,   fled a shelter in Paris because he was afraid for his life in the French capital.   He then crossed the channel again in a small boat. So he came over on the September 18,   was deported back, and then he's come back over again.  

[01:18:37] Unknown:

Yeah. But I'm just thinking, you know, if he's had this trouble in Britain, now he's had this trouble in France, why did why didn't he flee in the other direction?   I don't I don't get it. I don't get the under understand the mental and it's a this is it's very it's very typical sort of,   of the media at the moment sort of antagonizing people on this whole immigration issue. And, obviously, as we know, this whole yeah. And you had all the flag march and everything a few weeks back with Tommy Robinson   and,   and and the whole raise the flag thing. This is it's so manipulated   and so   contrived.  

And it's all just a push in backing for this   this ID.   You know?   Yeah. It's just sculpting public opinion. That's what it is. I think it was Noam Chomsky who wrote a book,   years back,   literally about, you know, sculpting public Manufacturing   Consent,   I think the book was called. I'm not a big fan of Noam Chomsky.   I know a lot of his work. I'd and, yeah, I'm I'm not a big fan at all. And he completely lost me when he,   you know, said that,   absolutely, the Taliban would have had an interest in flying planes into the World Trade Center. You know? So that  

[01:19:57] Unknown:

Yep.  

[01:19:59] Unknown:

But, yeah, manufacturing consent. That's what it's all about, really.  

[01:20:06] Unknown:

Yes. Yeah. Well, my la my last little   headline, this is this came from the Manchester Evening News.   Muslims demand locals don't walk dogs in public because it's a violation of Sharia and disrespects them.   In Manchester, pamphlets have been distributed by a group called Public Purity   demanding that Brits do now walk their dogs   in public as they are considered   impure in Islamic faith.   So I followed the link for this one, and there is such a group,   but I'd never heard of such a thing.   Apparently, the dog's saliva,   if they get dog's saliva on themselves, they'd have to, like, wash themselves seven times or do something seven times. Why did they come to a con a dog loving country then? I don't get it.  

But the more I think of it now, I don't know any Muslims that have dogs and stuff.   I didn't realize that they were like, well, plasters such as an impure and like, contagious thing, and it's all to do with their saliva.  

[01:21:06] Unknown:

Yeah. Oh, well, if you you've I'm not that sure.   The mind boggles. I'm I'm my brain is literally boggling at the moment, because I just think, you know, why would you come here if you know that it's a it's a nation of dog lovers? We're known as a nation of dog lovers, for goodness sake. You've heard surely, they'd be thinking, well, it's a nice life over there. Oh, but there is the dog danger.   It's a bit unclean over there. Do you think we ought to go?   You know? I don't get it. And this again,   if it's if this is something that is has this come from the mainstream, I take it. So it's it's just another one of those things to,   create a an us and them attitude   So that we don't concentrate on what the real problem is, which, of course, is the banking system and and,   all that goes with it. The the very people that are trying to push in this digital ID   by causing division amongst people. So,   nobody knows whether they're coming or going.  



[01:22:06] Unknown:

No. You're right. You're absolutely right. It is interesting going through, like, what's going on and what's happening and what you're drawn to and stuff. But there's there's been a couple of funny ones this week. Like,   there was,   at a,   model show in London, I think it was. I've seen the video of it.   Somebody walked in with a clear garbage bag on and a hat, and they started walking down the catwalk   and everybody's looking, thinking it's all absolutely normal. And then you see security cards come in and.  

[01:22:41] Unknown:

I love it.  

[01:22:43] Unknown:

Crikey. Some, some people, they, I love it, I'd just love to be that mad and do something like that.  

[01:22:49] Unknown:

You'd have to be pretty crazy to dress up in a clear clear plastic bag and a hat, and then walk down a catwalk. Yeah, but nobody noticed, they were all just like oh well, because let's face it the fashion, some of the fashions these days,  

[01:23:02] Unknown:

like, oh, people with somebody had said like, oh, this is, a big designer label. They'd be like, oh, wow. Wow. But.  

[01:23:08] Unknown:

Yeah, I know just shows how, how self centered and naive and narcissistic people really are. Doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I know. There was another one I came across of all these bodybuilders,  

[01:23:19] Unknown:

all these really buffed up men doing mister world. What there's about 10 of them on stage, and they're all standing there waiting to be judged, and they're all striking poses.   And then this little man runs in in his boxer shorts and stands in the middle and starts doing poses, and they start dragging him off, but it's just so funny.  

[01:23:37] Unknown:

Actually, if you're interested, there is, talking of the bodybuilding thing, there's so there's, I think he's a I think he's a Ukrainian   guy,   and   I used to be a farmer. And there's a load of,   silly clips of him going into, like, these gyms   where you've got these   huge, huge guys that are, you know, steroid it up to the max, you know, just muscles upon muscles upon muscles.   And they're they're you know? And he comes in dressed in like a shell suit, and there's nothing to him at all,   and pretends to be a cleaner,   and comes in.  

And he's I I think he's   just the mop handle alone. I can't remember how many kilos that weighs.   But,   there's all these silly clips of him coming in and saying, oh, can I just can I just clean here a sec?   And, they're they're all looking disgruntled and they step aside so we can clean. And he picks up their weights with one hand.   Right. And walks walks it a few feet over   so that he can mop the area that he's in. And these people are just stood around going,   what?   Like, because they're huge, these guys. And and, obviously, most of that bulk is sugar for the next time they work out and all that kind of thing. But they are huge, these guys. These are guys that if you put a sticker on their back, couldn't couldn't take it off. Do you know what I mean? They're that big. Yeah. Yeah.   And, you know, and then he says, oh,   it's alright. I'll go and get it. And he hands one of them his, like, his mop. And the mop,   handle itself is is I think it's made of, like, cast iron or something. It's seriously heavy. Do you know what I mean? You got these big guys going, oh, wait. Yeah. Because I don't expect it to be so heavy and stuff.  

Look him up if you can. Just just put in Ukrainian farmer weightlifting.  

[01:25:24] Unknown:

Just just put that. I will. I do like watching the funny things. You need to have that giggle. And I do like to laugh. Like I said, that film we watched the other night. I mean, awful story, nice story as well. But the Tourette's and the stuff that was   set, everybody was in stitches. Yeah. Yeah. And it is one of those things that if you could buy laughter in the bottle, crikey,  

[01:25:47] Unknown:

you don't have to feel better with with a good digger. Not being funny if you could sell laughter in a bottle. You'd be a rich person, wouldn't you? You would. You would. Especially in this day and age. Especially in this day and age. I think people need to find a lot more time to laugh at stuff.   Definitely.   Yeah.  

[01:26:02] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. Too many touchy people around these days. You can't joke about anything. Moody, moody. Moody, moody, touchy, touchy. Yep.  

[01:26:11] Unknown:

Yeah.  

[01:26:12] Unknown:

Anyway, mister Scott, it's getting to that time where I've got to, like, more or less go. Yeah. That's fine, my darling. It's been lovely to talk to you.  

[01:26:20] Unknown:

And, yeah, Shelley's on hiatus   for the next half hour on her way to work on her way to work. Bless her.   So, no, I wish you well, and I hope it all goes very quickly. We've got,   I'm gonna play the next installment of other losses.  

[01:26:35] Unknown:

Did you catch any of that last time? No. I haven't, and I feel ashamed because there's so many things, and I'm like, I must listen to that. I must listen to that. But things have quietened down a bit, so I won't listen to tonight because obviously it'll conclude,  

[01:26:47] Unknown:

and I will do casting. No, it won't conclude, actually. There's- Oh, wait a minute. Because I've only got about twenty minutes into it, because I had to put in a bit of a disclaimer last week just in case anyone got upset about the content.  

[01:26:57] Unknown:

Disclaimer. Disclaimer.  

[01:26:59] Unknown:

Disclaimer. Disclaimer. Yeah.   Yeah. This this next edition next section of the Shelley Tasker show will contain,   knowledge you didn't know about   German soldiers more German soldiers dying after the war than during it, World War two. So, yeah. And it's freely available on YouTube if you just wanna watch the whole thing. So Okay. Okay.  

[01:27:21] Unknown:

Well, I might just oh, yeah, I was just gonna say I wanna listen to your voice, but actually, you're not, you're gonna be playing a video, so I I am. I'm gonna be playing a tune first, but I I I do wish you well, and I hope it goes very quickly. Thank you very much, sir. Oh, it always does. I get there for, like, nine, and I literally sit there for an hour, and then I go to bed, and I go to sleep,   and just hope that nobody wakes me up. I look at it that I go to a little hotel for the night and read my book,   so   there we are. I'm now I'm off for four days and four nights, so I'm looking forward to it.  

Aw. Lovely. On the home run, yeah. On the home run. Right.   On the home run. Take care. Right. Thank you for listening, everybody, and we'll be back next week, and, I'll leave you with the awesome Mr. Scott. Speak to you soon, buddy.  

[01:28:02] Unknown:

Take care, missus. Be good.  

[01:28:04] Unknown:

I will.  

[01:28:06] Unknown:

Serving suggestion. Serving suggestion only. Yeah.   See you soon. See you soon. Alright, folks. So,   Shelley will be back with us next week,   at the same time, same place, obviously, but for an extended,   amount of time.   I'm gonna play now a song by a band called Blood Ruby, who I used to host for a long time back. It's a tune called Remains of the Day. This girl had,   one of the closest voices to the sort of Kate Bush thing that ever submitted work to the website. So it it was really lovely.   And, it's quite a dreamy tune. And after that, we're coming back, and I'll be playing the next segment of other losses. So, catch you in a few minutes, folks.   The amazing Blood Ruby there. They're still selling music online if you wanna go look them up. Blood Ruby music or Blood Ruby band. Just have a little search for them.  

And do support them if you like the tunes. So I always find that that's one of my favorites of theirs. It's it's really relaxing one.   Anyhow,   on with James Burke's another loss other losses.   This is, in reference to the fact that more German soldiers died after World War two   than during it, during combat. Is that it's just incredible, isn't it? And it's down to the conditions that they were kept in after the war, in the Rhineland   in the Rhinemeadow   camps.   So here we go. Without further ado, enjoy folks. I will join you a couple of minutes or a minute or two before the end of the show.  

[01:33:19] Unknown:

So what the that's brought anger for   Joachim Booth   describes   the extensive food supplies in his camp at Rheinberg.  

[01:33:34] Unknown:

The food supply situation was like this,   From the enormous mountains of food cartons stacked as high as a house, partly from German stocks, it appeared as though the food situation was excellent.   Several times, I saw that those handing out the food were sitting high up there on the boxes.   And when the German officers   came one after the other, each of them for his group of a 100 or 10 soldiers respectively,   they were told,   you're not going to get anything today. You were the major criminals.   And then we returned to the starving and said, we got nothing.  

[01:34:23] Unknown:

Britain and Canada had 2,000,000 German prisoners who suffered far less than most others,   although camps over Rishi and Auric   were hell holes of neglect and disease.   Some German prisoners were seriously maltreated in the interrogation   center in Badenendorf.   Most prisoners were discharged in time to help with the harvest of 1945.   The deadly conditions in the American camps were not confined   to those along the Rhine, but prevailed among all 200   American camps in Germany.   Major general Richard   Steinbach,   then a colonel in the United States Seventh Army,   took over a camp at Heilbron built for 200,000   prisoners.  



[01:35:12] Unknown:

I was deputy   to General   Ben Lear, who was deputy theater commander to Eisenhower.   In 1945,   it became   obvious   that the   POW camp   at Heilbron, which was in our area,   was very   badly managed.   And they   they weren't being treated properly.   It was crowded   and more people than that should have had.   We saw   the men   dug holes in the ground.  

[01:35:51] Unknown:

Were some of the men sleeping without any shelter at all in holes in the ground?  

[01:35:56] Unknown:

Yeah. They were? A lot of them. Most of them. Most of them.   They got about   1,100   calories a day.  

[01:36:05] Unknown:

And is that enough to support life?  

[01:36:08] Unknown:

No. It takes 1,700   calories to support life.  

[01:36:13] Unknown:

What did you, think when you saw these conditions?  

[01:36:17] Unknown:

I thought they had to be corrected.   I ordered   The US camp commander   to get supplementary ration.  

[01:36:26] Unknown:

Have you ever heard of the Morgenthau plan?  

[01:36:29] Unknown:

Yes.  

[01:36:31] Unknown:

And do you know what the plan,   meant?  

[01:36:35] Unknown:

It meant starvation   for the German POWs and the   German population.  

[01:36:43] Unknown:

When did that plan,   start operating? Do you know? Immediately after the war.  

[01:36:51] Unknown:

A little while later, Steinbach   was sent to The US on medical leave, and the shortages began again.   Dragging the corpses out of Heilbron   was such a big job   that the army set up a sham hospital   near the camp entrance   where moribund prisoners would go to die.   The guards wouldn't have to drag their corpses   so far to the trucks.   The chief medical officer in the Sham Hospital   at Heilbron   was a private,   Daniel McConnell,   who had no medical training, no doctors, and no drugs beyond aspirin.   After the   war, the US government awarded him a 100%   medical disability   for post traumatic stress disorder,   largely because of his experience at Heilbronn.  

The Americans were not the only ones punishing Germans.   More than three quarters of a million prisoners were delivered half dead   to the French army to use as slave labor in France.   The Americans transferred them in crowded closed boxcars,   along with coffins and boxes of quicklime   to disinfect their corpses.   The French sent thousands of prisoners into minefields,   with no training and inadequate equipment   to dig up mines.   Many of them were blown up.   The French camp smelled so badly of decaying bodies and latrines   that journalists   noticed.  

Limon of Paris published in the 1945   a report by a bright young writer   named Jacques Fauve.   As one speaks today of Dachau,   in ten years,   people throughout the world will speak about camps like Saint Paul De Joux,   where 17,000   prisoners were dying so fast   that within two weeks,   two cemeteries of 200 graves each had been filled.   This is a death rate of over sixty five percent per year.   In Europe at the time, the death rate among civilians was under two percent per year.   In other words,   for every normal death in Europe, 30 surrendered Germans died at Saint Paul De Joux.   Fauve goes on.  

People will object that the Germans weren't very particular   on the matter of feeding our men. But even if they did violate the Geneva Convention,   that hardly seems to justify that we follow their example.   Representative   Jean Pierre Proudhon   of the International Committee of the Red Cross   visited the French camp at Torrey Des Peres   in late September nineteen forty five,   took photographs of the starving prisoners there, and wrote a report   in which he said   that the 200,000   prisoners in their present condition   would not survive   the coming winter.  

The commander in chief of the French camps, Major General Louis Buisson,   wrote,   they were given enough food   so that they did not die too too quickly.   Wolfgang Heinrich,   17 years old, was shipped from Rheinberg   to a camp in France.  

[01:40:32] Unknown:

In Le Mans, the guards, they were French,   sometimes fired shots at random into the camp at night   just for fun.   And, well, it seems that most of the food was moved away, for food was so scarce in Le Mans that we became really weak. If you wanted to stand up, you had to hold on to a tentpole so undernourished we were, even as young guys.   Washing was impossible, and there were no toilets either.   Instead, there was only a plank in front of a hole, and if a man was too weak to sit on it and fell over backwards, he was gone.  

[01:41:11] Unknown:

The French camps became known as or   slow death camps.   In the 1945,   the Morgenthau plan was incorporated   into the Potsdam agreement among the victorious allies   and was signed by Truman, Churchill, and Stalin.   It turned vengeance into official   policy,   sanctioning the hatred   which European   civilians   already felt.   More than 16,000,000   people   in East Prussia, Silesia,   Pomerania, and smaller areas were expelled by force   from their land and their houses.   They had to leave most of their possessions behind.   The little they could take with them   was piled high on wagons, handcarts,   and even baby carriages.  

As the farmers trudged along the highways, the cattle followed in the fields beside them.   The Soviet writer, Ilya Ehrenberg,   wrote articles for his army newspaper, Red Flag,   urging Soviet soldiers to rape as many women as they could.   Millions of women were raped.   The poet   Alexander Solzhenitsyn   wrote in shame   about a rape in Prussia   when he was a Soviet officer in 1945.   In his book of poems,   Prussian Knights, he wrote,   It's not been burned, just looted,   rifled,   a moaning by the walls half muffled,   the mothers wounded,   still alive,   The little daughters on the mattress,   dead.  

How many have been on it?   A platoon?   A company perhaps?   The mother begs,   kill me, soldier.   This poem,   by a winner of the Nobel Prize   for literature,   went unpublished   for thirty years.   Until recently, it was only by word-of-mouth   that a few people in Germany and Russia could express what had happened.   Some could not bring themselves   to tell their stories at all.   Anna Tewer   was sent as slave labor to the Ukraine.  

[01:43:42] Unknown:

I haven't talked about it   for years.   I didn't want my upset my children. I thought they should grow up without   without any hate.   I was a 17 year old girl when I was deported to a slave camp in the Ukraine   in Krivoyuk   for two and a half years.   When I came back,   after two and a half years, I weighed thirty kilograms.   I had lost my   homeland.   I had lost most of my relatives,   and I was all by myself in East Germany.   I never knew what happened to my mother   or my grandparents,   and I just wanted to get home,   but we never got home.  

[01:44:37] Unknown:

It was not until nineteen ninety that Johannes Huizing,   first a prisoner of the Americans and then of the French,   who later became the abbot of a monastery on the Rhine,   published a book about his experiences in the American camp at Remagen.   Later on, another former prisoner at Raymagon wrote to him asking why he hadn't described the American bulldozer   that buried living men in their earth holes,   while other prisoners screamed,   'Murderer!   Murderer!'   Heising said,   we tried not to see the suffering in extensor   and dying comrades.  

The horrors of the camp and occupation   themselves   imposed a form of censorship,   because the human mind   protects itself from cruel memories   by refusing to store the worst images.   Even in the German Bundestag,   a quarter of a century later,   Self censorship   canceled reality.   The foreign minister, Willy Brandt,   told the Bundestag   in 1969   that the foreign office had to go into the book publishing business   so that he could instruct a group of German authors   in how to write about the million and a half soldiers still missing   after twenty four years.  

He told the whole nation that this was to prevent the authors from provoking   a public discussion at home and abroad,   which would open old wounds   and would not serve the reconciliation   efforts   of the Federal   Republic's   foreign policy.   At the highest levels of the German government, it was therefore official policy   to say that only the Germans   were guilty for the war.   Only   German atrocities would be counted.   Education and the media   were severely controlled so that the new generation grew up believing   that their ancestors   were uniquely criminal   on a global scale.  

This good speak policy towards history   is still enforced today. In Germany, what is known is not true, and what is true is not known.   But Conrad Adenauer, who in 1945   was the mayor of Cologne,   had not learned good speak.   In 1945,   Adenauer   told an American army officer to his face   that thousands of prisoners   had died because they were held in American camps in conditions contrary   to the Geneva Convention.   He quoted ordinary Germans as saying that the Americans were not much better than the Nazis.   But the Allies, through their German servants,   censored such comments out of the German media.  

So Chancellor Adenauer had to travel beyond Allied control   to the Swiss parliament in Bern   in March   1949,   where he could speak openly   about the German expellees.   Adenauer said, and these are his handwritten notes,   later reprinted in his memoirs.   6,000,000   German   refugees   have vanished from the earth. They are dead,   gone.   This was even more shocking   because the 6,000,000 refugee   deaths were in addition   to the million and a half prisoner deaths.   Germans and allies suspected Adenauer was telling the truth,   but the allies angrily denied it in their newspapers.   A few concerned people in the allies' homelands   spoke out with Adenauer.  

In 1946,   the British writer and publisher Victor Gollancks   made a widely publicized visit   to the British zone where he observed children starving in the rubble,   which had been Dusseldorf   and Hamburg.   In his books, Gollancz severely   criticized   the Allies and demanded food and shelter for the starving and homeless.   The Canadian writer and broadcaster Robert Greer Allen   reads from his report   from Berlin in 1945   where he saw refugees in the station.  

[01:49:17] Unknown:

People sitting on bundles of clothes, crouched by handcarts and little wagons,   but they were all exhausted,   starved, and miserable.   You'd see a child sitting on a roll of blankets,   a girl of perhaps four or five, and her eyes would be only half open, and her head will roll occasionally, and her eyes blink slowly   as though she were only half alive.  

[01:49:42] Unknown:

In the United States Senate,   American senators William Langer and Kenneth Wharey   protested vigorously   against the situation in Germany,   but they were ignored   by the principal   American media.   So they went to see President Truman   to persuade him to appoint Herbert Hoover   to lead a famine relief campaign.   Hoover had led a very   successful food campaign   after World War one, so he was able to start immediately   a campaign for worldwide food relief.   In nineteen forty five, forty six, Germany was excluded from all relief under the Morgenthau plan embedded in JCS   one zero six seven.  

But Hoover and the Canadians   soon extended the aid to the former enemy.   The Canadian government under prime minister Mackenzie King   committed so much food to the worldwide program   that the government had to keep rationing Canadians' food until 1948.   Canadian cabinet official Mitchell Sharp said   when asked why the government did this,   why, it's what we do.   In other words, he was saying,   this is what people do. They always help each other unless they're prevented by force majeure,   such as war.   This enormous relief campaign was carried out by the American and Canadian people   with some help from Argentina   and Australia.  

Hoover   or Hoover food   served to children in schools,   is remembered by many Germans still alive today.   One child sent thanks to Herbert Hoover with this map   showing the route, the food took by train and ship over the Atlantic to a school in Hamburg.   But afraid of public opinion at home, the Allies had to hide what they were doing in Germany.   So they also had to hide that the Allies themselves were causing the suffering.   Therefore, the tremendous efforts of the food campaign   went mainly unrecorded for fifty years,   while writers and filmmakers in the West   published thousands of films and books on their favorite theme,   Germans as savage killers   rampaging   throughout the world,   and they are still saying that.  

After Konrad Adenauer became the chancellor of West Germany in 1949,   he decided to investigate the rumors of mass deaths   among the missing prisoners.   He appointed the Ausschuss fur Kriegsgefangen   and Fraugen   or commission into the prisoners of war question,   which in 1953   produced the names of over 1,154,000   German prisoners still missing or not accounted for   after nine years   of so called peace or pastoralization.   The Adenauer government deposited this list   of missing   POWs   in the United Nations in New York   asking for action.   Nothing was done. Although scores of monuments to German crimes have been erected in Poland, Germany, France, England, Canada, and The United States.  

Because of cold war hostility,   Adenauer's prisoner survey was incomplete in East Germany, and later surveys, including East Germany,   showed that the true figure of the missing prisoners of war was between one and a half and 2,000,000 dead in camps   of The USSR,   The USA, and France.   Among the civilians   in all of Germany,   disease and starvation   drove the death rate higher than it had been since the Middle Ages.   In Berlin, in the 1945,   the death rate among babies and infants was almost one hundred percent.   The few tiny survivors   faced a death rate   10 times the rate in the rest of Europe.  

Eva Berg was the young mother of a baby herself in a small town in Thuringia   in 1945.  

[01:54:10] Unknown:

I had ration card number two, and I was hungry all the time.   It hurts in your stomach.   It aches like like you have a bad toothache in your stomach,   all the time.   Where would the soldier would have met,   an older man who had   ration card number five,   which you could almost figure out on paper when he was going to be dead of starvation.  

[01:54:38] Unknown:

For years, the allies imposed severe trade restrictions   on the Germans to impede their recovery.   Communication   between the occupied zones was banned or reduced,   making it impossible for normal business to revive.   The Allies lifted all machines from many factories and carried them away.   The press was discouraged from reporting these events.   According to Herbert Hoover, he could believe only one tenth   of what he was told by the Morgenthau people, who reported in good speak even to him.   Homegrown   German food was stolen, along with wood, coal,   and almost a third of Germany's best farmland.  

Over $20,000,000,000   in reparations were exacted.   That was the amount that the allies admitted   that they had taken, but the true amount was much greater.   The American historian,   John Gimbel,   found that the allies were hiding thefts   between 4,800,000,000.0   and $12,000,000,000   in intellectual property alone, plus billions more   in confiscated   foreign assets, shipping machinery, food, coal, and timber.   The men having been killed, imprisoned, maimed, or enslaved,   the women took over.   These Trummerfrauen   or rubble women knocked mortar by hand from every single brick to rebuild the demolished cities   brick by brick.  

Starving mothers among them cared for their hungry children in basement ruins,   meagerly supported by the food relief from North America.   The situation in Germany was bizarre.   The Allies were wrecking factories, but demanding reparations from German industry,   starving the people, but forcing them to work,   wreaking deadly vengeance,   but feeding them from sympathy.   The more that the Holy Alliance covered up their crimes with good speak, the more they relied on good speak. The more they relied on it, the more they believed it themselves   until they literally did not know what they were saying.  

At a high level meeting with the Russians in 1947,   during the worst German starvation,   US   secretary of state George Marshall   was so misinformed   that he told the Soviets at the table that the Americans had taken only 10,000,000   in reparations, whereas   economist   historian John Gimbel said that they had taken more than $5,000,000,000   worth, which is 5,000   times as much.   The Soviets and the Americans each accused   the other of lying about their reparations   as the Germans   starved to death in the streets   outside   the door.   Unable to speak to each other honestly,   the former allies mistrusted each other so much that the Western allies began strengthening   Germans   in the three Western zones   so they could become allies against the Soviets in the East.  

The Western Allies reduced reparations,   reformed the inflated currency,   permitted immigration,   and restored communications,   although they did not restore free speech.   The West Germans began the 'Wirtschaftfunder'   or economic miracle.   Starting with starvation   and rubble and virtually no natural resources,   the West Germans within fifteen years   had achieved the economic primacy   in Europe that the allies had fought for two world wars to prevent.  

[01:58:35] Unknown:

Well, there we go.   Not the first economic miracle to have occurred in Germany within a decade,   but   one that certainly smacks of what Blackbird Nine would call   lets you and them fight.   Anyway, look, we will be back with you next week, next Wednesday   at the same time, same place on speakfreeradio.com.   And, yeah, look forward to seeing you then. Take care, folks.