Best Of

Seems @DefenceHQ realized it’s big video “reveal” showing British engineers at a workshop repairing vehicles inside Ukraine was quite a flub, as it revealed identifiable features and featured @LukePollard going so far as to describe the surroundings, making it likely to be geolocated and targeted by Russia. The post has been taken down but the damage is done.
https://x.com/ChristopherJM/status/2030276494036222120?s=20

Luke Pollard and his team are about to get their arse handed to them and rightly so. A proper fuck up. Way worse than half the nonsense we’ve been talking about re: Iran this past week.

So The Guardian were accompanying Pollard and now have also blown the geolocation of this repair facility. The dimensions of the building, the windows and the sunlight all help identify the blueprints and thus the location.

https://x.com/warmatters/status/2030331070999073023?s=20

Head in hands....Must do it for the gram...after the RAF broadcasting secret details on unencrypted message systems etc.

Clowns. Absolute clowns.

A reminder we are led by morons. And the other options are no smarter.

Kevin Schofield
@KevinASchofield

That unprecedented second state visit was totally worth it.

https://x.com/KevinASchofield/status/2030391983517086025

Skyr has, as is his wont, chosen the very worst of all political options. He has grovelled to Trump, humiliaitingly, and yet when it came to policy - letting the Americans use our bases to take out a vile fascist regime - he has said No, at leasr for a few days, because Ed Mliband doesn't like it and we have to honour the views of Mauritius and China

This is Starmer in a nutshelll. A weird toxic terrible mix of bad emotional instincts and even worse political judgement

He should either have kept his distance from Trump, refusing to grovel., and then disallowed use of the bases; or he shoulda gone all in and been a loyal ally, and made the obeisance, and said "Diego Garcia of course, my liege"

So now he is publicly treated like dog shit, despite the grovelling, and gets nothing in return, at all

He is uniquely unsuited to be prime minister, yet he is prime minister. He shames the country

There's a grain of truth in that, but not much more..

Starmer is a fairly weak PM, but it would take an exceptional leader to deal well with the current lunatic The White House, and we have not had one of those in decades.

The UK is on a fundamentally weak position, post Brexit, in dealing with the US. The PM of Spain can trash talk Trump, secure in the knowledge that any retaliation against him is one against the entire EU.

We don't have that - and we are also more entangled economically with the US.

It's only half a century since the end of empire, and we aren't culturally accustomed, in the manner of a nation like S Korea, to dealing with a hegemon on which we depend. They have at least half a millennium of dealing with made emperors while retaining a semblance of dignity. We're still getting used to it.

I'd prefer to be one if the leaders of the European counterweight, but our voters opted out of that.

The EU is not a 'counterweight'. It is a disorganised rabble. It doesn't have a single coherent policy on the US actions in Iran nor even on Ukraine - a war literally on its doorstep. Why on earth would we want to be part of that?

If you want to see cheap ads, ITV4, its basically just ads for charities and ads about creating ads on that channel.

It is why linear tv is buggered. The only people watching it are old pepole.

Bad news for the Tories and Reform if relying on old people means you're doomed.

With half the Tory vote (at least) currently over with Reform and uncertainty that they can be tempted back, now might be a time to pivot and try to go after younger voters again, or at least working age voters. I expect they might even be trying this.

Unfortunately doing that would probably lose them half their remaining vote (eg taking an anti-NIMBY stance), with pay off likely not to be immediate with the young and moderately aged, which would be hard for them to sustain at a time they need to be showing recovery agaisnt Reform.

Kevin Schofield
@KevinASchofield

That unprecedented second state visit was totally worth it.

https://x.com/KevinASchofield/status/2030391983517086025

Skyr has, as is his wont, chosen the very worst of all political options. He has grovelled to Trump, humiliaitingly, and yet when it came to policy - letting the Americans use our bases to take out a vile fascist regime - he has said No, at leasr for a few days, because Ed Mliband doesn't like it and we have to honour the views of Mauritius and China

This is Starmer in a nutshelll. A weird toxic terrible mix of bad emotional instincts and even worse political judgement

He should either have kept his distance from Trump, refusing to grovel., and then disallowed use of the bases; or he shoulda gone all in and been a loyal ally, and made the obeisance, and said "Diego Garcia of course, my liege"

So now he is publicly treated like dog shit, despite the grovelling, and gets nothing in return, at all

He is uniquely unsuited to be prime minister, yet he is prime minister. He shames the country

There's a grain of truth in that, but not much more..

Starmer is a fairly weak PM, but it would take an exceptional leader to deal well with the current lunatic The White House, and we have not had one of those in decades.

The UK is on a fundamentally weak position, post Brexit, in dealing with the US. The PM of Spain can trash talk Trump, secure in the knowledge that any retaliation against him is one against the entire EU.

We don't have that - and we are also more entangled economically with the US.

It's only half a century since the end of empire, and we aren't culturally accustomed, in the manner of a nation like S Korea, to dealing with a hegemon on which we depend. They have at least half a millennium of dealing with made emperors while retaining a semblance of dignity. We're still getting used to it.

I'd prefer to be one if the leaders of the European counterweight, but our voters opted out of that.

Opinium
Ref 29 (-1)
Lab 21 (+3)
Con 16 (-2)
Grn 14 (+1)
LD 10 (-2)

Remarkably.
That poll puts the Conservatives as SIXTH largest Party in seats.

If you put it in electoral calculas it gives 373 seats for reform, labour down 344 seats to 68, lib dem 54 and conservatives 33

If you think that will be the result I am sure you will get excellent odds

And 52 Green. 44 SNP.
I never said I believed it would be the result. However, it does just show how precarious the positions of Labour and the Tories are.
And just how low Reform can go and still win a majority if no one else breaks free of the pack.

And if there is no anti Reform tactical voting but there likely will be. Nonetheless overall a good Opinium poll for Farage, even if 1% down still enough on its own for a Reform majority and Starmer as Labour break free of the pack and squeeze the Tories and LDs a little and remain well ahead of the Greens with Starmer's keeping out of US and Israeli offensive strikes on Iran

Whats that about Starmer keeping out of US offensive strikes on Iran with 4 B1 bombers each with a payload of 24 cruise missiles is readying to fly and attack Iran from Fairford ?

They are not allowed to strike Tehran buildings only missile launchers

You cannot be so naive to believe that surely

Starmer has made clear US bombers can only use UK bases for defensive operations not offensive operations