I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Seems to me to be counter-productive, electorally, to require a negative LFT before one is allowed to visit a Care Home, but to charge for it. I lot of visitors to Care Homes are equally aged spouses. Cruel, too.
Also inequitable compared to those who are likely still to be able to get them, for free, from work.
'Margaret Hodge, the veteran Labour MP, told the House of Commons the sanctions were “too narrow” and that a list of 35 oligarchs drawn up in retaliation for the poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny - including the name of Abramovich - should now face restrictions.
Replying to Mrs Hodge, Mr Johnson said: “I understand her concern, but I believe that she's in error in what she says,” adding “Abramovich is already facing sanctions.”
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and former foreign office minister, said Mr Johnson’s claim was “untrue”. Mr Bryant told the Commons: “I don't think Abramovich has been sanctioned incidentally, just to correct the Prime Minister. I don't think he's been sanctioned yet at all.”
Mr Bryant then posted on Twitter: “The PM told the House that Roman Abramovich has already been sanctioned. He hasn’t. It’s untrue.”'
And doesn’t advocate the extra-judicial banning of RT
Jesus wept.
For the umpteenth time Carlotta Vanski ... it's not difficult to legislate a ban on Russia Today. If the law is your only defence here, then we pass a law. It can be done by emergency in a matter of hours.
Whose next?
Who's.
We may have an idealogical difference of opinion here. I happen to think that in order to protect democracy you need to have some restrictions e.g. teaching that paedophilia is okay, or that it's alright to beat up your black neighbour, or that's a good thing to blow up a London bus. You know, that kind of thing.
But these are all restrictions on actions, not on speech.
I'm old enough to rememeber when freedom of speech wasn't a left v right issue. If it has become such now, it's only because the left have given up on the idea.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Interesting R4 more or less on COVID vaccination of children:,TLDR - it’s complicated as 1) the vaccines don’t stop transmissions so they don’t necessarily stop Granny getting it and 2) the benefits to non-at risk children are very small - even in a severe wave vaccinating 1 million children will stop 3 ICU admissions, in a mild wave 0.5.
I haven't listened to this but there is a flaw - vaccines will prevent some infections, which will prevent those children from spreading the virus, so they will stop some grannies getting it. Plus there is likely to be a reduction in viral load where breakthrough infections do occur.
We've had some very confused messaging about vaccines over the last couple of years. I think the general public has had the understanding that all previous vaccinations were 100% effective (probably as no data is ever presented about say the annual flu shot). So now when some people who are vaccinated still get ill with covid, and transmission is shown to be possible even at low levels of infection (in the vaccinated person) then people have made the cognitive leap that the vaccines are failing and vaccination does nothing to stop transmission,
The latter has been a big plank of the 'I don't want to get vaccinated' crowd. And yet its more nuanced. Being vaccinated most likely results in much lower viral load, which meas fewer virus particles to spread, so reduced levels of transmission.
I am amazed that the BBC are making this mistake. Oh, wait, no I'm not.
What is the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, out of interest? 60-70%?
Its complicated. Partly because each year a guessing game happens about which strain or strains will be circulating. Some years the guess is wrong. You also have to ask which measure are you going for? I've seen figures in the 40% quoted, but around 40 to 60% at prevention would be common. Of course the reduction in severe disease is likely more (just like the covid vaccines against later variants, or indeed after a bit of time).
I don't think health services really want this information widely known, as it doesn't sound that impressive...
Interesting R4 more or less on COVID vaccination of children:,TLDR - it’s complicated as 1) the vaccines don’t stop transmissions so they don’t necessarily stop Granny getting it and 2) the benefits to non-at risk children are very small - even in a severe wave vaccinating 1 million children will stop 3 ICU admissions, in a mild wave 0.5.
I haven't listened to this but there is a flaw - vaccines will prevent some infections, which will prevent those children from spreading the virus, so they will stop some grannies getting it. Plus there is likely to be a reduction in viral load where breakthrough infections do occur.
We've had some very confused messaging about vaccines over the last couple of years. I think the general public has had the understanding that all previous vaccinations were 100% effective (probably as no data is ever presented about say the annual flu shot). So now when some people who are vaccinated still get ill with covid, and transmission is shown to be possible even at low levels of infection (in the vaccinated person) then people have made the cognitive leap that the vaccines are failing and vaccination does nothing to stop transmission,
The latter has been a big plank of the 'I don't want to get vaccinated' crowd. And yet its more nuanced. Being vaccinated most likely results in much lower viral load, which meas fewer virus particles to spread, so reduced levels of transmission.
I am amazed that the BBC are making this mistake. Oh, wait, no I'm not.
What is the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, out of interest? 60-70%?
Varies by year, depending on how well they predict what the dominant strains are going to be in advance. I think around 50% is usual; and a quick Google brought up this, which agrees*: https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/inactivated-flu-vaccine
If neither Le Pen or Zemmour get the backers needed to get on the ballot paper then that gives Pecresse an excellent chance. The right would then largely be united behind her and she could even win the first round which would give her big momentum for the runoff
French polls do seem rather more accurate than ours*, and Pecresse is currently languishing in 4th place on barely half of Macrons polling. File it under "not going to happen".
She would simply need to finish second in front of the extreme right. By and large the extreme right would unite behind her; she has made gestures to them, even briefly alluding to Zemmour's "Great Replacement" (conspiracy) theory (before walking it back, saying it was a conspiracy theory after all). And obviously she is not the pro-European, cosmopolitan, and un-Russophile Macron. Problem is nobody on the left would follow. She is this election's liberal bogeyman to them, the role Macron was cast in last time, and bogey enough to make it worth supporting Macron whose liberalism has been abortive at home and abandoned abroad. (Meaning economic liberal, of course.)
Polling shows not much enthusiasm for Melenchon voters to turn out for Macron in a runoff and he is the leading leftwing candidate. If Pecresse got second place and to the runoff, she is basically tied with Zemmour and Le Pen behind Macron, then if she gets Le Pen voters to turn out for her with more enthusiasm than Melenchon voters turn out for Macron then she wins the runoff and the Presidency
If only one of Le Pen and Zemmour make the ballot then which ever one it is comes second. Pecresse is only hope of coming second is if neither make it to the ballot. She might just scrape through if all 3 are on the ballot.
The oligarchs who made their wealth under Yeltsin ... Their wealth generally is not unexplained. We know precisely where it came from. It was also made legally (although disputed by some), in Yeltsin's Russia.
That's not Putin money, quite the opposite in fact which is why so many oligarchs left around 2004 because they were getting threatened by Putin.
You may not like how they made their money. Some people don't like how Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos made theirs. But that doesn't make it illegal, or unexplained, or Putin's. Not does it make anyone who's lived in the UK for eighteen years, paying British taxes, running British companies, employing British staff and even voting in British elections as British citizens "Russian".
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Seems to me to be counter-productive, electorally, to require a negative LFT before one is allowed to visit a Care Home, but to charge for it. I lot of visitors to Care Homes are equally aged spouses. Cruel, too.
Yep. If the care sector is going to require tests for visits, they need to pay for it.
Interesting R4 more or less on COVID vaccination of children:,TLDR - it’s complicated as 1) the vaccines don’t stop transmissions so they don’t necessarily stop Granny getting it and 2) the benefits to non-at risk children are very small - even in a severe wave vaccinating 1 million children will stop 3 ICU admissions, in a mild wave 0.5.
I haven't listened to this but there is a flaw - vaccines will prevent some infections, which will prevent those children from spreading the virus, so they will stop some grannies getting it. Plus there is likely to be a reduction in viral load where breakthrough infections do occur.
We've had some very confused messaging about vaccines over the last couple of years. I think the general public has had the understanding that all previous vaccinations were 100% effective (probably as no data is ever presented about say the annual flu shot). So now when some people who are vaccinated still get ill with covid, and transmission is shown to be possible even at low levels of infection (in the vaccinated person) then people have made the cognitive leap that the vaccines are failing and vaccination does nothing to stop transmission,
The latter has been a big plank of the 'I don't want to get vaccinated' crowd. And yet its more nuanced. Being vaccinated most likely results in much lower viral load, which meas fewer virus particles to spread, so reduced levels of transmission.
I am amazed that the BBC are making this mistake. Oh, wait, no I'm not.
What is the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, out of interest? 60-70%?
Its complicated. Partly because each year a guessing game happens about which strain or strains will be circulating. Some years the guess is wrong. You also have to ask which measure are you going for? I've seen figures in the 40% quoted, but around 40 to 60% at prevention would be common. Of course the reduction in severe disease is likely more (just like the covid vaccines against later variants, or indeed after a bit of time).
I don't think health services really want this information widely known, as it doesn't sound that impressive...
IIRC in my day it was normally North of 60%, but not far North.
The real problem in what I did was when parents started to worry about MMR.
"Lecturers admit self-censoring classes with Chinese students
Academics are self-censoring to avoid causing offence to students from authoritarian states such as China, a new report has said. Two thirds said they believed that academic freedom was under threat in higher education and more than two fifths felt the same about their freedom to select teaching content. The survey of 1,500 social science faculty members across a range of British institutions was conducted by academics from Oxford, Exeter and Portsmouth universities. Record numbers of students from China have applied to study in Britain this autumn, with applicants from the country now outnumbering those from Wales — the number of candidates has quadrupled from 6,900 in 2013 to 28,930 this year." (£)
That's feeble and unnecessary. Pre-pandemic I gave occasional seminars on British life to visiting Chinese groups, including courses in how British democracy worked and the advantages that we see in a multi-party system. Some participants were clearly intrigued, some sceptical ("how far do ordinary people really feel they have an influence?"). I was asked about the Dalai Lama and said truthfully that I'd met him and thought they were missing a trick by not talking to him before he passed on. I never had a complaint. My impression is that Chinese delegations are sensitive to criticism of their country but curious to find out how other countries work.
That's the handy thing about the Dalai Lama though. He'll soon be back again.
A new Russian field hospital on the outskirts of Belgorod, close to Ukraine border. New troops in the rural areas southwest of Belgorod, too. Simple question: if Russian aim is overt occupation of territory already held by republics, what are these new deployments for? 📷: @Maxar
"A large area is being cleared for additional deployments near Pochep. Troop tents and dozens of military vehicles are already present and several areas are being prepared for the arrival of additional equipment and personnel." Simple question: why? 📷: Maxar
This area is near to the major city of Kharkiv, which is not in the Ukrainian-held areas of Donetsk or Luhansk, claimed by the separatist republics. So indicates preparation for a wider offensive.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
Yes but still as kleptocratic. The looting of Russia by the mafioso that we know as "oligarchs" is as bad as anything that has gone on in post colonial Africa. Any dirty money is welcome here, just fork out for your golden visa.
Erm... you know the government has stopped Tier 1 visa applications, right?
How much will I need to invest to be eligible under the Innovator route? You will need a minimum of £50,000 to invest in your business. This is significantly lower than the £200,000 minimum requirement under the previous Entrepreneur visa.
Yes, and reading that it appears that now you need to be approved by an entrepreneur sponsor rather than just chucking cash at the country?
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
That's possibly simplistic, if by citizen you simply mean passport holder. After all, we've effectively been selling passports to the super-rich under the golden passport scheme.
Some Russian criminal comes along and wants to donate lots of money to the Tories, and is rightly told, no. How does taking the same money from the same person in the same circumstances really suddenly become OK if he buys a British passport at the same time?
No I don't simply mean passport holder. He's lived in the UK for eighteen years. He became a citizen by naturalising 7 years after he moved here.
That makes him a Brit and it's racist to say anything else.
Who is he? Temerko?
UK mainstream politicians should not be accepting sizeable donations from anyone who has close links to Russias security forces, however long they have been in the UK or whatever passport they hold.
If people consider that view racist, I would rather be considered racist than pretend it is okay to be accepting these donations.
I really really doubt the same people claiming it is racist to question Tories receiving funds from ex Putin cronies, would give Corbyn the same leeway. I would be consistent on both.
Indeed I would cap donations at £1k per year per person/business/union, to make the whole issue go away.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Yes, and that's why there tends to be different laws for small businesses (see for example Health and Safety regulations). I guess trying to have blanket laws/regulations that cover huge business/organisations (e.g. the NHS) vs the cafe down the road is not the best answer.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Isn't this an argument to start by sorting out insurance against sickness through absence?
The irony of course is that Starmer was talking about getting rid of zero hours contracts, which would make such a policy impossible anyway by eliminating all agency workers...
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Seems to me to be counter-productive, electorally, to require a negative LFT before one is allowed to visit a Care Home, but to charge for it. I lot of visitors to Care Homes are equally aged spouses. Cruel, too.
Yep. If the care sector is going to require tests for visits, they need to pay for it.
Can't find the reference just now, but AIUI, the Govt is making that a requirement for tomorrow onwards
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Seems to me to be counter-productive, electorally, to require a negative LFT before one is allowed to visit a Care Home, but to charge for it. I lot of visitors to Care Homes are equally aged spouses. Cruel, too.
Yep. If the care sector is going to require tests for visits, they need to pay for it.
Can't find the reference just now, but AIUI, the Govt is making that a requirement for tomorrow onwards
Good. Not sure that's been well advertised as R5 has been banging on about this all morning, with lots of folk ringing in about it.
"Boots will begin selling single Covid tests for £5.99 from Wednesday, despite free kits being available via the NHS until 1 April.
Customers can purchase a pack of four lateral flow tests online for £17, or one test for £5.99, including delivery.
Next month people can buy them in-store for £12 for a pack of five." ===========
Going to say an event or seeing a vulnerable loved one and paying a £6 cost for peace of mind isn't too bad, but if you wanted to lateral flow for a period of time or say you have a family and you all wanted to test because you had come into contact with someone who had Covid well the cost will really rack up.
The vast majority of people just aren't going to test anymore.
I wonder how much of the population is still bothering as it is?
I have a box of LFTs from work, and I did use one this morning, but I have to admit that I am getting a little out of the habit at this stage. The remaining stockpile will last through until about the end of April at the rate of two a week; after that, unless my employer decides to keep supplying us with freebies, I'll almost certainly stop.
Throughout the pandemic I think I have used perhaps 4 in toto.
The 5 for £12 (£2.40 each) from Boots has already blown Ed Davey's overblown rhetoric from 2-3 days ago ("4 million face £500 tax on caring") to smithereens; he assumed £5.80 each.
It also makes a nonsense of the £2bn per month cost claimed, since the tests will be a great deal cheaper than that for the government to purchase.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
"Boots will begin selling single Covid tests for £5.99 from Wednesday, despite free kits being available via the NHS until 1 April.
Customers can purchase a pack of four lateral flow tests online for £17, or one test for £5.99, including delivery.
Next month people can buy them in-store for £12 for a pack of five." ===========
Going to say an event or seeing a vulnerable loved one and paying a £6 cost for peace of mind isn't too bad, but if you wanted to lateral flow for a period of time or say you have a family and you all wanted to test because you had come into contact with someone who had Covid well the cost will really rack up.
The vast majority of people just aren't going to test anymore.
I wonder how much of the population is still bothering as it is?
I have a box of LFTs from work, and I did use one this morning, but I have to admit that I am getting a little out of the habit at this stage. The remaining stockpile will last through until about the end of April at the rate of two a week; after that, unless my employer decides to keep supplying us with freebies, I'll almost certainly stop.
Throughout the pandemic I think I have used perhaps 4 in toto.
The 5 for £12 (£2.40 each) from Boots has already blown Ed Davey's overblown rhetoric from 2-3 days ago ("4 million face £500 tax on caring") to smithereens; he assumed £5.80 each.
It's crap in any case, since the public pays anyway, whether as taxpayers or consumers.
But I'm afraid consistent with the magic money tree rhetoric we get from socialists all the time.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I have no depth of knowledge about him, but she made allegations about him and then failed to provide the evidence. She may be right, she may be wrong, but she has failed to substantiate the claims she made and thus lost her case.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
"Boots will begin selling single Covid tests for £5.99 from Wednesday, despite free kits being available via the NHS until 1 April.
Customers can purchase a pack of four lateral flow tests online for £17, or one test for £5.99, including delivery.
Next month people can buy them in-store for £12 for a pack of five." ===========
Going to say an event or seeing a vulnerable loved one and paying a £6 cost for peace of mind isn't too bad, but if you wanted to lateral flow for a period of time or say you have a family and you all wanted to test because you had come into contact with someone who had Covid well the cost will really rack up.
The vast majority of people just aren't going to test anymore.
I wonder how much of the population is still bothering as it is?
I have a box of LFTs from work, and I did use one this morning, but I have to admit that I am getting a little out of the habit at this stage. The remaining stockpile will last through until about the end of April at the rate of two a week; after that, unless my employer decides to keep supplying us with freebies, I'll almost certainly stop.
Throughout the pandemic I think I have used perhaps 4 in toto.
The 5 for £12 (£2.40 each) from Boots has already blown Ed Davey's overblown rhetoric from 2-3 days ago ("4 million face £500 tax on caring") to smithereens; he assumed £5.80 each.
It also makes a nonsense of the £2bn per month cost claimed, since the tests will be a great deal cheaper than that for the government to purchase.
Running a million PCR tests, plus the testing centres aint cheap though.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
Yes but still as kleptocratic. The looting of Russia by the mafioso that we know as "oligarchs" is as bad as anything that has gone on in post colonial Africa. Any dirty money is welcome here, just fork out for your golden visa.
Erm... you know the government has stopped Tier 1 visa applications, right?
How much will I need to invest to be eligible under the Innovator route? You will need a minimum of £50,000 to invest in your business. This is significantly lower than the £200,000 minimum requirement under the previous Entrepreneur visa.
Yes, and reading that it appears that now you need to be approved by an entrepreneur sponsor rather than just chucking cash at the country?
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
That's possibly simplistic, if by citizen you simply mean passport holder. After all, we've effectively been selling passports to the super-rich under the golden passport scheme.
Some Russian criminal comes along and wants to donate lots of money to the Tories, and is rightly told, no. How does taking the same money from the same person in the same circumstances really suddenly become OK if he buys a British passport at the same time?
No I don't simply mean passport holder. He's lived in the UK for eighteen years. He became a citizen by naturalising 7 years after he moved here.
That makes him a Brit and it's racist to say anything else.
Who is he? Temerko?
UK mainstream politicians should not be accepting sizeable donations from anyone who has close links to Russias security forces, however long they have been in the UK or whatever passport they hold.
If people consider that view racist, I would rather be considered racist than pretend it is okay to be accepting these donations.
I really really doubt the same people claiming it is racist to question Tories receiving funds from ex Putin cronies, would give Corbyn the same leeway. I would be consistent on both.
Indeed I would cap donations at £1k per year per person/business/union, to make the whole issue go away.
What evidence fo you have that Temerko has close links to Russia's security forces? Other than he used to be Russian?
Whether they were born in Moscow or Manchester, anyone whom there is actual evidence or especially a conviction for such absolutely is an issue. Casting aspersions due to race is an entirely different matter.
And considering the courts said that Putin was trying to persecute Temerko back in 2005 I'm assuming the evidence from the courts is the polar opposite of your allegations. Unless you have some overwhelming new evidence?
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Isn't this an argument to start by sorting out insurance against sickness through absence?
The irony of course is that Starmer was talking about getting rid of zero hours contracts, which would make such a policy impossible anyway by eliminating all agency workers...
You're right. It would be a sledgehammer and nut job to abolish ALL zero hours contracts. And counter-productive. I've worked on zero-hours contracts quite happily, and employed people on them who were equally happy. (Apparently, anyway!) Bank staff in the NHS and Care worlds are a case in point. It's when the employer (usually) abuses their position that problems arise.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
He did spend many years living in Russia in the 1990s and knows how they think better than most people.
He's spent even longer living here, and still writes nonsense.
'Stop The War' has managed to condemn 'the movement of Russian forces into eastern Ukraine', though it goes on to explain that almost the entire blame rests with NATO, USA and UK. Closing with:
'(We) can best support (local campaigners) by demanding a change in Britain's own policy'.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that died because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have died anyway.
Yes but did the oligarchs get rich by corruption or just coincidentally with corruption?
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
Don't forget that a lot of the media are on their side (with Cadwalladr - she's a journalist, like them, railing against Brexit, like them, and with iSAGE, fighting against the government and working for more restrictions, like them).
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
I then looked her up on wikipedia, where it wasn't referenced. But a google of 'Carole Cadwalladr isage' seems to confirm it.
Right. I've looked into it and it doesn't appear to be quite correct. ISage was actually founded by David King. However, it was partly funded and logistically supported by The Citizens which *was* founded by Carole Cadwalladr. So she has links to its foundations, but isn't actually the founder.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Some might say it's inevitable (and therefore not noteworthy) for a group of academics to be founded by a raging lefty*
*is she? I haven't paid that much attention to her, not sure I even knew about her before the Banks thing other than as someone vaguely nutty, but from your post I assume it to be the case
Macron badly needs either Le Pen or Zemmour to be on the ballot and I expect that behind the scenes efforts are being made to ensure that happens.
The ideal situation for Macron would be for only one of them to qualify as I think that that would pretty much ensure that his opponent in the run-off would be on the far-right.
If neither or both qualify them Pecresse has a reasonable chance of making the final round and Macron would probably prefer not to face her in the run off.
We shall know for certain in 10 days time but my money is firmly on Macron.
They publish updates every Tuesday and Thursday. Since the previous update, which I summarised here, Jadot has cleared the hurdle.
OGH highlights that Le Pen might not get on the ballot, but she's still ahead of Zemmour. On the face of it, Asselineau and Poutou, who both made the ballot in 2017, now look to be in some trouble - that said, the latter got 216 signatures in the final update to go from 357 to 573 last time.
I haven't previously been looking at direct comparisons between 2017 and this time because it looks like then the nomination period was much shorter, but the "final update" numbers may be worth somtething.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
I feel very sorry for whoever sent that email. Almost certainly an honest mistake, but a truly terrible one. This is going to cause an awful lot of trouble.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I think it was more that all the focus was on the economics, and not enough (indeed barely any at all) on the other institutions that enable (reasonably) free and fair capitalism to work. Independent legal system, free press, etc. They gave everyone shares in public enterprises but few had any idea what to do with them and the heights of the economy were quickly captured mostly by former KGB officers.
Gessen's book ' The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia' is well worth a read.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
A silly analogy anyway. As Ireland is to the UK would work, but his simile simply doesn't. At no point since at least 686 has the Isle of Wight been a separate country from the mainland, nor AFAICS would it wish to be. Ukraine has been, very frequently, and does.
"Boots will begin selling single Covid tests for £5.99 from Wednesday, despite free kits being available via the NHS until 1 April.
Customers can purchase a pack of four lateral flow tests online for £17, or one test for £5.99, including delivery.
Next month people can buy them in-store for £12 for a pack of five." ===========
Going to say an event or seeing a vulnerable loved one and paying a £6 cost for peace of mind isn't too bad, but if you wanted to lateral flow for a period of time or say you have a family and you all wanted to test because you had come into contact with someone who had Covid well the cost will really rack up.
The vast majority of people just aren't going to test anymore.
I wonder how much of the population is still bothering as it is?
I have a box of LFTs from work, and I did use one this morning, but I have to admit that I am getting a little out of the habit at this stage. The remaining stockpile will last through until about the end of April at the rate of two a week; after that, unless my employer decides to keep supplying us with freebies, I'll almost certainly stop.
Throughout the pandemic I think I have used perhaps 4 in toto.
The 5 for £12 (£2.40 each) from Boots has already blown Ed Davey's overblown rhetoric from 2-3 days ago ("4 million face £500 tax on caring") to smithereens; he assumed £5.80 each.
It also makes a nonsense of the £2bn per month cost claimed, since the tests will be a great deal cheaper than that for the government to purchase.
Running a million PCR tests, plus the testing centres aint cheap though.
Of course - that has always been the greater expense, much of which could have been dispensed with a lot sooner.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
That's possibly simplistic, if by citizen you simply mean passport holder. After all, we've effectively been selling passports to the super-rich under the golden passport scheme.
Some Russian criminal comes along and wants to donate lots of money to the Tories, and is rightly told, no. How does taking the same money from the same person in the same circumstances really suddenly become OK if he buys a British passport at the same time?
No I don't simply mean passport holder. He's lived in the UK for eighteen years. He became a citizen by naturalising 7 years after he moved here.
That makes him a Brit and it's racist to say anything else.
Who is he? Temerko?
UK mainstream politicians should not be accepting sizeable donations from anyone who has close links to Russias security forces, however long they have been in the UK or whatever passport they hold.
If people consider that view racist, I would rather be considered racist than pretend it is okay to be accepting these donations.
I really really doubt the same people claiming it is racist to question Tories receiving funds from ex Putin cronies, would give Corbyn the same leeway. I would be consistent on both.
Indeed I would cap donations at £1k per year per person/business/union, to make the whole issue go away.
What evidence fo you have that Temerko has close links to Russia's security forces? Other than he used to be Russian?
Whether they were born in Moscow or Manchester, anyone whom there is actual evidence or especially a conviction for such absolutely is an issue. Casting aspersions due to race is an entirely different matter.
And considering the courts said that Putin was trying to persecute Temerko back in 2005 I'm assuming the evidence from the courts is the polar opposite of your allegations. Unless you have some overwhelming new evidence?
From reuters below. According to them he himself accepts he has had formal relations with Russian security services. Claims to have fallen out with Putin and that is the most likely explanation by far but if you were FSB wanting an agent active at the top of UK politics, your cover story would indeed be a fall out.
Really no-one should be able to buy access to our political leaders in the way they do, but to allow people with historic links to a hostile superpower to do so, whether they have fallen out or not, is a massive security risk.
"Temerko said that in those days his status meant he was essentially untouchable. His security ties, he said, once got him access to a meeting of the Russian Security Council, the circle of 24 top Russian officials, chaired by Putin, who steer national security policy."
"One of Temerko’s former business partners in Russia, Leonid Nevzlin, said Temerko had long-standing ties with Russian security agencies, but declined to say whether he believes those ties remain active. Nevzlin and Temerko were shareholders in oil firm Yukos, before Putin’s government seized control of the company. Nevzlin, who was one of the main shareholders, said Yukos’s management brought Temerko in “for several projects as well as for his contacts at the top of the Federal Security Service and the Defence Ministry."
"Asked to respond, Temerko said in a follow-up interview this week that his role at Yukos encompassed the oil company’s connections with the entire Russian state, not just with the Defence Ministry. His relations with people in the security services, he added, were “formal” and not “personal.” He denied having any ongoing links with Russian security services."
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
Typical Putin apologist.
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
The giveaway is that "Red Funnel line". Hiding in plain sight...
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I'm surprised you're suprised. It's been known for years that right-wing talking heads always get their affiliations flagged up by the broadcast media, but left-wing ones rarely do. And the reason why is pretty obvious too.
"Boots will begin selling single Covid tests for £5.99 from Wednesday, despite free kits being available via the NHS until 1 April.
Customers can purchase a pack of four lateral flow tests online for £17, or one test for £5.99, including delivery.
Next month people can buy them in-store for £12 for a pack of five." ===========
Going to say an event or seeing a vulnerable loved one and paying a £6 cost for peace of mind isn't too bad, but if you wanted to lateral flow for a period of time or say you have a family and you all wanted to test because you had come into contact with someone who had Covid well the cost will really rack up.
The vast majority of people just aren't going to test anymore.
I wonder how much of the population is still bothering as it is?
I have a box of LFTs from work, and I did use one this morning, but I have to admit that I am getting a little out of the habit at this stage. The remaining stockpile will last through until about the end of April at the rate of two a week; after that, unless my employer decides to keep supplying us with freebies, I'll almost certainly stop.
Throughout the pandemic I think I have used perhaps 4 in toto.
The 5 for £12 (£2.40 each) from Boots has already blown Ed Davey's overblown rhetoric from 2-3 days ago ("4 million face £500 tax on caring") to smithereens; he assumed £5.80 each.
It also makes a nonsense of the £2bn per month cost claimed, since the tests will be a great deal cheaper than that for the government to purchase.
That's an optimistic view on government procurement cost control.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
I feel very sorry for whoever sent that email. Almost certainly an honest mistake, but a truly terrible one. This is going to cause an awful lot of trouble.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
Oh, OK. Why? (I've just checked my spam folder, which I do rarely. Eyes are now watering somewhat. Good grief, the grammar of some of these young ladies beggars belief.)
(Coda - the apology email also contained a rather cryptic bit of text that the attachment contained information about Attainment 8. I'm almost sure this was a bit of cut and paste text left over from a previous email as it seems entirely irrelevant. Truly someone having a very, very bad day.)
'Stop The War' has managed to condemn 'the movement of Russian forces into eastern Ukraine', though it goes on to explain that almost the entire blame rests with NATO, USA and UK. Closing with:
'(We) can best support (local campaigners) by demanding a change in Britain's own policy'.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
I feel very sorry for whoever sent that email. Almost certainly an honest mistake, but a truly terrible one. This is going to cause an awful lot of trouble.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
Oh, OK. Why? (I've just checked my spam folder, which I do rarely. Eyes are now watering somewhat. Good grief, the grammar of some of these young ladies beggars belief.)
Because once you have been alerted to a data breach, you might be held liable if you continue to hold the data you were sent in error.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
A silly analogy anyway. As Ireland is to the UK would work, but his simile simply doesn't. At no point since at least 686 has the Isle of Wight been a separate country from the mainland, nor AFAICS would it wish to be. Ukraine has been, very frequently, and does.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
Typical Putin apologist.
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
Yes, Putin and the Russian oligarchs are entirely separate entities, not complicit in the slightest. The ones that have moved to the UK should really be regarded as freedom fighters
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
I feel very sorry for whoever sent that email. Almost certainly an honest mistake, but a truly terrible one. This is going to cause an awful lot of trouble.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
Oh, OK. Why? (I've just checked my spam folder, which I do rarely. Eyes are now watering somewhat. Good grief, the grammar of some of these young ladies beggars belief.)
Because once you have been alerted to a data breach, you might be held liable if you continue to hold the data you were sent in error.
One of many ways in which this is a bad law...
On one occasion, many years ago, I accidentally *created* data that I wasn't allowed to know.
'Stop The War' has managed to condemn 'the movement of Russian forces into eastern Ukraine', though it goes on to explain that almost the entire blame rests with NATO, USA and UK. Closing with:
'(We) can best support (local campaigners) by demanding a change in Britain's own policy'.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
A silly analogy anyway. As Ireland is to the UK would work, but his simile simply doesn't. At no point since at least 686 has the Isle of Wight been a separate country from the mainland, nor AFAICS would it wish to be. Ukraine has been, very frequently, and does.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I knew of the mindset, not the name - thanks for that.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Yes, it seems barmy. As you know, I support the liberalisation in general but cannot support this. Apart from being seemingly callous, it seems ludicrously counterproductive.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
No, I didn't know that. How did you find out, out of interest?
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
By the way, doctor, you may be interested to know that my daughter's school followed up the emails yesterday with another contrite email confirming that they were reporting both the original breach and the subsequent cock-up to the ICO. Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
I feel very sorry for whoever sent that email. Almost certainly an honest mistake, but a truly terrible one. This is going to cause an awful lot of trouble.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
Oh, OK. Why? (I've just checked my spam folder, which I do rarely. Eyes are now watering somewhat. Good grief, the grammar of some of these young ladies beggars belief.)
(Coda - the apology email also contained a rather cryptic bit of text that the attachment contained information about Attainment 8. I'm almost sure this was a bit of cut and paste text left over from a previous email as it seems entirely irrelevant. Truly someone having a very, very bad day.)
Would certainly seem an odd place to keep that information if it did have it.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I knew of the mindset, not the name - thanks for that.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
If you are interested, there is more information in Raymond Pearson's The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire, which is the best cultural history of the second half of the Soviet Union that I know of despite its official focus on Soviet imperialism.
'Margaret Hodge, the veteran Labour MP, told the House of Commons the sanctions were “too narrow” and that a list of 35 oligarchs drawn up in retaliation for the poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny - including the name of Abramovich - should now face restrictions.
Replying to Mrs Hodge, Mr Johnson said: “I understand her concern, but I believe that she's in error in what she says,” adding “Abramovich is already facing sanctions.”
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and former foreign office minister, said Mr Johnson’s claim was “untrue”. Mr Bryant told the Commons: “I don't think Abramovich has been sanctioned incidentally, just to correct the Prime Minister. I don't think he's been sanctioned yet at all.”
Mr Bryant then posted on Twitter: “The PM told the House that Roman Abramovich has already been sanctioned. He hasn’t. It’s untrue.”'
And doesn’t advocate the extra-judicial banning of RT
Jesus wept.
For the umpteenth time Carlotta Vanski ... it's not difficult to legislate a ban on Russia Today. If the law is your only defence here, then we pass a law. It can be done by emergency in a matter of hours.
Whose next?
Who's.
We may have an idealogical difference of opinion here. I happen to think that in order to protect democracy you need to have some restrictions e.g. teaching that paedophilia is okay, or that it's alright to beat up your black neighbour, or that's a good thing to blow up a London bus. You know, that kind of thing.
A state-owned broadcaster in Putin's pocket on this occasion when he has so flagrantly breached international law? I think a ban, which could be temporary, would be a good move.
Is there any evidence that RT is making a blind bit of difference to opinion here?
Bans can be counter-productive.
Focus should be on meaningful sanctions. Russian Tory donors are a much bigger issue than RT imo.
I suspect it's a bit like when some extremist party like the BNP was occasionally given some airtime on Question Time - they basically did more harm to themselves through expressing their opinions and positions publically than if they hadn't been given the airtime at all.
RT is probably similar. Perhaps in "normal" times when there's a much less pro-Russian connection to the headlines noone would really notice much but you only have to watch a few minutes of their output during this crisis to see how much of a state TV mouthpiece it really is.
Probably better to air it and laugh at it than to shut it down and thus suggest they're saying something you don't want people to know about.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Isn't this an argument to start by sorting out insurance against sickness through absence?
The irony of course is that Starmer was talking about getting rid of zero hours contracts, which would make such a policy impossible anyway by eliminating all agency workers...
You're right. It would be a sledgehammer and nut job to abolish ALL zero hours contracts. And counter-productive. I've worked on zero-hours contracts quite happily, and employed people on them who were equally happy. (Apparently, anyway!) Bank staff in the NHS and Care worlds are a case in point. It's when the employer (usually) abuses their position that problems arise.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
I think SSP should be reformed. If my employer can manage to give me full pay when sick for the first 12 months, then surely other employers can at least do this for the first month or two.
I know that certain posters will bang on about people throwing sickies, but ultimately these people get found out, and get moved on.
I don't however think that covid should be a special category of sick pay.
Sometimes smaller employers, with only, say, two or three staff find its difficult to manage with 33-50% of their staff missing. They need to replace them, especially if the remaining staff member has a holiday booked.
Isn't this an argument to start by sorting out insurance against sickness through absence?
The irony of course is that Starmer was talking about getting rid of zero hours contracts, which would make such a policy impossible anyway by eliminating all agency workers...
You're right. It would be a sledgehammer and nut job to abolish ALL zero hours contracts. And counter-productive. I've worked on zero-hours contracts quite happily, and employed people on them who were equally happy. (Apparently, anyway!) Bank staff in the NHS and Care worlds are a case in point. It's when the employer (usually) abuses their position that problems arise.
When I retire full time I would be more than happy with a zero hours contract, in fact I was hoping to get one.
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Out of interest, why was sick pay not reformed under New Labour? It seems an obvious thing to have done.
This is a gross simplification, but we essentially have ended up with a class driven system of sick pay, where middle class generally get paid for days they are ill and working class don't.
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
Typical Putin apologist.
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
Yes, Putin and the Russian oligarchs are entirely separate entities, not complicit in the slightest. The ones that have moved to the UK should really be regarded as freedom fighters
What a silly little man you are.
He's got to be paid surely? No one would write that volume of sycophantic crap for free
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I'm surprised you're suprised. It's been known for years that right-wing talking heads always get their affiliations flagged up by the broadcast media, but left-wing ones rarely do. And the reason why is pretty obvious too.
Richard Madeley actually flagged up Susan Michie’s political affiliations and the guy who headed up Isage also had his New Labour affiliations flagged up on one of the news channels.
Both replied with plenty of bluster.
But this is fair to point out. Would we accept politically active Tories views so readily ? I wouldn’t.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
A silly analogy anyway. As Ireland is to the UK would work, but his simile simply doesn't. At no point since at least 686 has the Isle of Wight been a separate country from the mainland,
We can only dream. Status similar to Jersey might be quite attractive; we'll coin it in from dodgy money, while you can defend us for free.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
If only they could simply step into a shower for the past two decades.
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
This Banks, that has no Russian links?
I'm still confused by this as I hadn't realised the IoW was Russian! Presumably that's why we built all those fortresses in the Solent years ago?
A silly analogy anyway. As Ireland is to the UK would work, but his simile simply doesn't. At no point since at least 686 has the Isle of Wight been a separate country from the mainland,
We can only dream. Status similar to Jersey might be quite attractive; we'll coin it in from dodgy money, while you can defend us for free.
Really? Last time Jersey was attacked, we didn't even bother to try and defend it. At least in Hong Kong an effort was made, albeit an ultimately futile one.
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I knew of the mindset, not the name - thanks for that.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
If you are interested, there is more information in Raymond Pearson's The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire, which is the best cultural history of the second half of the Soviet Union that I know of despite its official focus on Soviet imperialism.
Thanks for that. Hmmmm - seems to be a very popular title! 4 different authors (at least) have used it...
I know there are lots of people here who welcome the end to Covid restrictions, but how many actually think it's a good moment to scrap sick pay for people who catch it, so that those on low pay without supportive employers have to go to work and infect colleagues? It seems to me penny-pinching gone mad, and I have Conservative-voting friends who are equally perplexed.
Yes, it seems barmy. As you know, I support the liberalisation in general but cannot support this. Apart from being seemingly callous, it seems ludicrously counterproductive.
It seems to demonstrate a couple of assumptions by government: 1 That living with Covid is possible because Covid is no longer any more of a concern than the common cold (as often parroted by a few here) 2 That common sense by both employers and employees is robust 3 The our crap Statutory Sick Pay scheme is more than sufficient
In summary - Covid is a cold & SSP is generous so get back to work you plebs. Or in reality, we *hope* we can now see Covid fade into the backround like Norovirus and too many people either have no economic choice other than to work when sick and infectious (with whatever, not specifically Covid) or are forced to do so by scumbag employers.
'Margaret Hodge, the veteran Labour MP, told the House of Commons the sanctions were “too narrow” and that a list of 35 oligarchs drawn up in retaliation for the poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny - including the name of Abramovich - should now face restrictions.
Replying to Mrs Hodge, Mr Johnson said: “I understand her concern, but I believe that she's in error in what she says,” adding “Abramovich is already facing sanctions.”
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and former foreign office minister, said Mr Johnson’s claim was “untrue”. Mr Bryant told the Commons: “I don't think Abramovich has been sanctioned incidentally, just to correct the Prime Minister. I don't think he's been sanctioned yet at all.”
Mr Bryant then posted on Twitter: “The PM told the House that Roman Abramovich has already been sanctioned. He hasn’t. It’s untrue.”'
And doesn’t advocate the extra-judicial banning of RT
Jesus wept.
For the umpteenth time Carlotta Vanski ... it's not difficult to legislate a ban on Russia Today. If the law is your only defence here, then we pass a law. It can be done by emergency in a matter of hours.
Whose next?
Who's.
We may have an idealogical difference of opinion here. I happen to think that in order to protect democracy you need to have some restrictions e.g. teaching that paedophilia is okay, or that it's alright to beat up your black neighbour, or that's a good thing to blow up a London bus. You know, that kind of thing.
A state-owned broadcaster in Putin's pocket on this occasion when he has so flagrantly breached international law? I think a ban, which could be temporary, would be a good move.
Is there any evidence that RT is making a blind bit of difference to opinion here?
Bans can be counter-productive.
Focus should be on meaningful sanctions. Russian Tory donors are a much bigger issue than RT imo.
I suspect it's a bit like when some extremist party like the BNP was occasionally given some airtime on Question Time - they basically did more harm to themselves through expressing their opinions and positions publically than if they hadn't been given the airtime at all.
RT is probably similar. Perhaps in "normal" times when there's a much less pro-Russian connection to the headlines noone would really notice much but you only have to watch a few minutes of their output during this crisis to see how much of a state TV mouthpiece it really is.
Probably better to air it and laugh at it than to shut it down and thus suggest they're saying something you don't want people to know about.
Same with GBeebies
"GBeebies" wasnt even amusing last autumn.
Was and is. Production values and news values equally as childish. I have no problem whatsoever that the channel exists, but that doesn't stop me being as bemused by it as I once was by L!ve TV.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I knew of the mindset, not the name - thanks for that.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
If you are interested, there is more information in Raymond Pearson's The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire, which is the best cultural history of the second half of the Soviet Union that I know of despite its official focus on Soviet imperialism.
Thanks for that. Hmmmm - seems to be a very popular title! 4 different authors (at least) have used it...
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
If only they could simply step into a shower for the past two decades.
Three decades really.
I said at the time that the best investment that the West could have made in Russia would have been paying $50K a year to each an every policeman, judge, prosecutor in Russia. Just be honest and do your job. In the context of the place that would have made the judicial system un bribeable.
Instead billions was "lent" to be pissed up against the wall. Only a minority of the money was around long enough to be actually stolen.....
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
There is actually a name for that phenomenon in Russian historiography - 'the Dallas complex,' the idea formed by ordinary Soviets from watching the show that everyone in the West lived like a Texas oil baron.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
I knew of the mindset, not the name - thanks for that.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
If you are interested, there is more information in Raymond Pearson's The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire, which is the best cultural history of the second half of the Soviet Union that I know of despite its official focus on Soviet imperialism.
Thanks for that. Hmmmm - seems to be a very popular title! 4 different authors (at least) have used it...
Andrew Roth @Andrew__Roth · 20m One big surprise from this week is how the EU (and particularly Germany), usually viewed as more dovish or riven by internal disagreements on Russia, have put together tougher sanctions packages than the US and certainly the UK
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
In which case I am hoping to wake up and learn that politics from 2015 onwards was just a dream.....
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I'm surprised you're suprised. It's been known for years that right-wing talking heads always get their affiliations flagged up by the broadcast media, but left-wing ones rarely do. And the reason why is pretty obvious too.
Richard Madeley actually flagged up Susan Michie’s political affiliations and the guy who headed up Isage also had his New Labour affiliations flagged up on one of the news channels.
Both replied with plenty of bluster.
But this is fair to point out. Would we accept politically active Tories views so readily ? I wouldn’t.
I remember the reaction when Staines (Guido Fawkes) was introduced as the "Right wing blogger... ", after the usual non-political introductions.
He replied with "I'm happy to be here with the noted Left-wing commentator X"
Which upset everyone. The X in question was from the left hand side of the Labour party, IIRC.
"Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West: Our response to this crisis in Ukraine has been to react with mistrust and abuse, and with blatant attempts to worsen the situation, writes Peter Hitchens"
Hitchens is just a loudmouth contrarian, trying to get clicks and likes for the Mail. We should all have learned during the pandemic, that such types generate way more heat than light.
Oh, and the horseshoe of political views, where the left and right end up almost meeting, is definitely true when it comes to issues like Russia.
On that note, I shall take a few days off from here. Ukranian situation is way too close to home, to want to get into arguments with random internet people.
I actually agree with quite a lot of what Hichens says there, but then he ruins it all near the end, talking about "anti-Putin hysteria", and the implication that the West should do nothing now. The West certainly carries a fair level of responsibility for driving Russia in general, and Putin in particular, away from a pro-Western view, for economic, legal, and strategic reasons, but that doesn't at all mean it shouldn't try and stand up to him or deter him further, now we are in this current situation.
Certainly the west's attitude to post Communist Russia in the nineties was a massive strategic error. The greed to buy up Russian state assets at knockdown prices led to the mafioso oligarchs of today. A problem in Ukraine and other former Soviet territories too.
One way to upset Putin is to expose the corruption and opulent greed of his kleptocratic friends and courtiers. I hope that we have our own trolls planting this stuff all over Russian Social Media. Navalny is no paladin, but I see why Putin found his campaign such a threat. Russia needs a few Bolsheviks agitating against their new aristocracy.
There's a theory that the Soviet Union really did think that their propaganda about capitalism was correct ie that everything was owned by a tiny minority and that the vast majority owned nothing and were exploited.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
I have theory.
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men - Who drink a lot. - Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done. - Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important. - Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads. - Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
In which case I am hoping to wake up and learn that politics from 2015 onwards was just a dream.....
Perhaps the key to this is getting Patrick Duffy to take a shower.
Then everyone in Russia will believe in.... The Great Reset....
Mr. Malmesbury, it's the same way, writ small, that Corbyn marching with the hammer and sickle and banners of Lenin and Stalin barely due media comment whereas a Conservative leader would be (rightly) crucified in the press for attending a march with swastikas and Hitler banners.
Mr. Malmesbury, it's the same way, writ small, that Corbyn marching with the hammer and sickle and banners of Lenin and Stalin barely due media comment whereas a Conservative leader would be (rightly) crucified in the press for attending a march with swastikas and Hitler banners.
Sigh.
It is very important to remember the *intentions*
When you are being shot in the back of the head, and your body kicked into a trench on top of the rest of your family, the intentions of the guy who told the bloke with the gun what to do.... are crucial.
Mind you, Hitler thought he was saving the human race. Well, the bits that he thought needed saving, anyway.
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
I didn’t see your post yesterday but can imagine just how worrying it would be for you and the family so excellent news that your grandson is out of danger.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I'm surprised you're suprised. It's been known for years that right-wing talking heads always get their affiliations flagged up by the broadcast media, but left-wing ones rarely do. And the reason why is pretty obvious too.
Richard Madeley actually flagged up Susan Michie’s political affiliations and the guy who headed up Isage also had his New Labour affiliations flagged up on one of the news channels.
Both replied with plenty of bluster.
But this is fair to point out. Would we accept politically active Tories views so readily ? I wouldn’t.
I remember the reaction when Staines (Guido Fawkes) was introduced as the "Right wing blogger... ", after the usual non-political introductions.
He replied with "I'm happy to be here with the noted Left-wing commentator X"
Which upset everyone. The X in question was from the left hand side of the Labour party, IIRC.
Its great that we have dedicated commentators / broadcasters / bloggers from across the spectrum. That includes lunatics like Guido and Bastani. Both are explicit about who they are and what the support (both - the Tories!)
What isn't great is when we have groups that purport to be either non-aligned or non-political like the Taxpayers Alliance...
F1: Pre-season track running is from today until the 25th. Not to be confused with pre-season testing, which is 10-12 March.
First race weekend is Bahrain, 18-20 March.
We will get brief summaries every night this week but it probably won't say much as many cars will be sandbagging or other tricks to hide their reality.
The only thing we may be able to identify is any car that is a total mess.
I've just discovered that isage was founded by Carole Cadwalladr. Others may be aware, but I was totally in the dark. How has this not been more prominent? If there was a campaign group founded by a notorious right-wing campaigner/journalist - Toby Young, say - well, they'd be given airtime, but the background to the group would always be made clear.
Cookie - you are very slow to the party on this one! Its notable how much posting the iSAGErs have done about Codswallop and her travails after allegedly lying about people she doesn't like (Banks).
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
I haven't actually followed isage's tweeting as I know it will just annoy me.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I'm surprised you're suprised. It's been known for years that right-wing talking heads always get their affiliations flagged up by the broadcast media, but left-wing ones rarely do. And the reason why is pretty obvious too.
Richard Madeley actually flagged up Susan Michie’s political affiliations and the guy who headed up Isage also had his New Labour affiliations flagged up on one of the news channels.
Both replied with plenty of bluster.
But this is fair to point out. Would we accept politically active Tories views so readily ? I wouldn’t.
I remember the reaction when Staines (Guido Fawkes) was introduced as the "Right wing blogger... ", after the usual non-political introductions.
He replied with "I'm happy to be here with the noted Left-wing commentator X"
Which upset everyone. The X in question was from the left hand side of the Labour party, IIRC.
Its great that we have dedicated commentators / broadcasters / bloggers from across the spectrum. That includes lunatics like Guido and Bastani. Both are explicit about who they are and what the support (both - the Tories!)
What isn't great is when we have groups that purport to be either non-aligned or non-political like the Taxpayers Alliance...
Everyone claims to be independent. Call 'em what they are. And if it upsets them - even better.
When this is done, it does seem to upset some on the left more. Because they are not used to it, probably.
I recall one occasion when Yasmin Alibhai-Brown got upset by being called left-wing....
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
Typical Putin apologist.
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
It is indisputable that in the post-soviet chaos, many of the current oligarchs found (legal, sometimes) ways to loot the state, a process which inevitably impoverished their fellow citizens as they sought to move that loot out of Russia. That they were cheered on (and often aided & abetted) by a west that was convinced (as in post-invasion Iraq) that bluntly applied libertarianism would result in peace and prosperity for all is also indisputable, although how much actual affect on the outcome the west’s (predominantly the USA’s in fact) meddling had is up for debate.
Putin blaming “oligarchs” for the current parlous state of Russia when he himself is the uber-oligarch, with personal control of more wealth than possibly any other individual on the planet is of course utterly ludicrous.
Mr. Malmesbury, it's the same way, writ small, that Corbyn marching with the hammer and sickle and banners of Lenin and Stalin barely due media comment whereas a Conservative leader would be (rightly) crucified in the press for attending a march with swastikas and Hitler banners.
The Hammer and Sickle was once the symbol of our noble allies; despite appeasement and Hitlergruße by various British folk, the swastikas and Hitler banners are not symbols of former allies.
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
I didn’t see your post yesterday but can imagine just how worrying it would be for you and the family so excellent news that your grandson is out of danger.
Thank you so much
He was admitted to A & E at 2.00pm on Monday but whilst the nurses and his mother were with him he was not seen by a doctor until 7.00am yesterday and it took until lunchtime for the medics to conclude he needed an emergency appendix operation which they did in the afternoon and he is awaiting the removal of his drain before being discharged home
It was a worrying time but we were able to look after his sister (10) as the schools are on half term
Liz Truss rejects suggestions from @KayBurley that the Tories should hand back £2m the party has received from Russian donors. The foreign secretary says the donors are British citizens and “not necessarily friends of Vladimir Putin”. https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1496382942599340032
More blood and soil racism?
Any British citizens are British donors not Russian donors.
And the billions made in in the Russian oligarchy suddenly become lovely, pure British billions? So that’s what money laundering means.
Yes.
People made billions in the nineties under Yeltsin. What are we supposed to do to reverse that?
Twenty years later, it's happened already. It is, what it is.
Lovely freshly laundered billions of British money...
The Russians that lived immiserated lives and died early because of the raping of their economy by oligarchs would have lived immiserated lives and died early anyway.
Typical Putin apologist.
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
It is indisputable that in the post-soviet chaos, many of the current oligarchs found (legal, sometimes) ways to loot the state, a process which inevitably impoverished their fellow citizens as they sought to move that loot out of Russia. That they were cheered on (and often aided & abetted) by a west that was convinced (as in post-invasion Iraq) that bluntly applied libertarianism would result in peace and prosperity for all is also indisputable, although how much actual affect on the outcome the wests meddling had is up for debate.
Putin blaming “oligarchs” for the current parlous state of Russia when he himself is the uber-oligarch, with personal control of more wealth than possibly any other individual on the planet is of course utterly ludicrous.
The problem was that the West *didn't* meddle in Russian affairs. Just opened markets and trade with them*. There was very little done in even suggesting what to do.
*I knew a chap who did very well out of that. Pre-revolution, the French in particular, had been lending quite a bot of money to Russia. In the revolution the debt was defaulted on. As part of restoring Russia to international finance, the debt was resumed. The chap in question had been collecting pre-revolution government debt certificates as tradable art works - a few pounds each. Suddenly they were worth face value.....
Comments
I'm old enough to rememeber when freedom of speech wasn't a left v right issue. If it has become such now, it's only because the left have given up on the idea.
I don't think health services really want this information widely known, as it doesn't sound that impressive...
https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/inactivated-flu-vaccine
*or at least, does not disagree
That's not Putin money, quite the opposite in fact which is why so many oligarchs left around 2004 because they were getting threatened by Putin.
You may not like how they made their money. Some people don't like how Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos made theirs. But that doesn't make it illegal, or unexplained, or Putin's. Not does it make anyone who's lived in the UK for eighteen years, paying British taxes, running British companies, employing British staff and even voting in British elections as British citizens "Russian".
Wordle2 71 3/6 #wordle2
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
https://www.wordle2.in
The real problem in what I did was when parents started to worry about MMR.
Anyone who thinks iSAGE are just about covid has not looked hard enough. (Not suggesting that's you by the way).
Wouldn't do much for their credibility if it was widely known, given her appalling track record.
UK mainstream politicians should not be accepting sizeable donations from anyone who has close links to Russias security forces, however long they have been in the UK or whatever passport they hold.
If people consider that view racist, I would rather be considered racist than pretend it is okay to be accepting these donations.
I really really doubt the same people claiming it is racist to question Tories receiving funds from ex Putin cronies, would give Corbyn the same leeway. I would be consistent on both.
Indeed I would cap donations at £1k per year per person/business/union, to make the whole issue go away.
The irony of course is that Starmer was talking about getting rid of zero hours contracts, which would make such a policy impossible anyway by eliminating all agency workers...
https://unherd.com/thepost/ignore-the-doomerists-boris-is-right-to-lift-all-restrictions/
I then looked her up on wikipedia, where it wasn't referenced. But a google of 'Carole Cadwalladr isage' seems to confirm it.
But I'm afraid consistent with the magic money tree rhetoric we get from socialists all the time.
I've always assumed they were malign. I'm just surprised this fact hasn't been more widely reported by those giving isage airtime.
I am sure it will be really really difficult for a connected billionaire to convince anyone on this list to endorse them.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/endorsing-bodies-innovator/innovator-endorsing-bodies
It might even cost them two or three hours gains on their investment portfolio to smooth things over.
Whether they were born in Moscow or Manchester, anyone whom there is actual evidence or especially a conviction for such absolutely is an issue. Casting aspersions due to race is an entirely different matter.
And considering the courts said that Putin was trying to persecute Temerko back in 2005 I'm assuming the evidence from the courts is the polar opposite of your allegations. Unless you have some overwhelming new evidence?
I've worked on zero-hours contracts quite happily, and employed people on them who were equally happy. (Apparently, anyway!)
Bank staff in the NHS and Care worlds are a case in point.
It's when the employer (usually) abuses their position that problems arise.
'(We) can best support (local campaigners) by demanding a change in Britain's own policy'.
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/stop-the-war-statement-on-ukraine-22-02-22/
Fascinating to think that one of their top useful idiots wasn't far off becoming PM in 2017.
Meanwhile, the town's facebook site is awash with baffled people with little or no connection to the school wondering why they have been getting emails from it.
And when communism collapsed the 'capitalism' which was introduced was their propaganda version rather than any of the versions which did exist in western countries.
*is she? I haven't paid that much attention to her, not sure I even knew about her before the Banks thing other than as someone vaguely nutty, but from your post I assume it to be the case
They publish updates every Tuesday and Thursday. Since the previous update, which I summarised here, Jadot has cleared the hurdle.
OGH highlights that Le Pen might not get on the ballot, but she's still ahead of Zemmour. On the face of it, Asselineau and Poutou, who both made the ballot in 2017, now look to be in some trouble - that said, the latter got 216 signatures in the final update to go from 357 to 573 last time.
I haven't previously been looking at direct comparisons between 2017 and this time because it looks like then the nomination period was much shorter, but the "final update" numbers may be worth somtething.
One thought - make sure you have deleted absolutely any copy you have including purging your trash and checking spam if you haven't already done so. You do not want that information on your computer.
Gessen's book ' The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia' is well worth a read.
Really no-one should be able to buy access to our political leaders in the way they do, but to allow people with historic links to a hostile superpower to do so, whether they have fallen out or not, is a massive security risk.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/britain-eu-johnson-russian/
"Temerko said that in those days his status meant he was essentially untouchable. His security ties, he said, once got him access to a meeting of the Russian Security Council, the circle of 24 top Russian officials, chaired by Putin, who steer national security policy."
"One of Temerko’s former business partners in Russia, Leonid Nevzlin, said Temerko had long-standing ties with Russian security agencies, but declined to say whether he believes those ties remain active. Nevzlin and Temerko were shareholders in oil firm Yukos, before Putin’s government seized control of the company. Nevzlin, who was one of the main shareholders, said Yukos’s management brought Temerko in “for several projects as well as for his contacts at the top of the Federal Security Service and the Defence Ministry."
"Asked to respond, Temerko said in a follow-up interview this week that his role at Yukos encompassed the oil company’s connections with the entire Russian state, not just with the Defence Ministry. His relations with people in the security services, he added, were “formal” and not “personal.” He denied having any ongoing links with Russian security services."
The problem in Russia is the terrible state that the Soviet Union was in which is why it collapsed, and the cronyism and corruption and mismanagement of Putin.
Not simply "oligarchs" as much as Putin has tried to rewrite history to make them the problem.
(I've just checked my spam folder, which I do rarely. Eyes are now watering somewhat. Good grief, the grammar of some of these young ladies beggars belief.)
(Coda - the apology email also contained a rather cryptic bit of text that the attachment contained information about Attainment 8. I'm almost sure this was a bit of cut and paste text left over from a previous email as it seems entirely irrelevant. Truly someone having a very, very bad day.)
During Soviet times, state TV used to broadcast Dallas and Dynasty. IIRC they were actually pirating them...
Anyway, the idea was to convince The! True! Soviet! People! of the evils of the West.
My theory is that, instead, they accidentally indoctrinated a generation with the following understanding of Capitalism -
- Business consists entirely of shouty arguments in a big office between powerful men
- Who drink a lot.
- Murder, bribery and general corruption is how you get stuff done.
- Betraying your business partners on a weekly basis is important.
- Women's place is having affairs, big hair and big shoulder pads.
- Modernist Mafiia Roccco is the height of style for interiors.
It matches the observed results perfectly.
One of many ways in which this is a bad law...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk_(Ukraine–Central_Powers)
Not to be confused with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk a month later.
What a silly little man you are.
It is credited with playing an important part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, as people decided that their lives didn't really measure up to this standard...
Which led to some interesting discussions.
Every Russian I have talked to about my theory thinks it fits the oligarchs perfectly.
Maybe what we need to do is get https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Duffy to tell the Russians that invading Ukraine is "bad for business". Since Larry is sadly not available.
https://www.locrating.com/Blog/attainment-8-and-progress-8-explained.aspx
PCRs should have been chopped off a while back, I still think there's a place for LFTs.
This is a gross simplification, but we essentially have ended up with a class driven system of sick pay, where middle class generally get paid for days they are ill and working class don't.
Both replied with plenty of bluster.
But this is fair to point out. Would we accept politically active Tories views so readily ? I wouldn’t.
First race weekend is Bahrain, 18-20 March.
On a personal note our grandson's (8) emergency appendix operation yesterday afternoon was successful and the surgeon commented on how brave our grandson had been and that he had found him to be in urgent need of the operation
I would just like to thank all the posters who expressed such kind comments yesterday which was appreciated
1 That living with Covid is possible because Covid is no longer any more of a concern than the common cold (as often parroted by a few here)
2 That common sense by both employers and employees is robust
3 The our crap Statutory Sick Pay scheme is more than sufficient
In summary - Covid is a cold & SSP is generous so get back to work you plebs.
Or in reality, we *hope* we can now see Covid fade into the backround like Norovirus and too many people either have no economic choice other than to work when sick and infectious (with whatever, not specifically Covid) or are forced to do so by scumbag employers.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soviet-Empire-Studies-Contemporary-History/dp/0312174055/ref=sr_1_2?crid=GN77RLQDMWJ&keywords=Rise+and+fall+of+the+Soviet+empire&qid=1645611779&sprefix=rise+and+fall+of+the+soviet+empire,aps,61&sr=8-2
I said at the time that the best investment that the West could have made in Russia would have been paying $50K a year to each an every policeman, judge, prosecutor in Russia. Just be honest and do your job. In the context of the place that would have made the judicial system un bribeable.
Instead billions was "lent" to be pissed up against the wall. Only a minority of the money was around long enough to be actually stolen.....
Andrew Roth
@Andrew__Roth
·
20m
One big surprise from this week is how the EU (and particularly Germany), usually viewed as more dovish or riven by internal disagreements on Russia, have put together tougher sanctions packages than the US and certainly the UK
https://twitter.com/Andrew__Roth/status/1496426176293842947
He replied with "I'm happy to be here with the noted Left-wing commentator X"
Which upset everyone. The X in question was from the left hand side of the Labour party, IIRC.
Then everyone in Russia will believe in.... The Great Reset....
It is very important to remember the *intentions*
When you are being shot in the back of the head, and your body kicked into a trench on top of the rest of your family, the intentions of the guy who told the bloke with the gun what to do.... are crucial.
Mind you, Hitler thought he was saving the human race. Well, the bits that he thought needed saving, anyway.
What isn't great is when we have groups that purport to be either non-aligned or non-political like the Taxpayers Alliance...
The only thing we may be able to identify is any car that is a total mess.
When this is done, it does seem to upset some on the left more. Because they are not used to it, probably.
I recall one occasion when Yasmin Alibhai-Brown got upset by being called left-wing....
Putin blaming “oligarchs” for the current parlous state of Russia when he himself is the uber-oligarch, with personal control of more wealth than possibly any other individual on the planet is of course utterly ludicrous.
He was admitted to A & E at 2.00pm on Monday but whilst the nurses and his mother were with him he was not seen by a doctor until 7.00am yesterday and it took until lunchtime for the medics to conclude he needed an emergency appendix operation which they did in the afternoon and he is awaiting the removal of his drain before being discharged home
It was a worrying time but we were able to look after his sister (10) as the schools are on half term
*I knew a chap who did very well out of that. Pre-revolution, the French in particular, had been lending quite a bot of money to Russia. In the revolution the debt was defaulted on. As part of restoring Russia to international finance, the debt was resumed. The chap in question had been collecting pre-revolution government debt certificates as tradable art works - a few pounds each. Suddenly they were worth face value.....