Britons living in EU can’t keep pre-Brexit rights, European court advised Blow to UK nationals as advocate general finds against Alice Bouilliez, who objected to losing voting rights
I kept being corrected earlier this year by PB Brexiteers that advised me if I wanted to retire to the EU there were few Brexit incumbetences I would encounter. I knew then they were talking ****, but I bowed to wiser heads. It turns out they were wrong after all.
What a surprise. Has a single Brexit claim been validated/vindicated?
The one about a German-dominated bloc having pernicious geopolitical and economic effects?
And Brexit altered that how?
We've taken back control of our policies so we don't have to follow the German dominated bloc anymore.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
Surely whatever results in less death and suffering is the best outcome?
Over what timescale, though?
Every conflict in history has (I suspect) been opposed by people who sincerely thought that not responding to an aggressor would prevent death and suffering. Peace in our time and all that.
Unfortunately, there's plenty of historical experience that shows that often, that just leads to a worse conflict and more human misery a few years later.
But it's a damn difficult call, and not making the call is a call in itself. Selfishly, all I can feel is relief that I've never wanted to be in the big chair for that sort of thing and pity for those who will suffer the consequences of even a "right" call.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
Dan Rivers @danriversitv 41m Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?
This is a sombre moment that should not be trivialised but I too shall do so anyway as it's how I roll - architecturally it seems quite exciting. Good light fixtures too. I can see why the makers of the Metro series are Ukrainian.
If you ever get the chance to travel to Baku, their underground is a sight to behold.
As are the women
The mix of Azeri, Persian, Slavic, Armenian, Jewish and weird proto-Caucasian genes makes for some of the most beautiful people on earth, especially if you go into the mountains
You get these raven haired young olive skinned Persian women yet with Slavic cheekbones and Nordic blue eyes, and then sometimes you get red haired girls with dark Iranian eyes and Russian slenderness. Intoxicating
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
Dan Rivers @danriversitv 41m Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?
This is a sombre moment that should not be trivialised but I too shall do so anyway as it's how I roll - architecturally it seems quite exciting. Good light fixtures too. I can see why the makers of the Metro series are Ukrainian.
If you ever get the chance to travel to Baku, their underground is a sight to behold.
IIRC Stalin had the Moscow metro dug deep as a bomb shelter pre WWII and it became the standard way of building metros in the Soviet Union. The grandiose halls were for extra space.
I've just realised that I'm feeling the same anxious fury that I haven't felt since 9/11.
I think Putin has just overtaken Bin Laden as the 21st Century's No1 villain.
I don't feel as anxious but if anything I feel rather more disgusted. It may be the fact that this is a known enemy whereas that just felt so weird. I fear the worst but hope for the best. Putin could well have bitten off more than he can chew in the long run but even if that's true it's hardly much consolation for the horror and destruction to be unleashed on millions of people who have done nothing to deserve it.
BTW does anyone know why Hong Kong's health system is reportedly being overwhelmed with covid ?
Omicron and a year of vaccination shouldn't give too many patients and they're not even getting many infections compared to what other countries have had.
It's because they have a mad policy of admitting to hospital EVERYONE thar tests positive for Covid. So they get huge backlogs and gurneys in car parks. And due to stifling Chinese protocol no one can admit this is a ridiculous error, so really bad cases are going untreated in the chaos
Could be solved in a minute if they just said "the former policy was bollocks, stop"
For instance you might have a policy that worked when no-one was getting Covid but obviously banananananas when loads of peope have Covid.
Loads of those cases will be mild/very mild/asymptomatic - so what is the thinking insisting they attend hospital? Batshit crazy.
Back when no one was getting covid and you are running a zero covid policy it was a sensible idea. Anyone with covid gets whipped off to isolation. No chance of then wandering around and spreading it.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
Surely whatever results in less death and suffering is the best outcome?
Well yes, but what is that?
Arguably, Hitler defeating all of Europe including Britain and ruling Eurasia by 1942 would have resulted in "less death"
Is that better than what happened in the end? No.
Not convinced by that. His plans for the ost empire were not exactly in the best interests of the inhabitants. And what would have stopped the holocaust?
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Britons living in EU can’t keep pre-Brexit rights, European court advised Blow to UK nationals as advocate general finds against Alice Bouilliez, who objected to losing voting rights
I kept being corrected earlier this year by PB Brexiteers that advised me if I wanted to retire to the EU there were few Brexit incumbetences I would encounter. I knew then they were talking ****, but I bowed to wiser heads. It turns out they were wrong after all.
What a surprise. Has a single Brexit claim been validated/vindicated?
Yes, if we Brexit, we Brexit. And the EU has no legal power over us. That is all it ever needed to be, and it is glorious to be free
Free of what? Mythical straight bananas? Yet look at the freedoms we have lost.
I have not lost a single freedom.
Really? I have personally been impacted by several. Various ECJ pension rulings which previously protected UK citizens and for which UK citizens now have no appeal process (not me personally, but campaign I am involved in), travel to EU countries limitations which has really badly impacted several friends of mine. For a short while we were impacted by the COVID travel restrictions re free travel between EU countries using an EU COVID pass, taking pets abroad, carnets, etc. The list goes on.
As I said I have seen no disruption to my travel at any time outside of the covid issues. And even there I was able to travel a lot of the time as I was an essential worker. I just spent a fair bit of time in hotels. But otherwise I cannot in all honesty think of a single way in which Brexit has removed a single freedom or made anything more difficult for me.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
To be fair, I recall Johnson saying we wouldn’t be disclosing what exactly else we were sending.
Glad to hear Anti tank weapons seem to be working well. One (unconfirmed) report was approx 350 Russian soldiers killed.
Dan Rivers @danriversitv 41m Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?
This is a sombre moment that should not be trivialised but I too shall do so anyway as it's how I roll - architecturally it seems quite exciting. Good light fixtures too. I can see why the makers of the Metro series are Ukrainian.
Soviet metros are generally pretty cool. As well as outrageous architecture, Kyiv Metro has the deepest tube station in the world, at Arsenalna. It's probably a bit full at the moment.
I see what you mean - even the simple ones are pretty striking
I went there a few years ago. No "Mind the Gap" or "See it Say it Sorted" announcements every five seconds either.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
If the tanks go into Kyiv they are going to get Molotovs on their heads. And grannies taking one with them. Unfortunately, the best bet for the Ukrainians is to send as many Russian boys home in zinc-lined coffins as they can. Good news they have retaken that airfield though.
I know we are not supposed to say this but I do genuinely feel sorry for the Russian grunt soldiers. Particularly if that anecdote earlier today about the platoon being captured because they didn't realise they were actually supposed to shoot Ukrainians was true. I can quite imagine they had been told by their commanders that they were liberating their fellow countrymen and would be welcomed with open arms. I assume that by now they have been thoroughly disabused of that particular notion.
I feel the exact same sympathy. The average Russian GI has no interest in slaughtering Ukrainian women and children. Or even men. They are cousins. There is no beef.
It's like asking the USA to invade and conquer Canada. How many American soldiers would feel relaxed and happy about torching some town in British Colombia?
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
I think not. The risks of capture would be too high. Possibly some freelancers, but not serving military.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
Dan Rivers @danriversitv 41m Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?
This is a sombre moment that should not be trivialised but I too shall do so anyway as it's how I roll - architecturally it seems quite exciting. Good light fixtures too. I can see why the makers of the Metro series are Ukrainian.
Soviet metros are generally pretty cool. As well as outrageous architecture, Kyiv Metro has the deepest tube station in the world, at Arsenalna. It's probably a bit full at the moment.
I see what you mean - even the simple ones are pretty striking
I went there a few years ago. No "Mind the Gap" or "See it Say it Sorted" announcements every five seconds either.
Then how on earth did you mind the gap? Sounds like a nightmare.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
See the case of Professor David Southall on wiki.
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
Dan Rivers @danriversitv 41m Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?
This is a sombre moment that should not be trivialised but I too shall do so anyway as it's how I roll - architecturally it seems quite exciting. Good light fixtures too. I can see why the makers of the Metro series are Ukrainian.
Soviet metros are generally pretty cool. As well as outrageous architecture, Kyiv Metro has the deepest tube station in the world, at Arsenalna. It's probably a bit full at the moment.
I see what you mean - even the simple ones are pretty striking
I went there a few years ago. No "Mind the Gap" or "See it Say it Sorted" announcements every five seconds either.
Any signs suggesting you report “unwanted staring”?
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
Maybe those loonies who thought Trump would precede the Apocalypse were on to summat after all?
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Well we don't have such a position, also I am very confident many people have said previously or would agree now that you don't get to be PM without being a shit, so I am wuite sure you are wrong to think it would cause a brouhaha. You have to be a political animal after all.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
See the case of Professor David Southall on wiki.
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
it’s not a diagnosis, rather a tentative but not in reasonable speculation about the possibility that Putin is ill.
Has everybody in Moscow understood that Putin has just killed the Nato Russia Founding Act? That Nato would now be free to deploy unlimited troops in all new Nato members since 1997, including even nuclear weapons?
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
To be fair, I recall Johnson saying we wouldn’t be disclosing what exactly else we were sending.
Glad to hear Anti tank weapons seem to be working well. One (unconfirmed) report was approx 350 Russian soldiers killed.
I agree with geoffw. He's overplayed his hand. His people and troops aren't prepared for mass casualties. And he's united NATO. And most of the rest of the West too. The Chinese are less than fulsome too. Hopefully, he's finished Trump too. Though that may be overly positive.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
You want to call the bluff of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button? The 4 horsemen are having a good laugh.
Worth noting that the UK government is in the process of passing laws that would make the kinds of anti-war protests we’ve seen in Russia today potentially criminal acts.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
I suspect you don’t become a successful politician, anywhere, without that fundamental trait to a greater or lesser degree. It’s probably needed to carry out the job properly. Certainly to scale the greasy pole in the first place, I would imagine.
Interesting opening - basically that altMedia has gotten it all wrong because of a reflexive disbelief of anything said by mainstream media and politicians say, and mainstream media gotten it all wrong because of laziness.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Every senior politician is a total shit. In modern politics the world over it is the only way you get to that position.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Via Reuters: UNHCR estimates that 100,000 Ukrainians are already internally displaced, and several thousand have so far fled the country, mostly across the Moldovan and Romanian borders.
A good thread that generally agrees with the PB consensus, as all good threads should. Putin has over-reached
"How does Putin's war not turn into a protracted insurgency, with infinite supplies of weapons flowing into Ukraine across the border from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania - all countries protected by NATO? 1/x"
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
See the case of Professor David Southall on wiki.
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
it’s not a diagnosis, rather a tentative but not in reasonable speculation about the possibility that Putin is ill.
A fairly constant think, bad in my childhood, was trying to work out which member of the Politburo were
- Dead - Dying - Semi-dead - Reseting - Pining for the fjords
Based on their appearance at May Day parades.
A solemn chap on the BBC would give his view as the cameras paned along the collection on top of the Kremlin.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Well that is a complete non sequitur. I get you were trying to troll, but you're not likely to stir up outrage off a basic fact that the position you listed doesn't exist (though has been incorrectly referred to before). Perhaps you should have tried saying 'de facto' English PM to make your point.
A point which was ridiculous anyway, unless you genuinely believe no one has suggested our political leaders are shits before.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Well we don't have such a position, also I am very confident many people have said previously or would agree now that you don't get to be PM without being a shit, so I am wuite sure you are wrong to think it would cause a brouhaha. You have to be a political animal after all.
Yes, but there's a distinction between being a Political Animal (who can do shitty things) and being A Shit (as your core identity).
TMexPM is an example. Far from innocent, and clearly capable of extreme prejudice on demand, but not Fundamentally A Shit. Same for Thatcher and Major. Cameron strikes me as borderline- it was always a bit unclear how much of his unpleasantness was duty and how much was pleasure.
For some politicians, naming no Alexanders, behaving badly towards underlings is the whole point of getting to the top.
United States government official We have been transparent with the world — we shared declassified intelligence about Russia’s plans and cyber attacks and false pretexts — so that there can be no confusion or cover up.
A huge cheer to the Russian protesters and Russian soldiers who surrender rather than firing on their neighbours.
Putin's failure to get a casus belli, hindered in part by the US/UK's unusual transparency in public intelligence sharing, will not help his cause.
I'm assume Russia's overwhelming firepower will win out, but as we know well - taking a country is much easier than holding it costlessly against an armed local population.
One vaguely well-informed person I spoke with today who is involved in private banking said a number of Russian emigre clients believe Putin may be terminally ill and that this may be guiding his actions - he wants to leave with a bang and a serious legacy of triumph. He has certainly already lived quite a bit longer than the average Russian man
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Well we don't have such a position, also I am very confident many people have said previously or would agree now that you don't get to be PM without being a shit, so I am wuite sure you are wrong to think it would cause a brouhaha. You have to be a political animal after all.
Yes, but there's a distinction between being a Political Animal (who can do shitty things) and being A Shit (as your core identity).
TMexPM is an example. Far from innocent, and clearly capable of extreme prejudice on demand, but not Fundamentally A Shit. Same for Thatcher and Major. Cameron strikes me as borderline- it was always a bit unclear how much of his unpleasantness was duty and how much was pleasure.
For some politicians, naming no Alexanders, behaving badly towards underlings is the whole point of getting to the top.
I'm not sure I think either position requires someone to be A Shit, capital letters and all. But I am sure people have said it of both and wouldn't get their knickers in a twist about the suggestion.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
See the case of Professor David Southall on wiki.
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
it’s not a diagnosis, rather a tentative but not in reasonable speculation about the possibility that Putin is ill.
A fairly constant think, bad in my childhood, was trying to work out which member of the Politburo were
- Dead - Dying - Semi-dead - Reseting - Pining for the fjords
Based on their appearance at May Day parades.
A solemn chap on the BBC would give his view as the cameras paned along the collection on top of the Kremlin.
Including what was the significance of X being third from the Supreme Leader, rather than fourth, ISTR.
I've just realised that I'm feeling the same anxious fury that I haven't felt since 9/11.
I think Putin has just overtaken Bin Laden as the 21st Century's No1 villain.
I don't feel as anxious but if anything I feel rather more disgusted. It may be the fact that this is a known enemy whereas that just felt so weird. I fear the worst but hope for the best. Putin could well have bitten off more than he can chew in the long run but even if that's true it's hardly much consolation for the horror and destruction to be unleashed on millions of people who have done nothing to deserve it.
We have to hope for hubris.
He's forfeited the left-wingers who tend to get accused of nostalgic Russophilia - we heard from Corbyn earlier, and we had John McDonnell at the CLP meeting this evening, and he was utterly scathing - said he has numerous Ukrainian friends and they were terrified, and we needed to do all we could to support the countrye, including sanctions, freezing of oligarch assets and possible troop reinforcements to NATO members nearby. Also argued for actively supporting opponents of the Russian regime so as to help build up internal pressure on Putin.
Britons living in EU can’t keep pre-Brexit rights, European court advised Blow to UK nationals as advocate general finds against Alice Bouilliez, who objected to losing voting rights
I kept being corrected earlier this year by PB Brexiteers that advised me if I wanted to retire to the EU there were few Brexit incumbetences I would encounter. I knew then they were talking ****, but I bowed to wiser heads. It turns out they were wrong after all.
What a surprise. Has a single Brexit claim been validated/vindicated?
Yes, if we Brexit, we Brexit. And the EU has no legal power over us. That is all it ever needed to be, and it is glorious to be free
Free of what? Mythical straight bananas? Yet look at the freedoms we have lost.
I have not lost a single freedom.
Enjoy queuing with the Russians in the immigration slow lane on your next European holiday.
Ah, the dirty non-EU foreigners, not the clean EU foreigners. Barely human, right?
Had to do that on the way into Romania - when we were still in the EU. Anyone with a slightly darker skin than mine got the third degree.
There are definitely risk tiers, as I suspect there have always been. I have travelled to Schengen post-brexit and been waved through whilst friends on other non-EU passports were asked to show onward travel plans and proof of accomodation. The FBPErs schtick about “treated like eritreans” or whatever it is, could not be more wrong.
In fact, due perhaps to covid, the only long queues I have experienced have been at Heathrow. Why are half the electronic gates always closed? Are they broken, or are they not really automatic? Is a human pressing a button?
Good question about those stupid gates! Re: covid, it paradoxically made travelling easier, by keeping away the crowds. The last time I was at LHR, half of PB was decrying travel and travellers and pledging not to take a flight again until 2046. It was wonderful in many ways, everything was open in the airport but without the faff of queueing for stuff.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Well that is a complete non sequitur. I get you were trying to troll, but you're not likely to stir up outrage off a basic fact that the position you listed doesn't exist (though has been incorrectly referred to before). Perhaps you should have tried saying 'de facto' English PM to make your point.
A point which was ridiculous anyway, unless you genuinely believe no one has suggested our political leaders are shits before.
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
If Putin is right about Ukies and Russians being brothers... are Russian soldiers prepared to kill their brothers? Have seen one story about a recon squadron surrendering.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
See the case of Professor David Southall on wiki.
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
it’s not a diagnosis, rather a tentative but not in reasonable speculation about the possibility that Putin is ill.
A solemn chap on the BBC would give his view as the cameras paned along the collection on top of the Kremlin.
They were on top of Lenin’s tomb, which always was an unfortunate location…
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
You want to call the bluff of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button? The 4 horsemen are having a good laugh.
I doubt he really has his finger any closer to the nuclear button than Trump did.
Do you think that the bandits propping him up want a nuclear war?
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
Simple evidence of that. They attacked in the daylight. The British and American armies have not done that since Korea because at night their technological advantage is so much greater. Russia simply doesn't have that advantage.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
I don't think that I have. Can you cite an example?
Didn’t you say you think the Queen has a condition of the spine (sorry, can’t remember the technical term!).
I know rather too much than I would like about Parkinson's. A sign is an overly 'frozen' face, lacking the tiny little tics of sub-vocal communication. Putin certainly shows that, but it could just as easily be a sign of his utterly cold personality. He is like a 'reptile' was one description of a politician who met him years ago (Albright I think). Cold. Cold. Cold.
As to diagnosing via TV. iirc Paxman's doctor rang him one day a couple of years ago to say he had seen him do Uni Challenge that night and he thought Paxman should come in for some tests as he may have PD. Same thing I believe - stiff face, slight vocal issues.
United States government official We have been transparent with the world — we shared declassified intelligence about Russia’s plans and cyber attacks and false pretexts — so that there can be no confusion or cover up.
Worth noting that the UK government is in the process of passing laws that would make the kinds of anti-war protests we’ve seen in Russia today potentially criminal acts.
They would never do that would be the cry, no doubt. Not worth the risk or temptation of it I'd say. In an emergency powers can be had pretty quickly.
If there is to be a reaction against all things even vaguely Putiny, perhaps we can include a reaction against creeping authoritarianist tendencies as part of that.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
You want to call the bluff of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button? The 4 horsemen are having a good laugh.
I doubt he really has his finger any closer to the nuclear button than Trump did.
Do you think that the bandits propping him up want a nuclear war?
My guess is he doesn't literally have a big red button, bond villain style, that he can use to activate the nuclear deterrent without his generals being able to refuse the order.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
You want to call the bluff of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button? The 4 horsemen are having a good laugh.
I doubt he really has his finger any closer to the nuclear button than Trump did.
Do you think that the bandits propping him up want a nuclear war?
PB’s very own expert on Russia’s nuclear command system. Who’d’ve thunk it? Yokes, your services are no longer required.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
I think not. The risks of capture would be too high. Possibly some freelancers, but not serving military.
I have no knowledge beyond an interest in military history and a bit of a soft spot for that of the Special Forces, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are operators (I think that’s what they call themselves, isn’t it?) out there, despite the risks.
For one thing, what’s the point of having some of the most capable soldiers on the planet and not using them in a conflict like this?
Maybe I’m wrong.
Someone I know vaguely was in the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, did a few tours in Afghan. He worked closely with the SAS and SBS out there. Said they’re great guys but made of something else entirely. One SAS guy broke his forearm. Just wrapped duct tape around it and carried on.
In his current apparent state of mind and health, it must surely be a good thing that Macron seems to have a decent line of communication with him. Biden, Johnson, Scholz and others have had very little spoken contact with him recently, as he sits in his bunker.
Of the 5 (official) nuclear powers, only France is ruled by someone who is not a malicious liar, incompetent, senile or a total shit.
lol. Naive
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Imagine the brouhaha if a PBer asserted that you don't become English PM without that fundamental trait.
Every senior politician is a total shit. In modern politics the world over it is the only way you get to that position.
It's always been that way - "Put not your trust in princes".
Simply to survive, those at the top politically have to balance the a whole range of competing interests. Which means that you might be the favoured person one minute, out on your ear the next.
On any other day, what Starmer did to the SCG and Labour’s Stop the War Putin apologists today would be massive news. No other leader of the party has had such a grip on it since Blair was at his peak (no, that is not me claiming Starmer is Blair 2).
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
Simple evidence of that. They attacked in the daylight. The British and American armies have not done that since Korea because at night their technological advantage is so much greater. Russia simply doesn't have that advantage.
I expect the home team are making the most of the dark.
Naughty NATO had a *significant* number of aircraft in the airspace of a non-NATO country today. Without permission. For a *long* time. How not to make friends.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
Our own Foxy has given such opinions before.
I don't think that I have. Can you cite an example?
Didn’t you say you think the Queen has a condition of the spine (sorry, can’t remember the technical term!).
Yes, she has a dowagers hump, has lost height and gets back pain. She has osteoporosis of the spine. I think I once commented on Corbyns squint.
I wouldn't make a psychological diagnosis, but sometimes physical ones are obvious.
It was very widely rumoured that Robert Mugabe had advanced syphilis some years ago. Whilst it couldn't happen to anyone nicer, if true, it's clearly the type of syphilis that makes you live a mighty long time.
former CIA Director David Petraeus tells @MarkUrban01: “What was achieved today was less than I expected. We’ve all known Russian’s can overwhelm the Ukrainians…but it sounds as if that the Ukrainians have delayed them fairly impressively.” #Newsnight
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
Simple evidence of that. They attacked in the daylight. The British and American armies have not done that since Korea because at night their technological advantage is so much greater. Russia simply doesn't have that advantage.
More to it than technology, Western armies are trained to fight at night.
United States government official We have been transparent with the world — we shared declassified intelligence about Russia’s plans and cyber attacks and false pretexts — so that there can be no confusion or cover up.
Brexit gas clouded too many people's judgement. The EU position until a few hours ago was that Putin wouldn't invade so for some people that becomes some kind of unchallengable word of God. It wouldn't matter if there was a Russian tank rolling down Park Lane with Putin sticking his head out of the top, until the EU acknowledge it for some people it just doesn't exist because the EU can't possibly ever be wrong.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
To be fair, I recall Johnson saying we wouldn’t be disclosing what exactly else we were sending.
Glad to hear Anti tank weapons seem to be working well. One (unconfirmed) report was approx 350 Russian soldiers killed.
I agree with geoffw. He's overplayed his hand. His people and troops aren't prepared for mass casualties. And he's united NATO. And most of the rest of the West too. The Chinese are less than fulsome too. Hopefully, he's finished Trump too. Though that may be overly positive.
The fact that we haven’t heard from the sinister ‘Mr Ed’ is perhaps telling.
On any other day, what Starmer did to the SCG and Labour’s Stop the War Putin apologists today would be massive news. No other leader of the party has had such a grip on it since Blair was at his peak (no, that is not me claiming Starmer is Blair 2).
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
If Putin is right about Ukies and Russians being brothers... are Russian soldiers prepared to kill their brothers? Have seen one story about a recon squadron surrendering.
Quite, though doesn't that go both ways? Neither side is going to be to be gung-ho about killing their near kin, but the aggressor's army will feel the most shame.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
But it's not the bad guys who are getting shot. They're conscripts. It seems a bit off to be celebrating the slaughter of a bunch of young Russians who have no choice.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
To be fair, I recall Johnson saying we wouldn’t be disclosing what exactly else we were sending.
Glad to hear Anti tank weapons seem to be working well. One (unconfirmed) report was approx 350 Russian soldiers killed.
I agree with geoffw. He's overplayed his hand. His people and troops aren't prepared for mass casualties. And he's united NATO. And most of the rest of the West too. The Chinese are less than fulsome too. Hopefully, he's finished Trump too. Though that may be overly positive.
The fact that we haven’t heard from the sinister ‘Mr Ed’ is perhaps telling.
Naughty NATO had a *significant* number of aircraft in the airspace of a non-NATO country today. Without permission. For a *long* time. How not to make friends.
Which non-NATO country and whose friendship are you concerned about losing?
On any other day, what Starmer did to the SCG and Labour’s Stop the War Putin apologists today would be massive news. No other leader of the party has had such a grip on it since Blair was at his peak (no, that is not me claiming Starmer is Blair 2).
The Marx Left are on the run now. Totally found out for their bonkers beliefs and weird theories of the world where they stand around Trafalgar Square under the hammer and sickle.
It would be absolutely glorious if the Ukrainians are able to hold Putin off for long enough for the west to get significant anti aircraft and tank busters to them.
Maybe Russian military hardware isn't as modern and sophisticated as we've been led to believe.
Simple evidence of that. They attacked in the daylight. The British and American armies have not done that since Korea because at night their technological advantage is so much greater. Russia simply doesn't have that advantage.
More to it than technology, Western armies are trained to fight at night.
Yup - which was why that simulator system they had built a while back was such a big deal. They'd seen the effect of integrated night fighting in the First Gulf War and wanted some of that.
#BREAKING: Russia expected to begin large-scale bombardment of Ukrainian capital Kiev around 03:00am Ukraine time- CNN correspondent citing intelligence report
On any other day, what Starmer did to the SCG and Labour’s Stop the War Putin apologists today would be massive news. No other leader of the party has had such a grip on it since Blair was at his peak (no, that is not me claiming Starmer is Blair 2).
The Marx Left are on the run now. Totally found out for their bonkers beliefs and weird theories of the world where they stand around Trafalgar Square under the hammer and sickle.
A retired neurologist told me that he thinks Putin has Parkinson's. Quite advance and he is taking *all* the drugs to suppress symptoms.
Oh dear, the similarities keep piling up.
It would certainly explain why he had to go *now* rather than wait until Nord Stream 2 was up and running, say.
No serious doctor would carry out the diagnosis of a medical condition by news media.
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
That's true most of the time, but I'm pretty sure there have been one or two cases where a medical condition has been spotted by someone watching TV that hadn't been noticed before.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
But it's not the bad guys who are getting shot. They're conscripts. It seems a bit off to be celebrating the slaughter of a bunch of young Russians who have no choice.
Who gives a fuck what you think. You were unaware that 4 million Ukrainians died in a genocidal famine, you geriatric old twat
United States government official We have been transparent with the world — we shared declassified intelligence about Russia’s plans and cyber attacks and false pretexts — so that there can be no confusion or cover up.
I find the idea you need to be a shit to succeed in politics depressing, but also wrong.
In the UK, only Boris is a fully-fledged shit. Cameron, Blair, and Wilson were borderline, and for different reasons, Brown. Mostly, British PMs are non-shits. At least in the post-war period.
The US might be less lucky. Obviously Trump, and probably Clinton. But Biden no, nor Obama, nor the Bushes, nor Reagan, Carter or even Ford. Before that, though, a string of shits: Nixon, LBJ, JFK.
France seems to prefer shits. Macron is a shit. Sarkozy, Chirac, Mitterrand, d’Estaing - all shits. Hollande not. I don’t have a view on Pompidou, and I am torn about De Gaulle.
A good thread that generally agrees with the PB consensus, as all good threads should. Putin has over-reached
"How does Putin's war not turn into a protracted insurgency, with infinite supplies of weapons flowing into Ukraine across the border from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania - all countries protected by NATO? 1/x"
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
The entire civilized world ought to call his small dicked bluff.
You want to call the bluff of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button? The 4 horsemen are having a good laugh.
I doubt he really has his finger any closer to the nuclear button than Trump did.
Do you think that the bandits propping him up want a nuclear war?
My guess is he doesn't literally have a big red button, bond villain style, that he can use to activate the nuclear deterrent without his generals being able to refuse the order.
At least, I hope not...
In the Soviet era and afterwards, they professed to be horrified by the laxity of Western control of nuclear weapons in terms of release. After some early scares in the 60s with field commanders and nukes, they claimed they tightened up massively.
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
Farage needs calling out for what he is. It would be pretty handy if it wasn't the usual suspects doing it.
Well I have no voice or standing compared to Gauke but I am certainly not one of the usual suspects and I would agree that Farage is behaving like a fuckwit and what he is doing - or rather saying - is close to treasonous. You don't give succour to the enemy in a time of war and for better or worse that is where we are now.
I really really really hope that US/UK and other willing NATO partners with effective special forces are busily supplying Ukrainian army/insurgents with everything they need to get Putin bogged down in a terrible and unwinnable war.
This is a rare clear case of a good guy and a bad guy. Let us help the good guys and thereby fuck the bad guy
I suspect (I don't know) that there are advisors on the ground, and maybe even some US/UK special forces in Ukrainian clothes.
This morning Putin was pretty clear: anyone assisting Ukraine militarily was going to get nuked.
I doubt if Putin wishes to spend the rest of his life living underground and eating tinned pineapple. So, that's a hollow threat.
Comments
Every conflict in history has (I suspect) been opposed by people who sincerely thought that not responding to an aggressor would prevent death and suffering. Peace in our time and all that.
Unfortunately, there's plenty of historical experience that shows that often, that just leads to a worse conflict and more human misery a few years later.
But it's a damn difficult call, and not making the call is a call in itself. Selfishly, all I can feel is relief that I've never wanted to be in the big chair for that sort of thing and pity for those who will suffer the consequences of even a "right" call.
The mix of Azeri, Persian, Slavic, Armenian, Jewish and weird proto-Caucasian genes makes for some of the most beautiful people on earth, especially if you go into the mountains
You get these raven haired young olive skinned Persian women yet with Slavic cheekbones and Nordic blue eyes, and then sometimes you get red haired girls with dark Iranian eyes and Russian slenderness. Intoxicating
Some mushwit with the intellectual capacity of a Daily Mail journalist, maybe.
But not a scientist who wished to be taken even half-way seriously.
In the face of Omicron it is batshit.
I know people that know Macron. He is a TOTAL shit
You don't become French Prez without that fundamental trait.
He is also an effective politician, as I have said. If I was a French voter this year, I'd vote for him. He's done OK with an iffy hand
Glad to hear Anti tank weapons seem to be working well. One (unconfirmed) report was approx 350 Russian soldiers killed.
Plenty of times that doctors have commented that X on TV should have Y checked out, as X is showing symptoms.
It's like asking the USA to invade and conquer Canada. How many American soldiers would feel relaxed and happy about torching some town in British Colombia?
"In 2004, following more complaints from the MAMA campaign and Mr Clark, Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to a police child protection officer that the husband of Sally Clark, a mother convicted of murdering two of her babies, was himself almost certainly responsible for murdering the couple's children. Professor Southall made the claim in confidence to a child protection officer of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case as he was concerned about the safety of the surviving child"
It is not very sensible to look at a TV program, and conclude a diagnosis.
https://twitter.com/juliaskripkaser/status/1496937066478944258
https://twitter.com/ischinger/status/1496948069518258176?
And most of the rest of the West too. The Chinese are less than fulsome too.
Hopefully, he's finished Trump too. Though that may be overly positive.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/helpukraine
https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-there-is-a-forgotten-nay-almost-forbidden-word-which-means-more-to-me-than-any-other-winston-churchill-91-22-95.jpg
"How does Putin's war not turn into a protracted insurgency, with infinite supplies of weapons flowing into Ukraine across the border from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania - all countries protected by NATO? 1/x"
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1496967376486686730?s=20&t=1xiZ8kuYaHtph8fmH3hJRQ
- Dead
- Dying
- Semi-dead
- Reseting
- Pining for the fjords
Based on their appearance at May Day parades.
A solemn chap on the BBC would give his view as the cameras paned along the collection on top of the Kremlin.
A point which was ridiculous anyway, unless you genuinely believe no one has suggested our political leaders are shits before.
TMexPM is an example. Far from innocent, and clearly capable of extreme prejudice on demand, but not Fundamentally A Shit. Same for Thatcher and Major. Cameron strikes me as borderline- it was always a bit unclear how much of his unpleasantness was duty and how much was pleasure.
For some politicians, naming no Alexanders, behaving badly towards underlings is the whole point of getting to the top.
President Biden
@POTUS
United States government official
We have been transparent with the world — we shared declassified intelligence about Russia’s plans and cyber attacks and false pretexts — so that there can be no confusion or cover up.
Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1496976495704784901?
And how many on here dismissed it?
Putin's failure to get a casus belli, hindered in part by the US/UK's unusual transparency in public intelligence sharing, will not help his cause.
I'm assume Russia's overwhelming firepower will win out, but as we know well - taking a country is much easier than holding it costlessly against an armed local population.
Then factor in a lot of DNVs turning up next time round, plus Con abstentionism. Con bloodbath ahoy!
I wouldn't make a psychological diagnosis, but sometimes physical ones are obvious.
Do you think that the bandits propping him up want a nuclear war?
As to diagnosing via TV. iirc Paxman's doctor rang him one day a couple of years ago to say he had seen him do Uni Challenge that night and he thought Paxman should come in for some tests as he may have PD. Same thing I believe - stiff face, slight vocal issues.
After blame they took after Afghanistan last year this is a thumbs up for intelligence people 👍🏻
If there is to be a reaction against all things even vaguely Putiny, perhaps we can include a reaction against creeping authoritarianist tendencies as part of that.
At least, I hope not...
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1496979493122199555
For one thing, what’s the point of having some of the most capable soldiers on the planet and not using them in a conflict like this?
Maybe I’m wrong.
Someone I know vaguely was in the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, did a few tours in Afghan. He worked closely with the SAS and SBS out there. Said they’re great guys but made of something else entirely. One SAS guy broke his forearm. Just wrapped duct tape around it and carried on.
Simply to survive, those at the top politically have to balance the a whole range of competing interests. Which means that you might be the favoured person one minute, out on your ear the next.
One of the drugs used in early treatment can cause psychosis, particularly with paranoia.
Get to your bunkers everyone, as @leon would say.
https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1496980652742549504
https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status/1496977999006244869
In the UK, only Boris is a fully-fledged shit.
Cameron, Blair, and Wilson were borderline, and for different reasons, Brown. Mostly, British PMs are non-shits. At least in the post-war period.
The US might be less lucky. Obviously Trump, and probably Clinton. But Biden no, nor Obama, nor the Bushes, nor Reagan, Carter or even Ford. Before that, though, a string of shits: Nixon, LBJ, JFK.
France seems to prefer shits.
Macron is a shit. Sarkozy, Chirac, Mitterrand, d’Estaing - all shits. Hollande not. I don’t have a view on Pompidou, and I am torn about De Gaulle.