Meanwhile, a final recount from the London Borough of Havering has seen the Conservatives take three seats from the Independent Residents Association.
So the final scores there are:
Con 23 (-2) Res 23 (+1) (made up of 18(+4) Normal Residents, 3 Backed-the-Conservatives-last-time Residents, 2(-3) Independent Residents) Lab 9 (+4) Ind 0 (-2)
I am on way back north, my meeting in the Bucks countryside being over (very close to Chequers as it happens), having driven down this morning. I am having the largest strongest coffee I can stomach and find that Sir Keir has laid down the gauntlet. Good for him!
Those Covid lockdown rules are having a hell of an after-life.
I assume nothing else has happened - like Putin declaring war on us or anything.
I am currently listening to Mary Beard read her book "Twelve Caesars". I thought it would tell me about the Roman Emperors and what they did. But no. It's all about how they've been portrayed in art. At best it could have amounted to a 30 minute podcast. Instead of which it is endless chapter after endless chapter saying that
1. Suetonius made up a lot of what he wrote. 2. No-one really knows what Julius Caesar or others looked like. 3. Artists made it up. 4. Aristocrats liked having busts of them in their house. 5. Er .... that's it.
In TWELVE chapters. I don't think I've ever listened to anything so long and learned so little. In fact most of the time a I have no idea what she is talking about - it's like having a bath of warm words with occasional bubbles of names I recognise - Titian, Mantua, Charles 1st, Caligula etc.
My admiration for my daughter who did a classics degree has increased significantly if this is what her lectures were like.
That's a shame, as it's literally the next book on my reading pile (though I go in knowing it is about imagery).
I could see a little of that party pooping tendency in her book SPQR, when talking about ancient battles and essentially going 'Things would have been far too chaotic for people to really know what was going on, so most of the detail we hear about, say, Cannae, is probably wrong' without really offering up any insight about that. I did enjoy the parts pointing out how the Roman foundational myths are really quite unusual in some ways (an unnecessary twin, outsides and outcasts founding the place etc)
For those who have not seen it (and who care about the relative merits of Greece vs Rome) here is Mary Beard in a 90-minute debate against Boris Johnson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k448JqQyj8
Doesn't seem like a fair fight, one the face of it. She generally knows what she's talking about.
An academic expert in their field vs a former journalist and MP who did classics at univeristy 30 years before and likes it is presumably designed as an entertainment event not an even intellectual contest.
But did he win?
Johnson has also had books published about Rome and presented TV shows on the subject.
Erich von Daniken also had books published about ancient history. Dunno about TV, mind.
Apparently he is still alive - and probably very happy about how much TV and movie material seems inspired by or influenced by his ideals. People love ancient astronaut theory.
I remember Paul Merton joking about how the answer was always No to Erich's questions.
Could this be a UFO from the 12th century? No
Could this be a landing platform for an alien scacecraft? No
Could this... "No, no no"
He seems very happy when he's on Ancient Allens. Given the US are paying to study UAPs and have conceded one possibility is they are of non terrestrial origin then its no leap at all to their having been visiting since human records exist. The possibility of human interaction with aliens is somewhat beyond cheesy 'and finally' stories about stereotypical yokels in backwoods America now
Not only is it not a leap, but it would be far more plausible that if UAPs are ET origin, that they have been here for a very long time rather than pitching up only recently. Unless you think nuke testing is some special intergalactic marker at a quantum level and the speed of light has been conquered, allowing them to get here toute de suite after 1945.
Ergo, if UAPs are indeed non terrestrial, then the thrust of the ancient aliens theory is probably right, if not of course the finer detail about Pharaohs being aliens or whatever it was. A self replicating autonomous Von Neumann probe might have been indifferently monitoring Earth since time immemorial. Not intervening but quietly cataloguing, feeding back info to a central hub on behalf of a civilisation long ago lost to time.
It's very much all in or not at all, yes. Although speed of light isn't really an issue, I'd imagine any interstellar travel isn't done by actually traversing the empty space between two star systems.
I’m aware it makes you sound like a Kubrick obsessive to say so but if you accept that a) UAP are intelligently controlled and non human, b) have likely been here a very long time, then c) there is strong merit in serious academic study into the cloudy past of human evolution and the cognitive revolution.
I would start by looking for non natural patterns and changes over millennia in junk DNA, the portion of our genetic code that does not have an obvious physiological function, making it presumably fairly stable against mutations that stick thanks to conferring no evolutionary advantage. Chances are there’s nothing to find of course. But it would still be worth allocating a small drop of the sea of money humans spend on nonsense every year.
To tie several threads together, the mayor of Sanliurfa is claiming that Gobekli Tepe and the Tas Tepeler were indeed crested by aliens. Probably with blue eyes, and six fingers, so definitely related to the Smithsons
Nah, they were made by humans. Just because it was 11,600 years ago doesn't mean they lacked the know-how (and the inclination).
Explain the six fingers then? And the entire thrust of that brilliant article on the Spectator, which has been their Most Read article for 36 hours?
It’s fuckin aliens. The mayor of Urfa is bang on
What are the latest expert views on why it came to be buried? Naturally or by man? If the latter, is there another likely explanation beyond preservation?
Quite brilliantly - no one has a fucking clue
In his novel The Genesis Secret, Tom Knox presents the theory that they buried the temples as an act of propitiatory shame, as they felt punished by the Gods for having gone from hunter gathering to farming, with all the stress that came with this revolution, and the distancing from other species. The Gods seemed angry and demanded a sacrifice, so the builders of the Tas Tepeler sacrificed the greatest possession of all, these amazing structures - the same way Celtic warriors would throw precious swords into the Thames 8,000 years later, to appease the heavens
It’s as good a theory as any
Why else would they do it. To hide it? From whom? It’s a superb mystery
Who the hell is Tom Knox? (I know really)
Does he write for the Beano?
He hasn't written anything in the past decade. He's no SK Tremayne, that's for sure.
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
Who sez that the younger royals are neither use nor ornament? Bit miffed that BJ & co think Scotland is so much in the bag that they don't need to send the duchess to live in Edinburgh.
I'm sure Charles can go, being Duke of Edinburgh now.
Duke of Rothesay.
That one too, but he'd had that for 70 years, the Edinburgh one is shiny and new, to provide a reason to renew his relationship with the country etc etc.
Merge the two titles and create a super new Scottish title like the Duke of Glasgae.
Duke of Harthill, symbolising that magical point where East meets West in the central belt.
Once worked over in Breich, near Harthill. Mighty grim up there on the moors.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
As (apparently) the resident PB St Kilda expert perhaps you could suggest a good point on N.Uist from which to view the islands?
Ooh. Good question
But I have never been to Uist so I don’t know!
I can well believe it is visible tho because once, on Harris, I was told that if you climbed a hill on the western coast you could - on a clear day, and with a lot of luck - see Kilda. The next day the sky cleared, for a few hours, and I climbed the hill, and I saw St Kilda.
It’s a wonderful sight. Soaring distant black peaks in churning sea. Impossibly romantic - and then you learn the history….
As expected the Daily Mail has had its memo from no 10 and is now accusing Starmer of trying to pressure police .
It really is a despicable paper .
I dislike the Heil, but it is amusing how many leftwingers are outraged at the Mail but never have a critical word to say about the Mirror or the Grauniad when they go off on one.
They aren't really comparable. As a ball park Guardian cf Telegraph, Mirror cf Express. The Mail is in a league of its own for being despicable.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
As (apparently) the resident PB St Kilda expert perhaps you could suggest a good point on N.Uist from which to view the islands?
Ooh. Good question
But I have never been to Uist so I don’t know!
I can well believe it is visible tho because once, on Harris, I was told that if you climbed a hill on the western coast you could - on a clear day, and with a lot of luck - see Kilda. The next day the sky cleared, for a few hours, and I climbed the hill, and I saw St Kilda.
It’s a wonderful sight. Soaring distant black peaks in churning sea. Impossibly romantic - and then you learn the history….
If you were in South Harris it would probably be the hill/peninsula past Northton (which is confusingly more westerly), it’s a fantastic shortish walk on a clear day.
Ukraine was never going to be sped into the EU, and quite right too.
A smart UK would be trying to figure out an institutional architecture for EU refuseniks or can’t-get-in-niks (EFTA, Switzerland, Ukraine, maybe even Turkey and Israel) to be able to secure access the single market without forfeiting sovereignty to the ECJ.
The Macron proposals were quite interesting in allowing a form of looser membership and this would allow Ukraine to join that much more quickly before full membership .
He basically wants to relegate the Eastern European member states to second class status. France doesn't want pro-American peripheral states influencing their foreign policy.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
Ukraine was never going to be sped into the EU, and quite right too.
A smart UK would be trying to figure out an institutional architecture for EU refuseniks or can’t-get-in-niks (EFTA, Switzerland, Ukraine, maybe even Turkey and Israel) to be able to secure access the single market without forfeiting sovereignty to the ECJ.
The Macron proposals were quite interesting in allowing a form of looser membership and this would allow Ukraine to join that much more quickly before full membership .
He basically wants to relegate the Eastern European member states to second class status. France doesn't want pro-American peripheral states influencing their foreign policy.
A two speed EU might well be anathema to the whole project and its aims, but could well be popular and a way to secure influence? Some seem like they'd be happy with a looser arrangement, but equally once in nations might well drift further into the top tier.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
As (apparently) the resident PB St Kilda expert perhaps you could suggest a good point on N.Uist from which to view the islands?
Ooh. Good question
But I have never been to Uist so I don’t know!
I can well believe it is visible tho because once, on Harris, I was told that if you climbed a hill on the western coast you could - on a clear day, and with a lot of luck - see Kilda. The next day the sky cleared, for a few hours, and I climbed the hill, and I saw St Kilda.
It’s a wonderful sight. Soaring distant black peaks in churning sea. Impossibly romantic - and then you learn the history….
If you were in South Harris it would probably be the hill/peninsula past Northton (which is confusingly more westerly), it’s a fantastic shortish walk on a clear day.
Sounds about right. Harris is glorious
I saw Kilda for about 30 seconds, but it is unmistakable once you know it. So sheer, and the sea stacks around it are even more precipitous, Amazing, I am getting slight tingles even thinking about it
Probably time for me to turn in, and watch Frontier (a drama about the Hudson’s Bay Company - and actually quite good - lots of punchy brawling Scots and evil English redcoats: you’d like it )
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
Moving and sitting both painful? Doesn't leave many other options.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
I’ve also been to St. Kilda. It’s not a place to visit without being dressed for wild weather.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Palace always tight lipped and rightly so, but it feels like an end game right now. Not convinced she’ll make the Christmas message this year.
She needs to outlast Boris and Louis XIV. Then I can die a happy man.
I have been softening up my kid for London Bridge, given how barmy the country is likely to go. “The queen is a very old lady, when she dies we will have a King etc…”.
My daughter is 7.
I mention the Queen occasionally so that London Bridge will have some meaning for her, and she’ll be able to carry that memory into her own old age.
Wow, maybe the old Scotland / England divide but I don’t believe I have ever spent one second talking to either of my children about the royal family.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
That sounds exactly how the council of state is meant to function and does not represent some new constitutional arrangement.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
Seems pretty uncontentious. Precedents are created from time to time, sounds like a clarification or extension of what was previously potential responsibility, not detailed or considered as it was unnecessary.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
That sounds exactly how the council of state is meant to function and does not represent some new constitutional arrangement.
I withdraw my suggestion, which to be fair I picked up from an angry Trot on Twitter.
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Palace always tight lipped and rightly so, but it feels like an end game right now. Not convinced she’ll make the Christmas message this year.
She needs to outlast Boris and Louis XIV. Then I can die a happy man.
I have been softening up my kid for London Bridge, given how barmy the country is likely to go. “The queen is a very old lady, when she dies we will have a King etc…”.
My daughter is 7.
I mention the Queen occasionally so that London Bridge will have some meaning for her, and she’ll be able to carry that memory into her own old age.
Wow, maybe the old Scotland / England divide but I don’t believe I have ever spent one second talking to either of my children about the royal family.
I think you'd find most English parents never have either.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
Seems pretty uncontentious. Precedents are created from time to time, sounds like a clarification or extension of what was previously potential responsibility, not detailed or considered as it was unnecessary.
I don't see what the precedent being created is supposed to be. The council of state has been around since at least the 1930s.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Palace always tight lipped and rightly so, but it feels like an end game right now. Not convinced she’ll make the Christmas message this year.
She needs to outlast Boris and Louis XIV. Then I can die a happy man.
I have been softening up my kid for London Bridge, given how barmy the country is likely to go. “The queen is a very old lady, when she dies we will have a King etc…”.
My daughter is 7.
I mention the Queen occasionally so that London Bridge will have some meaning for her, and she’ll be able to carry that memory into her own old age.
Wow, maybe the old Scotland / England divide but I don’t believe I have ever spent one second talking to either of my children about the royal family.
You’re missing out.
There’s nothing the Walker family like more than sitting down to one of my “It’s a Royal Knockout” VHSs.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
That sounds exactly how the council of state is meant to function and does not represent some new constitutional arrangement.
I withdraw my suggestion, which to be fair I picked up from an angry Trot on Twitter.
Fair enough.
What the Prince of Wales can't do is attend on his own. The council has to have quorum of two - hence William being on hand. I guess they decided it was stupid for them to take it in turns to read the text.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
As (apparently) the resident PB St Kilda expert perhaps you could suggest a good point on N.Uist from which to view the islands?
Ooh. Good question
But I have never been to Uist so I don’t know!
I can well believe it is visible tho because once, on Harris, I was told that if you climbed a hill on the western coast you could - on a clear day, and with a lot of luck - see Kilda. The next day the sky cleared, for a few hours, and I climbed the hill, and I saw St Kilda.
It’s a wonderful sight. Soaring distant black peaks in churning sea. Impossibly romantic - and then you learn the history….
If you were in South Harris it would probably be the hill/peninsula past Northton (which is confusingly more westerly), it’s a fantastic shortish walk on a clear day.
Sounds about right. Harris is glorious
I saw Kilda for about 30 seconds, but it is unmistakable once you know it. So sheer, and the sea stacks around it are even more precipitous, Amazing, I am getting slight tingles even thinking about it
Probably time for me to turn in, and watch Frontier (a drama about the Hudson’s Bay Company - and actually quite good - lots of punchy brawling Scots and evil English redcoats: you’d like it )
Night night PB
Take a boat out from Leverburgh in South Harris someday, if you can. You won’t regret it. After landing in Village Bay (by dinghy transfer, to avoid the risk of rats getting ashore), you get a few hours ashore. The return journey takes you via Boreray and the Stacs. You are recommended to allow a three day window, to allow for suitable sailing conditions.
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
As expected the Daily Mail has had its memo from no 10 and is now accusing Starmer of trying to pressure police .
It really is a despicable paper .
Thing is, Starmer has been criticised by some on here for lack of political nouse, but today has shown him doing the right thing, the thing that Blair would have done. You can say it’s pressuring the police, and it’s true, it is. But it will concentrate their minds somewhat in a way that doesn’t work for Johnson.
Labour will now emerge from this stronger whatever Durham Police decide. If Starmer is cleared, the most probable outcome, he'll be seen as a man of principle for choosing to put his career on the line. Worst case is that Starmer resigns but he'll still be seen to be a man of principle for making that choice, hardly a diminished figure. It'll probably be between Cooper, Reeves and Streeting for the choice of successor, in an election which will drum home just how much the far left has been further marginalised. The only potential downside for Labour is that the contrast with Johnson will then be so stark that he too might well get the boot in which Labour will lose the bonus of a diminished and deeply unpopular PM clinging on for dear life, assuming that Johnson would otherwise have survived until the next GE.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
Moving and sitting both painful? Doesn't leave many other options.
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently.
It feels like HMQ might not have very long left with us and a "transition" is from her to Charles is very quietly taking place?
Trying to get us and her through platinum weekend
I think her mobility issues are from osteoporotic spinal collapse with trapped nerves. Not terminal, but painful and difficult to move or sit comfortably, and probably very uncomfortable to wear the heavy formal costume.
"The Prince of Wales has no constitutional right or precedent to represent the Queen at tomorrow’s Opening of Parliament, apparently."
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
From the Telegraph
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
That sounds exactly how the council of state is meant to function and does not represent some new constitutional arrangement.
I withdraw my suggestion, which to be fair I picked up from an angry Trot on Twitter.
Fair enough.
What the Prince of Wales can't do is attend on his own. The council has to have quorum of two - hence William being on hand. I guess they decided it was stupid for them to take it in turns to read the text.
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
Yes, and no mention of declaring war or mobilisation suggests no desire to ramp things up further. I think he is now looking for a way out without total humiliation, at least in the eyes of his own nation. He has shat his bed in the rest of the developed world.
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
So Harry's a non-non-dom?
I trust he is paying the full upper tax rate and National Insurance besides on those Netflix deals.
It seems i am the only PB-er who has actually been to St Kilda? Because I can definitely confirm that photo is not of St Kilda, it doesn’t look anything like that. The angle of the slopes is all wrong, the vegetation is wrong, and, moreover, even on the calmest day you’d be in a life jacket, because Kilda is dangerous. She’s wearing a summer dress and he’s in a light jacket FFS
My guess is the Caribbean on a cloudy day
As (apparently) the resident PB St Kilda expert perhaps you could suggest a good point on N.Uist from which to view the islands?
Ooh. Good question
But I have never been to Uist so I don’t know!
I can well believe it is visible tho because once, on Harris, I was told that if you climbed a hill on the western coast you could - on a clear day, and with a lot of luck - see Kilda. The next day the sky cleared, for a few hours, and I climbed the hill, and I saw St Kilda.
It’s a wonderful sight. Soaring distant black peaks in churning sea. Impossibly romantic - and then you learn the history….
If you were in South Harris it would probably be the hill/peninsula past Northton (which is confusingly more westerly), it’s a fantastic shortish walk on a clear day.
Sounds about right. Harris is glorious
I saw Kilda for about 30 seconds, but it is unmistakable once you know it. So sheer, and the sea stacks around it are even more precipitous, Amazing, I am getting slight tingles even thinking about it
Probably time for me to turn in, and watch Frontier (a drama about the Hudson’s Bay Company - and actually quite good - lots of punchy brawling Scots and evil English redcoats: you’d like it )
Night night PB
Take a boat out from Leverburgh in South Harris someday, if you can. You won’t regret it. After landing in Village Bay (by dinghy transfer, to avoid the risk of rats getting ashore), you get a few hours ashore. The return journey takes you via Boreray and the Stacs. You are recommended to allow a three day window, to allow for suitable sailing conditions.
I’ve been there and done it. I actually got sunburned on Kilda. A rare lovely day. And I saw a hoopoe
I was planning to camp for a couple of days but then abandoned the idea on advice. As we departed the island that evening two campers climbed on our boat and told us they’d been stuck there for many days. They looked utterly haggard and brutalised
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
The opinion in war devastated Kharkiv (read the whole thread).
https://twitter.com/dpatrikarakos/status/1523590183975022592 I ask @NatalieZubar how long she thinks war will last. "We're 40km from the Russian border," she says. "This will not stop until #Russia is demilitarized." "Well that's not going to happen surely," I reply. "there are a lot of people here in #ukraine who want to give it a try."
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
I'm no monarchist, but their role isn't "real". Being eligible to be appointed to a position isn't a role. I'm eligible to be appointed as Governor of the Bank of England, but it's hardly likely.
Some restitution, 90 years later, for the absurd disgrace of the award to Walter Duranty …
https://twitter.com/ngumenyuk/status/1523772892307390464 I spent last days with a group of 🇺🇦 journos:one–abducted,tortured in Kakhovka;another escaped Kherson threatened;lived under shelling in Severodonetsk;flats of 2 ‘re bombed in Chernihiv&Kharkiv. Today there’re funeral of another in Kyiv.Solidarity matters. Thanks @PulitzerPrizes
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
True, but is he wrong?
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
Beatrice would be OK, at the end of the day all a constitutional monarch has to do now is look reasonably good, go around opening and visiting things, review the troops occasionally at Trooping the Colour, have jubilees and a coronation, host some world leaders and visit some countries, hold garden parties, open Parliament and put their signature to laws passed by Parliament.
You don't need to be particularly bright or talented to do it just willing to do it
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
Z for Zelensky!
Not only did Ukraine manage to election their sole competent President just in time for the invasion, but one with a name easily pronounced by anglophones!
Proof to me, that God watches over more than just drunks, little children and the United States of America.
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
True, but is he wrong?
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
How’s this for an exit strategy? Destroy their conventional military and leave their economy so weakened, that they are forced to barter away most of their nukes in exchange for US financial aid rather keep the pretence they can afford to keep them all functional. What is Pour Encourger Les Autres in mandarin?
I’m beginning to think we could see an alien land in Hyde Park and the Hate Mail will still be leading on beergate day 1737 .
As for Dan Hodges , he seems to be having a meltdown because his putrid paper has screwed up and rather than saving “ the special one” they’ve now made life very difficult for him .
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
True, but is he wrong?
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
It’s a bit early to be talking about ‘realistic exit strategies’ while the Russians are still advancing. The invasion has to be defeated, and it’s hard to see that as anything but a humiliation for Putin. And that’s a very long way from ‘seeing him in the Hague’.
I’m beginning to think we could see an alien land in Hyde Park and the Hate Mail will still be leading on beergate day 1737 .
As for Dan Hodges , he seems to be having a meltdown because his putrid paper has screwed up and rather than saving “ the special one” they’ve now made life very difficult for him .
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
Beatrice would be OK, at the end of the day all a constitutional monarch has to do now is look reasonably good, go around opening and visiting things, review the troops occasionally at Trooping the Colour, have jubilees and a coronation, host some world leaders and visit some countries, hold garden parties, open Parliament and put their signature to laws passed by Parliament.
You don't need to be particularly bright or talented to do it just willing to do it
Dumb comment. It turns out that even a constitutional monarch has to not fuck up.
So that rules out Harry and Andrew, even if they were “willing to do it”.
Also, there’s this line of argument to consider, which doesn’t seem to enter the somewhat transactional worldview suggested by Macron’s comments.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/autocracy-could-destroy-democracy-russia-ukraine/629363/ … But we can go much further, because there is no reason for any company, property, or trust ever to be held anonymously. Every U.S. state, and every democratic country, should immediately make all ownership transparent. Tax havens should be illegal. The only people who need to keep their houses, businesses, and income secret are crooks and tax cheats.
We need a dramatic and profound shift in our energy consumption, and not only because of climate change. The billions of dollars we have sent to Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia have promoted some of the worst and most corrupt dictators in the world. The transition from oil and gas to other energy sources needs to happen with far greater speed and decisiveness. Every dollar spent on Russian oil helps fund the artillery that fires on Ukrainian civilians.
Take democracy seriously. Teach it, debate it, improve it, defend it. Maybe there is no natural liberal world order, but there are liberal societies, open and free countries that offer a better chance for people to live useful lives than closed dictatorships do. They are hardly perfect; our own has deep flaws, profound divisions, terrible historical scars. But that’s all the more reason to defend and protect them…
I’m beginning to think we could see an alien land in Hyde Park and the Hate Mail will still be leading on beergate day 1737 .
As for Dan Hodges , he seems to be having a meltdown because his putrid paper has screwed up and rather than saving “ the special one” they’ve now made life very difficult for him .
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
Beatrice would be OK, at the end of the day all a constitutional monarch has to do now is look reasonably good, go around opening and visiting things, review the troops occasionally at Trooping the Colour, have jubilees and a coronation, host some world leaders and visit some countries, hold garden parties, open Parliament and put their signature to laws passed by Parliament.
You don't need to be particularly bright or talented to do it just willing to do it
Dumb comment. It turns out that even a constitutional monarch has to not fuck up.
So that rules out Harry and Andrew, even if they were “willing to do it”.
Why? Neither have been convicted of a criminal offence and are also capable of doing all the job criteria I listed.
Though Harry is only 6th in line of succession and Andrew only 9th now
Shit we’re only now learning as Trump’s acolytes get their book deals, part 124…
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1523667326062981121 Of all the vile plots Trump secretly hatched in the White House that we’re just learning of now, one of the most shocking to me is his plan to close all embassies in Africa and end diplomacy with that whole continent…
Tiny smidgeon of info on Newsnight re the Victory parade in Moscow which I’d noticed myself, that there was very little official use of the Z symbol. I wonder if Putin still wants to preserve a formal version of Russia while keeping the shitposting Russia going, and what that implies?
"Z" = "New Coke" of this millennium
NEW COKE WAS GOOD
Also, it was around well into this millennium
Apparently, well preserved cans of New Coke go for serious sums on eBay.
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
Cliques form on all sides of politics
Not at the same time one hopes…
What having sex while abseiling?
That’s actually kinda fun
Also no need to pack any flint dildo(s) IF need be just embrace nearest rock "face"
In a long day at the Dual Thick Short Planks Congress this deserves at least a mentioned in dispatches
Bozos for BoJo really do have their collective knickers in a twist and then some.
And are busily hoisting their flapping, somewhat- soiled undies on their own splintery petards.
Worlds smallest violin for bozos like Harry Cole, a man who is quite literally a cuck for the Prime Minister.
Boris is having sex with Harry Cole's wife?
Coles's ex
The Spectator/Tory metropolitan clique is amazingly inbred isn't it.
You have clearly forgotten that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls both laid down with the same woman: Stephanie Flanders, the journalist from newsnight (with whom I once went abseiling in Oman, bizarrely)
Cliques form on all sides of politics
Not at the same time one hopes…
What having sex while abseiling?
That’s actually kinda fun
Also no need to pack any flint dildo(s) IF need be just embrace nearest rock "face"
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
True, but is he wrong?
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
How’s this for an exit strategy? Destroy their conventional military and leave their economy so weakened, that they are forced to barter away most of their nukes in exchange for US financial aid rather keep the pretence they can afford to keep them all functional. What is Pour Encourger Les Autres in mandarin?
The problem there is national humiliation breeds contempt and anger. Germany after WW1 and Russia after the wall fell. Best not to try it again.
A change of regime and a seat in the dock at the Hague would be useful nonetheless.
Imagine the reaction if Le Pen had won and then given a speech saying that Putin shouldn't be humiliated and Ukraine would have to wait decades to join the EU.
True, but is he wrong?
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
How’s this for an exit strategy? Destroy their conventional military and leave their economy so weakened, that they are forced to barter away most of their nukes in exchange for US financial aid rather keep the pretence they can afford to keep them all functional. What is Pour Encourger Les Autres in mandarin?
The problem there is national humiliation breeds contempt and anger. Germany after WW1 and Russia after the wall fell. Best not to try it again.
A change of regime and a seat in the dock at the Hague would be useful nonetheless.
When you have them by the balls their hearts and minds will surely follow.
Didn't Starmer say at PMQs that Boris should resign just for being investigated. So Starmer should resign for being investigated.
The Daily Mirror encouraged the Met to investigate Boris and the Daily Mail encouraged Durham to investigate Starmer. The two poice forces should exchange notes to ensure they are using the same criteria to judge if a fixed penalty notice applies.
I’m beginning to think we could see an alien land in Hyde Park and the Hate Mail will still be leading on beergate day 1737 .
As for Dan Hodges , he seems to be having a meltdown because his putrid paper has screwed up and rather than saving “ the special one” they’ve now made life very difficult for him .
So I look up Cousellors of State and I see it is Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
But all that Counsellors of State are is the people to whom the Monarch CAN delegate functions. By law, they are the four people highest in the order of succession over the age of 21.
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
Sure, but interesting nonetheless. Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
Beatrice would be OK, at the end of the day all a constitutional monarch has to do now is look reasonably good, go around opening and visiting things, review the troops occasionally at Trooping the Colour, have jubilees and a coronation, host some world leaders and visit some countries, hold garden parties, open Parliament and put their signature to laws passed by Parliament.
You don't need to be particularly bright or talented to do it just willing to do it
Dumb comment. It turns out that even a constitutional monarch has to not fuck up.
So that rules out Harry and Andrew, even if they were “willing to do it”.
Why? Neither have been convicted of a criminal offence and are also capable of doing all the job criteria I listed.
Though Harry is only 6th in line of succession and Andrew only 9th now
Prince Andrew paid several million quid to a woman who said he had sexually abused her as an underage girl. In earlier trying to clear his name, he gave one of the great car crash interviews of all time, which he came out of thinking he had triumphed. His financial dealings have regularly been more than controversial, his behaviour boorish, and his comments ill-advised.
None of that is a conviction for a criminal offence, but the man is (putting it mildly) a total prick, and completely incapable of doing any role that involves not f***ing up.
Shit we’re only now learning as Trump’s acolytes get their book deals, part 124…
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1523667326062981121 Of all the vile plots Trump secretly hatched in the White House that we’re just learning of now, one of the most shocking to me is his plan to close all embassies in Africa and end diplomacy with that whole continent…
To obvious benefit of China as well as Russia. Two paymasters? Or rather highly influential donors, one way or another?
Labour gained 7 seats from the Tories in Redbridge. Just checked the figures and the Labour share of the vote was up by a whopping 0.1%, and the Tory vote was only down 4%. The vagaries of FPTP elections.
Who sez that the younger royals are neither use nor ornament? Bit miffed that BJ & co think Scotland is so much in the bag that they don't need to send the duchess to live in Edinburgh.
Why is a border poll something to fear? Let them have one, and accept the result whatever it is.
Who sez that the younger royals are neither use nor ornament? Bit miffed that BJ & co think Scotland is so much in the bag that they don't need to send the duchess to live in Edinburgh.
Why is a border poll something to fear? Let them have one, and accept the result whatever it is.
I'm not convinced Sinn Fein will be rushing to a border poll until they've a fair chance of winning.
Comments
So the final scores there are:
Con 23 (-2)
Res 23 (+1) (made up of 18(+4) Normal Residents, 3 Backed-the-Conservatives-last-time Residents, 2(-3) Independent Residents)
Lab 9 (+4)
Ind 0 (-2)
Similar in any way to "Singapore gripping"?
who said that?
I don't think that is correct. they've activated the council of state which is designed for temp absences of sovereign.
Not happening though.
I saw Kilda for about 30 seconds, but it is unmistakable once you know it. So sheer, and the sea stacks around it are even more precipitous, Amazing, I am getting slight tingles even thinking about it
Probably time for me to turn in, and watch Frontier (a drama about the Hudson’s Bay Company - and actually quite good - lots of punchy brawling Scots and evil English redcoats: you’d like it
Night night PB
However, it is the first time Letters Patent have been used to hand the responsibility to another member of the Royal family. It was authorised by Her Majesty to specifically cover the State Opening, delegating the royal function of opening a new session of Parliament to Counsellors of State.
The move will be interpreted as a significant shift in the Prince of Wales's responsibilities as heir to the throne. The Duke of Cambridge will accompany him, in his capacity as Counsellor of State.
No other functions have been delegated by the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend but is not a Counsellor of State.
There’s nothing the Walker family like more than sitting down to one of my “It’s a Royal Knockout” VHSs.
What the Prince of Wales can't do is attend on his own. The council has to have quorum of two - hence William being on hand. I guess they decided it was stupid for them to take it in turns to read the text.
Crazy that Harry and Andrew still have some kind of constitutional role.
Apparently Harry would be ineligible if he was no longer domiciled in the UK (handing over, per the succession, to Beatrice), but “in Feb 22 he renewed his lease on Frogmore Cottage”.
Smellier than Keir’s curry!
So they only have a constitutional role if the Queen delegates functions to them - and she has only, in fact, delegated functions to Princes Charles and William.
I was planning to camp for a couple of days but then abandoned the idea on advice. As we departed the island that evening two campers climbed on our boat and told us they’d been stuck there for many days. They looked utterly haggard and brutalised
Their role may be contingent, but it is real nonetheless.
It’s also a reminder how thin the talent base is. Who the hell wants Harry or Andrew or Beatrice on the hook to carry out regnal responsibilities in the event of some Tom Clancy style incapacitation?
https://twitter.com/dpatrikarakos/status/1523590183975022592
I ask @NatalieZubar how long she thinks war will last. "We're 40km from the Russian border," she says. "This will not stop until #Russia is demilitarized."
"Well that's not going to happen surely," I reply.
"there are a lot of people here in #ukraine who want to give it a try."
https://twitter.com/ngumenyuk/status/1523772892307390464
I spent last days with a group of 🇺🇦 journos:one–abducted,tortured in Kakhovka;another escaped Kherson threatened;lived under shelling in Severodonetsk;flats of 2 ‘re bombed in Chernihiv&Kharkiv. Today there’re funeral of another in Kyiv.Solidarity matters.
Thanks @PulitzerPrizes
I know we'd all like to see Putin in the Hague, or hung up on a lamppost or whatever. But we need to look at a realistic exit strategy.
The difference between Macron and Le Pen is that he can credibly do that without the assumption being that he's in Putin's pocket due to financial links, and can do it as a key figure in the EU rather than a pariah.
You don't need to be particularly bright or talented to do it just willing to do it
Proof to me, that God watches over more than just drunks, little children and the United States of America.
As for Dan Hodges , he seems to be having a meltdown because his putrid paper has screwed up and rather than saving “ the special one” they’ve now made life very difficult for him .
And that’s a very long way from ‘seeing him in the Hague’.
It turns out that even a constitutional monarch has to not fuck up.
So that rules out Harry and Andrew, even if they were “willing to do it”.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/autocracy-could-destroy-democracy-russia-ukraine/629363/
… But we can go much further, because there is no reason for any company, property, or trust ever to be held anonymously. Every U.S. state, and every democratic country, should immediately make all ownership transparent. Tax havens should be illegal. The only people who need to keep their houses, businesses, and income secret are crooks and tax cheats.
We need a dramatic and profound shift in our energy consumption, and not only because of climate change. The billions of dollars we have sent to Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia have promoted some of the worst and most corrupt dictators in the world. The transition from oil and gas to other energy sources needs to happen with far greater speed and decisiveness. Every dollar spent on Russian oil helps fund the artillery that fires on Ukrainian civilians.
Take democracy seriously. Teach it, debate it, improve it, defend it. Maybe there is no natural liberal world order, but there are liberal societies, open and free countries that offer a better chance for people to live useful lives than closed dictatorships do. They are hardly perfect; our own has deep flaws, profound divisions, terrible historical scars. But that’s all the more reason to defend and protect them…
Though Harry is only 6th in line of succession and Andrew only 9th now
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1523667326062981121
Of all the vile plots Trump secretly hatched in the White House that we’re just learning of now, one of the most shocking to me is his plan to close all embassies in Africa and end diplomacy with that whole continent…
(Or so my eleven year old son tells me.)
A change of regime and a seat in the dock at the Hague would be useful nonetheless.
The Daily Mirror encouraged the Met to investigate Boris and the Daily Mail encouraged Durham to investigate Starmer. The two poice forces should exchange notes to ensure they are using the same criteria to judge if a fixed penalty notice applies.
None of that is a conviction for a criminal offence, but the man is (putting it mildly) a total prick, and completely incapable of doing any role that involves not f***ing up.
Foreign policy via influence peddling.
Merton:
Lab 38.5%
Con 23.9%
LD 23.6%
Grn 11.0%
Changes since 2018
Lab -5.9%
Con -5.8%
LD +8.9%
Grn +4.4%