Zelenskiy has conceded that not all the land that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014 can be recaptured militarily. While he is certain his country will take back the territory Russia has claimed since its 24 February invasion, he said other territory could not be recovered by force. (Guardian)
“I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people,”
I don't think anyone really thought Crimea was a realistic prospect, especially as unless the east even it probably is pro Russian. Even recovering the east, as a long term goal, would be a tremendous result though. Long way to go for them.
Of course - but it's sometimes important to go on the record about things which seem obvious.
I watched the La Rochelle vs Leinster game on telly in the final of the Heineken Cup yesterday. An all action game from Marseille decided in the final minute. Probably the equivalent of the European Champions Cup in football.
As usual, the French and Irish flags happily intermingled. I remember taking a few football fans to Sale to see them play Wasps some years ago. They were very surprised to see fans mingling and drinking together at the ground.
As regards the football, I have a Liverpool post code, but Liverpool have gone off the boil in the last three weeks. It could be a busy season telling on them. I admit to turning it off at half-time. Sorry, Mr Eagles, but they need a summer break. I feel some sympathy for the fans but the Leinster fans will be just as disappointed.
Similar mixing in Rugby League. Usually, anyway.
Football is pretty much the only sport where fans are still routinely segregated.
It isn't just the tribalism of clubs rooted in a locality with its cultures and traditions, it is the working class grass roots support.
No genteel "well played, sir!" when the opponent scores. Quite right too, I find rugby and cricket crowds rather boring in their support.
Absolutely - nothing shows your love of a sport like pissing in someone’s front garden or punching someone for supporting the other team.
Football fans are mostly ok, but sometimes they bring shame upon the country by behaving like Boris's government.
I’ve been to Stade de France a couple times. It’s awful, we have often ended up missing the start of games despite arriving early where they were nowhere near fully booked. There is no organisation, they open and close random entrances at will without communicating it to their ground staff who seem as surprised as the fans. They really don’t know what they are doing. It’s not for for purpose, I’ve no doubt it’s entirely their fault and nothing to do with the Liverpool fans.
I had no idea there were problems like this at the stadium.
"It was outside Gate Y that I was caught in the pepper spray used indiscriminately by French riot police inside the Stade de France. I was talking to Liverpool fans who were waiting patiently, some for up to three hours, to try and get inside the stadium when it wafted into my face, stinging my eyes, lips and tongue. I saw it being sprayed. I could not quite believe it. One fan closer to the spray than me was bent double, retching, as he struggled to cope.
It was a shock, a complete shock – had what had happened just happened? - and it was utterly disgraceful. This is Uefa’s showpiece event, the biggest and most prestigious match of the season at one of the largest stadiums in Europe which is used to hosting such big matches. And yet the police were, it appeared to me, using pepper spray in the direction of fans who were simply standing patiently holding their tickets and pleading to be allowed in.
And, by the way, there was not a Uefa official to be seen. I did not see anyone in the hour I was outside the stadium trying to find out what was going on. No-one tried to offer any explanation or help the fans. And I only spoke to fans who had tickets. I made sure of that."
Next time, @tlg86, @Leon et. al. CHECK YOUR BLOODY FACTS before dredging up your hate-filled preconceived bile. Grrrrrr.
Hoity toity. Can't stand the heat, don't be the heat correspondent of a national newspaper. A cocaine fueled pig is a cocaine fueled pig however you slice it, and I for one applaud the just and proportionate measures adopted by les garçons en bleu
And who the fuck takes *children* to these ghastly occasions?
There is a lot of victim blaming from some posters this morning.
Actually that's a really interesting one that appears to show one thing and actually its a other...its a still from a video, where moments before a group of fans have tried to break in by charging down the steps you see in the picture and been repelled by being sprayed and that guy runs up screams at the police to f##k off.
Putting together the breadcrumbs of last night plenty of blame to go all around. Definite evidence of fans breaking and fake tickets, but also widespread criminality from local population, french police being well the french police quick to fire off the tear gas and general all roind terrible organisation where flow of fans has been badly managed.
As we saw af Wembley, if you lose control of the situation, its goes south very quickly.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
Off today's topics, but I was pondering the stuff about imperial measurements discussed yesterday. I do hope the Tories go ahead with it, as it's a core vote strategy with little wider appeal beyond the rose-tinted nostalgia 'weren't the fifties great' brigade who are already Tory voters.
If Labour were canny (yes, I know) they could exploit it. "The Tories - looking backwards nor forwards." "The past with the Tories - the future with Labour". That sort of thing. Rather like Wilson's "white heat of technology" stuff in 1964, where Douglas-Home represented a nostalgic, and largely mythical, past, and Wilson the bold future.
Angela Rayner is ahead of you and has already accused the government of weaponising nostalgia.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
Off today's topics, but I was pondering the stuff about imperial measurements discussed yesterday. I do hope the Tories go ahead with it, as it's a core vote strategy with little wider appeal beyond the rose-tinted nostalgia 'weren't the fifties great' brigade who are already Tory voters.
If Labour were canny (yes, I know) they could exploit it. "The Tories - looking backwards nor forwards." "The past with the Tories - the future with Labour". That sort of thing. Rather like Wilson's "white heat of technology" stuff in 1964, where Douglas-Home represented a nostalgic, and largely mythical, past, and Wilson the bold future.
Who, who was there, thinks the 50's were great? An improvement on the 40's agreed, but basically a decade of slow improvement from a very low base.
I watched the La Rochelle vs Leinster game on telly in the final of the Heineken Cup yesterday. An all action game from Marseille decided in the final minute. Probably the equivalent of the European Champions Cup in football.
As usual, the French and Irish flags happily intermingled. I remember taking a few football fans to Sale to see them play Wasps some years ago. They were very surprised to see fans mingling and drinking together at the ground.
As regards the football, I have a Liverpool post code, but Liverpool have gone off the boil in the last three weeks. It could be a busy season telling on them. I admit to turning it off at half-time. Sorry, Mr Eagles, but they need a summer break. I feel some sympathy for the fans but the Leinster fans will be just as disappointed.
Similar mixing in Rugby League. Usually, anyway.
Football is pretty much the only sport where fans are still routinely segregated.
It isn't just the tribalism of clubs rooted in a locality with its cultures and traditions, it is the working class grass roots support.
No genteel "well played, sir!" when the opponent scores. Quite right too, I find rugby and cricket crowds rather boring in their support.
Absolutely - nothing shows your love of a sport like pissing in someone’s front garden or punching someone for supporting the other team.
Off today's topics, but I was pondering the stuff about imperial measurements discussed yesterday. I do hope the Tories go ahead with it, as it's a core vote strategy with little wider appeal beyond the rose-tinted nostalgia 'weren't the fifties great' brigade who are already Tory voters.
If Labour were canny (yes, I know) they could exploit it. "The Tories - looking backwards nor forwards." "The past with the Tories - the future with Labour". That sort of thing. Rather like Wilson's "white heat of technology" stuff in 1964, where Douglas-Home represented a nostalgic, and largely mythical, past, and Wilson the bold future.
Who, who was there, thinks the 50's were great? An improvement on the 40's agreed, but basically a decade of slow improvement from a very low base.
“You’ve never had it so good” according to macmillan
A very good morning from the shady banks of the Mktvari River, Tbilisi
Looks very nice. But honestly, Georgia, you needn't be so sparing with the vowels. They aren't rationed.
And on the subject of where-in-the-world-am-I, good morning from Falmouth, which is bathed in bright sunshine under clear blue skies, is in full bloom and is basically like being in paradise or something. I would post a photo but I suspect you need your own website or something. Anyway, it's glorious. Beauty whichever way you look. A neighbour from home has also come to west Cornwall and while she pronounces herself satisfied, wonders out loud where else she might have got to in the ten hours since leaving her house. But I honestly can't think of anywhere better within ten hours. Helps that the sun is shining, of course. St. Ives this morning. We shall meet friends for elevenses in Carbis Bay and walk from there. Never been to St. Ives before. Very excited.
Enjoy. Whatever you do, don’t take a car in to St Ives. In fact I wouldn’t even drive to Carbis Bay.
Drive to Hayle or St Erth and get the gorgeous little train into St Ives that runs along the cliffs. Wonderful. Costs pennies
St Ives will be crowded on a nice late Spring weekend in half term but it is always pretty. Especially in the sun
You can escape the crowds by walking past the Tate and the last town beach and heading up the long walk to mystical Zennor. Which is wild and brilliant but will take several hours - not for kids
I once reversed the entire way round the St. Ives one-way system. I could see where I wanted to get to, but there appeared to be no way to actually get there...
I watched the La Rochelle vs Leinster game on telly in the final of the Heineken Cup yesterday. An all action game from Marseille decided in the final minute. Probably the equivalent of the European Champions Cup in football.
As usual, the French and Irish flags happily intermingled. I remember taking a few football fans to Sale to see them play Wasps some years ago. They were very surprised to see fans mingling and drinking together at the ground.
As regards the football, I have a Liverpool post code, but Liverpool have gone off the boil in the last three weeks. It could be a busy season telling on them. I admit to turning it off at half-time. Sorry, Mr Eagles, but they need a summer break. I feel some sympathy for the fans but the Leinster fans will be just as disappointed.
Similar mixing in Rugby League. Usually, anyway.
Football is pretty much the only sport where fans are still routinely segregated.
It isn't just the tribalism of clubs rooted in a locality with its cultures and traditions, it is the working class grass roots support.
No genteel "well played, sir!" when the opponent scores. Quite right too, I find rugby and cricket crowds rather boring in their support.
The rank incivility and seething undercurrent of violence are the great pleasures that make football so special.
Off today's topics, but I was pondering the stuff about imperial measurements discussed yesterday. I do hope the Tories go ahead with it, as it's a core vote strategy with little wider appeal beyond the rose-tinted nostalgia 'weren't the fifties great' brigade who are already Tory voters.
If Labour were canny (yes, I know) they could exploit it. "The Tories - looking backwards nor forwards." "The past with the Tories - the future with Labour". That sort of thing. Rather like Wilson's "white heat of technology" stuff in 1964, where Douglas-Home represented a nostalgic, and largely mythical, past, and Wilson the bold future.
Who, who was there, thinks the 50's were great? An improvement on the 40's agreed, but basically a decade of slow improvement from a very low base.
The nostalgia for he 50s relates to this graph. The world was changing very fast….
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
Culture wars work when you can convince the target audience that they are under threat.
They work less well when your target has other worries & you banging on about whatever culture war you’ve latched onto makes you look like wierdly obsessed fanatics who don‘t care about the actual concerns of your electorate.
Off today's topics, but I was pondering the stuff about imperial measurements discussed yesterday. I do hope the Tories go ahead with it, as it's a core vote strategy with little wider appeal beyond the rose-tinted nostalgia 'weren't the fifties great' brigade who are already Tory voters.
If Labour were canny (yes, I know) they could exploit it. "The Tories - looking backwards nor forwards." "The past with the Tories - the future with Labour". That sort of thing. Rather like Wilson's "white heat of technology" stuff in 1964, where Douglas-Home represented a nostalgic, and largely mythical, past, and Wilson the bold future.
Who, who was there, thinks the 50's were great? An improvement on the 40's agreed, but basically a decade of slow improvement from a very low base.
“You’ve never had it so good” according to macmillan
When compared with 30's and 40's Macmillan was right. Could have been a lot better, though.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I'm struggling to think of any other Prime Ministers elected in 2019, and who people take three years to see what a horrible person he is. So far, I can only come up with one.
I watched the La Rochelle vs Leinster game on telly in the final of the Heineken Cup yesterday. An all action game from Marseille decided in the final minute. Probably the equivalent of the European Champions Cup in football.
As usual, the French and Irish flags happily intermingled. I remember taking a few football fans to Sale to see them play Wasps some years ago. They were very surprised to see fans mingling and drinking together at the ground.
As regards the football, I have a Liverpool post code, but Liverpool have gone off the boil in the last three weeks. It could be a busy season telling on them. I admit to turning it off at half-time. Sorry, Mr Eagles, but they need a summer break. I feel some sympathy for the fans but the Leinster fans will be just as disappointed.
Similar mixing in Rugby League. Usually, anyway.
Football is pretty much the only sport where fans are still routinely segregated.
It isn't just the tribalism of clubs rooted in a locality with its cultures and traditions, it is the working class grass roots support.
No genteel "well played, sir!" when the opponent scores. Quite right too, I find rugby and cricket crowds rather boring in their support.
Absolutely - nothing shows your love of a sport like pissing in someone’s front garden or punching someone for supporting the other team.
It does seem that the German government has been corrupted top to bottom by the Russians. Slow rolling weapon deliveries is the least of it - there was no need for them to attach themselves so firmly to the Russian gas teat in the first place.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
A very good morning from the shady banks of the Mktvari River, Tbilisi
Looks very nice. But honestly, Georgia, you needn't be so sparing with the vowels. They aren't rationed.
And on the subject of where-in-the-world-am-I, good morning from Falmouth, which is bathed in bright sunshine under clear blue skies, is in full bloom and is basically like being in paradise or something. I would post a photo but I suspect you need your own website or something. Anyway, it's glorious. Beauty whichever way you look. A neighbour from home has also come to west Cornwall and while she pronounces herself satisfied, wonders out loud where else she might have got to in the ten hours since leaving her house. But I honestly can't think of anywhere better within ten hours. Helps that the sun is shining, of course. St. Ives this morning. We shall meet friends for elevenses in Carbis Bay and walk from there. Never been to St. Ives before. Very excited.
Use the "attach image" button from the Vanilla interface, vf.politicalbetting.com
It does seem that the German government has been corrupted top to bottom by the Russians. Slow rolling weapon deliveries is the least of it - there was no need for them to attach themselves so firmly to the Russian gas teat in the first place.
Top to bottom isn't really accurate - the government is divided between the appeasers and those more inclined to intervene.
German politics seems poised on the brink of a big shift, perhaps ? It's a shame it didn't happen before the Ukraine invasion.
Zelenskiy has conceded that not all the land that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014 can be recaptured militarily. While he is certain his country will take back the territory Russia has claimed since its 24 February invasion, he said other territory could not be recovered by force. (Guardian)
“I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people,”
I don't think anyone really thought Crimea was a realistic prospect, especially as unless the east even it probably is pro Russian. Even recovering the east, as a long term goal, would be a tremendous result though. Long way to go for them.
Of course - but it's sometimes important to go on the record about things which seem obvious.
Lots of people were talking about restoring pre-2014 borders, so before the annexation of Crimea.
So many analyses of the gender ideology debate characterise it as a conflict of rights between women and trans people. But there are plenty of trans people who shun gender ideology and some women who embrace it. It is really a conflict of rights between people who want gender identity to replace biological sex in society and people, particularly women, who believe sex is relevant. In the case of lesbians and same-sex attraction, it is vital to re-establish the principle that it is never bigoted for a woman to be clear that she is exclusively attracted to other females.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
I always interpret the questions from male Tories "can you tell what a woman is?" as earnest. A sort of prelude to "have you been with one? What's it like?"
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
Culture wars work when you can convince the target audience that they are under threat.
They work less well when your target has other worries & you banging on about whatever culture war you’ve latched onto makes you look like wierdly obsessed fanatics who don‘t care about the actual concerns of your electorate.
Good point, the playing field for the next GE has effectively already been chosen by the cost of living crisis, regardless of what any of the parties would prefer the playing field to be.
Johnson is knackered, Beth Rigby pushed the rules (no second questions) because she thinks rules don’t apply to her, he made an irritated comment before getting back on track. Hardly a “nasty side”
Real mask slipping moment. I was genuinely shocked. I know the phatboi bonhomie is an act, but he is usually pretty consistent at keeping it up.
He looks like he hasn’t slept properly for a long time. So, yes, he made a sharp and irritated remark he shouldn’t have. But it was hardly earth shattering
We see his short and vicious temper when that mask slips. It is quite the tell.
In just a few short years no one will admit to having voted for him.
Boris Derangement Syndrome.
An irritated remark at someone pushing against pre-agreed boundaries is not the same as a “short and vicious temper”
The only people who suffer from Boris Derangement Syndrome are those who, despite all the evidence of his venality and lies, still make excuses for him.
The guy’s a nasty piece of work (like most successful politicians). He’s not a great prime minister.
But people are massively over-egging a simple remark. He was tired and got pissed off with Beth Rigby. He made a sharp remark that he cut off halfway through as his brain caught up with his mouth and went back to his prepared script.
The image of drunken louts vomiting on the walls in Downing St and the cleaners cleaning it up is THE endring image of the Sue Gray report. The rest is fluff. It's a killer. If Johnson didn't know it Guto did and he'd have told him there's fu*k all he can do about it. THAT'S why he looked half crazed.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
I always interpret the questions from male Tories "can you tell what a woman is?" as earnest. A sort of prelude to "have you been with one? What's it like?"
Zelenskiy has conceded that not all the land that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014 can be recaptured militarily. While he is certain his country will take back the territory Russia has claimed since its 24 February invasion, he said other territory could not be recovered by force. (Guardian)
“I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people,”
I don't think anyone really thought Crimea was a realistic prospect, especially as unless the east even it probably is pro Russian. Even recovering the east, as a long term goal, would be a tremendous result though. Long way to go for them.
Of course - but it's sometimes important to go on the record about things which seem obvious.
Lots of people were talking about restoring pre-2014 borders, so before the annexation of Crimea.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
I always interpret the questions from male Tories "can you tell what a woman is?" as earnest. A sort of prelude to "have you been with one? What's it like?"
And did she have a dick?
Not sure it's your interlocutor who comes out of that exchange looking silly
When I see a celebrity trending on Twitter I have a panic that they've died. This morning, Morrissey is trending and, clicking through, I regret to tell you my worst fears were realised.
Anyone who ever thought it would not be a whitewash must believe in fairies. He was even brazen enough to order her to his office to show her the bits he wanted removed.
When I see a celebrity trending on Twitter I have a panic that they've died. This morning, Morrissey is trending, and, clicking through, I regret to tell you my worst fears were realised.
Cher fans had a bit of a panic when Baroness Thatcher shuffled off…
Anyone finding rugby fans too civil is recommended to visit Featherstone Rovers.
Having lived in Edinburgh the order of fan chaos goes: Old Firm visiting Hearts/Hibs Hearts v Hibs Rugby League challenge cup final day (back when this was held at Murrayfield) 6 Nations rugby weekends
I watched the La Rochelle vs Leinster game on telly in the final of the Heineken Cup yesterday. An all action game from Marseille decided in the final minute. Probably the equivalent of the European Champions Cup in football.
As usual, the French and Irish flags happily intermingled. I remember taking a few football fans to Sale to see them play Wasps some years ago. They were very surprised to see fans mingling and drinking together at the ground.
As regards the football, I have a Liverpool post code, but Liverpool have gone off the boil in the last three weeks. It could be a busy season telling on them. I admit to turning it off at half-time. Sorry, Mr Eagles, but they need a summer break. I feel some sympathy for the fans but the Leinster fans will be just as disappointed.
Similar mixing in Rugby League. Usually, anyway.
Football is pretty much the only sport where fans are still routinely segregated.
It isn't just the tribalism of clubs rooted in a locality with its cultures and traditions, it is the working class grass roots support.
No genteel "well played, sir!" when the opponent scores. Quite right too, I find rugby and cricket crowds rather boring in their support.
Indeed and that's part of the reason why until a few years ago Liverpool and Everton fans would mix in the stadium. Because contrary to common belief there is no sectarian divide between the club's and family members would support either club so families would happily sit together wearing opposite shirts and carrying opposite scarves. Because despite the rivalry, the community values each other over the rivalry.
Old Firm and other clubs with a sectarian rivalry could never have done the same thing.
Showing your usual ignorance of all things Scottish. Many many fans have friends who are of different religious persuasions and mix very well. Ignorance is no excuse for tarring the many with the sins of the few.
The lesson I am taking from Australia is you don't have to generate a wave of enthusiasm to win. Indeed Labor went backwards. You just have to be better than the opponent. Like 2005 and 2010 I guess.
Anyone finding rugby fans too civil is recommended to visit Featherstone Rovers.
Having lived in Edinburgh the order of fan chaos goes: Old Firm visiting Hearts/Hibs Hearts v Hibs Rugby League challenge cup final day (back when this was held at Murrayfield) 6 Nations rugby weekends
It was always the CCS (Hibs casuals) causing mischief, not the Hearts fans.
In a statement, Labour's Shadow Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds MP, said: "Small businesses can measure the difference a Labour government would make in pounds and pence with our plan to cut taxes for pubs, cafes, and shops.
"The government should get on with tackling the cost of living and cutting costs for businesses. Labour backs British firms and will make Brexit work for them and consumers."
When I see a celebrity trending on Twitter I have a panic that they've died. This morning, Morrissey is trending and, clicking through, I regret to tell you my worst fears were realised.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
Yes they have and they are wrong. Most people just don’t care about woke issues. It troubles people at either extreme.
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I thought that was Mason and an SNP story at first. SNP and Greens knocking lumps out of each other over whether women can have penises. Of course Harvie and his weirdos swear it is true. Mason does not and the wicked witch is going to have him sent to re-education centre for brainwashing.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
I don’t know but I would imagine that it is just being given to utility companies to deduct from each bill. I’m not sure how they would be expected to know whether a property is an Airbnb or not
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
I always interpret the questions from male Tories "can you tell what a woman is?" as earnest. A sort of prelude to "have you been with one? What's it like?"
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
Yes they have and they are wrong. Most people just don’t care about woke issues. It troubles people at either extreme.
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
I think culture issues can sway votes but not in the context we’re in now. As you say it’s all about CoL now.
If we have a recession Tories are done. This will be like the GFC for Brown
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
Culture wars work when you can convince the target audience that they are under threat.
They work less well when your target has other worries & you banging on about whatever culture war you’ve latched onto makes you look like wierdly obsessed fanatics who don‘t care about the actual concerns of your electorate.
Good point, the playing field for the next GE has effectively already been chosen by the cost of living crisis, regardless of what any of the parties would prefer the playing field to be.
Yet all we keep hearing about from the media is bloody parties.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
I don’t know but I would imagine that it is just being given to utility companies to deduct from each bill. I’m not sure how they would be expected to know whether a property is an Airbnb or not
Guess nearly all MPs will get £800 then or more if they are over 65 with their second residences.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
Probably. The point is to give it to everyone because otherwise you'd need a huge, slow bureaucracy; universal benefits and all that. Where is the cutoff between someone letting their home for a fortnight while they are off skiing in the Bahamas, and someone making their second home available to let for all bar the couple of months they use it? This way, it doesn't matter so Rishi can whack out the dosh immediately. Where there is a concern is round landlords and tenants putting coins in meters (or the modern equivalent).
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
Probably. The point is to give it to everyone because otherwise you'd need a huge, slow bureaucracy; universal benefits and all that. Where is the cutoff between someone letting their home for a fortnight while they are off skiing in the Bahamas, and someone making their second home available to let for all bar the couple of months they use it? This way, it doesn't matter so Rishi can whack out the dosh immediately. Where there is a concern is round landlords and tenants putting coins in meters (or the modern equivalent).
Perhaps we should get rid of the huge slow bureaucracy around universal credit and other benefits too?
No? It is just the huge slow bureaucracies that would stop the rich getting richer that are a problem.....
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I thought that was Mason and an SNP story at first. SNP and Greens knocking lumps out of each other over whether women can have penises. Of course Harvie and his weirdos swear it is true. Mason does not and the wicked witch is going to have him sent to re-education centre for brainwashing.
There's no real opposition to the Greens and the SNP in the independence movement in the real world. Indeed the strongest performing ALBA candidate in the local elections who got 8% in Southside Central in Sturgeon's constituency has already defected to the SNP.
Mason is a bit of a socially Conservative crank on abortion.
Admittedly so is Kate Forbes to a lesser extent which is why the SNP doesn't take any action against Mason.
“He fucked us and his fingerprints are absolutely fuckin’ everywhere on that. The bloke thinks he is a master strategist. He is a fuckwit.” Said one moderate MP.
We just don't get that level of masterful, eloquent analysis from our MP's.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I’ve been to Stade de France a couple times. It’s awful, we have often ended up missing the start of games despite arriving early where they were nowhere near fully booked. There is no organisation, they open and close random entrances at will without communicating it to their ground staff who seem as surprised as the fans. They really don’t know what they are doing. It’s not for for purpose, I’ve no doubt it’s entirely their fault and nothing to do with the Liverpool fans.
Let’s be honest, if it was purely the pisspoor organisation, then it was spitefully done to cause problems for Liverpool fans. If that is the case, that should be the last time France hosts a European final.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
Probably. The point is to give it to everyone because otherwise you'd need a huge, slow bureaucracy; universal benefits and all that. Where is the cutoff between someone letting their home for a fortnight while they are off skiing in the Bahamas, and someone making their second home available to let for all bar the couple of months they use it? This way, it doesn't matter so Rishi can whack out the dosh immediately. Where there is a concern is round landlords and tenants putting coins in meters (or the modern equivalent).
Perhaps we should get rid of the huge slow bureaucracy around universal credit and other benefits too?
No? It is just the huge slow bureaucracies that would stop the rich getting richer that are a problem.....
The edge cases for utility bills are going to only 5% or 10% of bills. It’s worth the cost of the bureaucracy on the other 90% or 95% would outweigh the savings - and many of the more vulnerable would fail to take advantage of the scheme.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
Probably. The point is to give it to everyone because otherwise you'd need a huge, slow bureaucracy; universal benefits and all that. Where is the cutoff between someone letting their home for a fortnight while they are off skiing in the Bahamas, and someone making their second home available to let for all bar the couple of months they use it? This way, it doesn't matter so Rishi can whack out the dosh immediately. Where there is a concern is round landlords and tenants putting coins in meters (or the modern equivalent).
Perhaps we should get rid of the huge slow bureaucracy around universal credit and other benefits too?
No? It is just the huge slow bureaucracies that would stop the rich getting richer that are a problem.....
The edge cases for utility builds are going to only 5% or 10% of bills. It’s worth the cost of the bureaucracy on the other 90% or 95% would outweigh the savings - and many of the more vulnerable would fail to take advantage of the scheme.
It seems to me the most vulnerable are renters on a meter managed by the landlord. That group get £0, compared to the £800+ for MPs. Quelle surprise.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I thought that was Mason and an SNP story at first. SNP and Greens knocking lumps out of each other over whether women can have penises. Of course Harvie and his weirdos swear it is true. Mason does not and the wicked witch is going to have him sent to re-education centre for brainwashing.
Morning, Malky, don't let it spoil your day! Cloudy, cool northerly off the sea, some intermittent sun over here. Mrs C sucking her teeth and wondering if she need water the garden.
It would be a disaster — both moral and strategic — if Mr. Putin were invited to talks before his major war objectives had been thwarted. Clear enough to a junior practitioner of international affairs, this wisdom seems to escape ostensibly more seasoned figures. Former U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Western governments should push Ukraine into talks with Mr. Putin in the next 60 days, as well as support permanent Ukrainian territorial concessions, lest the conflict turn into a destabilizing “new war against Russia itself.” Similar thinking seems to be at work in Italy and Hungary, which are reportedly urging the European Union to advocate a cease-fire and peace talks at its summit next week. Our colleagues on the New York Times editorial board have called on President Biden to counsel Kyiv not to “chase after an illusory ‘win.’”
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I wouldn't use ignorant but in my mind definitely wrong.
So inflation is at 9%, utility bills and petrol prices are out of control, there’s still a war in Ukraine threatening food supplies over the summer - and the Opposition are screaming at each other about women’s penises.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
In Excession, IIRC, the late great Iain M Banks had a Ship which specialised in tracking genocides and other crimes and then inflicting the experience into the mind of those responsible until their hearts gave out and they died. It was a nice conceit and surely would be an appropriate penalty for Xi. A monster of a man, the worst since Mao.
So inflation is at 9%, utility bills and petrol prices are out of control, there’s still a war in Ukraine threatening food supplies over the summer - and the Opposition are screaming at each other about women’s penises.
Women politicians "screaming", lovely. She was asked a question, if she had refused to answer that would have got criticised as well.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I wouldn't use ignorant but in my mind definitely wrong.
Ignorant is the right word. An ignorant idea is one that is that is based on an incomplete awareness.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I thought that was Mason and an SNP story at first. SNP and Greens knocking lumps out of each other over whether women can have penises. Of course Harvie and his weirdos swear it is true. Mason does not and the wicked witch is going to have him sent to re-education centre for brainwashing.
There's no real opposition to the Greens and the SNP in the independence movement in the real world. Indeed the strongest performing ALBA candidate in the local elections who got 8% in Southside Central in Sturgeon's constituency has already defected to the SNP.
Mason is a bit of a socially Conservative crank on abortion.
Admittedly so is Kate Forbes to a lesser extent which is why the SNP doesn't take any action against Mason.
Their crimes, uselessness and general bad governmnet ar ecatching up with them though and many will drift back to labour the way things are going. If Sturgeon is not ousted the dam will burst and they will go teh way labour did, the sheep will open their eyes at some point. Be interesting to see how they plug the huge holes in the budget going forward and no referendum yet again. Meanwhile the oil which was to have been finished by 2019 has miracuously multiplied and is keeping London afloat. Troubled times ahead for the freeloaders running the SNP.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
Yes they have and they are wrong. Most people just don’t care about woke issues. It troubles people at either extreme.
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
To be fair to Leon, my understanding of his position is that he is anti woke not for shallow electoral purposes but because he genuinely thinks it is an existential threat to Western civilisation.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
Yes they have and they are wrong. Most people just don’t care about woke issues. It troubles people at either extreme.
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
To be fair to Leon, my understanding of his position is that he is anti woke not for shallow electoral purposes but because he genuinely thinks it is an existential threat to Western civilisation.
Sir Keir Starmer has struggled to say whether a woman can have a penis as he insisted that debates on trans rights need to be done differently.
The Labour leader said that he was an “advocate of safe spaces for women” while also arguing that the law on gender identification needs reform.
His hesitation over the issue is the latest sign of Labour’s difficulties in coming to a coherent position on defining a woman that does not alienate some of its supporters.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I wouldn't use ignorant but in my mind definitely wrong.
Ignorant is the right word. An ignorant idea is one that is that is based on an incomplete awareness.
Nick's post suggests he has a reasonable understanding of the issue, it is just he has come to the wrong conclusions, imo.
So inflation is at 9%, utility bills and petrol prices are out of control, there’s still a war in Ukraine threatening food supplies over the summer - and the Opposition are screaming at each other about women’s penises.
While the government is talking about bring back pounds and ounces...
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
There are some tories on here who seem to have convinced themselves that banging on about the definition of a woman is the cheat code to winning the next GE.
Yes they have and they are wrong. Most people just don’t care about woke issues. It troubles people at either extreme.
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
To be fair to Leon, my understanding of his position is that he is anti woke not for shallow electoral purposes but because he genuinely thinks it is an existential threat to Western civilisation.
So inflation is at 9%, utility bills and petrol prices are out of control, there’s still a war in Ukraine threatening food supplies over the summer - and the Opposition are screaming at each other about women’s penises.
Women politicians "screaming", lovely. She was asked a question, if she had refused to answer that would have got criticised as well.
I’ve not found either side of this debate to be particularly civil. Starmer needs to agree a party line on this, unless he wants the fight to continue to the next election.
Did anyone manage to read the article I posted on Starmer the other day.
He is a crafty bugger, he managed to destroy Corbynism from the inside, then run on the same platform and then destroy it some more. He’s quite brutal.
And if you look at his history, he seems actually quite authoritarian on law and order. Not my politics personally but I can’t doubt that it is a vote winner. And why Labour now leads on this metric
Who are the NATO allies party to such an agreement ?
Hungary? France?
This war is being decided now and Ukraine is losing. The conduct of the Germans here is despicable and is massively undermining the effectiveness of the western response which has otherwise surprised the Russians considerably. They really need called out on it repeatedly. What on earth do we do next if Ukraine does lose? It will be a disaster, many times worse than Afghanistan.
We spent a full f**king week being transphobes in parliament and then we spent weeks during the campaign doing the exact same thing, and it was fucking insane,' an MP says. 'The transphobe thing was an absolute disaster.
I thought that was Mason and an SNP story at first. SNP and Greens knocking lumps out of each other over whether women can have penises. Of course Harvie and his weirdos swear it is true. Mason does not and the wicked witch is going to have him sent to re-education centre for brainwashing.
Morning, Malky, don't let it spoil your day! Cloudy, cool northerly off the sea, some intermittent sun over here. Mrs C sucking her teeth and wondering if she need water the garden.
Hi Carnyx, sunny and blue sky here again. Was lovely in garden yesterday and should be again today, BBQ and some lemonade, though I had vistors yesterday and had a few. Will be a bit more circumspect today.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I wouldn't use ignorant but in my mind definitely wrong.
Ignorant is the right word. An ignorant idea is one that is that is based on an incomplete awareness.
You guys might want to reread the post you're talking about.
Is the reporting correct that the £400 grants are also being given to owners of air bnbs, per home?
Probably. The point is to give it to everyone because otherwise you'd need a huge, slow bureaucracy; universal benefits and all that. Where is the cutoff between someone letting their home for a fortnight while they are off skiing in the Bahamas, and someone making their second home available to let for all bar the couple of months they use it? This way, it doesn't matter so Rishi can whack out the dosh immediately. Where there is a concern is round landlords and tenants putting coins in meters (or the modern equivalent).
Perhaps we should get rid of the huge slow bureaucracy around universal credit and other benefits too?
No? It is just the huge slow bureaucracies that would stop the rich getting richer that are a problem.....
The edge cases for utility builds are going to only 5% or 10% of bills. It’s worth the cost of the bureaucracy on the other 90% or 95% would outweigh the savings - and many of the more vulnerable would fail to take advantage of the scheme.
It seems to me the most vulnerable are renters on a meter managed by the landlord. That group get £0, compared to the £800+ for MPs. Quelle surprise.
Yes I agree. As a student I had to feed an electric meter what turned out to be an extortionate rate because it was owned and set by the landlord.
Also I lived in rented accommodation in my first few years working at school and got caught by the same issue. The landlord was the school.
So inflation is at 9%, utility bills and petrol prices are out of control, there’s still a war in Ukraine threatening food supplies over the summer - and the Opposition are screaming at each other about women’s penises.
Sir Keir Starmer has struggled to say whether a woman can have a penis as he insisted that debates on trans rights need to be done differently.
The Labour leader said that he was an “advocate of safe spaces for women” while also arguing that the law on gender identification needs reform.
His hesitation over the issue is the latest sign of Labour’s difficulties in coming to a coherent position on defining a woman that does not alienate some of its supporters.
Most Prime Ministers were not 'Good Chaps', in fact I would go so far as to say that all 'Good Chap' PMs fall in the 'moderate-to-crap' category.
Walpole, the very first PM, must have been a sneaky bastard to survive as long as he did in the post. The highest-achieving Prime Minister of the 20th Century was probably David Lloyd George, whose corruption and personal moral failings make Boris Johnson look saintly by comparison.
I think the political and media bubble (for want of a better term) is more and more inclined to frenzy - every government, for as long as I have been politically aware, has been accused of unprecedented acts of cruelty and stupidity daily, and has been compared to a dictatorship. I fear it is in the nature of government to be dysfunctional - the advantage we have in a democracy is that we know about it.
The facts of the 'elective dictatorship' remain the same: the government can do more or less what it wants as long as it has a majority in the House of Commons. Attempts by Parliament to control the government during the 2017-19 parliament were disastrous - the alternative and better solution is rather for Parliament to elect a Prime Minister of whom it better approves, and, as Cyclefree says, we are still waiting.
But I used the word "war" for 2 reasons: the material just released shows the use of army battalions to crush the Uighurs and it is also how Uighur representatives have described it - as a war on their people and culture by the Chinese State.
I find the claims of "Never Again" which get trotted out at regular intervals on memorial days increasingly hollow.
"Again and Again" would be more accurate.
Pretty well what Zelensky has said in relation to the Russian attempt to wipe out Ukraine.
I think we do need different words for "trying to wipe out a culture" and "trying to kill everyone who is part of a culture". Both are horrible, but the former tends to involve censorship and "forced reeducation", while the latter involves mass murder on an industrial scale. Genocide is for many people associated with the latter - specifically with the Nazi attempt to kill every single Jewish person - and using it about stopping people from practicing their culture is an unhelpful analogy which both downgrades the Holocaust (which really wasn't mainly about closing synagogues and persecuting anyone practising Judaism) and undermines the current crimes (because it sounds exaggerated).
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
Your understanding of genocide is faulty here. Total extermination of life is only one facet of genocide. The idea that this is the only side to genocide is commonplace but ignorant.
I wouldn't use ignorant but in my mind definitely wrong.
Ignorant is the right word. An ignorant idea is one that is that is based on an incomplete awareness.
Nick's post suggests he has a reasonable understanding of the issue, it is just he has come to the wrong conclusions, imo.
It suggests the opposite: killing members of the group causing them serious bodily or mental harm imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group
Destroying a people's culture certainly fits that middle point. In the case of Uighurs, at least four of the points apply.
Geocide is not just about industrial murder targeted at an ethnic group, and never has been. It's merely the most commonly remembered part of a wider phenomenon.
Margaret Thatcher supposedly admonished the elder George Bush that this was “no time to go wobbly” as the two leaders pondered their response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Were she still alive, she might very well feel the need to repeat her warning today.
Comments
Putting together the breadcrumbs of last night plenty of blame to go all around. Definite evidence of fans breaking and fake tickets, but also widespread criminality from local population, french police being well the french police quick to fire off the tear gas and general all roind terrible organisation where flow of fans has been badly managed.
As we saw af Wembley, if you lose control of the situation, its goes south very quickly.
https://twitter.com/JolyonMaugham/status/1530839410777923585
They work less well when your target has other worries & you banging on about whatever culture war you’ve latched onto makes you look like wierdly obsessed fanatics who don‘t care about the actual concerns of your electorate.
I think the strategy, such as it was, was to repeat the 2019 election campaign, but that was never going to be adequate for a few reasons.”
Chief among them was that Scott Morrison had become deeply unpopular in the eyes of the electorate. “I think it took people three years to realise what a horrible person he is,” a Liberal Party insider says.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/05/28/coalition-loss-the-transphobe-thing-was-absolute-disaster
I'm struggling to think of any other Prime Ministers elected in 2019, and who people take three years to see what a horrible person he is. So far, I can only come up with one.
Ukraine has already received 🇺🇸M109 SPHs in one of its modifications.
“This equipment is of very high quality. Its supply was the result of cooperation between several countries.” - reported Minister of Defence of Ukraine
https://mobile.twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1530822245471375360
Writes Die Welt am Sonntag 🇩🇪newspaper, citing documents at its disposal.
https://welt.de/politik/ausland/plus239047105/Ukraine-Krieg-Trotz-Versprechungen-liefert-Berlin-seit-neun-Wochen-kaum-Waffen.html
(Never get away with calling a character Mongo these days....)
German politics seems poised on the brink of a big shift, perhaps ?
It's a shame it didn't happen before the Ukraine invasion.
So many analyses of the gender ideology debate characterise it as a conflict of rights between women and trans people. But there are plenty of trans people who shun gender ideology and some women who embrace it. It is really a conflict of rights between people who want gender identity to replace biological sex in society and people, particularly women, who believe sex is relevant. In the case of lesbians and same-sex attraction, it is vital to re-establish the principle that it is never bigoted for a woman to be clear that she is exclusively attracted to other females.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/29/if-lesbian-prefers-same-sex-dates-thats-not-bigotry-desire-personal-thing?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
@welt reports.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1530838858991927297
Who are the NATO allies party to such an agreement ?
Happy to pass weed legislation, gay marriage.
But guns or abortion, oh hell no.
What an odd place
Just not by military means.
Not sure it's your interlocutor who comes out of that exchange looking silly
This morning, Morrissey is trending and, clicking through, I regret to tell you my worst fears were realised.
Did Morrison win in 2019 or was he just less unpopular than the opposition?
Red C / Sunday Business Post
SF: 36% (+2)
FG: 20% (-1)
FF: 15% (-1)
GP: 5% (+1)
SD: 4% (-1)
PBP-S: 3% (nc)
LP: 3% (-1)
AÚ: 2% (nc)
I/O: 11% (nc)
May 2022
+/- April 2022
First time SF > FF+FG
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uks-truss-completely-legitimate-support-ukraine-with-tanks-planes-2022-05-27/
Old Firm visiting Hearts/Hibs
Hearts v Hibs
Rugby League challenge cup final day (back when this was held at Murrayfield)
6 Nations rugby weekends
Like 2005 and 2010 I guess.
"The government should get on with tackling the cost of living and cutting costs for businesses. Labour backs British firms and will make Brexit work for them and consumers."
Heh not a bad line
Cost of living and the upcoming recession will be the main issues I expect. I have said that several times to people like Leon but they think Culture wars are a winner.
It feels awkward, even suspicious, to try to distinguish levels of horror, but being clear what we mean is important. Calling the Uighur oppression "a war on an entire culture" feels the right phrase, and entirely wicked in itself.
If we have a recession Tories are done. This will be like the GFC for Brown
No? It is just the huge slow bureaucracies that would stop the rich getting richer that are a problem.....
Mason is a bit of a socially Conservative crank on abortion.
Admittedly so is Kate Forbes to a lesser extent which is why the SNP doesn't take any action against Mason.
“He fucked us and his fingerprints are absolutely fuckin’ everywhere on that. The bloke thinks he is a master strategist. He is a fuckwit.” Said one moderate MP.
We just don't get that level of masterful, eloquent analysis from our MP's.
Anneliese Dodds, shadow women and equalities secretary, says she disagrees with Stella Creasy over whether women can have a penis
She tells @SophyRidgeSky 'I don't agree her. There are trans women who have made a transition in their gender. But sex is not the same as gender'
https://twitter.com/steven_swinford/status/1530822452221300737
Surely you must be delighted as others here must be too? You’ve won
No a woman can’t have a penis.
I’m sure all those for who this was a massive issue will now be crossing the Labour box
It would be a disaster — both moral and strategic — if Mr. Putin were invited to talks before his major war objectives had been thwarted. Clear enough to a junior practitioner of international affairs, this wisdom seems to escape ostensibly more seasoned figures. Former U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Western governments should push Ukraine into talks with Mr. Putin in the next 60 days, as well as support permanent Ukrainian territorial concessions, lest the conflict turn into a destabilizing “new war against Russia itself.” Similar thinking seems to be at work in Italy and Hungary, which are reportedly urging the European Union to advocate a cease-fire and peace talks at its summit next week. Our colleagues on the New York Times editorial board have called on President Biden to counsel Kyiv not to “chase after an illusory ‘win.’”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/26/now-is-not-time-seek-deal-with-putin/
Meanwhile the oil which was to have been finished by 2019 has miracuously multiplied and is keeping London afloat. Troubled times ahead for the freeloaders running the SNP.
Sir Keir Starmer has struggled to say whether a woman can have a penis as he insisted that debates on trans rights need to be done differently.
The Labour leader said that he was an “advocate of safe spaces for women” while also arguing that the law on gender identification needs reform.
His hesitation over the issue is the latest sign of Labour’s difficulties in coming to a coherent position on defining a woman that does not alienate some of its supporters.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/starmer-unable-to-say-whether-a-woman-can-have-a-penis-hbbw2sspw
He is a crafty bugger, he managed to destroy Corbynism from the inside, then run on the same platform and then destroy it some more. He’s quite brutal.
And if you look at his history, he seems actually quite authoritarian on law and order. Not my politics personally but I can’t doubt that it is a vote winner. And why Labour now leads on this metric
The most recent response from him I could find was from late March (see above).
Certainly Streeting & Reeves have both been clear, but Starmer?
Also I lived in rented accommodation in my first few years working at school and got caught by the same issue. The landlord was the school.
Walpole, the very first PM, must have been a sneaky bastard to survive as long as he did in the post. The highest-achieving Prime Minister of the 20th Century was probably David Lloyd George, whose corruption and personal moral failings make Boris Johnson look saintly by comparison.
I think the political and media bubble (for want of a better term) is more and more inclined to frenzy - every government, for as long as I have been politically aware, has been accused of unprecedented acts of cruelty and stupidity daily, and has been compared to a dictatorship. I fear it is in the nature of government to be dysfunctional - the advantage we have in a democracy is that we know about it.
The facts of the 'elective dictatorship' remain the same: the government can do more or less what it wants as long as it has a majority in the House of Commons. Attempts by Parliament to control the government during the 2017-19 parliament were disastrous - the alternative and better solution is rather for Parliament to elect a Prime Minister of whom it better approves, and, as Cyclefree says, we are still waiting.
killing members of the group
causing them serious bodily or mental harm
imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group
preventing births, and
forcibly transferring children out of the group
Destroying a people's culture certainly fits that middle point. In the case of Uighurs, at least four of the points apply.
Geocide is not just about industrial murder targeted at an ethnic group, and never has been. It's merely the most commonly remembered part of a wider phenomenon.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/05/26/ukraine-needs-support-not-timorous-advice