NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
If Biden runs for POTUS, Harris will be his VP running mate. It's one of those things that always happens - the last time it didn't was Rockefeller -> Dole when Ford sought re-election. You need to go back to FDR before that (Who was running for 3rd and 4th terms)
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
Is it ?
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market: Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
Are we seeing Boris breaking with the new regime today? He's said 2 things. About Macron, and more importantly that more cash "obviously" will be forthcoming. Neither particularly helpful to his successor.
Edit. The exact words were "plainly" and "clearly".
Dunno why, but I've really got a thing against old people now. I might start a political party (before I get too old) to attack them
Perhaps it is because you are now recognising your own senescence and senility, and reacting against the dying of the light?
Yes, maybe
But it was always live fast, die young Leon, who wants to slowly decompose in a smelly nursing home? Read Amiss Ending Up and then head on that US road trip, with as much mescaline, meth, uppers, downers skoolboy, China girl (Ishmael zee would approve) toot, molly, bliss, joker - pack up your kibbles and bit - the Joshua Tree is calling you 🤘
Naah, opiates suck. They also lose their glamour to an amazing extent when you get to the age where the NHS dishes them out to you like sweeties. So I just have a prudent stash of a lethal quantity of BP grade morphine, on a Be prepared kinda basis.
A friend of mine tried heroin for the first time in 30 years, only the other day
Told me it was "disappointing". He used to do a ton of smack (like me), so that was a little dismaying. Smack was my back up plan for late old age. I will just have to get the best shit possible
I’m taking notes from you both 😇 Sensible to prepare my retirement plan early as possible. Though they will probably introduce Carousel by the time I get there.
Making good progress towards London, I’ll be home eeeeeeearly 🥳 then my postings will stop, but don’t panic, I don’t think I’ll be banned. I haven’t posted any naughty pictures during my third coming!
If you are treating Fear and Loathing in LV as a core text pay careful attention to what HST said about it the following year:
Yes … and … uh, where were we? I have a bad tendency to rush off on mad tangents and pursue them for fifty or sixty pages that get so out of control that I end up burning them, for my own good. One of the few exceptions to this rule occurred very recently, when I slipped up and let about two hundred pages go into print … which caused me a lot of trouble with the tax man, among others, and it taught me a lesson I hope I’ll never forget. Live steady. Don’t fuck around. Give anything weird a wide berth – including people. It’s not worth it. I learned this the hard way, through brutal overindulgence.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Dunno why, but I've really got a thing against old people now. I might start a political party (before I get too old) to attack them
Perhaps it is because you are now recognising your own senescence and senility, and reacting against the dying of the light?
Yes, maybe
But it was always live fast, die young Leon, who wants to slowly decompose in a smelly nursing home? Read Amiss Ending Up and then head on that US road trip, with as much mescaline, meth, uppers, downers skoolboy, China girl (Ishmael zee would approve) toot, molly, bliss, joker - pack up your kibbles and bit - the Joshua Tree is calling you 🤘
Naah, opiates suck. They also lose their glamour to an amazing extent when you get to the age where the NHS dishes them out to you like sweeties. So I just have a prudent stash of a lethal quantity of BP grade morphine, on a Be prepared kinda basis.
A friend of mine tried heroin for the first time in 30 years, only the other day
Told me it was "disappointing". He used to do a ton of smack (like me), so that was a little dismaying. Smack was my back up plan for late old age. I will just have to get the best shit possible
I’m taking notes from you both 😇 Sensible to prepare my retirement plan early as possible. Though they will probably introduce Carousel by the time I get there.
Making good progress towards London, I’ll be home eeeeeeearly 🥳 then my postings will stop, but don’t panic, I don’t think I’ll be banned. I haven’t posted any naughty pictures during my third coming!
If you are treating Fear and Loathing in LV as a core text pay careful attention to what HST said about it the following year:
Yes … and … uh, where were we? I have a bad tendency to rush off on mad tangents and pursue them for fifty or sixty pages that get so out of control that I end up burning them, for my own good. One of the few exceptions to this rule occurred very recently, when I slipped up and let about two hundred pages go into print … which caused me a lot of trouble with the tax man, among others, and it taught me a lesson I hope I’ll never forget. Live steady. Don’t fuck around. Give anything weird a wide berth – including people. It’s not worth it. I learned this the hard way, through brutal overindulgence.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Only because he cannot get over the loss of Johnson
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Dunno why, but I've really got a thing against old people now. I might start a political party (before I get too old) to attack them
Perhaps it is because you are now recognising your own senescence and senility, and reacting against the dying of the light?
Yes, maybe
But it was always live fast, die young Leon, who wants to slowly decompose in a smelly nursing home? Read Amiss Ending Up and then head on that US road trip, with as much mescaline, meth, uppers, downers skoolboy, China girl (Ishmael zee would approve) toot, molly, bliss, joker - pack up your kibbles and bit - the Joshua Tree is calling you 🤘
Naah, opiates suck. They also lose their glamour to an amazing extent when you get to the age where the NHS dishes them out to you like sweeties. So I just have a prudent stash of a lethal quantity of BP grade morphine, on a Be prepared kinda basis.
A friend of mine tried heroin for the first time in 30 years, only the other day
Told me it was "disappointing". He used to do a ton of smack (like me), so that was a little dismaying. Smack was my back up plan for late old age. I will just have to get the best shit possible
Tell your friend to be careful - a heck of a lot of heroin these days is cut with fentanyl and it is very, very easy to accidentally OD.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Whilst Thatcherism was ostensibly about personal freedom, its primary legacy was greater freedom for corporates / businesses rather than for the individual. Reagan and Thatcher both pushed the boundaries of freedom in favour of businesses more than they ever did for individuals during their tenure. Yes, they put through tax cuts and encouraged mass individual shareholders but the latter never lasted, unlike the view that companies should pay lower taxes and be subject to fewer regulations.
Thatcher's fallacy was that she saw the world in black and white rather than shades of grey. That was the source ironically of both her triumphs and failures.
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Covid didn't put the final nail in the coffin anymore than the previous war did. Extreme events change the narrative for the duration of the event and perhaps a while afterwards. They don't change the rightness or wrongness of the basic principle. So the concept of personal liberty (as an example) is not destroyed by the need to suspend certain liberties during an emergency.
The Reagan/Thatcher consensus was always flawed because it believed there should be no intervention at all in the markets - it treated corporations as individuals with rights rather than as organisations to be managed and controlled within the law. That was wrong before Covid and it hasn't become any more or less wrong now. But it certainly doesn't mean that the normally touted alternative - of continuous state intervention or even ownership of businesses - is any less flawed.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Only because he cannot get over the loss of Johnson
I don't think that's fair or accurate. Reading between the lines, I think HYUFD has genuine doubts about Truss's ability and appeal. Boris is a side issue.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Only because he cannot get over the loss of Johnson
I don't think that's fair or accurate. Reading between the lines, I think HYUFD has genuine doubts about Truss's ability and appeal. Boris is a side issue.
I am afraid he is not - @HYUFD cannot come to terms with the loss of Johnson
Dunno why, but I've really got a thing against old people now. I might start a political party (before I get too old) to attack them
Perhaps it is because you are now recognising your own senescence and senility, and reacting against the dying of the light?
Yes, maybe
But it was always live fast, die young Leon, who wants to slowly decompose in a smelly nursing home? Read Amiss Ending Up and then head on that US road trip, with as much mescaline, meth, uppers, downers skoolboy, China girl (Ishmael zee would approve) toot, molly, bliss, joker - pack up your kibbles and bit - the Joshua Tree is calling you 🤘
Naah, opiates suck. They also lose their glamour to an amazing extent when you get to the age where the NHS dishes them out to you like sweeties. So I just have a prudent stash of a lethal quantity of BP grade morphine, on a Be prepared kinda basis.
A friend of mine tried heroin for the first time in 30 years, only the other day
Told me it was "disappointing". He used to do a ton of smack (like me), so that was a little dismaying. Smack was my back up plan for late old age. I will just have to get the best shit possible
Tell your friend to be careful - a heck of a lot of heroin these days is cut with fentanyl and it is very, very easy to accidentally OD.
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
Is it ?
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market: Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
@MrEd is more likely to be the Democratic VP nominee than Gavin Newsom.
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Covid didn't put the final nail in the coffin anymore than the previous war did. Extreme events change the narrative for the duration of the event and perhaps a while afterwards. They don't change the rightness or wrongness of the basic principle. So the concept of personal liberty (as an example) is not destroyed by the need to suspend certain liberties during an emergency.
The Reagan/Thatcher consensus was always flawed because it believed there should be no intervention at all in the markets - it treated corporations as individuals with rights rather than as organisations to be managed and controlled within the law. That was wrong before Covid and it hasn't become any more or less wrong now. But it certainly doesn't mean that the normally touted alternative - of continuous state intervention or even ownership of businesses - is any less flawed.
Are you arguing not for an abandonment of Capitalism, but a bit of a UK rethink or reset of UK Capitalism?
A glance to the world today, and the history books, surely shows it’s not a case of capitalism or something else, there are many shades and flavour of Capitalism. And surely if you have a gas heating system it’s sensible to flush it out from time to time, and upgrade boiler eventually - the new boilers come ready to be compatible with the green energy push for instance.
But then for a while you will have salesman who can only sell the old boilers, whilst the world moves on.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
I was confident Truss would be a disaster on a scale that will eclipse even BoZo, but having read this I am now more certain than ever.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
I may have missed it, but nobody seems to have mentioned the rather obvious point that France is much closer, geographically, to us than Turkey, Hungary, the USA or indeed anywhere else.
It's surely much better to see neighbours, a mere 21 miles away, as close friends.
Why can the English never remember the existence of Ireland?
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
I think getting above 41% at this stage is generally positive for him, nothing like Truman's new deal boost of course but he's well back in the game now.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
I will support Truss if she is leader because she is leader but more out of loyalty to the party than her. She would probably be the least favourite leader I have campaigned for, although I like some of her policies on allowing new grammars and refusing indyref2 and scrapping housing targets
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
Is it ?
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market: Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
One thing that I have noticed is that Liz Truss has a peculiarly expressive face. The photographers are going to have fun with that. I hope she doesn't plan to play poker with the government finances.
They are battling to make her look fresh, not fatigued - though the FO workload plus electioneering travel must be hell.
I think Liz big eyes so important to her communication, I hope they haven’t tampered with them to make them too rigid. She would of course then photograph well, but communicate poorly without the expressive face moving.
In recent weeks I think her stylist is turning her abit into a Mondasian Cyberman. Do you see my point?
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Thanks for confirming the view I expressed above. You don't rate her.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
I was confident Truss would be a disaster on a scale that will eclipse even BoZo, but having read this I am now more certain than ever.
Yes, but you're a ridiculous, discredited lunatic (sadly) so your opinion does not carry a lot of weight. I might as well listen to the homeless guy who walks past my house, every day at about 3pm, shouting "CARS! CARS! CARS!", and has been doing so for many years
Indeed, if you replace the shouty word CARS with BREXIT you are essentially the same tragic figure
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
He makes a good point though.
Really? I've always thought his obsession with stepmoms slightly odd.
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [not re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
Is it ?
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market: Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
@MrEd is more likely to be the Democratic VP nominee than Gavin Newsom.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
As @Big_G_NorthWales said the other day she may start with a bang coming out with some radical initiatives, particularly with cost of living and energy prices. If she does she will probably get a good bounce. If not it is likely to be downhill.
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Covid didn't put the final nail in the coffin anymore than the previous war did. Extreme events change the narrative for the duration of the event and perhaps a while afterwards. They don't change the rightness or wrongness of the basic principle. So the concept of personal liberty (as an example) is not destroyed by the need to suspend certain liberties during an emergency.
The Reagan/Thatcher consensus was always flawed because it believed there should be no intervention at all in the markets - it treated corporations as individuals with rights rather than as organisations to be managed and controlled within the law. That was wrong before Covid and it hasn't become any more or less wrong now. But it certainly doesn't mean that the normally touted alternative - of continuous state intervention or even ownership of businesses - is any less flawed.
Are you arguing not for an abandonment of Capitalism, but a bit of a UK rethink or reset of UK Capitalism?
A glance to the world today, and the history books, surely shows it’s not a case of capitalism or something else, there are many shades and flavour of Capitalism. And surely if you have a gas heating system it’s sensible to flush it out from time to time, and upgrade boiler eventually - the new boilers come ready to be compatible with the green energy push for instance.
But then for a while you will have salesman who can only sell the old boilers, whilst the world moves on.
I am inescapably slightly sceptical of equating state economies with domestic funding, after Mrs T famously did - but that was a long time ago.
And, more in response to RT, I have a distinct, and I think genuine, memory of learning that Mrs T's guru Keith Joseph had, in his edition of Wealth of Nations, deleted Smith's famous warning that (modernising his expressions a liuttle) corporations needed to be controlled with shock collars, cattle prods and barbed-wire cages or they'd run riot if you let them take over the state. (This was discussed in, I think, a symposium in one of the learned societies' proceedings c. 1990 on 'Victorian Values').
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
He makes a good point though.
Really? I've always thought his obsession with stepmoms slightly odd.
Very good. I've now got hyufd and TSE mixed up in my mind and it hurts.
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Some of us take the opposite view of course. That after years of ever increasing taxes, expenditure and interventionism, leading to the highest tax rate in 74 years, that now is precisely the time that the Conservatives need to be making the argument for lower taxation and interventionism.
If not now, then when?
Sunak wants to raise taxes like Gordon Brown, raise NI like Gordon Brown raise Corporation Tax like Gordon Brown and views everything through a prism of all money belonging to the Treasury like Gordon Brown. I opposed Gordon Brown, I'd be a pure hypocrite if I supported Gordon Sunak (I nearly wrote Rishi Brown but that sounds racist).
Yes it may lose the next election, but I'm ok with that. I'd rather the Tories lose than win as Labour.
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
That's a very illuminating list of geopolitical detritus.
It explains a lot about the parlous state we're all in.
So PB Brains Trust. Do we agree that the forecast fuel bills levels are unsustainable politically for the government? What options do they have since they cannot magic new generation capacity or gas supply sources in time for the coming winter? Short term actions: Price capping per unit with the difference paid by government borrowing? Force majeure stopping North Sea gas exports from the UK? Long term actions: Orders in council to start mass fracking pilots with protesting made illegal? Ordering micro nuke pilot plants? Building Swansea Bay tidal lagoons?
What would you do?
I love these types of questions.
The answer (from what I have managed to glean from PBers more knowledgeable than myself) is in two parts. Firstly, creating enough power generation to decouple electricity from the price of gas, meaning at least leccy is affordable.
To do that: 1. Delay (again) the decommissioning of that nuclear plant. No way that should be happening. 2. Repurpose some gas power stations to burn other fuel this winter 3. Rush through any power generation projects where there's a possibility of generating this Winter, even if the putative go live date was not for some time. This may apply to some waste incineration schemes, wind schemes etc.
Then, try to increase the gas supply by:
1. Reopening gas storage capacity 2. Obliging UK gas providers to enter into long term contracts to supply the domestic market 3. Any and all ancillary help that gas producers may need to ramp up supply as much as possible 4. Pray for a mild winter
I also think we shouldn't be at war with the world's biggest gas supplier, but realistically, even a foreign policy u-turn of kissing Putin's bum won't help us in the UK, because how would the gas get here? The EU caving would seem to help us a lot though.
Ladbrokes Politics @LadPolitics · 7m For the first time since September 10th 2018, we now make Labour favourites to win the most seats at a General Election
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
I was confident Truss would be a disaster on a scale that will eclipse even BoZo, but having read this I am now more certain than ever.
Yes, but you're a ridiculous, discredited lunatic (sadly) so your opinion does not carry a lot of weight. I might as well listen to the homeless guy who walks past my house, every day at about 3pm, shouting "CARS! CARS! CARS!", and has been doing so for many years
Indeed, if you replace the shouty word CARS with BREXIT you are essentially the same tragic figure
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
That's a very illuminating list of geopolitical detritus.
It explains a lot about the parlous state we're all in.
Yes, it does
Unfortunately, the really major names are the autocrats or actual despots:
Putin, Xi, Erdogan, Modi
All of them, I would say, are more consequential figures in modern history than any of the current G7 leaders
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Truss will be DIFFERENT to Boris. Not as charming or funny, but not as feral and selfish. She may surprise on the upside. She's s smart and confident and she is nowhere near as boring as TMay, Brown or Starmer
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Truss is Boris without the charisma and May without the gravitas and seriousness
Tory implosion KLAXON!!!
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
Macron is not a friend, he's the President of France but no friend. He's not a foe either.
Why do muppets feel the need to pretend the President of France is our friend?
Because we’re both western democracies in NATO and frankly the way things are going western democracies all need all the friends they can get.
So are Orban, Erdogan and Trump "friends"?
Trump isn't in power. Comparing Macron to Orban and Erdogan just reemphasises the Francophobia you have so often shown on this board.
Trump was in power.
Orban and Erdogan are the leaders of NATO allies of ours.
Hungary and Turkey are barely democracies though. Anyway, if they are non-hostile powers then they are friends. That's the language of diplomacy. If she doesn't understand that then she's not up to the job. Why wind people up unnessessarily? If you want to do that come on here.
Two separate things here. I agree with you about the idiocy of Truss so I am not agreeing with Bart on that bit.
But Turkey and Hungary are, by our own definitions, democracies. We may not agree with the choices the people make nor with the actions of the elected governments but they are elected by popular mandate and have not, as yet, chosen to move away from that system of electing their governments.
When criticising other countries by calling them 'barely democracies' it is worth baring in mind that plenty of people - including no small number on PB - consider the UK to be barely a democracy because of our electoral system. I happen to disagree with them but they have a logical argument for this.
I would also agree with Bart that, although I think it is deeply stupid for our prospective PM to say it, there are no friends in international diplomacy, only overlapping spheres of self interest.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.”
- Lord Palmerston
Truss wasn't referring to France, she was specifically asked about Macron
And the jury really is out as to whether HE is a friend or foe of the UK, I'm tempted to say more foe than friend. Either way, leaders are entirely different to countries
If Starmer becomes PM in 2024, and Trump is elected prez the same year, and Starmer is asked "is Trump friend or foe", what should he say?
"The United States and the United Kingdom have a relationship going back centuries which is vital to the security of the free world and is bigger than the temporary holders of office, whether that is President Trump or myself. Values are more important than individuals."
If you can't say anything nice, say nothing. Or better still, use lots of words to say nothing.
But it is a politician waffling, typically
Truss gave a direct answer, and an accurate one. The jury IS out on Macron. He has been quite hostile to Britain at several junctures. Therefor I would say: a foe, as things stand. Truss has yet to decide
If she'd been asked about FRANCE I am sure she would have said FRIEND (and rightly so)
Why thank you. Waffle was the effect I was after- it's the difference between a diplomat and a polemicist.
Incidentally, Bozza had hit the mark in his unique way.
Boris Johnson says Emmanuel Macron is a 'tres bon buddy' of the UK
Matey, jokey, Franglais mangled just enough to not be grovelly.
Yes, looks like Truss already needs Boris to step in and sort out her gaffes
I increasingly get the sense that you are in despair about Truss - you're really not keen at all, are you?
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
Only because he cannot get over the loss of Johnson
I don't think that's fair or accurate. Reading between the lines, I think HYUFD has genuine doubts about Truss's ability and appeal. Boris is a side issue.
I am afraid he is not - @HYUFD cannot come to terms with the loss of Johnson
HYUFD is as impartial as @bigjohnowls is regarding Corbyn/Sunak.
Heck, HYUFD went on a tirade about Sunak being a traitor. Now I've made my dislike of Sunak lately clear, despite my book, but that's because of his Brownian tax and spend policies. Not because he's a "traitor" that comment was beyond the pale.
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Covid didn't put the final nail in the coffin anymore than the previous war did. Extreme events change the narrative for the duration of the event and perhaps a while afterwards. They don't change the rightness or wrongness of the basic principle. So the concept of personal liberty (as an example) is not destroyed by the need to suspend certain liberties during an emergency.
The Reagan/Thatcher consensus was always flawed because it believed there should be no intervention at all in the markets - it treated corporations as individuals with rights rather than as organisations to be managed and controlled within the law. That was wrong before Covid and it hasn't become any more or less wrong now. But it certainly doesn't mean that the normally touted alternative - of continuous state intervention or even ownership of businesses - is any less flawed.
Are you arguing not for an abandonment of Capitalism, but a bit of a UK rethink or reset of UK Capitalism?
A glance to the world today, and the history books, surely shows it’s not a case of capitalism or something else, there are many shades and flavour of Capitalism. And surely if you have a gas heating system it’s sensible to flush it out from time to time, and upgrade boiler eventually - the new boilers come ready to be compatible with the green energy push for instance.
But then for a while you will have salesman who can only sell the old boilers, whilst the world moves on.
Yes I think I am arguing for the UK rethink version. I don't think that what we have today in the UK - and certainly in the US - is true to the original ideas of Adam Smith. I think a reset is necessary or else the whole thing becomes discredited and is in danger of being overthrown.
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
That's a very illuminating list of geopolitical detritus.
It explains a lot about the parlous state we're all in.
Yes, it does
Unfortunately, the really major names are the autocrats or actual despots:
Putin, Xi, Erdogan, Modi
All of them, I would say, are more consequential figures in modern history than any of the current G7 leaders
We are probably past Peak Democracy
Modi was elected and leads the biggest democracy in the world.
Erdogan and Putin were also elected in more dubious circumstances.
Only Xi of the above was elected without the general population having a say
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
Meloni may of course be Italian leader next month, currently it is Draghi
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
That's a very illuminating list of geopolitical detritus.
It explains a lot about the parlous state we're all in.
Yes, it does
Unfortunately, the really major names are the autocrats or actual despots:
Putin, Xi, Erdogan, Modi
All of them, I would say, are more consequential figures in modern history than any of the current G7 leaders
We are probably past Peak Democracy
Modi was elected and leads the biggest democracy in the world.
Erdogan and Putin were also elected in more dubious circumstances.
Only Xi of the above was elected without the general population having a say
Erdogan was elected in dubious circumstances.
Putin was not. His election is an utter sham, there's no free speech, no democracy, opposition politicians are murdered as a matter of course. It's ignorant to even suggest he was elected.
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
Meloni may of course be Italian leader next month, currently it is Draghi
Meloni is interesting. She could be an Italian Thatcher. I doubt it, because of the unfortunate way Italian society works against real reform, but she is worth a prayer
There is so much unlocked potential in Italy. Wonderful country, great people, lot of brains and talent, let it rip
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
This will be a scandal on a par with Savile in years to come. Those who partook in this and enabled it should be held to account but won’t be.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
Worth noting. That excellent piece of Sleuthing Journalism was done by @libsoftiktok
She is an orthodox Jewish woman in the USA and both Facebook and Twitter have tried to silence her - suspending her, etc. Yet all she does is expose the madness of The Woke with their own words, as here. They do not like being exposed
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
What is a "non-medical" hysterectamy?
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
This will be a scandal on a par with Savile in years to come. Those who partook in this and enabled it should be held to account but won’t be.
It will end up far far bigger than Savile, and I believe people WILL be held to account, especially in the USA. Americans are not known for holding back on lawsuits, prison and ruination
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
So PB Brains Trust. Do we agree that the forecast fuel bills levels are unsustainable politically for the government? What options do they have since they cannot magic new generation capacity or gas supply sources in time for the coming winter? Short term actions: Price capping per unit with the difference paid by government borrowing? Force majeure stopping North Sea gas exports from the UK? Long term actions: Orders in council to start mass fracking pilots with protesting made illegal? Ordering micro nuke pilot plants? Building Swansea Bay tidal lagoons?
What would you do?
I love these types of questions.
The answer (from what I have managed to glean from PBers more knowledgeable than myself) is in two parts. Firstly, creating enough power generation to decouple electricity from the price of gas, meaning at least leccy is affordable.
To do that: 1. Delay (again) the decommissioning of that nuclear plant. No way that should be happening. 2. Repurpose some gas power stations to burn other fuel this winter ...
Yes, should be simple enough to convert a gas-fired power station to burn something else in a couple of months.
How about also repurposing solar panels to work off moonshine?
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
I think you got your HW and W the wrong way around.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
"We do not provide..." is not a denial that they have done it in the past.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
This will be a scandal on a par with Savile in years to come. Those who partook in this and enabled it should be held to account but won’t be.
It will end up far far bigger than Savile, and I believe people WILL be held to account, especially in the USA. Americans are not known for holding back on lawsuits, prison and ruination
I do hope so, I really do hope so.
However when labour win in 2024/5 I fear this part of life will get far worse not better.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
"We do not provide..." is not a denial that they have done it in the past.
Yet where are the alleged victims from the past?
If this had happened then you'd expect to see people coming forwards. Not a phone call to a non medical operator who said it who might or might not have been accurate.
Faisal Islam @faisalislam · 1h NEW 🚨 OBR confirms it can do a forecast by mid September of the changed economic outlook… in a letter to Treasury Select Committee… puts new Government in position of having to formally reject this offer, despite the clearly changed economic outlook.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Always the Woke defend the Woke. Oh, nothing to see here. Move on, move on
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
What is a "non-medical" hysterectamy?
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
When I worked, I had at times to deal with the kind of problems that corporate website managers and front of house people could cause by introducing errors and confusion even when they were trying to be helpful, rather than referring them to the right persons. At the moment - at the moment - this feels like it, but we will have to wait and see.
The scale of energy bill increases this winter could put the very fabric of civil society at risk.
This requires urgent, radical intervention. The next Prime Minister must take a practical pragmatic approach. Now is not the time for ideological purity.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
NigelB asks: "Why isn't this guy even on the Vice President nominee market on Betfair ?"
Because: "He was a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 bid." And because he is neither black nor female, in a party which is hooked on identity poltics.
That's a pretty poor answer on both counts.
Is it ?
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market: Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
@MrEd is more likely to be the Democratic VP nominee than Gavin Newsom.
I'm not making a case for any of them. I'd just like to be able to back or lay.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
What is a "non-medical" hysterectamy?
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
I mean one that is not done for an urgent physical and medical reason, like disease or injury; instead, a surgery that is elective
No girl should have her uterus removed before she is 16. How can we even be discussing this evil shit?
Truss' problem is not that she's barking mad (although she has a bit of the messianic about her), it's that she's pushing a creed - neo-Thatcherism - that is turning completely out of fashion.
We are now at the end of the 40 year+ Reagan / Thatcher consensus on how the world should be run. Covid put the final nail in the coffin, with its massive support of individuals and businesses ruining the idea Governments shouldn't intervene while businesses have done a great job at convincing people that the idea they can be trusted to be self-regulating is a complete fallacy. To quote an example, the fact that Dido Harding survived for years as a CEO with such compensation is a sign of how much the system is broken.
We are now likely to see a return to some form of the post-1945 social democracy consensus in some form or another. Whoever gets that formula right will have electoral alchemy.
Some of us take the opposite view of course. That after years of ever increasing taxes, expenditure and interventionism, leading to the highest tax rate in 74 years, that now is precisely the time that the Conservatives need to be making the argument for lower taxation and interventionism.
If not now, then when?
Sunak wants to raise taxes like Gordon Brown, raise NI like Gordon Brown raise Corporation Tax like Gordon Brown and views everything through a prism of all money belonging to the Treasury like Gordon Brown. I opposed Gordon Brown, I'd be a pure hypocrite if I supported Gordon Sunak (I nearly wrote Rishi Brown but that sounds racist).
Yes it may lose the next election, but I'm ok with that. I'd rather the Tories lose than win as Labour.
I've posted the chart in the past, but it is worth remembering that spending on the military, on education, on transport, on law & order etc. has all declined, while spending on pensions and healthcare has risen.
Let's leave aside the last couple of year because Covid, and you see that State Pension spending has risen from about 3% of GDP in 1990 to almost 8% now. Thanks to the triple lock, it is pretty much guaranteed to reach 12% by the end of the decade.
Health care costs have followed a similar pattern: from 4% of GDP in 1990 to 7% in 2019. This isn't because we're showering doctors with money (most have seen drops in earnings since 2010), but because the annual health care costs of an 80-year-old are 10-15x that of a 20-year-old. And we have an ever greater proportion of the country who are in the older cohort.
An ageing population means more recipients of pensions, fewer people in work paying taxes, and greater demands for healthcare.
The result is that we have a situation where there is austerity across large parts of government spending, and yet government spending and the tax burdens on working people continue to rise. By 2030, we could well have health care and pensions accounting for 20% of GDP. That's 3x the relative level of 1990 and it means 12 minutes of every hour of work you do goes in paying the pensions and healthcare of retirees.
If you look around the world, the developed economies with the worst economic performance in the last fifteen years have been the ones with the worst demographics - Japan and Italy.
That neither Ms Truss nor Mr Sunak nor Mr Starmer seems willing to address the massive fucking elephant in the room tells you a great deal about the seriousness of British politics right now.
At the same point in the presidency Ahead of Truman and Reagen, ever so slightly behind Trump, Clinton and Carter. A little further behind Obama and Ford. Way behind W Bush, HW Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower
Ahead of Truman [re-elected] and Reagan [re-elected], ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected]. A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected]. Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
I think you got your HW and W the wrong way around.
Yup - corrected upthread but after the moritorium on changes. Fortunately, they both appear in the same section, so it doesn't affect the detailed, forensic analysis.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
When I worked, I had at times to deal with the kind of problems that corporate website managers and front of house people could cause by introducing errors and confusion even when they were trying to be helpful, rather than referring them to the right persons. At the moment - at the moment - this feels like it, but we will have to wait and see.
No, you just don't understand what is happening in these clinics
One thing that I have noticed is that Liz Truss has a peculiarly expressive face. The photographers are going to have fun with that. I hope she doesn't plan to play poker with the government finances.
They are battling to make her look fresh, not fatigued - though the FO workload plus electioneering travel must be hell.
I think Liz big eyes so important to her communication, I hope they haven’t tampered with them to make them too rigid. She would of course then photograph well, but communicate poorly without the expressive face moving.
In recent weeks I think her stylist is turning her abit into a Mondasian Cyberman. Do you see my point?
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
What is a "non-medical" hysterectamy?
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
I mean one that is not done for an urgent physical and medical reason, like disease or injury; instead, a surgery that is elective
No girl should have her uterus removed before she is 16. How can we even be discussing this evil shit?
I think you mean:
No girl, absent a serious medical condition like cancer, should have her uterus removed before the age of 16.
Sandbrook: And does it end happily? Well, I hate to spoil a good story, but the answer’s no. It doesn’t. Have the Tories really not learned that lesson?
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
As a 19 year old she consented. That's worlds apart from doing it to anyone under 16.
Edit actually it goes on to say the surgery was at 22 so even further apart and presumably after therapy etc too? Completely different to surgery on children.
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
What is a "non-medical" hysterectamy?
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
I mean one that is not done for an urgent physical and medical reason, like disease or injury; instead, a surgery that is elective
No girl should have her uterus removed before she is 16. How can we even be discussing this evil shit?
I think you mean:
No girl, absent a serious medical condition like cancer, should have her uterus removed before the age of 16.
Yes, that is better phrased. This subject makes me quite angry and I might have lost my prosodic edge
I shall step away from PB and arrange my trip to Colorado
DC children's hospital offered 'gender affirming' hysterectomies for kids, audio and deleted webpage reveal
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
They are going to be so sued for this in years to come.
it is depraved beyond imagining. People need to do jailtime
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
Hmm. Are you all sure? Look at the source. Wokefinder General central.
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
Indeed. A dodgy website and a dodgy phone call isn't good but with Saville when the story broke there were loads of people coming out saying "this happened to me". Not heard a single person come forward and say it happened to them, which makes it all seem more than a touch strange.
Are you serious? There are many, many cases of vulnerable people who were pushed towards surgical treatments that were not appropriate. Here's a case of a young Sydney woman who had her breasts, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed and is now suing her psychiatrist:
As a 19-22 year old she consented. That's worlds apart from doing it to anyone under 16.
"“I was failed by the system. I literally lost organs.”
When Chloe was 12 years old, she decided she was transgender. At 13, she came out to her parents. That same year, she was put on puberty blockers and prescribed testosterone. At 15, she underwent a double mastectomy. Less than a year later, she realized she’d made a mistake — all by the time she was 16 years old."
Where would Truss stand in the G7 or the wider G20?
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
Meloni may of course be Italian leader next month, currently it is Draghi
Meloni is interesting. She could be an Italian Thatcher. I doubt it, because of the unfortunate way Italian society works against real reform, but she is worth a prayer
There is so much unlocked potential in Italy. Wonderful country, great people, lot of brains and talent, let it rip
Italian brains and talent is mostly already fully occupied coping with the reality of living in Italy.
So PB Brains Trust. Do we agree that the forecast fuel bills levels are unsustainable politically for the government? What options do they have since they cannot magic new generation capacity or gas supply sources in time for the coming winter? Short term actions: Price capping per unit with the difference paid by government borrowing? Force majeure stopping North Sea gas exports from the UK? Long term actions: Orders in council to start mass fracking pilots with protesting made illegal? Ordering micro nuke pilot plants? Building Swansea Bay tidal lagoons?
What would you do?
I love these types of questions.
The answer (from what I have managed to glean from PBers more knowledgeable than myself) is in two parts. Firstly, creating enough power generation to decouple electricity from the price of gas, meaning at least leccy is affordable.
To do that: 1. Delay (again) the decommissioning of that nuclear plant. No way that should be happening. 2. Repurpose some gas power stations to burn other fuel this winter ...
Yes, should be simple enough to convert a gas-fired power station to burn something else in a couple of months.
How about also repurposing solar panels to work off moonshine?
@hyufd will just tell you, you are just being negative. Get a few million engineers on it and that should be fixed in a weekend.
Comments
Here's a (partial) list of VP nominee possibles already on the Betfair market:
Eric Garcetti; Gavin Newsom; Cory Booker; Michelle Obama; Michael Bloomberg; John Ossoff; Bernie Sanders; Andrew Yang; Katie Porter; Hillary Clinton; Gretchen Whitmer; Tulsi Gabbard; Ayanna Pressley; Jamaal Bowman; Nina Turner; Beto O Rourke; Andrew Cuomo; Bill Gates; Rashida Tlaib; Tammy Duckworth; Susan Rice; Eric Adams; Stacey Abrams...
It's not as though I'm asking you to bet on the guy.
He's said 2 things. About Macron, and more importantly that more cash "obviously" will be forthcoming.
Neither particularly helpful to his successor.
Edit. The exact words were "plainly" and "clearly".
Yes … and … uh, where were we? I have a bad tendency to rush off on mad tangents and pursue them for fifty or sixty pages that get so out of control that I end up burning them, for my own good. One of the few exceptions to this rule occurred very recently, when I slipped up and let about two hundred pages go into print … which caused me a lot of trouble with the tax man, among others, and it taught me a lesson I hope I’ll never forget. Live steady. Don’t fuck around. Give anything weird a wide berth – including people. It’s not worth it. I learned this the hard way, through brutal overindulgence.
That should worry the Tory Party, as you are usually the absolute epitome of devout loyalty to the leader. But you will struggle with Truss, I suspect.
My guess is that no Tory leader (including Boris, probably) could overcome the headwinds we now face, and after 12 years in office - the public want the Tories gone even if they dislike Labour
But Truss definitely has a chance, and she will cling on to that. Tories should not despair
Whilst Thatcherism was ostensibly about personal freedom, its primary legacy was greater freedom for corporates / businesses rather than for the individual. Reagan and Thatcher both pushed the boundaries of freedom in favour of businesses more than they ever did for individuals during their tenure. Yes, they put through tax cuts and encouraged mass individual shareholders but the latter never lasted, unlike the view that companies should pay lower taxes and be subject to fewer regulations.
Thatcher's fallacy was that she saw the world in black and white rather than shades of grey. That was the source ironically of both her triumphs and failures.
ever so slightly behind Trump [not re-elected], Clinton [re-elected] and Carter [not re-elected].
A little further behind Obama [re-elected] and Ford [not re-elected].
Way behind W Bush [not re-elected], HW Bush [re-elected], Nixon [re-elected but suffered local difficulties], Johnson [re-elected], Kennedy [not re-elected but didn't get the chance], Eisenhower [re-elected]
I've added some re-election annotations. I don't think they are very predictive!
A glance to the world today, and the history books, surely shows it’s not a case of capitalism or something else, there are many shades and flavour of Capitalism. And surely if you have a gas heating system it’s sensible to flush it out from time to time, and upgrade boiler eventually - the new boilers come ready to be compatible with the green energy push for instance.
But then for a while you will have salesman who can only sell the old boilers, whilst the world moves on.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/26/apollo-space-moon-missions-photographs-remastered-neil-armstrong
If they've lost Hyufd, TSE will spend the night of the next election obsessing about stepmoms.
I think Liz big eyes so important to her communication, I hope they haven’t tampered with them to make them too rigid. She would of course then photograph well, but communicate poorly without the expressive face moving.
In recent weeks I think her stylist is turning her abit into a Mondasian Cyberman. Do you see my point?
Indeed, if you replace the shouty word CARS with BREXIT you are essentially the same tragic figure
Now, that would be hilarious @rcs1000
And, more in response to RT, I have a distinct, and I think genuine, memory of learning that Mrs T's guru Keith Joseph had, in his edition of Wealth of Nations, deleted Smith's famous warning that (modernising his expressions a liuttle) corporations needed to be controlled with shock collars, cattle prods and barbed-wire cages or they'd run riot if you let them take over the state. (This was discussed in, I think, a symposium in one of the learned societies' proceedings c. 1990 on 'Victorian Values').
She's probably better than the German Scholz. Not as self assured as Macron, but then he's lost his majority and is now a lame duck (ahh, so sad). She's better than Biden. Who's the Italian leader? Dunno. Ditto Japan. She's not as slick as Justin Trudeau but might not be as annoying
Controversially, I prefer her to Vlad Putin or Xi Jinping
So in the international rankings, she's not doing so bad for a newbie
A Children's National Hospital employee in Washington, D.C. is heard on a recording saying that hysterectomies have been done on children younger than 16
https://www.foxnews.com/us/dc-childrens-hospital-offered-gender-affirming-hysterectomies-kids-audio-deleted-webpage-reveal
If not now, then when?
Sunak wants to raise taxes like Gordon Brown, raise NI like Gordon Brown raise Corporation Tax like Gordon Brown and views everything through a prism of all money belonging to the Treasury like Gordon Brown. I opposed Gordon Brown, I'd be a pure hypocrite if I supported Gordon Sunak (I nearly wrote Rishi Brown but that sounds racist).
Yes it may lose the next election, but I'm ok with that. I'd rather the Tories lose than win as Labour.
It explains a lot about the parlous state we're all in.
The answer (from what I have managed to glean from PBers more knowledgeable than myself) is in two parts. Firstly, creating enough power generation to decouple electricity from the price of gas, meaning at least leccy is affordable.
To do that:
1. Delay (again) the decommissioning of that nuclear plant. No way that should be happening.
2. Repurpose some gas power stations to burn other fuel this winter
3. Rush through any power generation projects where there's a possibility of generating this Winter, even if the putative go live date was not for some time. This may apply to some waste incineration schemes, wind schemes etc.
Then, try to increase the gas supply by:
1. Reopening gas storage capacity
2. Obliging UK gas providers to enter into long term contracts to supply the domestic market
3. Any and all ancillary help that gas producers may need to ramp up supply as much as possible
4. Pray for a mild winter
I also think we shouldn't be at war with the world's biggest gas supplier, but realistically, even a foreign policy u-turn of kissing Putin's bum won't help us in the UK, because how would the gas get here? The EU caving would seem to help us a lot though.
@LadPolitics
·
7m
For the first time since September 10th 2018, we now make Labour favourites to win the most seats at a General Election
Unfortunately, the really major names are the autocrats or actual despots:
Putin, Xi, Erdogan, Modi
All of them, I would say, are more consequential figures in modern history than any of the current G7 leaders
We are probably past Peak Democracy
Heck, HYUFD went on a tirade about Sunak being a traitor. Now I've made my dislike of Sunak lately clear, despite my book, but that's because of his Brownian tax and spend policies. Not because he's a "traitor" that comment was beyond the pale.
Erdogan and Putin were also elected in more dubious circumstances.
Only Xi of the above was elected without the general population having a say
Putin was not. His election is an utter sham, there's no free speech, no democracy, opposition politicians are murdered as a matter of course. It's ignorant to even suggest he was elected.
There is so much unlocked potential in Italy. Wonderful country, great people, lot of brains and talent, let it rip
LAB: 40% (+7)
CON: 26% (-19)
LDM: 11% (-1)
GRN: 6% (+3)
REF: 5% (+3)
via @PeoplePolling, 22 Aug
(Changes with 2019 Election)
1.07 Liz Truss 93%
15 Rishi Sunak 7%
Next Conservative leader
1.06 Liz Truss 94%
15.5 Rishi Sunak 6%
Non-medical hysterectomies for kids under 16. How can that ever be permissible or moral. It is the weird shit you read about in disgusting cruel dictatorships, like Japanese experimenting on American GIs
But this is in US hospitals??
‘Hey, I’ve come to fix the photocopier, it’s awful hot in here, I need to take my top off….’
She is an orthodox Jewish woman in the USA and both Facebook and Twitter have tried to silence her - suspending her, etc. Yet all she does is expose the madness of The Woke with their own words, as here. They do not like being exposed
This is the Front Line of the Culture War
Because - one would think - removing of the womb would be inherently medical.
The hospital denies it.
https://twitter.com/ChildrensNatl/status/1562907404513456128?cxt=HHwWgMDR7Z6AyLArAAAA
Evidence profferred against it is a webpage, of the kind that has text easily messed up by corporate website managers to mean something it shouldn't, and some marketing/telephone person, not clearly identified as a medic.
Though, given the sensitivity of the issue, it is at best an appalling piece of sloppiness on the hospital's part.
How about also repurposing solar panels to work off moonshine?
However when labour win in 2024/5 I fear this part of life will get far worse not better.
If this had happened then you'd expect to see people coming forwards. Not a phone call to a non medical operator who said it who might or might not have been accurate.
Faisal Islam
@faisalislam
·
1h
NEW 🚨 OBR confirms it can do a forecast by mid September of the changed economic outlook… in a letter to Treasury Select Committee… puts new Government in position of having to formally reject this offer, despite the clearly changed economic outlook.
Puke-worthy
https://www.smh.com.au/national/absolutely-devastating-woman-sues-psychiatrist-over-gender-transition-20220823-p5bbyr.html
This requires urgent, radical intervention. The next Prime Minister must take a practical pragmatic approach. Now is not the time for ideological purity.
https://twitter.com/robertlargan/status/1563173176468975622
I'd just like to be able to back or lay.
No girl should have her uterus removed before she is 16. How can we even be discussing this evil shit?
Let's leave aside the last couple of year because Covid, and you see that State Pension spending has risen from about 3% of GDP in 1990 to almost 8% now. Thanks to the triple lock, it is pretty much guaranteed to reach 12% by the end of the decade.
Health care costs have followed a similar pattern: from 4% of GDP in 1990 to 7% in 2019. This isn't because we're showering doctors with money (most have seen drops in earnings since 2010), but because the annual health care costs of an 80-year-old are 10-15x that of a 20-year-old. And we have an ever greater proportion of the country who are in the older cohort.
An ageing population means more recipients of pensions, fewer people in work paying taxes, and greater demands for healthcare.
The result is that we have a situation where there is austerity across large parts of government spending, and yet government spending and the tax burdens on working people continue to rise. By 2030, we could well have health care and pensions accounting for 20% of GDP. That's 3x the relative level of 1990 and it means 12 minutes of every hour of work you do goes in paying the pensions and healthcare of retirees.
If you look around the world, the developed economies with the worst economic performance in the last fifteen years have been the ones with the worst demographics - Japan and Italy.
That neither Ms Truss nor Mr Sunak nor Mr Starmer seems willing to address the massive fucking elephant in the room tells you a great deal about the seriousness of British politics right now.
No girl, absent a serious medical condition like cancer, should have her uterus removed before the age of 16.
https://unherd.com/2022/08/how-to-get-over-boris-johnson/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3&mc_cid=f400edd903&mc_eid=836634e34b
We got richer. Energy got relatively cheaper. And we all got lazier.
As a 19 year old she consented. That's worlds apart from doing it to anyone under 16.
Edit actually it goes on to say the surgery was at 22 so even further apart and presumably after therapy etc too? Completely different to surgery on children.
I shall step away from PB and arrange my trip to Colorado
Later!
When Chloe was 12 years old, she decided she was transgender. At 13, she came out to her parents. That same year, she was put on puberty blockers and prescribed testosterone. At 15, she underwent a double mastectomy. Less than a year later, she realized she’d made a mistake — all by the time she was 16 years old."
https://nypost.com/2022/06/18/detransitioned-teens-explain-why-they-regret-changing-genders/