Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
Yes. I understand India always face several ways at once and try and have their cake and eat it. Same way he gives sympathises over HMQ and then tries to whip up a bit of anger for his own benefit over other British monarchs.
Modi is a nationalist and so we shouldn't be surprised he acts like one.
I don't like Congress or the BJP so I don't know who I'd vote for if I were Indian.
India has been largely aligned if not formally allied with Soviet Union > Russia for a LONG time now. Mainly on account of conflict and war (hot and cold) with Pakistan AND China.
Independent actors, but believing Delhi - Moscow connection is vital for their security.
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston
SSI - Not sure I agree entirely with his late lordship, but can see what Pam was driving at. So could Nehru and his successor up to Modi (with individual & political nuances) regardless of domestic differences.
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
In the long run, I think actions should have consequences. We’re India to get too close to Russia, why allow it into the regional alliance to protect against China? (A pressing threat to India).
Also: “What’s that Pakistan, you want to place a massive order for all that western kit that just outdid the stuff Russia has sold to India in Ukraine? Help us keep a lid on Afghanistan and you can fill your boots”.
It's a fluid world as ever. The sands of alliances constantly shifting in the winds.
I refer you to Palmerston*.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow”.
Cuts both ways of course and we should expect no more and no less from India.
*Plus, topically, this one: “The policy and practice of the Russian Government has always been to push forward its encroachments as fast and as far as the apathy or want of firmness of other Governments would allow it to go, but always to stop and retire when it met with decided resistance and then to wait for the next favorable opportunity”.
You folks ought to get your new monarch some Fisher space pens: https://www.spacepen.com/ They write in zero-G, upside down, and so forth.
I'm sure the company would be glad to make some for the British market, with appropriate decorations.
(The two I use every day commemorate Apollo 11 and Apollo 13, but there are many others already available. The pens make, I think, nice small presents -- and can be used as gentle reminders that thank-you letters are nearly always appreciated.)
Julia Davis @JuliaDavisNews Even the most war-happy Putin loyalists on Russian TV are now pushing for the recognition of "serious defeats" Russia has suffered in Ukraine: "Where was our damn reconnaissance? All of their heads should be laying on Putin’s desk, hacked off at the base."
Fucking love me a bit of Seville. Especially at night
Must be the most unWoke city in the west
First we’re gonna turn your beautiful Islamic minaret into a CHURCH TOWER. Then we’re gonna build an ARCHIVE OF PLUNDER next door
Later on we shall be killing bulls. In a dedicated arena. For fun. Try the octopus and chili skewers. De nada
I find it interesting that you haven't mentioned or commented on the death of HMQ once.
Why?
What on earth are you talking about?!
I’ve mentioned it a lot. Expressed my serious sadness. I predicted several times how it would impact people more than they expected. I’ve noted international reaction
I also noted how the news was first confirmed to me as I walked some mad cliffs in alentejo. After my walk I checked into a sweet little hotel in Vila Nova de Milfontes. The owner, a kindly old portugee lady, came up to me and said, in sad, pale-faced shock “your queen is dead!”
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
In the long run, I think actions should have consequences. We’re India to get too close to Russia, why allow it into the regional alliance to protect against China? (A pressing threat to India).
Also: “What’s that Pakistan, you want to place a massive order for all that western kit that just outdid the stuff Russia has sold to India in Ukraine? Help us keep a lid on Afghanistan and you can fill your boots”.
It's a fluid world as ever. The sands of alliances constantly shifting in the winds.
I refer you to Palmerston*.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow”.
Cuts both ways of course and we should expect no more and no less from India.
*Plus, topically, this one: “The policy and practice of the Russian Government has always been to push forward its encroachments as fast and as far as the apathy or want of firmness of other Governments would allow it to go, but always to stop and retire when it met with decided resistance and then to wait for the next favorable opportunity”.
Yes well, I think we can put Palmerston down as a cynic.
If Ukraine are ultimately successful, then its support for Ukraine over the past 8 years will be Britain's greatest foreign policy achievement since the second world war. It will outshadow the blunder in Iraq, and undo much of the vast and unnecessary harm caused by Brexit. It will also do a vast amount to restore Britains self confidence in the face of the endless attacks from within.
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
Britain in 2022 is a rather weak country. Our soft and hard power has been in serious decline for two decades. Perhaps there was some inevitability about this (compare with France) but we’ve undoubtedly made some serious defence & foreign policy fkups, too. Iraq2, brexit - and the pointless forever-war with Europe, the slimming down of our armed forces, the departure from Afghanistan.
We’re a weak, shrivelled country compared to what we should be.
Can’t blame India, really. They’re playing the real politik game, looking after their interests. They don’t need to listen to Britain any more.
Not really surprising if, as I have learned today, the vast numbers in rural India never knew they were part of the British empire in the first place.
It always seems to be overlooked that most Maharajas, caste/ aristocratic Indians and others were co-conspirators in the Raj, and millions served in its police and forces with loyalty and distinction. After the mutiny when the public mood changed the British Government moved too, if belatedly.
The most likely alternative to rule by the British Empire was rule by another that would have been highly unlikely to have built up universities and legal and parliamentary institutions.
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
Yes. I understand India always face several ways at once and try and have their cake and eat it. Same way he gives sympathises over HMQ and then tries to whip up a bit of anger for his own benefit over other British monarchs.
Modi is a nationalist and so we shouldn't be surprised he acts like one.
I don't like Congress or the BJP so I don't know who I'd vote for if I were Indian.
India has been largely aligned if not formally allied with Soviet Union > Russia for a LONG time now. Mainly on account of conflict and war (hot and cold) with Pakistan AND China.
Independent actors, but believing Delhi - Moscow connection is vital for their security.
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston
SSI - Not sure I agree entirely with his late lordship, but can see what Pam was driving at. So could Nehru and his successor up to Modi (with individual & political nuances) regardless of domestic differences.
India was non-aligned right up to the Bangladesh conflict of 1971. It signed a treaty with the Soviets in August that year.
Todd Gillespie @_ToddGillespie · 1h Uniper announces its coal unit at Ratcliffe in Nottinghamshire will stay online until 2024 -- the third and longest UK coal plant extension
Follows Kwasi Kwarteng's call to keep coal capacity online as we head into winter with a gas shortage in Europe
Fucking love me a bit of Seville. Especially at night
Must be the most unWoke city in the west
First we’re gonna turn your beautiful Islamic minaret into a CHURCH TOWER. Then we’re gonna build an ARCHIVE OF PLUNDER next door
Later on we shall be killing bulls. In a dedicated arena. For fun. Try the octopus and chili skewers. De nada
I find it interesting that you haven't mentioned or commented on the death of HMQ once.
Why?
What on earth are you talking about?!
I’ve mentioned it a lot. Expressed my serious sadness. I predicted several times how it would impact people more than they expected. I’ve noted international reaction
I also noted how the news was first confirmed to me as I walked some mad cliffs in alentejo. After my walk I checked into a sweet little hotel in Vila Nova de Milfontes. The owner, a kindly old portugee lady, came up to me and said, in sad, pale-faced shock “your queen is dead!”
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Police must be at least giving cursory thought to rounding up the disrespectful anarchists that have booked for Centre Parcs on the 19th. This sort of radical holidaying on a public holiday needs to stop. Now is not the time.
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
Yes. I understand India always face several ways at once and try and have their cake and eat it. Same way he gives sympathises over HMQ and then tries to whip up a bit of anger for his own benefit over other British monarchs.
Modi is a nationalist and so we shouldn't be surprised he acts like one.
I don't like Congress or the BJP so I don't know who I'd vote for if I were Indian.
India has been largely aligned if not formally allied with Soviet Union > Russia for a LONG time now. Mainly on account of conflict and war (hot and cold) with Pakistan AND China.
Independent actors, but believing Delhi - Moscow connection is vital for their security.
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston
SSI - Not sure I agree entirely with his late lordship, but can see what Pam was driving at. So could Nehru and his successor up to Modi (with individual & political nuances) regardless of domestic differences.
China is a greater threat to India, and Russia can't really do much for them.
If Ukraine are ultimately successful, then its support for Ukraine over the past 8 years will be Britain's greatest foreign policy achievement since the second world war. It will outshadow the blunder in Iraq, and undo much of the vast and unnecessary harm caused by Brexit. It will also do a vast amount to restore Britains self confidence in the face of the endless attacks from within.
Very good point, actually.
We will have helped inflict a major strategic defeat on our principal adversary for very little cost.
Police must be at least giving cursory thought to rounding up the disrespectful anarchists that have booked for Centre Parcs on the 19th. This sort of radical holidaying on a public holiday needs to stop. Now is not the time.
No one should enjoy themselves too much until the funeral. No intoxicants, enforced celibacy, and heaven help you if you watch a dirty comedy and crack a smile...
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Flight tracking statistics regarding the final flight of Queen Elizabeth II
In the minute after the transponder of C-17 ZZ177 activated, an unprecedented 6 million people attempted to follow the flight….
70 years after her first flight as Queen aboard the BOAC Argonaut “Atalanta,” Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight is the most tracked flight in Flightradar24 history.
Flight tracking statistics regarding the final flight of Queen Elizabeth II
In the minute after the transponder of C-17 ZZ177 activated, an unprecedented 6 million people attempted to follow the flight….
70 years after her first flight as Queen aboard the BOAC Argonaut “Atalanta,” Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight is the most tracked flight in Flightradar24 history.
Fucking love me a bit of Seville. Especially at night
Must be the most unWoke city in the west
First we’re gonna turn your beautiful Islamic minaret into a CHURCH TOWER. Then we’re gonna build an ARCHIVE OF PLUNDER next door
Later on we shall be killing bulls. In a dedicated arena. For fun. Try the octopus and chili skewers. De nada
I find it interesting that you haven't mentioned or commented on the death of HMQ once.
Why?
What on earth are you talking about?!
I’ve mentioned it a lot. Expressed my serious sadness. I predicted several times how it would impact people more than they expected. I’ve noted international reaction
I also noted how the news was first confirmed to me as I walked some mad cliffs in alentejo. After my walk I checked into a sweet little hotel in Vila Nova de Milfontes. The owner, a kindly old portugee lady, came up to me and said, in sad, pale-faced shock “your queen is dead!”
I haven't seen it. Just your meals.
I’ve been reading your reaction with interest. Quite intense
Mine comes and goes, I think I would be feeling it more if I was at home. That’s partly why I am away, I suspect. Tho I also LOVE Seville. It must be one of the most seductive cities in the world in the dark
Chin chin. The queen would approve of the frankly enormous gin and tonics here. Her mum even more so
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Trying to talk your way out of it but I'm not convinced and I doubt Casino is either.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Never understood the lying in State thing, nor the queueing to have a look thing.
Phil Stewart @phildstewart · 2h (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet in Uzbekistan on Friday and discuss trade as well as sales of Russian fertilizers and mutual food supplies, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
==
Anyone else pissed off that one of our absolute key Commonwealth countries is dealing with Vlad?
Yes. I understand India always face several ways at once and try and have their cake and eat it. Same way he gives sympathises over HMQ and then tries to whip up a bit of anger for his own benefit over other British monarchs.
Modi is a nationalist and so we shouldn't be surprised he acts like one.
I don't like Congress or the BJP so I don't know who I'd vote for if I were Indian.
India has been largely aligned if not formally allied with Soviet Union > Russia for a LONG time now. Mainly on account of conflict and war (hot and cold) with Pakistan AND China.
Independent actors, but believing Delhi - Moscow connection is vital for their security.
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston
SSI - Not sure I agree entirely with his late lordship, but can see what Pam was driving at. So could Nehru and his successor up to Modi (with individual & political nuances) regardless of domestic differences.
China is a greater threat to India, and Russia can't really do much for them.
You'd think they'd recognise that.
But they do. That is why they side with Russia. There have been border clashes between China and India for many years now.
King Charles is subject to a boatload of stress, and it shows from time to time, re: inkwell-gate & etc.
What also shows is that he's pretty comfortable in his own skin, and with his new stature. YOU may not be comfortable with it or him. But His Majesty is, and I think that is helping him right now, privately AND publicly, and for at least the near future.
In contrast, KCIII's first (but likely not last) Prime Minister is still looking distinctly uncomfortable, though maybe not as much she did right after the late Queen's passing. The sooner she can get down to work, or at least LOOK like she's working, the better for her. And really no immediate need for anything earth-shattering. Just reasonable appearance of getting to grip with His Britannic Majesty's Govt.
Could be that the comfort index might shift dramatically as time progresses; Truss has already shown she's capable of self-improvement on the political stage - though just how much is still an open question, or rather THE question of her premiership. And King Charles, like his fellow Head of State Joe Biden, is just a few REALLY bad gaffes away from SERIOUS trouble. Both are considerably improved on that score from their younger (and middle age) days, though old habits die hard, and old established media/political narratives even harder.
I was taught that it's always just in the tail - up goat, down sheep
It's why I don't mind eating kids instead of lambs
Ah, thanks - on checking, the RWF was in 2006 reduced to a single battalion, 1st of the new "Royal Welsh" regiment, the 3rd battaslion thereof being a different lot, former TA.
If Ukraine are ultimately successful, then its support for Ukraine over the past 8 years will be Britain's greatest foreign policy achievement since the second world war. It will outshadow the blunder in Iraq, and undo much of the vast and unnecessary harm caused by Brexit. It will also do a vast amount to restore Britains self confidence in the face of the endless attacks from within.
Very good point, actually.
We will have helped inflict a major strategic defeat on our principal adversary for very little cost.
I was going to immediately dismiss these as hot nonsense and designed to drive GOP donations/turnout as Echelon are an extremely partisan outfit but looking at their 2020 polling they actually did alright.
I still lean heavily on the "hot nonsense" theory but the figures are just too crazy not to share.
I imagine that India are indifferent to what is going on in Ukraine. It is just a war that doesn't affect them. It is a war between other countries. A lot of 'non-alligned' countries are quite sympathetic to Putin's claims that the US was bullying Russia with NATO expansion because they have similar complaints about the west. Also the 'moral authority' of the west was shattered by Iraq and other conflicts we have either got involved in or stayed out of. The answer probably isn't to go and 'arm Pakistan because Modi met Putin' because that brings with it its own problems and consequences.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Trying to talk your way out of it but I'm not convinced and I doubt Casino is either.
Not convinced of what?!
Your constant projection of your fucking boring tiny Woke fucking mindset is fucking tedious
I queued for the Queen Mum and when she died I didn’t nearly cry. I very nearly DID cry for Her Majesty the Q - she meant a lot to me - and I would totally queue for her, but yes there’s a limit. 15 hours? Two days? Probably not
I will be there in the crowds for the funeral cortège
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Why does King Charles and the royal family hate the NHS?
Hasn't he just taken a vow to defend the national religion?
Just in Scotland?
Didn't know we'd had a coronation with the Honours of Scotland. You may be thinking of the Proclamation. You get your (geographical) bit in Westminster Abbey, anyway.
Can Nicola please state unequivocally that the Stone of Scone isn't leaving Scotland. C'mon - score the open goal!
I really cannot see how doing so could possibly be a good idea, for the cause of Scottish independence, for the cause of republicanism, for the continuing legend of the Stone and therefore its pulling power as a tourism attraction, even for Russia (if that's your bag). It's an all round 360 degree shit idea. Do you have any arguments in its favour?
I am an English unionist republican who is happy to ally tactically with supporters of Scottish independence in the context of getting rid of the monarchy - on the assumption of mutual respect, as in any tactical alliance. Something very good might come out of that, e.g. a UR (not a UK) comprised of four republics each of which has a proper (i.e. written) constitution that allows it to hold a binding secession referendum at any time but no sooner than 5 years after the last one, and which can change its constitution to say otherwise if it wishes, following the constitutional procedure for changing the constitution and without reference to a union supreme court.
One of my probs with Scottish separatists is that some of them say they truly despise the Tories, a wholly laudable attitude to take, while unfortunately having an insufficient understanding of what the Tories are really about. ^ Said programme could be a help. Don't underestimate, Scottish friends, how much some English people detest the Tories too. As I have said before, WTF is the British monarchy other than the Tory party playing dressup? Many voters in Scotland whether pro or anti independence would agree with that characterisation. It needs to appear now in more and more minds: f*** the Tories and their monarchy.
Dumping monarchy is a key goal if things are going to move forward in these isles. It is indispensable. Put it centre.
What a load of rubbish. King Charles has more Scottish blood than English blood and the monarchy is at most One Nation Tory it is certainly not Thatcherite, for starters the late Queen got on better with Harold Wilson that Margaret Thatcher.
Even Sturgeon backs keeping the monarchy as she knows she needs to convince soft Unionists who want to keep the royal family to ever have a chance of independence. Far left republicans are nowhere near enough
Surely 1/4 mixed Danish/Greek, 1/4 mixed English/German, 1/4 mixed English/Scots and 1/4 English nominally.
Unless you think that the royal blood of Charles II erases all else? Yet he was half POrtuguese ...
The Queen Mother was Scottish, the royal family are also descended from Mary Queen of Scots more directly than Elizabeth 1st of England
You said "more Scottish blood than English". But you're confounding place of birth and genetic propinquity.
King George VI was English. His wife was born in Scotland, but the child of a Scot and an Englishwoman. That makes the [edit] late HMtQ 3/4 English. Unless you think there is something mystical about trhe blood of particular persons taken at random 400+ years ago. You could just as well argue that KC is Dutch - more direct and reliable line of descent there.
Until independence goes through, surely being Scottish is either a question of self identifying as such, or else it’s “could you play for Scotland” type rules.
I would push for the former rather than the latter since, if I move to and live in Scotland pre-independence presumably I’ll be entitled to become a Scottish citizen. However, either way I reckon the King can claim to be Scottish. He could play for Scotland.
He couldn't. Born in England, and 1/8 Scots by parentage. More likely to qualify for Greece.
He's a big fan of Greece. In a Greek newspaper on one of his visits last year he said it was "part of his identity". Carolos, as they call him there.
I’m getting the impression Chuck is a big fan of wherever he is at any given moment, duff writing arrangements apart. He’s gonnae come a cropper at some point, ‘Hello Barrowlands, I love you all!’ when he’s at Covent Garden.
Well, yes and no. He's always talking about Greece as "the land of his father's birth" when he visits there, and has also visited Mount Athos about a hundred times. I think the key person there was his grandmother who turned up from Athens, chainsmoking and having become a Greek nun, in Buckingham Palace in 1968.
I can see she would have been a breath of, er, fresh air. Was she the one that did good works saving people from the Nazis?
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
We are hoping to go Friday evening and queue for as long as it takes to pay our respects to the late Queen
Police must be at least giving cursory thought to rounding up the disrespectful anarchists that have booked for Centre Parcs on the 19th. This sort of radical holidaying on a public holiday needs to stop. Now is not the time.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Never understood the lying in State thing, nor the queueing to have a look thing.
Worth it if you can see the body, otherwise what's the point?
Police must be at least giving cursory thought to rounding up the disrespectful anarchists that have booked for Centre Parcs on the 19th. This sort of radical holidaying on a public holiday needs to stop. Now is not the time.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Never understood the lying in State thing, nor the queueing to have a look thing.
It is honestly magical in a sombre way. These rituals exist for a reason
Why do we do any of this grieving stuff? Why a grave? A tomb? A service? Ashes to ashes? Black widows weeds? Jade jewelry? Flowers laid at a certain spot?
Looked at with pure materialist mindset it is all mad. Yet it helps us to mourn and move on. And when a MONARCH dies you multiply the ritual by 10 or 100. Or, in the Queen’s case, a million
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Ah, Leon’s “leftie friends” again. I’d love to know more about them, which particular brand of progressivism they belong to to create these batshit insane reactions to Leon’s crazy antics.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
Fucking love me a bit of Seville. Especially at night
Must be the most unWoke city in the west
First we’re gonna turn your beautiful Islamic minaret into a CHURCH TOWER. Then we’re gonna build an ARCHIVE OF PLUNDER next door
Later on we shall be killing bulls. In a dedicated arena. For fun. Try the octopus and chili skewers. De nada
I find it interesting that you haven't mentioned or commented on the death of HMQ once.
Why?
What on earth are you talking about?!
I’ve mentioned it a lot. Expressed my serious sadness. I predicted several times how it would impact people more than they expected. I’ve noted international reaction
I also noted how the news was first confirmed to me as I walked some mad cliffs in alentejo. After my walk I checked into a sweet little hotel in Vila Nova de Milfontes. The owner, a kindly old portugee lady, came up to me and said, in sad, pale-faced shock “your queen is dead!”
I haven't seen it. Just your meals.
I’ve been reading your reaction with interest. Quite intense
Mine comes and goes, I think I would be feeling it more if I was at home. That’s partly why I am away, I suspect. Tho I also LOVE Seville. It must be one of the most seductive cities in the world in the dark
Chin chin. The queen would approve of the frankly enormous gin and tonics here. Her mum even more so
Is that what you get all over town with your drink(s), instead of beer nuts or pickled pigs ears?
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Never understood the lying in State thing, nor the queueing to have a look thing.
It's just a symbolic act of respect, in a way the longer the queue to wait the more respect is felt to be showed.
People are weird - they'd spend money and kill people to own a random fingerbone said to be that of a saint, or make an idol out of random bits of wood, or make a ritual about circling a piece of rock. Non-religious rituals keep the weirdness though with a bit less pretension about it.
If Ukraine are ultimately successful, then its support for Ukraine over the past 8 years will be Britain's greatest foreign policy achievement since the second world war. It will outshadow the blunder in Iraq, and undo much of the vast and unnecessary harm caused by Brexit. It will also do a vast amount to restore Britains self confidence in the face of the endless attacks from within.
Actually as a sceptic, watching C4News coverage of Northern Ireland I did acknowledge that in that context royalty has had a place. And the Queen personally made a major contribution to ensuring a lasting peace.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
We are hoping to go Friday evening and queue for as long as it takes to pay our respects to the late Queen
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
Its rather strange considering that if their job went with the individual, then he's still around as King now, whereas if it went with the title, there's a new Prince of Wales. So their jobs really shouldn't be redundant you'd have thought?
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
Its rather strange considering that if their job went with the individual, then he's still around as King now, whereas if it went with the title, there's a new Prince of Wales. So their jobs really shouldn't be redundant you'd have thought?
Apparently there is no automatic new PoW so there is a legal break? Bit shit though like being made redundant on Christmas Eve. You'd think they could wait till the funereal equivalent of 12th Night.
This is just the start. Putin has just screwed this up so badly. Russia is going to lose against Ukraine. Let me say that again. Russia is going to lose to Ukraine. And Russia will start to fall apart. Provinces will break off. Violence and rebellions everywhere. With a frisson of Nukes. Shit.
I imagine that India are indifferent to what is going on in Ukraine. It is just a war that doesn't affect them. It is a war between other countries. A lot of 'non-alligned' countries are quite sympathetic to Putin's claims that the US was bullying Russia with NATO expansion because they have similar complaints about the west. Also the 'moral authority' of the west was shattered by Iraq and other conflicts we have either got involved in or stayed out of. The answer probably isn't to go and 'arm Pakistan because Modi met Putin' because that brings with it its own problems and consequences.
I am sure it is correct they are indifferent, and that makes quite a bit of sense from their perspective.
But, such that moral authority is a thing (which is not much) it does in fact balance the scales from the Iraqs of the world somewhat. Sure, that was still very wrong, but if we accept that India and many others are as is their right free to not give a shit about a war which is of much greater interest to Europe and the USA than it is to them, when it is still a war with a very clear bad side and they could acknowledge that without even doing anything, then it becomes easier to ignore attempts to chide the West about it. So they have no reason to care one whit about Ukraine, that's fine, the West need not kid itself that anyone raising the shame of Iraq is exercising moral superority - it's cold hard national interests all around.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
What you find with Meg is there's always a grain of truth in everything so says but it's "her" truth so she takes a certain scenario or event and puts her own "truth" on it.
The marriage with the Archbishop in the garden which was actually just a private blessing is a prime example.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
'Shoddy way he is treating his own son'? It is Harry who abandoned his royal duties to cash in in California, Harry who has been trashing a family who gave him everything, Harry who has been behaving like a self pitying brat, Harry who brought personal pain to his grandmother by the self centred actions of he and his wife in her final years and Harry who has still been begging Charles for continued financial support.
It was also of course Charles and William who told the Queen to strip Andrew of his royal duties and titles
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
We are hoping to go Friday evening and queue for as long as it takes to pay our respects to the late Queen
I genuinely recommend it. if the Queen Mum’s lying in state is anything to go by. The queue I was in was all chatty and jolly and swapping sandwiches and jokes, and then when you finally got in: Wow
Instant, thunderstruck sadness. A beautiful, noble moment. I’m not quite sure why. The mise en scene is peerless, of course. Westminster Hall! Rufus’ Roaring Hall. One of the greatest medieval buildings in the entire world. And where they found the King’s High Table. What incredible history. Few countries can boast this. Maybe not one. Maybe it is only Britain that has this
The Queen will lie in state in the near 1000 year old hall built by the son of William the Conqueror, her direct ancestor, and where Charles the First, her direct ancestor, was condemned to the axe, on the marshy site first made sacred by the early Anglo Saxon kings, her direct ancestors
In France it is *illegal* for traders to refuse cash payments in lawful currency. Article 642-3 of the French penal code states that traders cannot “refuse cash payments for the settling of accounts,” and they can be fined up to €150 for doing so. We should copy this . 5:08 PM · Sep 12, 2022"
If traders don't want the security risk of carrying or accepting cash then that should be their prerogative. Take your business elsewhere if you're not happy with that.
Why do people like Hitchens want a big state to micromanage their lives for them? Let people choose what they want to do or accept.
Because this law while big state keeps the big state out of worse things such as being to track every electronic payment. Sorry you are wrong here this is a little big state rule to prevent worse big state interference. Big state would love every transaction to be electronic and therefore trackable. You are so on the wrong fucking side of it
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Ah, Leon’s “leftie friends” again. I’d love to know more about them, which particular brand of progressivism they belong to to create these batshit insane reactions to Leon’s crazy antics.
I hope he’s little more civil with them than he is with lefties on this board.
Actually as a sceptic, watching C4News coverage of Northern Ireland I did acknowledge that in that context royalty has had a place. And the Queen personally made a major contribution to ensuring a lasting peace.
Here's her speech at Dublin Castle from 2011. Enjoy.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Trying to talk your way out of it but I'm not convinced and I doubt Casino is either.
Not convinced of what?!
Your constant projection of your fucking boring tiny Woke fucking mindset is fucking tedious
I queued for the Queen Mum and when she died I didn’t nearly cry. I very nearly DID cry for Her Majesty the Q - she meant a lot to me - and I would totally queue for her, but yes there’s a limit. 15 hours? Two days? Probably not
I will be there in the crowds for the funeral cortège
Well let's see how you feel if you really do join the throng next Monday. Perhaps you will manage to cry but you shouldn't force the tears if they're not there.
Sorry to bang on about Kherson, but it is the key to the rapid collapse of the war:
"Ukraine’s negotiating position should be simple: Russian forces can happily withdraw into a POW camp after handing their equipment over. Seriously, “We’re out of ammo, please let us out with all our gear” is not a particularly well-leveraged negotiating position. There’s no plausible “or else…” that is even remotely compelling to Ukraine."
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
Its rather strange considering that if their job went with the individual, then he's still around as King now, whereas if it went with the title, there's a new Prince of Wales. So their jobs really shouldn't be redundant you'd have thought?
Charles is keen on a slimmed-down monarchy apparently. I suspect some of the big houses with a massive staff are going to go.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
'Shoddy way he is treating his own son'? It is Harry who abandoned his royal duties to cash in in California, Harry who has been trashing a family who gave him everything, Harry who has been behaving like a self pitying brat, Harry who brought personal pain to his grandmother by the self centred actions of he and his wife in her final years and Harry who has still been begging Charles for continued financial support.
It was also of course Charles and William who forced the Queen to strip Andrew of his royal duties and titles
Given what you said about Royal nationalities as demonstrated earlier, you must either be a thoroughly unreliable commentator on the RF, or have some explosive confidential information on the family's relationships. Which is it?
Actually as a sceptic, watching C4News coverage of Northern Ireland I did acknowledge that in that context royalty has had a place. And the Queen personally made a major contribution to ensuring a lasting peace.
Sense zero interest in Bake Off on here. Was going to liveblog it - like Ian memorably does with Crufts - but I don't think I'll bother.
Most pointless show on television. This week anyway.
Well it's not meant to have a point. Apart from bringing the nation together in a way that nothing else can. Surprised PB is immune.
I still like it, though I find a little of the charm has been chipped off slightly over the years as the presenting/judging cast have rotated through. And I find the C4 era is a bit too "construct a 3d thing out of cake". I think they've just run out of different cakes to bake, so the challenge is just...build a bigger cake.
This is just the start. Putin has just screwed this up so badly. Russia is going to lose against Ukraine. Let me say that again. Russia is going to lose to Ukraine. And Russia will start to fall apart. Provinces will break off. Violence and rebellions everywhere. With a frisson of Nukes. Shit.
Things could indeed go very badly for a very large group of people (quite rightly the Ukrainians don't feel obliged to consider that, they've got their own shit to deal with right now). It's still to be seen how bad or how quickly things might mess up from here for Putin, but it does seem likely that he, like all in his position, seems to have bought into his own myth that he is a master of maniupulating events. The idea things could exceed his ability to control them does not seem to have entered into his thinking, and throwing tens of thousands into a war, and unifying his opponents, not even contemplated.
I queued up to see the Queen Mum lying in state when she karked it. I confess I did it mainly to annoy my lefty friends - and see a bit of history
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
Ah, Leon’s “leftie friends” again. I’d love to know more about them, which particular brand of progressivism they belong to to create these batshit insane reactions to Leon’s crazy antics.
I hope he’s little more civil with them than he is with lefties on this board.
This is just the start. Putin has just screwed this up so badly. Russia is going to lose against Ukraine. Let me say that again. Russia is going to lose to Ukraine. And Russia will start to fall apart. Provinces will break off. Violence and rebellions everywhere. With a frisson of Nukes. Shit.
Zelensky's forces have certainly pushed the Russians back but I expect fighting in the Donbass and Crimea to continue for years
Sorry to bang on about Kherson, but it is the key to the rapid collapse of the war:
"Ukraine’s negotiating position should be simple: Russian forces can happily withdraw into a POW camp after handing their equipment over. Seriously, “We’re out of ammo, please let us out with all our gear” is not a particularly well-leveraged negotiating position. There’s no plausible “or else…” that is even remotely compelling to Ukraine."
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
Its rather strange considering that if their job went with the individual, then he's still around as King now, whereas if it went with the title, there's a new Prince of Wales. So their jobs really shouldn't be redundant you'd have thought?
It has already been stated the aim is to help some find jobs elsewhere in the Royal Household eg with the new Prince of Wales
This is just the start. Putin has just screwed this up so badly. Russia is going to lose against Ukraine. Let me say that again. Russia is going to lose to Ukraine. And Russia will start to fall apart. Provinces will break off. Violence and rebellions everywhere. With a frisson of Nukes. Shit.
Good. Best thing that can possibly happen, and will be good for most Russians too.
The problem with Russia is that its a Muscovite Empire that keeps the worst traditions of Empire going. The Provinces are absolutely impoverished and bled dry third world style to keep a standard of living going in Moscow. So long as things are smooth in Moscow, the rest of the country can go to hell in a handcart.
A breakup of the Russian Federation and provinces going independent and being able to sink or swim on their own rather than being drained for Moscow would be a very good thing.
I see that ALL the brave Royals will be wearing their full military dress uniforms except the very, very bad one... Harry
Includingthe Duke of Rape.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
I'm really not interested in all the Hello Magazine/Daily Heil gossip about them but the shoddy way he's treating his own son, even while turning a blind eye to his abusive brothers shenanigans, rather gives credence to the idea that what Harry and Meghan had to say was true all along.
I must say I was startled to learn that the ritual calendar apparently has, on day 5, "Sacrifice of the New King's Former Servants". Okay, given their redundo rather than being slain and placed in the tomb as of old; but why couldn't it wait till after the ten days?
Its rather strange considering that if their job went with the individual, then he's still around as King now, whereas if it went with the title, there's a new Prince of Wales. So their jobs really shouldn't be redundant you'd have thought?
It has already been stated the aim is to help some find jobs elsewhere in the Royal Household eg with the new Prince of Wales
If Ukraine are ultimately successful, then its support for Ukraine over the past 8 years will be Britain's greatest foreign policy achievement since the second world war. It will outshadow the blunder in Iraq, and undo much of the vast and unnecessary harm caused by Brexit. It will also do a vast amount to restore Britains self confidence in the face of the endless attacks from within.
Comments
Independent actors, but believing Delhi - Moscow connection is vital for their security.
"We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston
SSI - Not sure I agree entirely with his late lordship, but can see what Pam was driving at. So could Nehru and his successor up to Modi (with individual & political nuances) regardless of domestic differences.
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow”.
Cuts both ways of course and we should expect no more and no less from India.
*Plus, topically, this one: “The policy and practice of the Russian Government has always been to push forward its encroachments as fast and as far as the apathy or want of firmness of other Governments would allow it to go, but always to stop and retire when it met with decided resistance and then to wait for the next favorable opportunity”.
Moshe Schwartz
@YWNReporter
·
2h
Reporter: 'Was the Pentagon surprised by the speed of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region?
Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder: "If anyone was surprised, just based on the reports that we've seen.. it was probably the Russians."
https://twitter.com/YWNReporter/status/1569738899404034049
I'm sure the company would be glad to make some for the British market, with appropriate decorations.
(The two I use every day commemorate Apollo 11 and Apollo 13, but there are many others already available. The pens make, I think, nice small presents -- and can be used as gentle reminders that thank-you letters are nearly always appreciated.)
Julia Davis
@JuliaDavisNews
Even the most war-happy Putin loyalists on Russian TV are now pushing for the recognition of "serious defeats" Russia has suffered in Ukraine: "Where was our damn reconnaissance? All of their heads should be laying on Putin’s desk, hacked off at the base."
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1569728908962185216
I’ve mentioned it a lot. Expressed my serious sadness. I predicted several times how it would impact people more than they expected. I’ve noted international reaction
I also noted how the news was first confirmed to me as I walked some mad cliffs in alentejo. After my walk I checked into a sweet little hotel in Vila
Nova de Milfontes. The owner, a kindly old portugee lady, came up to me and said, in sad, pale-faced shock “your queen is dead!”
Well done Sunil
The most likely alternative to rule by the British Empire was rule by another that would have been highly unlikely to have built up universities and legal and parliamentary institutions.
Todd Gillespie
@_ToddGillespie
·
1h
Uniper announces its coal unit at Ratcliffe in Nottinghamshire will stay online until 2024 -- the third and longest UK coal plant extension
Follows Kwasi Kwarteng's call to keep coal capacity online as we head into winter with a gas shortage in Europe
https://twitter.com/_ToddGillespie/status/1569751749031874561
==
Not a million miles from me. Seems a good decision.
I was once chatting to my old colleague from Kyrgyzstan about Kyrgyzstan
We somehow got onto their national animal, the Urial. "Beautiful goats with big horns that live in the mountains", she told me
I took one look and told her, correctly, that it was a sheep
Queue took 2 hours in the middle of the night. When you get in Westminster Hall the atmos is spellbinding. The huge crown on her coffin glittered in the semi darkness. The guardsmen with their heads bowed. The last empress of India
Magnificent
I would definitely do it for the Q but I suspect the lines will be 15 hours long
You'd think they'd recognise that.
We will have helped inflict a major strategic defeat on our principal adversary for very little cost.
This more than anything persuades me that Our Dear King is a psychotic pig, humiliating his own son on grounds of wounded self importance. And presumably permitting Prince Child molester to wear the kit just to point up the fact.
Republic NOW.
Mine comes and goes, I think I would be feeling it more if I was at home. That’s partly why I am away, I suspect. Tho I also LOVE Seville. It must be one of the most seductive cities in the world in the dark
Chin chin. The queen would approve of the frankly enormous gin and tonics here. Her mum even more so
We cut the footage as the bodies of 15 Armenian soldiers were in the video.
https://twitter.com/Caucasuswar/status/1569770793541988352
What also shows is that he's pretty comfortable in his own skin, and with his new stature. YOU may not be comfortable with it or him. But His Majesty is, and I think that is helping him right now, privately AND publicly, and for at least the near future.
In contrast, KCIII's first (but likely not last) Prime Minister is still looking distinctly uncomfortable, though maybe not as much she did right after the late Queen's passing. The sooner she can get down to work, or at least LOOK like she's working, the better for her. And really no immediate need for anything earth-shattering. Just reasonable appearance of getting to grip with His Britannic Majesty's Govt.
Could be that the comfort index might shift dramatically as time progresses; Truss has already shown she's capable of self-improvement on the political stage - though just how much is still an open question, or rather THE question of her premiership. And King Charles, like his fellow Head of State Joe Biden, is just a few REALLY bad gaffes away from SERIOUS trouble. Both are considerably improved on that score from their younger (and middle age) days, though old habits die hard, and old established media/political narratives even harder.
And me too re up/down ...
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1569754673858445316
@EchelonInsights
/
@NetChoice
Polls (8/31-9/7):
#PAsen:
Fetterman (D) 57% (+21)
Oz (R) 36%
.
#AZsen:
Kelly (D-inc) 52% (+15)
Masters (R) 37%
.
#GAsen:
Warnock (D-inc) 50% (+10)
Walker (R) 40%
.
#OHsen:
Ryan (D) 45% (+6)
Vance (R) 39%
I was going to immediately dismiss these as hot nonsense and designed to drive GOP donations/turnout as Echelon are an extremely partisan outfit but looking at their 2020 polling they actually did alright.
I still lean heavily on the "hot nonsense" theory but the figures are just too crazy not to share.
Your constant projection of your fucking boring tiny Woke fucking mindset is fucking tedious
I queued for the Queen Mum and when she died I didn’t nearly cry. I very nearly DID cry for Her Majesty the Q - she meant a lot to me - and I would totally queue for her, but yes there’s a limit. 15 hours? Two days? Probably not
I will be there in the crowds for the funeral cortège
I do like a good Viscount ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_Battenberg
Good friend of mine raised goats, loved goats, hated sheep because according to him they have zero personality.
Which NOBODY who knows one end of a billy OR nanny from the other will ever say about our caprine friends!
It is honestly magical in a sombre way. These rituals exist for a reason
Why do we do any of this grieving stuff? Why a grave? A tomb? A service? Ashes to ashes? Black widows weeds? Jade jewelry? Flowers laid at a certain spot?
Looked at with pure materialist mindset it is all mad. Yet it helps us to mourn and move on. And when a MONARCH dies you multiply the ritual by 10 or 100. Or, in the Queen’s case, a million
People are weird - they'd spend money and kill people to own a random fingerbone said to be that of a saint, or make an idol out of random bits of wood, or make a ritual about circling a piece of rock. Non-religious rituals keep the weirdness though with a bit less pretension about it.
Turns out THAT was just a cleaver deception/diversion; the REAL Royal Menace being the Victoria Sponge.
But, such that moral authority is a thing (which is not much) it does in fact balance the scales from the Iraqs of the world somewhat. Sure, that was still very wrong, but if we accept that India and many others are as is their right free to not give a shit about a war which is of much greater interest to Europe and the USA than it is to them, when it is still a war with a very clear bad side and they could acknowledge that without even doing anything, then it becomes easier to ignore attempts to chide the West about it. So they have no reason to care one whit about Ukraine, that's fine, the West need not kid itself that anyone raising the shame of Iraq is exercising moral superority - it's cold hard national interests all around.
The marriage with the Archbishop in the garden which was actually just a private blessing is a prime example.
It was also of course Charles and William who told the Queen to strip Andrew of his royal duties and titles
Instant, thunderstruck sadness. A beautiful, noble moment. I’m not quite sure why. The mise en scene is peerless, of course. Westminster Hall! Rufus’ Roaring Hall. One of the greatest medieval buildings in the entire world. And where they found the King’s High Table. What incredible history. Few countries can boast this. Maybe not one. Maybe it is only Britain that has this
The Queen will lie in state in the near 1000 year old hall built by the son of William the Conqueror, her direct ancestor, and where Charles the First, her direct ancestor, was condemned to the axe, on the marshy site first made sacred by the early Anglo Saxon kings, her direct ancestors
I hope you get in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKz-6vn_i00
"Ukraine’s negotiating position should be simple: Russian forces can happily withdraw into a POW camp after handing their equipment over. Seriously, “We’re out of ammo, please let us out with all our gear” is not a particularly well-leveraged negotiating position. There’s no plausible “or else…” that is even remotely compelling to Ukraine."
https://www.24talker.com/news/feature-news/ukraine-update-russia-wants-out-of-kherson-as-the-reality-of-their-trap-finally-dawns-on-them/
The problem with Russia is that its a Muscovite Empire that keeps the worst traditions of Empire going. The Provinces are absolutely impoverished and bled dry third world style to keep a standard of living going in Moscow. So long as things are smooth in Moscow, the rest of the country can go to hell in a handcart.
A breakup of the Russian Federation and provinces going independent and being able to sink or swim on their own rather than being drained for Moscow would be a very good thing.
dark suit would be an interesting contrast.
Though Andrew saw active service too. Hence the Eighties era joke:
Q: what's the difference between Koo Stark and the Argentine Navy.
A: only one has blown up Andy's chopper.
Ah, that's my coat...