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Retaining Senate control would be a huge boost for Biden – politicalbetting.com

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  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    If that's all it was he will get the whip restored in time, so his career won't be ended.

    In the meantime he'd be a distraction as a minister, and if he chooses to get that pissed whilst on medication to boot clearly lacks the judgement to be one.

    The days of people unable to control themselves whilst serving in office are indeed over (at least when it comes to light). Is that puritannical? Perhaps, but all they have to do is not get shitfaced at public events.
    But how are you ever going to get laid if you aren't allowed to furtively grope someone in a bar?

    A lot of my best relationships have started with a bit of ludicrous, embarrassing, very drunken fumbling under a table. The lady thrusts your hand away, but in an equivocal manner which says Hmmm, maybe, but come back to me when you're sober

    And so it goes
    Good grief. Are you joking?! Ever tried striking up a conversation?
    I'm HALF joking

    I know this will appall @CorrectHorseBattery2 and possibly @CorrectHorseBattery3 but it is true to say that, on occasion, I've just thought Fuck it, and grabbed a girl's thigh under a table. While smiling politely as if nothing untoward has happened

    And I am afraid to say it has worked. Sometimes!

    It cuts out a lot of tedious chit chat and courtship, for a start

    When I was 20, I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. On my left was a friend of mine's girlfriend (and the friend was to her left). Half way through the movie, she put her hand on my thigh, in a way that was unmistakably sexual.

    I was quite disturbed. Because, although she was both attractive and funny, my friend was considerably stronger than me, and was known to have a temper.

    In the circumstances, I felt the risks outweighed the benefit and went for an unneeded toilet break.
    That exact same thing has happened to me, and yes it can be deeply unsettling

    Your erotic reaction is Yes! But morally and socially: WTF?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,960

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kle4 said:

    Oh mate.


    "Burns, 50, was a close friend of Margaret Thatcher in her final years"

    Whilst I don't wish to suggest intergenerational friendships are not a thing, I call bullshit on the idea Thatcher was 'close friends' with someone 47 years her junior.

    Boris just has great judgement in friends and allies - Paterson, Burns, Pincher
    She was. I know Conor well.

    That's totally true.
    So you associate with weirdos, no surprise there then
    Oi.

    Watch it.
    Why? He's literally in here saying groping somebody when you're drunk isn't that bad.
    Dude: cut out the personal abuse.
    How odd, you didn't jump in when that user called me an autistic virgin yet him literally saying he assaults women is okay. Utterly pathetic.

    If that's what we go for here then I'm leaving for good. See ya.
    I didn't see that insult being thrown, but I would have called it out if I had.

    And, fwiw, I have admonished @IshmaelZ for insult throwing in the last few days, so don't think it's just you.
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,594

    Scott_xP said:

    Liz Truss’ approval rating has dropped by 10 points in just one week.
    Her net approval figure (-47%) is now worse than any recorded for Boris Johnson – who reached a low of -44% during Partygate – and Theresa May who reached -46% during the 2019 elections. https://twitter.com/OpiniumResearch/status/1578826242060865537/photo/1

    There’s no coming back. No idea why the Tories continue to pretend that “they need to give her time”
    The few remaining Truss fans are deluded. They really cannot understand why she is such a total disaster.
  • Options
    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,204
    Scott_xP said:

    More from tomorrow's action packed paper.

    Tory rebels in secret talks with Labour to derail Liz Truss' plans to curb benefits...Expect more sparks to fly when Parliament returns on Tuesday.

    A rebel warns the PM "We are organised"

    https://bit.ly/3eeNWLs

    No way is Truss passing a benefits cut. No chance whatsoever.

    But she wont back down, so grab your popcorn kids.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kle4 said:

    Oh mate.


    "Burns, 50, was a close friend of Margaret Thatcher in her final years"

    Whilst I don't wish to suggest intergenerational friendships are not a thing, I call bullshit on the idea Thatcher was 'close friends' with someone 47 years her junior.

    Boris just has great judgement in friends and allies - Paterson, Burns, Pincher
    She was. I know Conor well.

    That's totally true.
    So you associate with weirdos, no surprise there then
    Oi.

    Watch it.
    Why? He's literally in here saying groping somebody when you're drunk isn't that bad.
    Dude: cut out the personal abuse.
    How odd, you didn't jump in when that user called me an autistic virgin yet him literally saying he assaults women is okay. Utterly pathetic.

    If that's what we go for here then I'm leaving for good. See ya.
    Have you thought of calming down? No one wants you to leave, but you dish out abuse then get histrionic at other posters, often for no reason. eg you said you "despised" Charles today, and he's not even on the site any more. What is the point and who does it benefit?

    Bonkers. Just learn to chill a bit
  • Options
    stodgestodge Posts: 12,850

    Truss as leader guarantees a Labour Government

    Some on here however think Starmer and Labour will be so hopeless the Conservatives will be swept back in just five years on an even more right-wing, populist and libertarian agenda.

    Wishful thinking - maybe. Perhaps they aren't looking forward to 20 years or more of centre-left Government.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    EXCL - Bonk for Britain

    Cabinet minister suggests women should get tax cuts for having children to encourage a baby boom and wean Britain off immigration 😍👶

    Scheme already exists in Hungary.

    https://bit.ly/3ysOiVA
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,960
    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    If that's all it was he will get the whip restored in time, so his career won't be ended.

    In the meantime he'd be a distraction as a minister, and if he chooses to get that pissed whilst on medication to boot clearly lacks the judgement to be one.

    The days of people unable to control themselves whilst serving in office are indeed over (at least when it comes to light). Is that puritannical? Perhaps, but all they have to do is not get shitfaced at public events.
    But how are you ever going to get laid if you aren't allowed to furtively grope someone in a bar?

    A lot of my best relationships have started with a bit of ludicrous, embarrassing, very drunken fumbling under a table. The lady thrusts your hand away, but in an equivocal manner which says Hmmm, maybe, but come back to me when you're sober

    And so it goes
    Good grief. Are you joking?! Ever tried striking up a conversation?
    I'm HALF joking

    I know this will appall @CorrectHorseBattery2 and possibly @CorrectHorseBattery3 but it is true to say that, on occasion, I've just thought Fuck it, and grabbed a girl's thigh under a table. While smiling politely as if nothing untoward has happened

    And I am afraid to say it has worked. Sometimes!

    It cuts out a lot of tedious chit chat and courtship, for a start

    When I was 20, I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. On my left was a friend of mine's girlfriend (and the friend was to her left). Half way through the movie, she put her hand on my thigh, in a way that was unmistakably sexual.

    I was quite disturbed. Because, although she was both attractive and funny, my friend was considerably stronger than me, and was known to have a temper.

    In the circumstances, I felt the risks outweighed the benefit and went for an unneeded toilet break.
    That exact same thing has happened to me, and yes it can be deeply unsettling

    Your erotic reaction is Yes! But morally and socially: WTF?
    I was fine with the moral bit, the social bit I could have ridden out, but the belted by my (presumably be soon to be ex-) mate was a line too far.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    If that's all it was he will get the whip restored in time, so his career won't be ended.

    In the meantime he'd be a distraction as a minister, and if he chooses to get that pissed whilst on medication to boot clearly lacks the judgement to be one.

    The days of people unable to control themselves whilst serving in office are indeed over (at least when it comes to light). Is that puritannical? Perhaps, but all they have to do is not get shitfaced at public events.
    But how are you ever going to get laid if you aren't allowed to furtively grope someone in a bar?

    A lot of my best relationships have started with a bit of ludicrous, embarrassing, very drunken fumbling under a table. The lady thrusts your hand away, but in an equivocal manner which says Hmmm, maybe, but come back to me when you're sober

    And so it goes
    Good grief. Are you joking?! Ever tried striking up a conversation?
    I'm HALF joking

    I know this will appall @CorrectHorseBattery2 and possibly @CorrectHorseBattery3 but it is true to say that, on occasion, I've just thought Fuck it, and grabbed a girl's thigh under a table. While smiling politely as if nothing untoward has happened

    And I am afraid to say it has worked. Sometimes!

    It cuts out a lot of tedious chit chat and courtship, for a start

    When I was 20, I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. On my left was a friend of mine's girlfriend (and the friend was to her left). Half way through the movie, she put her hand on my thigh, in a way that was unmistakably sexual.

    I was quite disturbed. Because, although she was both attractive and funny, my friend was considerably stronger than me, and was known to have a temper.

    In the circumstances, I felt the risks outweighed the benefit and went for an unneeded toilet break.
    That exact same thing has happened to me, and yes it can be deeply unsettling

    Your erotic reaction is Yes! But morally and socially: WTF?
    I was fine with the moral bit, the social bit I could have ridden out, but the belted by my (presumably be soon to be ex-) mate was a line too far.
    This scenario has happened to me four or five times

    It is difficult to handle. On each occasion the girl was at least desirable, twice they have been lovely

    I have not always resisted
  • Options
    ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 2,923
    Leon said:

    Cookie said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Imagine if Boris’s bridge to Northern Ireland had been destroyed by some kind of Von der Leyen-Varadkar axis special ops.

    The idea of a bridge (to Ireland generally) isn't a bad thing. Not practical yet.
    It’s a shit idea precisely because it’s not practical.
    Come along. The idea of flight in the 18th century wasn't shit.
    I love trains.

    I want a high speed train linking Derry, Belfast and Dublin.

    I want a high speed train from Holyhead to Hull.

    Neither have, I suppose, a good business case behind them, but at least they are buildable.



    Standing tough under stars and stripes, we can tell
    This dream's in sight, you've got to admit it
    At this point in time that it's clear
    The future looks bright
    On that train, all graphite and glitter
    Undersea by rail
    Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
    Well, by '76 we'll be a-okay


    What a beautiful world this will be
    What a glorious time to be free
    What a beautiful world this will be (Ooh, ah)
    What a glorious time to be free



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueivjr3f8xg


    Ah, God. I miss the 1980s. All that optimism. Everything was going to get better. And the music was lovely
    I watched Point Break the weekend before last.
    It was a delight to watch a film about an America which didn't hate itself.
    There were bank robbers. But they just wanted money. There were no lectures on racism or climate change or alternative sexualities or any other moral shortcomings of the west. It was just a story.
    A slightky ludicrous story, granted. But beautifully shot.
    (ok, this was actually 90s. But the poont holds.)
    Yes, it was often a little obnoxious, but the cocky America that liked itself is greatly preferable to the nervous, self-loathing superpower in steep decline we see now

    I watched Top Gun Maverick the other day. The perfect movie to encapsulate this mood. America is an ageing Tom Cruise. Dyeing its hair but wondering why it bothers. Has a flashy motorbike but rarely uses it. Fancies a nice cocoa but has to get in the jet one more time
    Point Blank is very worth watch - holds up very well. Hints at what's to come in The Parallax View and a lot of 70s post-Watergate paranoia.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    That remark will stalk her career.
  • Options
    pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,132

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Home Secretary Suella Braverman writes for @TheSun to warn Tory rebels - lay down your arms and get behind Liz Truss or you will hand the keys to No10 to Sir Keir Starmer

    https://bit.ly/3MewSBX

    Braverman is another one seeing her career circling the pan.
    Oh I don't know about that. Fareham is so safe that she could be a leading contender to take over as leader of what little is left of the Opposition.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191
    pigeon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Home Secretary Suella Braverman writes for @TheSun to warn Tory rebels - lay down your arms and get behind Liz Truss or you will hand the keys to No10 to Sir Keir Starmer

    https://bit.ly/3MewSBX

    Braverman is another one seeing her career circling the pan.
    Oh I don't know about that. Fareham is so safe that she could be a leading contender to take over as leader of what little is left of the Opposition.
    Her and Gavin Williamson.

    Heavens, what a thought.
  • Options
    Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,540
    ydoethur said:

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    That remark will stalk her career.
    Very funny, petal.
  • Options

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    @JohnRentoul @OpiniumResearch We already knew Sunak was the preferred candidate among the wider population. But 80-odd thousand Conservative members decided to ignore that & go for Truss. I say went for Truss, ironically by doing so, they were voting for Starmer.🤔

    https://twitter.com/JasonRobert3114/status/1578831269634670592
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191

    ydoethur said:

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    That remark will stalk her career.
    Very funny, petal.
    I'm glad to see you rose to the occasion.

    Unlike Braverman, who is at best lily-livered.
  • Options
    GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,847
    The Tory Party’s problem is Britain’s problem and indeed the West’s problem.

    Demography.
  • Options
    pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,132
    ydoethur said:

    pigeon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Home Secretary Suella Braverman writes for @TheSun to warn Tory rebels - lay down your arms and get behind Liz Truss or you will hand the keys to No10 to Sir Keir Starmer

    https://bit.ly/3MewSBX

    Braverman is another one seeing her career circling the pan.
    Oh I don't know about that. Fareham is so safe that she could be a leading contender to take over as leader of what little is left of the Opposition.
    Her and Gavin Williamson.

    Heavens, what a thought.
    Sunak is another likely survivor, if he bothers to stick around to tell the rest of the minibus "told you so."
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,323
    I wish more attractive girls would unexpectedly touch my thigh.

    Sigh.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896

    I wish more attractive girls would unexpectedly touch my thigh.

    Sigh.

    That line needs an Oxford comma
  • Options
    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,955

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    Florists, hairdressers and town planners.
    Are they building a new town called Chigley?
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
  • Options

    ydoethur said:

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    That remark will stalk her career.
    Very funny, petal.
    We need to stem these budding pun-makers.
  • Options
    Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 13,312
    edited October 2022
    ydoethur said:

    pigeon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Home Secretary Suella Braverman writes for @TheSun to warn Tory rebels - lay down your arms and get behind Liz Truss or you will hand the keys to No10 to Sir Keir Starmer

    https://bit.ly/3MewSBX

    Braverman is another one seeing her career circling the pan.
    Oh I don't know about that. Fareham is so safe that she could be a leading contender to take over as leader of what little is left of the Opposition.
    Her and Gavin Williamson.

    Heavens, what a thought.
    It was gratifying to note that if the number of Conservative seats fell to 65, as predicted by Electoral Calculus recently, Sir Christopher Chope would be one of the survivors remaining to keep the flame burning.

    Braverman, Williamson, Chope....what a team!
  • Options
    Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,540

    ydoethur said:

    I read that Braverman is opposed to adding florists to the list of shortage occupations that allow extra immigration.
    Does that mean she is now part of the anti-growth coalition?

    That remark will stalk her career.
    Very funny, petal.
    We need to stem these budding pun-makers.
    Are they a thorn in your side?
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,056
    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    I wish more attractive girls would unexpectedly touch my thigh.

    Sigh.

    It hasn't happened to me for 15-20 years, I should add

    But it did happen, several times, and often more overtly than I have described

    Three times the girls told me they were in love with me, out of nowhere. That's quite discombobulating
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    Leon said:

    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    LOL

    It's not even the end of stage 1

    To use your favourite analogy, if Brexit was a birth, the bastard child of BoZo and Nigel Fucking Farage is still in nappies, happily shitting itself several times a day...
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    Liz Truss has ordered ministers to reduce the number of government agencies as part of a cost-cutting exercise designed to tackle the budget deficit https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/10/08/liz-truss-orders-cutting-government-quangos-rein-spending/
  • Options
    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,955
    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    There's probably something in that.
    That and them being incompetent and
    unscrupulous.
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,576
    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    Because there's a difference between legal and illegal immigration.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
    Yes indeed

    I once thought a weak PM Starmer would be pressurised into rejoining the SM and CU

    But it now looks like he will get a decent majority, and he will probably resist these pressures (and quite rightly, politically, as the last thing he needs is a revival of the Brexit wars and a reminder that he was a massive Remainer and 2nd voter). That will be hard for Remain people to take: the final hope erased

    So maybe this is the penultimate act of the psychodrama, not the last
  • Options
    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,955
    Scott_xP said:

    Liz Truss has ordered ministers to reduce the number of government agencies as part of a cost-cutting exercise designed to tackle the budget deficit https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/10/08/liz-truss-orders-cutting-government-quangos-rein-spending/

    Ah. We've reached the get rid of quangoes which cost x billion stage.
    Any suggestions as to how their functions will be replicated cheaper?
    Thought not.
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 9,598
    edited October 2022

    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
    I think this is unlikely, speaking from personal experience. I was distraught at the vote in 2016, I cursed the fantastical thinking and incompetence of the series of Tory governments as they botched negotiations, despaired at the childish jingoism and even went on the big remain march known as the Waitrose queue, but I gave up in December 2019.

    At some point most people realise we are where we are. We still reserve the right to moan and tut, but Britain isn’t rejoining anytime soon. Maybe in the far future it might happen.

    Most remainers will simply be happy to have a government that doesn’t seek to gain partisan advantage by trolling our neighbours. That’ll do.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896

    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.

    Starmer can join the single market and grow the economy in a heartbeat

    The legacy of BoZo and Truss, erased at a stroke
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,576
    edited October 2022
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    If that's all it was he will get the whip restored in time, so his career won't be ended.

    In the meantime he'd be a distraction as a minister, and if he chooses to get that pissed whilst on medication to boot clearly lacks the judgement to be one.

    The days of people unable to control themselves whilst serving in office are indeed over (at least when it comes to light). Is that puritannical? Perhaps, but all they have to do is not get shitfaced at public events.
    But how are you ever going to get laid if you aren't allowed to furtively grope someone in a bar?

    A lot of my best relationships have started with a bit of ludicrous, embarrassing, very drunken fumbling under a table. The lady thrusts your hand away, but in an equivocal manner which says Hmmm, maybe, but come back to me when you're sober

    And so it goes
    Good grief. Are you joking?! Ever tried striking up a conversation?
    I'm HALF joking

    I know this will appall @CorrectHorseBattery2 and possibly @CorrectHorseBattery3 but it is true to say that, on occasion, I've just thought Fuck it, and grabbed a girl's thigh under a table. While smiling politely as if nothing untoward has happened

    And I am afraid to say it has worked. Sometimes!

    It cuts out a lot of tedious chit chat and courtship, for a start

    When I was 20, I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. On my left was a friend of mine's girlfriend (and the friend was to her left). Half way through the movie, she put her hand on my thigh, in a way that was unmistakably sexual.

    I was quite disturbed. Because, although she was both attractive and funny, my friend was considerably stronger than me, and was known to have a temper.

    In the circumstances, I felt the risks outweighed the benefit and went for an unneeded toilet break.
    This happened to me on a plane a few years ago. An American woman "accidentally" touched my leg throughout the flight. Thought it was a mistake to begin with but it kept happening. Didn't bother complaining about it although it was annoying.
  • Options
    BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 2,434

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Not a bad idea, but in this instance surely the MPs will do what they did in 2003 when Howard succeeded IDS and arrange a coronation. Ben Wallace is the obvious candidate if he could be persuaded.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
    I think this is unlikely, speaking from personal experience. I was distraught at the vote in 2016, I cursed the fantastical thinking and incompetence of the series of Tory governments as they bitched negotiations, despaired at the childish jingoism and even went on the big remain March known as the Waitrose queue, but I gave up in December 2019.

    At some point most people realise we are where we are. We still reserve the right to moan and tut, but Britain isn’t rejoining anytime soon. Maybe in the far future it might happen.

    Most remainers will simply be happy to have a government that doesn’t seek to gain partisan advantage by trolling our neighbours. That’ll do.
    @williamglenn is talking about the hardcore Remoaners - maybe 5-10% of the country - who are totally unreconciled to Brexit

    See @Scott_xP's comment directly above yours

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM (I have changed my mind on this, I think Starmer has more nous than I realised)
  • Options
    pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,132
    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Bonk for Britain

    Cabinet minister suggests women should get tax cuts for having children to encourage a baby boom and wean Britain off immigration 😍👶

    Scheme already exists in Hungary.

    https://bit.ly/3ysOiVA

    We do not need to feed the population Ponzi scheme - HOWEVER... if we did then the best solutions are 1. free, or at the very least, affordable childcare; and 2. building so many houses that supply exceeds demand and prices start coming down. A few quid in poxy tax credits ain't going to cut it.

    With the current governing party, chances of affordable childcare: very slim; chances of affordable housing: completely non-existent.

    So, either we import millions of migrants workers, or extract more revenue from the existing tax base, in particular by soaking the rich and minted elderly homeowners.

    Mass immigration it is then. Suck it up.
  • Options
    Hello_CloudsHello_Clouds Posts: 97
    edited October 2022
    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    Leon said:

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM

    Read a paper

    The nutters in charge right now want increased immigration and more kids.

    FoM is another gateway to growth
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 9,598
    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
    I think this is unlikely, speaking from personal experience. I was distraught at the vote in 2016, I cursed the fantastical thinking and incompetence of the series of Tory governments as they bitched negotiations, despaired at the childish jingoism and even went on the big remain March known as the Waitrose queue, but I gave up in December 2019.

    At some point most people realise we are where we are. We still reserve the right to moan and tut, but Britain isn’t rejoining anytime soon. Maybe in the far future it might happen.

    Most remainers will simply be happy to have a government that doesn’t seek to gain partisan advantage by trolling our neighbours. That’ll do.
    @williamglenn is talking about the hardcore Remoaners - maybe 5-10% of the country - who are totally unreconciled to Brexit

    See @Scott_xP's comment directly above yours

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM (I have changed my mind on this, I think Starmer has more nous than I realised)
    That’s a pretty small demographic - not even the entirety of the Lib Dem vote - and when push comes to shove they (we: I am pretty hardcore in my heart on this) will be happy to see incremental progress.

    There will be frustration, as there was frustration from the Bill Cash tendency that previous Tory leaders like Hague and IDS didn’t call for Brexit at the time, but not disillusionment because few people with a brain cell are under the illusion Keir is going to take us back into the EU.

    Single market though..,I think he’ll judge the mood of the country and decide.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    EXCL - Landlords will be legally forced to pass on energy bailout saving to tenants.

    New law to be unveiled this week

    https://bit.ly/3RNnNBl
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM

    Read a paper

    The nutters in charge right now want increased immigration and more kids.

    FoM is another gateway to growth
    I'm not arguing about policy. I'm saying PM Starmer won't rejoin the SM, and he won't

    Labour will try to make Brexit "work". And they might even find some success, and some advantages in our new freedoms - once we are over the wars, plagues and chaos (inshallah)

    Nearly all my Remainer friends are now reconciled to Brexit. It is rarely mentioned, the anger is almost gone, there is maybe one who can still work up a bit of froth, but the mojo is dissipating. They still think it was a grievous error, but it was our national error, and we own it

    A lot of them also now realise that a 2nd vote would have been a disastrous mistake, and extremely dangerous
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 9,598
    “Extreme bad faith”
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    Zelensky IS a Russian! Small wonder he is 'not particularly anti-Russian.'

    As for the rest, how would you know? We can't make any assumptions about how they would vote, or fight, because they are forced to do both at gunpoint by the Russians. What we do know is that every single area the Russians have occupied has seen mass killings, which doesn't suggest they think the local population is happy to see them.

    (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.)

    If the Russians are convinced they are so popular, why don't they allow a free and fair vote rather than the ridiculous sham they went through, one that even Mugabe pulls have blinked at?

    No wonder the war is going so badly for Russia if they are deluding themselves to this extent.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    One Cabinet minister predicted Liz will end up killing the benefits plan to avoid defeat at the hands of rebels.

    They said: "The government doesn’t exactly look that strong so I doubt the PM will push anything to a vote." https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1578827896679936000
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,986
    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM

    Read a paper

    The nutters in charge right now want increased immigration and more kids.

    FoM is another gateway to growth
    Braverman doesn't as Home Secretary and increased birth rate reduces the need for immigration.

    Starmer has made clear he will align closer to the single market but not fully rejoin for now as even he knows that would be toxic in the redwall with FoM etc and without the redwall he cannot become PM
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,678

    pigeon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    What baffles me is why MPs get this pissed, where it matters. Him and Pincher and the Labour guy who punched people in the HoC bar. Virtually all adult drinkers find an equilibrium at which they don't get punching/groping/escort back to hotel drunk beyond the age at which they graduate, let alone in highest high profile work settings.
    In a sample of 650 people, especially 650 people in a high-pressure career, you're bound to find some heavy drinkers.

    Beyond that, in this particular case we've no way of knowing (based on the skeletal information provided) whether or not the bloke actually did anything wrong at all.
    There seem to be more heavy drinkers than one would expect from a random sample of 650 members of the population!

    I’m going to the Commons on Tuesday. It’s for breakfast, so I should be safe…
    Depends how early it is.
  • Options
    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415

    Scott_xP said:

    Most voters (53%) think Truss should resign. Only 25% think she should remain Tory leader.

    Among voters who backed the Tories at the last election, 41% say she should remain in post, while 39% say she should resign.

    Labour’s lead of 21 points is biggest Opinium has recorded.

    https://twitter.com/michaelsavage/status/1578781269756104705

    Paging @MoonRabbit :lol:
    What can I add? other than they brought their swingback methodology in after Christmas, all year, no matter what mischief Boris had been up to, with Opinium the lead was never greater than 4. Labour could not break 39% on the method, Tories could not record lower than one 33. Whatever good thing Opinium may have had going there, trying to show all of us what swingback closer to an election would look like despite what voters say mid term, Liz Truss has come along and totally fucked it.

    Whatever you want to call it, Starmergasm, the Tory’s Keirplunk in the polls, from here on in looks like the pollsters are going to need a bigger abacas.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191
    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Landlords will be legally forced to pass on energy bailout saving to tenants.

    New law to be unveiled this week

    https://bit.ly/3RNnNBl

    Errr...if the bills are included, doesn't that mean the landlords pay them?

    So, if they pass it on it's a pure windfall for the tenants - not a saving on their energy bills?

    Honestly, this government is full of people almost as thick as the average Russian troll. They'll be wittering on about BA at any moment.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    Scott_xP said:

    One Cabinet minister predicted Liz will end up killing the benefits plan to avoid defeat at the hands of rebels.

    They said: "The government doesn’t exactly look that strong so I doubt the PM will push anything to a vote." https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1578827896679936000

    She's got a majority of 80 and she can't pass any of her big new ideas. She cannot legislate

    This is painfully ridiculous. Get rid of her and get Sunak in, He's worth a billion so he won't mind doing the dirty job of managing the nation, pragmatically, until Labour wins in 2024

    He might also save 50-100 Tory seats. Do it
  • Options
    CiceroCicero Posts: 2,213

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    Extreme Bad faith? Even for a troll you must see how ludicrous the Putinist position truly is. Go away.
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 9,598
    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    Which government do you think would be better at managing the economy?

    LAB govt led by Keir Starmer: 40%
    CON govt led by Liz Truss: 13%

    via @YouGov, 6-7 Oct
  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,814
    Scott_xP said:

    Which government do you think would be better at managing the economy?

    LAB govt led by Keir Starmer: 40%
    CON govt led by Liz Truss: 13%

    via @YouGov, 6-7 Oct

    It's over! RIP Con!
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,576
    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697
  • Options
    kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 3,942

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    All very interesting, but what we really want to know is how have your paymasters told you to spin the destruction of your bridge. Is it a tragic accident, or a great insult to Mother Russia? Will Vlad be retaliating, or will he be downplaying this in the media? I need to know how many tins of baked beans and iodine tablets I need to buy.
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 9,598
    Cicero said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    Extreme Bad faith? Even for a troll you must see how ludicrous the Putinist position truly is. Go away.
    It would though be nice if OGH could organise a reunion with all the various St Petersburg contributors we’ve had in the last year once Putin decides to retire to his final Dacha in St Helena.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191
    Cicero said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    Extreme Bad faith? Even for a troll you must see how ludicrous the Putinist position truly is. Go away.
    I'm just intrigued as to how this one is so certain he knows what people in the occupied areas want, particularly since the one time they were actually asked they wanted the polar opposite.

    Are there actually people out there, even among Dobby the House Elf's government, who believe the results of the referendum where a small group of people where told by armed men how they had to vote?
  • Options
    BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 2,434
    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    One Cabinet minister predicted Liz will end up killing the benefits plan to avoid defeat at the hands of rebels.

    They said: "The government doesn’t exactly look that strong so I doubt the PM will push anything to a vote." https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1578827896679936000

    She's got a majority of 80 and she can't pass any of her big new ideas. She cannot legislate

    This is painfully ridiculous. Get rid of her and get Sunak in, He's worth a billion so he won't mind doing the dirty job of managing the nation, pragmatically, until Labour wins in 2024

    He might also save 50-100 Tory seats. Do it
    Tories need a unity candidate which rules out Rishi. At the moment would need to be Wallace or Mordaunt. Other options may emerge in due course if Truss survives a bit longer.
  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,814
    TimS said:

    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.

    To a degrees but SKS is no where near as effective as John Smith IMO.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,191
    kyf_100 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    All very interesting, but what we really want to know is how have your paymasters told you to spin the destruction of your bridge. Is it a tragic accident, or a great insult to Mother Russia? Will Vlad be retaliating, or will he be downplaying this in the media? I need to know how many tins of baked beans and iodine tablets I need to buy.
    Where do you get tins of baked beans and iodine tablets?

    When I've seen them they've usually been sold separately.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    pigeon said:

    nico679 said:

    Leon said:

    nico679 said:

    Why appoint a Home Secretary who is hardline on immigration if you’re going to want more work visas . Truss is hopeless , aswell as making too many enemies in the early part of her premiership .

    Yes, well spotted: this policy division is bewilderingly inept

    She has to go, no matter how crazy it makes the Tories appear
    I know she had to give her a job but there were plenty of options . Now Braverman has this higher profile job I suspect she’s worked out she could position herself as the next PM if Truss gets ditched . Of course Braverman quitting and playing the martyr might help her down the line . God help us if she got the job . In that instance I would be begging Johnson to come back !
    If the Tories ditch Truss then they need to change the rules to get rid of the membership runoff first. Otherwise I think Braverman has a strong chance of winning from second place as the right wing doubling down candidate.
    Yep. A membership election delivers Braverman and tory MPs must know this.

    I think we need a Bill that bans membership elections unless the party is in opposition.
    Perhaps the problem is that the Party has become so dysfunctional that there is no fix.

    You could certainly make a case for saying that it merely represents a rather narrow segment of middle England and can only win elections by rather far fetched and dishonest appeals to voters that it can never satisfy, such as Brexiteers and Red Wallers. In due course, the lies become too obvious and the Party base dwindles back to its narrow core of aging middle-class voters living predominantly in the shires. Keeping them happy is essential to the Party's future survival but at the same time it hampers any reaching out to other segments of society.

    There is no system of selecting a leader that will solve this problem, nor will any quick fix policy change.

    Perhaps the Conservative Party needs a decent spell in opposition to figure out what it can be, what it needs to be, and how to change. It looks like it's going to get that anyway, whether it likes it or not.
    It's the last stage of the Brexit psychodrama being played out

    The Tories are the Brexiteers, and their job was to deliver Brexit (and save us from the very real nightmare of Corbyn and a second vote) - but now that task is done, and the British people want to forget all the divisions of Brexit, and move on. You can't do that with the Tories in power, ergo they must go

    I see this as a healing process, even if it is unideal on multiple ways. The skin growing over the scar
    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.
    I think this is unlikely, speaking from personal experience. I was distraught at the vote in 2016, I cursed the fantastical thinking and incompetence of the series of Tory governments as they bitched negotiations, despaired at the childish jingoism and even went on the big remain March known as the Waitrose queue, but I gave up in December 2019.

    At some point most people realise we are where we are. We still reserve the right to moan and tut, but Britain isn’t rejoining anytime soon. Maybe in the far future it might happen.

    Most remainers will simply be happy to have a government that doesn’t seek to gain partisan advantage by trolling our neighbours. That’ll do.
    @williamglenn is talking about the hardcore Remoaners - maybe 5-10% of the country - who are totally unreconciled to Brexit

    See @Scott_xP's comment directly above yours

    These people will be bitterly disappointed by Starmer. He won't go near the SM for a start because of FoM (I have changed my mind on this, I think Starmer has more nous than I realised)
    That’s a pretty small demographic - not even the entirety of the Lib Dem vote - and when push comes to shove they (we: I am pretty hardcore in my heart on this) will be happy to see incremental progress.

    There will be frustration, as there was frustration from the Bill Cash tendency that previous Tory leaders like Hague and IDS didn’t call for Brexit at the time, but not disillusionment because few people with a brain cell are under the illusion Keir is going to take us back into the EU.

    Single market though..,I think he’ll judge the mood of the country and decide.
    I just can't see it. Going back into the SM is an enormous step. It means we handover vast chunks of sovereignty to the ECJ, except this time we don't even have a say in the formation of EU laws. Plus we have to accept Freedom of Movement. It renders Brexit largely pointless - all that pain - at a stroke

    It's not going to happen. It would be suicidal for Starmer: the one way to instantly energise the Tories again. Rejoin makes more sense, but that is a very distant dream/nightmare

    And I speak as someone who was quite happy with FoM, and fancied a retirement cottage in Iberia or Greece. Sadly - in some ways - it's not coming back
  • Options
    pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,132
    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Liz Truss has ordered ministers to reduce the number of government agencies as part of a cost-cutting exercise designed to tackle the budget deficit https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/10/08/liz-truss-orders-cutting-government-quangos-rein-spending/

    Ah. We've reached the get rid of quangoes which cost x billion stage.
    Any suggestions as to how their functions will be replicated cheaper?
    Thought not.
    Get rid of all the functions. "Functions" are beloved of Keir Starmer and his evil anti-growth coalition.
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    Leon said:

    It renders Brexit largely pointless - all that pain - at a stroke

    Brexit was pointless.

    One day even you will figure that out.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
  • Options
    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,955
    edited October 2022
    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    One Cabinet minister predicted Liz will end up killing the benefits plan to avoid defeat at the hands of rebels.

    They said: "The government doesn’t exactly look that strong so I doubt the PM will push anything to a vote." https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1578827896679936000

    She's got a majority of 80 and she can't pass any of her big new ideas. She cannot legislate

    This is painfully ridiculous. Get rid of her and get Sunak in, He's worth a billion so he won't mind doing the dirty job of managing the nation, pragmatically, until Labour wins in 2024

    He might also save 50-100 Tory seats. Do it
    Yeah. We are in a de facto hung Parliament.
    Incidentally. After the Whip was removed from whatsisname the official majority is now 64.
    Working majority 73.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,658
    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
  • Options
    Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 8,844
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Alistair said:

    Leon said:

    A foreign policy analyst who agrees with me SO THERE

    "THREAD: Today, a time for choosing arrived for America.

    A truck bomb has been detonated on the bridge that connects Crimea to Russia.

    We're running out of time to reconsider our support for Ukraine attempting to retake the peninsula by force."

    https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1578668487139987456?s=20&t=pOBRbRAnUgnS41hCKnjORQ


    "This isn't a matter of providing "offramps" for Putin.

    It's about whether we keep driving on the "onramp" that leads directly towards nuclear.

    It's time to ease off the accelerator and pull over to the side of the road. Before we slam into a wall."


    Clint Ehrlich?

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

    Of wait. You are serious?

    Hahahahhahahhahhahhahahhahahaha.
    Yes, I know he has a history of being spectacularly wrong, and is loathed as a Russian shill by some

    BUT HE IS RIGHT

    See also:

    ian bremmer
    @ianbremmer
    ·
    3h
    nato should support ukraine to retake all of their occupied territory from feb 24 invasion.

    crimea should be a matter for negotiation (as zelensky was willing to before the invasion), not military conflict.


    This is surely the case. By all means let Ukraine sweep the Russians out of the invaded zones - Donbass, Luhansk - if they can

    But Crimea is very different, as Musk recognised, too
    Even if that ends up happening, it hardly hurts the Ukrainians to not say so. For morale and negotiating position, even if the practicalities limit their sincere wishes to reclaim their territory (or western support is diminished, making it unviable) there's no diplomatic benefit to dropping their legitimate claims now, or suggesting there is no intent to retake it.
    The Ukrainians will absolutely try to retake Crimea. The blood is up, they want revenge, and they want Russia to HURT, and seizing Crimea will do that. And who can blame them. I am pretty sure I would feel the same if I was Ukrainian. Fuck the Russians

    But it is then a valid question: should we support them as whole heartedly as we supported them in resisting the initial invasion? Arm them with NATO weapons to take territory that, before the war, was de facto part of Russia?

    I am not sure. Because that really does look quite nuclear war-ish
    do fuck off with your fear off nuclear war please. If it happens it happens but we can give in because putin trys to wave his dick around it will just encourage him to do it more. If we hit armageddon so be it but giving in is not a fucking option
  • Options
    kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 3,942
    ydoethur said:

    kyf_100 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    All very interesting, but what we really want to know is how have your paymasters told you to spin the destruction of your bridge. Is it a tragic accident, or a great insult to Mother Russia? Will Vlad be retaliating, or will he be downplaying this in the media? I need to know how many tins of baked beans and iodine tablets I need to buy.
    Where do you get tins of baked beans and iodine tablets?

    When I've seen them they've usually been sold separately.
    You jest, but I think you might have hit on an idea there. Foodstuffs with all the nutrition and vitamins you need to survive the apocalypse. Don't delay, buy today.

    I once made the mistake of buying tins of Heinz baked beans and sausages, purely by accident - most foul thing I ever tasted in my life. Iodine tablets would be a vast improvement...

  • Options
    GIN1138 said:

    TimS said:

    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.

    To a degrees but SKS is no where near as effective as John Smith IMO.
    John Smith was a brilliant politician, but also a seriously heavy drinker. What a loss to Parliament he was, and to the drinks industry.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
  • Options
    Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 7,981
    Scott_xP said:

    If you're right then the next phase will be the disillusionment of the Remainers who thought all it would take to reverse Brexit was to get the Tories out. They will find life under a Starmer government very frustrating.

    Starmer can join the single market and grow the economy in a heartbeat

    The legacy of BoZo and Truss, erased at a stroke
    I doubt that the EU will have us back, because there could always be another Farage, another Boris. EEA is more likely were we sit on the periphery and cause a lot less internal disruption in Brussels.
  • Options
    Carnyx said:

    pigeon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Leon said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Allies of the MP claim he had injured his ribs the weekend before the party conference and was on heavy medication to manage the pain.

    They suggested the prescribed medicine made the effect of the alcohol worse.

    It is not disputed by the former minister's friends that he had been drinking or that he flirted with the young man who had joined him, who, we understand, was not known to Mr Burns.

    The MP was sufficiently drunk that he had to later be taken back to his hotel by a friend.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63187793

    He groped some guy's thigh when pissed

    Is that it? Does that now end careers?

    We have become absurdly puritanical. His drunken fumblings are more sad than menacing, and merit a proper ticking off, not cancellation. Unless there is more to it
    What baffles me is why MPs get this pissed, where it matters. Him and Pincher and the Labour guy who punched people in the HoC bar. Virtually all adult drinkers find an equilibrium at which they don't get punching/groping/escort back to hotel drunk beyond the age at which they graduate, let alone in highest high profile work settings.
    In a sample of 650 people, especially 650 people in a high-pressure career, you're bound to find some heavy drinkers.

    Beyond that, in this particular case we've no way of knowing (based on the skeletal information provided) whether or not the bloke actually did anything wrong at all.
    There seem to be more heavy drinkers than one would expect from a random sample of 650 members of the population!

    I’m going to the Commons on Tuesday. It’s for breakfast, so I should be safe…
    Depends how early it is.
    I think they do whisky-flavoured cornflakes.
  • Options
    turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 15,176
    edited October 2022
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077
    House of the Dragon is a bit shit
  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,814

    GIN1138 said:

    TimS said:

    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.

    To a degrees but SKS is no where near as effective as John Smith IMO.
    John Smith was a brilliant politician, but also a seriously heavy drinker. What a loss to Parliament he was, and to the drinks industry.
    Oh really? I never knew that!
  • Options
    carnforthcarnforth Posts: 3,195
    edited October 2022
    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Landlords will be legally forced to pass on energy bailout saving to tenants.

    New law to be unveiled this week

    https://bit.ly/3RNnNBl

    Errr...if the bills are included, doesn't that mean the landlords pay them?

    So, if they pass it on it's a pure windfall for the tenants - not a saving on their energy bills?

    Honestly, this government is full of people almost as thick as the average Russian troll. They'll be wittering on about BA at any moment.
    Two situations:

    a) bills included
    b) rental agency reads meters in the lobby en-masse and sends a bill every three months to each tenant based on a cost per-unit.

    I know both exist, because I have experienced both.

    Presumably, the government legislation is about b).
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,365
    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Bonk for Britain

    Cabinet minister suggests women should get tax cuts for having children to encourage a baby boom and wean Britain off immigration 😍👶

    Scheme already exists in Hungary.

    https://bit.ly/3ysOiVA

    France as well. If you have about 5 kids, pretty much no income tax even if you are a banker…
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    They should give it to anyone who wants it. Judging by my experience they have ample supplies and not enough arms to jab
  • Options

    Scott_xP said:

    EXCL - Bonk for Britain

    Cabinet minister suggests women should get tax cuts for having children to encourage a baby boom and wean Britain off immigration 😍👶

    Scheme already exists in Hungary.

    https://bit.ly/3ysOiVA

    France as well. If you have about 5 kids, pretty much no income tax even if you are a banker…
    God, the French are brilliant.

    I'm moving to France.
  • Options
    pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,132

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    I'm sure it's all the over 50s plus a fairly lengthy list of special cases. I don't know why it's not been made like the flu job and offered to everyone else for a modest fee though. It can't be a matter of supply at this stage of the game?
  • Options
    GIN1138 said:

    GIN1138 said:

    TimS said:

    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.

    To a degrees but SKS is no where near as effective as John Smith IMO.
    John Smith was a brilliant politician, but also a seriously heavy drinker. What a loss to Parliament he was, and to the drinks industry.
    Oh really? I never knew that!
    Did you know his daughter is the broadcaster Sarah Smith? Talented family.
  • Options
    turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 15,176
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    They should give it to anyone who wants it. Judging by my experience they have ample supplies and not enough arms to jab
    It’s not clear that it’s needed for all. Almost everyone has has covid, most also have had at least two shots of the vaccine. Ignore the hyperventilating about neutralising antibodies waning and focus of much, much reduced severity of covid. That’s due to a primed immune system. We are not really able to stop all infections, but most are now at the level of seasonal bugs.
    People are dying in hospital from covid and with covid. A lot of them would have died from pneumonia before covid times.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    They should give it to anyone who wants it. Judging by my experience they have ample supplies and not enough arms to jab
    It’s not clear that it’s needed for all. Almost everyone has has covid, most also have had at least two shots of the vaccine. Ignore the hyperventilating about neutralising antibodies waning and focus of much, much reduced severity of covid. That’s due to a primed immune system. We are not really able to stop all infections, but most are now at the level of seasonal bugs.
    People are dying in hospital from covid and with covid. A lot of them would have died from pneumonia before covid times.
    Sure, but I'm bored of overthinking it. Indeed I'm bored of thinking of Covid

    Just jab me. Job done
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    From the government that thinks it’s too nanny state to tell people they might want to turn their thermostats down to save money, a quite extraordinary suggestion of heavy-handed social engineering
    https://twitter.com/janemerrick23/status/1578846758113017857
    https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1578830757480759296
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,541
    ydoethur said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    Zelensky IS a Russian! Small wonder he is 'not particularly anti-Russian.'

    As for the rest, how would you know? We can't make any assumptions about how they would vote, or fight, because they are forced to do both at gunpoint by the Russians. What we do know is that every single area the Russians have occupied has seen mass killings, which doesn't suggest they think the local population is happy to see them.

    (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.)

    If the Russians are convinced they are so popular, why don't they allow a free and fair vote rather than the ridiculous sham they went through, one that even Mugabe pulls have blinked at?

    No wonder the war is going so badly for Russia if they are deluding themselves to this extent.
    Is it not the case that in two regions, on Putin’s own figures, only two percent of the population were said to have voted. And in the third, over 100% ?
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    superb Charge of the Light Brigade vibes here https://twitter.com/PickardJE/status/1578847180756246530/photo/1
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,658

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    NHS Website says this:

    "Seasonal boosters

    A seasonal booster (autumn booster) can be booked online for anyone who is:

    aged 65 or over
    pregnant
    aged 5 and over and at high risk due to a health condition
    aged 5 and over and at high risk because of a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and lives with someone who has a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and is a carer, either paid or unpaid
    a frontline health and social care worker
    People aged 50 to 64 years old who are not in any of these groups will be able to get a seasonal booster (autumn booster) later in autumn 2022."


    I'll wait my turn.
  • Options
    turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 15,176

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    NHS Website says this:

    "Seasonal boosters

    A seasonal booster (autumn booster) can be booked online for anyone who is:

    aged 65 or over
    pregnant
    aged 5 and over and at high risk due to a health condition
    aged 5 and over and at high risk because of a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and lives with someone who has a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and is a carer, either paid or unpaid
    a frontline health and social care worker
    People aged 50 to 64 years old who are not in any of these groups will be able to get a seasonal booster (autumn booster) later in autumn 2022."


    I'll wait my turn.
    Not sure how my colleague blagged his then.
  • Options
    kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 3,942
    Leon said:

    House of the Dragon is a bit shit

    Zero interest in watching it, after Game of Thrones completely trashed their brand with the final series.

    The upcoming show that interests me the most is The Peripheral, based on William Gibson's 2014 book of the same name. Released later this month on Amazon Prime. Gibson's work has always translated terribly to the screen in the past, but this looks interesting.

    Without spoilers - AI, near future, semi-apocalypse (known as "the jackpot", where most people just die out due to a combination of famine and war) and a Russian kleptocracy in charge of future London (a bit dated in that respect).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdkRQzcrrc
  • Options
    LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 15,199
    edited October 2022
    dixiedean said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Liz Truss has ordered ministers to reduce the number of government agencies as part of a cost-cutting exercise designed to tackle the budget deficit https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/10/08/liz-truss-orders-cutting-government-quangos-rein-spending/

    Ah. We've reached the get rid of quangoes which cost x billion stage.
    Any suggestions as to how their functions will be replicated cheaper?
    Thought not.
    Driver licensing is an offence against libertarian freedom, so we can do without the DVLA. As long as you have the ability to take people to court for damages, then the market will encourage people to get driver training to reduce their insurance costs.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,986
    GIN1138 said:

    TimS said:

    This next election will be an interesting experiment in alternative history. Because it strikes me it’s like a 1997 election if it had been contested between John Smith and John Redwood.

    To a degrees but SKS is no where near as effective as John Smith IMO.
    The Labour lead under SKS over the Truss Tories now is bigger than the Smith lead over the Major Tories was then.

    Other than Blair, SKS is probably the most electorally appealing leader Labour have ever had at this stage and on some polls Labour is doing as well as Blair did if not better
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,365
    kyf_100 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    TimS said:

    I’m minded to agree Crimea is a bit different from the other regions here, as those maps of the old 1991 referendum show. When Ukraine liberates the other annexed territories they will be met with cheering and hugs, but the Crimean population may be a different matter.

    Cheering and hugs indeed. Like in Lyman. Did you see them all? "Thanks, Zelensky," the population were all chanting, "You've liberated us from the Moskali."

    You're as mad as a Trump supporter, imagining stuff that you want to be true.
    How do you explain, then, that it is Russian troops drafted in defending newly captured lands and not -say- Ukrainians? And how do you explain the fanatical, and often suicidal defence by Ukraninans in Mauripol?

    Because to an outside observer, they seem pretty fucking massive evidence that they'd rather be part of Ukraine than Russia.
    I'm not sure what you mean by "Russian" and "Ukrainian". Soldiers recruited in the DPR and LPR have been fighting alongside soldiers from pre-30 September Russia, in defence of their home areas against Ukrainian government forces which now include the regularised Azov Regiment. I think we can assume that the vast majority of them and their family members voted in favour of joining Russia.

    The ethnic division between Ukrainians and Russians has sadly grown in the four territories. It's a mess and there are also ethnic Russians fighting in the Azov Regiment. There may well be ethnic Ukrainians who would prefer to be in Russia too. (Referendum results from 1991 in very different circumstances can't be relied on much here.) Zelensky himself was once upon a time not particularly anti-Russian. Thus "Servant of the People" was first broadcast only in the Russian language. I agree with Elon Musk about having new referendums that are UN-monitored. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace then the right of self-determination has to be recognised. If the result of an agreed-to-be-fair referendum in any of the territories is to rejoin Ukraine then let it rejoin Ukraine. Kiev has made zero encouraging noises in this regard, and the talk of reconquering Crimea illustrates extreme bad faith.
    All very interesting, but what we really want to know is how have your paymasters told you to spin the destruction of your bridge. Is it a tragic accident, or a great insult to Mother Russia? Will Vlad be retaliating, or will he be downplaying this in the media? I need to know how many tins of baked beans and iodine tablets I need to buy.
    It was a smoking related incident.

    The favourite brand in Russia seems to be Lucky Strike.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,077

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues New mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo has announced new guidance regarding mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

    This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks.

    As such, the State Surgeon General recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Those with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when making this decision.

    “Studying the safety and efficacy of any medications, including vaccines, is an important component of public health,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Far less attention has been paid to safety and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed – these are important findings that should be communicated to Floridians.”"

    https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLDOH/bulletins/3312697

    I had my seasonal booster jab today. Pfizer
    Really? Are you over 65?
    I "fibbed" on the government website, and said I was looking after someone with immune issues. It's not a total lie, I am seeing a close relative a fair bit, a person who is very frail, but I am probably not classed as a carer

    I recommend doing that if you want a jab

    Because there are plenty of jabs and you can just walk in. There was zero queue in my local pharmacy today, and I waited about 4 minutes. They can't give the jabs away, and the more people jabbed the better
    It will be 50 and over ultimately. I was called because of previous health issues. My colleague, 56, had his last week. I don’t think it’s limited to over 65s, or at least not everywhere.
    NHS Website says this:

    "Seasonal boosters

    A seasonal booster (autumn booster) can be booked online for anyone who is:

    aged 65 or over
    pregnant
    aged 5 and over and at high risk due to a health condition
    aged 5 and over and at high risk because of a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and lives with someone who has a weakened immune system
    aged 16 and over and is a carer, either paid or unpaid
    a frontline health and social care worker
    People aged 50 to 64 years old who are not in any of these groups will be able to get a seasonal booster (autumn booster) later in autumn 2022."


    I'll wait my turn.
    Just lie. I did. Don't wait for the bureaucracy to catch up with reality

    Honestly, the pharmacist was sitting there with loads of jabs and not enough arms. He told me. There was zero queue

    The best thing anyone even slightly vulnerable can do is get jabbed, again
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,896
    8. Voters want a general election more than another Tory leadership contest https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1578848385972416512/photo/1
This discussion has been closed.