Categories
Well done Gavin Williamson – politicalbetting.com
Well done Gavin Williamson – politicalbetting.com
One of the big political stories of the week has been the series of YouTube interviews commissioned by the campaign group Led led Donkeys into the reaction of a senior Conservatives to a suggestion that they might like to work for a Korean Consulting firm as part of its European advisory board
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
you should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of yourself or the persons or organisations to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office;
actually enforced.
It seems hopelessly naive from the ACoBO, why else would companies offer ministers offer Gov't and ex Gov't ministers "jobs" ?
The rest drooled at the the thought of that sweet, sweet money...
"A well regulated Militia" - the militia was the volunteer army created by getting everyone to down tools and get their guns.
"being necessary to the security of a free State" - there was a deep belief that the militia with their rifled hunting guns had seen off the British professionals. This was a myth. It took George Washington a lot of effort to train the army to be... professional.
"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" - it was believed that if you had a bunch of hardy frontiersmen, with their trusty long rifles, all able to shoot the corners of an ace of spades at a zillion yards, from hunting all the time... well, then you wouldn't need a standing army.
Of course a government of slave owners would be quite keen on the right to keep and bear arms, what with having to protect/control their living chattels.
Bur you can rent them.
Slightly interesting that "the public" (according to journalists) doesn't like MPs having second jobs (which of course they have immediately they become a minister), but same said public seems OK with hospital consultants having second jobs.
When will journalists do their jobs properly and start to scrutinise all walks of life that receive public money, including the medical profession?
A lot of the opposition to slavery was around the idea of slave catching patrols and having a standing paramilitary force checking papers etc.
Pacifism could never be made compulsory. That's all really, if you read it intelligently.
If it meant what nut jobs say it means then it would be unconstitutional ever to stop anyone bearing arms in any circumstances. (Three year olds with machine guns, prisoners with guns etc).
But lots of Americans like their guns, and they've managed to elect politicians who have selected judges who are willing to read the literal meaning of "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" and nothing else.
Which I regret. But I don't see a point to denying it or wishing it away.
Istr at least one PBer who had professional contact with Robison found her pleasant and on top of her brief, but what would he know?
With respect to MPs, the reality is that it IS a part time job. If it were not, it would be impossible to be the MP for Bullshit under Marsh and also be Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, LoTO etc.
Doctors are different. they do actually have a full time position which they are paid pretty well for considering it is the safest job in the known universe, but additionally they may earn considerable extra sums through private practice. How do they manage this? Do they have Hermione Granger's Time Turner? No, they somehow manage to fit all of this into the same number of hours that anyone else has!
Essentially, they thought that the perfect army was the militia, who were awesome because they were allowed to possess and practise with guns. Disarming the people was seen as a thing that absolutist monarchies did.
Nearly all of that was wrong, but hey......
Robison introduced the GRR bill…..
But what I found most astonishing was that Kwarteng or one of his aides didn't do due diligence in advance and work out this was likely to be a fake company. Not that bright, is he? Same applies to Hancock of course, but we knew that anyway.
Of course government can do constructive stuff, and it's just pathetic for Republicans to claim otherwise.
And of course as a former Chief Whip, he is no stranger to the dark arts, so is perhaps a bit more streetwise than some more naive MPs. Journalists - you mean the people for whom freelancing between multiple employers is the norm, and who always try to have a book contract on the side?
Personally I've no problem with a *bit* of work on the side, just limit it to no more than say 25% of MP's salary. A lot of the "good" side hustles are badly paid, a lot of the "problematic" ones are well paid, so a financial limit works and is easily enforced. I think it's a shame that you no longer have MPs being allowed to be Special Constables for instance, a bit of contact with the real world is no bad thing.
Personally, I'd love a justice who was genuinely consistent.
The BMA's submission included the eyecatching statement: "Doctors are concerned that the regulation of gambling is inadequate and does not prevent people becoming gamblers or effectively manage those who have developed problems."
Note the BMA is not just saying that regulation should just help prevent people from developing issues with their gambling, which nobody could disagree with, but that in fact regulation is "inadequate" for not preventing people from gambling full stop. It has evidently decided that gambling should be treated in the same way as tobacco.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/opinion/comment/tough-task-for-mps-as-christians-and-doctors-unite-in-calls-to-stamp-out-gambling-aWfN77n2olxr/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M712_Copperhead
Also, during the Civil War, a citizen in the North who opposed the war and advocated restoration of the Union through negotiated settlement with the South.
And of course a venomous snake.
The only question is where the line is drawn.
What's fairly indisputable is that the early US had no problems at all with state laws restricting or regulating gun ownership.
Trump, attacking Bragg, keeps saying murder or violent crime in Manhattan is at a record high. This is not even close to true. NYPD data is public. Look at the bottom section, 2022 versus 1990.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1640710819523485696
In general, an inconvenient reality for Republicans is that while the 2020 murder spike has not been fully reversed we're now clearly on track for *less* lethal violence than we had when Trump was in office.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1640717915283689472
Just making it up as they go along, and pretending it's 'history'.
PLUS otion that militia was total crapola is rather undermined by detailed histories of Battle of Lexington, Concord and Bunker (Breed's) Hill.
Massachusetts militia was well-organized and disciplined. Note that many of it's leaders, officers and rank & file were (alreadyFor example, once the word of the initial clash, the response was HIGHLY organized, subjecting hapless British troops to gauntlet of hot lead all the way back from Concord to Boston.
In perhaps the most notable instance, the survivors of the Lexington militia company that got walloped in the initial battle of on their town green, managed to reform itself and was waiting for the Lobsterbacks when they came marching back down the road.
So while the idea that any group of armed yokels, is a match for trained soldiers, is ridiculous, so is the belief that all militias - especially the Minutemen of revolutionary New England - were worthless in war, is just faliacious.
So when James Madison drafted the Second Amendment in 1789, just 14 years after "the shot heard round the world" he knew the difference between a "well-regulated" militia and, say, a mob of Proud Boys.
The overriding principle behind the constitution is the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Tens of thousands getting shot every year doesn't much accord with that; constitutionally encouraging that circumstance is absurd.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/chatgpt_europol_crime_report/
https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/Tech Watch Flash - The Impact of Large Language Models on Law Enforcement.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscam
Note that one of the US politicos most notoriously stung by this famous sting, just passed away earlier this month:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jenrette
FYI (also BTW) there were a number of similar stings inspired by Abscam, including Gamscam in WA State, which targeted state house speaker and other local legislators.
I completely agree about the need for further reform to the system to ensure transparency and avoid significant amount of time being spent on extra-curricular activities. I also agree some MPs offer poor value for money for constituents.
But it just isn't good enough to throw around casual allegations about the vast majority of MPs of all parties, that simply don't reflect the reality and the evidence.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/28/ron-desantis-israel-trip-00089153
...“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Wut ?
The famous, politicians, and even the everyday plebs such as myself should keep that in mind.
As Elizabeth Holmes, like so many before and after her, showed.
Edit: I'd *love* to see 'Led by Donkeys' scammed. Say, if they were offered money (donations) to do a campaign against Starmer, Abbott or Rayner.
By the way, Baldrick, you may want to re-engage with the anger management course and stop shagging turnips so often . Over usage of viagra is a bad thing at your advancing age.
There would be no shortage of people willing to stand for election to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbuawoNpvQ&ab_channel=SteveEarle-Topic
PLUS fact that defending/touting Israel is a BIG DEAL for millions of evangelical Christians from sea to shining sea . . . and from South Beach to the Redneck Riviera . . .
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-a-bot-plan-a-holiday-better-than-a-human-we-put-it-to-the-test-xfrjz0r3j
TL:DR no
There is still a fair measure of low-level anti-Jewish feeling, but MUCH less today than when I was a kid.
AND during the same period, the rise of the Christian Coalition, and subsequent electoral mobilization and politicization of the evangelical and other conservative Christians in USA, has been matched by increasing support for Israel. Again, far more pronounced AND strident than at the time of the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars.
Lavrentiy BeriaSir Simon Russell Beale todayTurns out he lives about the same distance from me as Julian Pettifer does
Two BAFTA winners in two days, within two hundred yards of me
He did come across as a stammering idiot in that video, I thought, but at least he was smart enough to shut down the conversation when he realised it was a sting (presumably).
How embarrassing for Handycock - to be less alert than Gavin Williamson.
Cassius Clay the First of Kentucky was both Bluegrass gentry (cousin of Henry Clay) AND an anti-slavery Republican. Which meant that he was fighting a duel a month or thereabouts. He proved too combative even for the Union Army, so Abe Lincoln sent him to St Petersburg as US minister to the Czar.
He was enjoying lunch at a fine restaurant, when a group of Boyar Bullingtonians decided to test the American's mettle - by challenging him to a duel, via the standard (for them) slap (or suchlike).
Instead of adhering to local twit protocol, however, Clay immediate leapt from his chair, pulled out a huge Bowie knife . . . and proceeded to carve about freely.
The boyars boogied. As for the rest of the Russians, they greatly admired Clay's style, both for his personal qualities AND for turning the tables on the toxic toffs.
So, now Yousaf is FM, are we all set to see you voting Tory?
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/4310509#Comment_4310509
My favourite (disbarred) solicitor, step forward Anal Sheikh.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/court-enema-vexatious-litigant-anal-sheikh
However, can somebody who knows what they're talking about please correct me?
If only they and Drakeford weren't united in being totally inept and leading parties that are clapped out and in need of a reset.
Here’s a taster.
Among her numerous applications, in 2017 Sheikh sought the impeachment of Lord Phillips, Lord Justice Briggs, Lord Justice Henderson and Sir Terence Etherton for conspiracy to commit identity theft.
Sheikh accused Lord Philips of apparently giving a number of conspirators (including Burges Salmon, The Law Society and The Bank of Ireland) access to empty courtrooms where Lord Justice Briggs “impersonated a judge and staged enactments of trials.
He put on his judicial robes and wig, used the empty courtrooms and bribed court [sic] to stand around to pretend that a hearing was taking place, which it was not.”
Sheikh described Briggs' involvement in this "fraudulent instrument" as "the greatest risk ever known in the history of the civilised world".
She said "that is not a statement of hyperbole".