Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Comparing Hamas and Likud as "terrorists" is like comparing a puddle with an ocean.
Hamas are brutally targeting civilians and killing children and babies on purpose without warning. Israel are going to war and giving civilians a warning to get out of the warzone.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
How is it even possible to buy an entire dinosaur?
Same reason one of the Microsoft guys has a replica of the Babbage Analytical Engine in his living room. For LOLs.
IIRC, he funded the construction of the printer which Babbage had designed, for the Science Museum, and got them to make a replica of both printer and Engine for him as part ion the funding deal.
Is that the same printer that Leon was complaining about last night?
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
Not sure its a left v right issue, more that all governments can end up losing popularity. Which is the entire point of democracy of course.
Labour in New Zealand had been in power for two Parliamentary terms, while Trudeau has previously won three elections in a row.
Labour won an absolute majority in NZ and have bombed out in barely three years. And Trudeau was behind on votes even last time.
I don't think left-wing governments in Western countries have a particularly long shelf life these days, and Germany is another example.
Lessons for Starmer. I'll certainly be betting against his 10 years.
Is it a left v right issue though? Tories here won a massive absolute majority last time and were bombed out within three years too.
Prior to Labour winning in NZ, the Nationals were in office themselves for 8 years, so no real difference.
Labour's win in 2020 was hugely flattered by being at the peak of Covid and Ardern's seemingly unique success in dodging it.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
No change for me. Conflict has casualties and Hamas are playing an ultra-cynical game in Gaza, using civilians as human shields and weaponising the collateral.
They don't care any more about Palestinian lives than they do Israeli.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
Alastair Meeks @AlastairMeeks · 1h I’m currently expecting them to hold both. This seems as good a place as any to record that expectation.
I like Labour for Mid Beds. Tamworth also. If the Cons hold both I'll have to revisit my confidence on Labour landslide. Labour winning one or both will reinforce it.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
Plenty of reporting from Israel of a populace absolutely outraged by Netayahu and his abject failure on defence. Which piled on top of his constitutional and legal outrages is likely to be the final straw once this is over.
Park Netanyahu and Likud and the lunatics. This isn't about them. This is about the only democracy in the region being invaded by psychopathic terrorists who are hell bent on genocide.
That doesn't give Israel a blank cheque to commit their own atrocities and they are not. Lots of objections to the call to evacuate civilians from the war zone, but that is better than not doing and saying so what. Or explicitly targeting civilians to break their resolve, Bomber Harris style.
Alastair Meeks @AlastairMeeks · 1h I’m currently expecting them to hold both. This seems as good a place as any to record that expectation.
I like Labour for Mid Beds. Tamworth also. If the Cons hold both I'll have to revisit my confidence on Labour landslide. Labour winning one or both will reinforce it.
LAB 315 to 345 seats. DYOR
I buy for big stake!
Can't wait for the Spreads to go up but I don't think you'll be seeing those numbers when they do.
Comiserations, Penddu. For a neutral*, it was a fantastic game. I love the RWC. All the QFs are close calls, but given Argentina's indifferent form in the group stages I thought this one the easiest to call - for Wales. But credit to Argentina, a massive step up from the team which was so undistinguished against England.
Can't wait for the 8 o'clock game now.
*Obviously I wanted Wales to win because Wales is 35 miles away. But not being actually Welsh, there's a natural desire to see an unexpected result.
Comiserations, Penddu. For a neutral*, it was a fantastic game. I love the RWC. All the QFs are close calls, but given Argentina's indifferent form in the group stages I thought this one the easiest to call - for Wales. But credit to Argentina, a massive step up from the team which was so undistinguished against England.
Can't wait for the 8 o'clock game now.
*Obviously I wanted Wales to win because Wales is 35 miles away. But not being actually Welsh, there's a natural desire to see an unexpected result.
Argentina deserved that - if they played like that earlier we would have had England in the QFs. At least I am happy in the knowledge that I have a Fijian grandparent. Seems many of my countrymen do....
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
I mean, Trudeau has been in government for 8 years, Labour in NZ for 6, so wouldn't part of it simply be natural governmental churn?
Albanese has been in office for about 1.5 years, but on recent Aussie PM standards that's about half his expected time as premier!
Labour won a massive majority in NZ three years ago. And Albanese much more recently.
Johnson won a big majority for the Tories here at the end of 2019. Whereabouts is he now, and who, apart from, perhaps, HYUFD, expects that to be repeated?
Crikey, defending HYUFD twice in a day but he has been extremely realistic about Tory hopes for the election. As with everything he says what he sees , sometimes to his detriment as can be a bit cold and in-nuanced, more than what he hopes for. Now I believe Rishi is going to shock and surprise because I’m nuts but HYUFD is much more realistic.
Seriously HYUFD I should be charging more for running your PR/Crisis management.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
You can also buy a lot of veg as loose produce at Lidl which I really like. If I want two parsnips and 4 carrots and one leek then they are all available and the appear to be local produce too rather than shipped all over the world.
I am buying more from Lidl than ever (and their 70% dark chocolate is really smooth)
How is it even possible to buy an entire dinosaur?
Same reason one of the Microsoft guys has a replica of the Babbage Analytical Engine in his living room. For LOLs.
IIRC, he funded the construction of the printer which Babbage had designed, for the Science Museum, and got them to make a replica of both printer and Engine for him as part ion the funding deal.
Is that the same printer that Leon was complaining about last night?
No drivers. Not an inkjet.
The driver was hardwired, and the printing (presumably) like a ribbon. Basically, Amstrad PCW8256 avant la lettre.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Not just that.
Until we sort the cost of housing, there's not that much point trying to do anything else with the economy. Any other prosperity generated will just be sucked into the rents and house prices people pay. ("Workers have had a £50 pay rise? Excellent, that means they can pay £50 more rent.")
Shaping up to be a classic Saturday night on pb.com. Several people are already at the "touchy" stage of inebriation. Could be a bloodbath by 10pm.
I call for restraint. People have the right to express themselves but should do so within the parameters of civilized debate. No-one should be targeted unless they're asking for it.
Hahahaha.
My laugh is directed at myself not you guys. I am happily sat here chatting away with you all on various topics of interest and, until you mentioned it, it had competely escaped my attention that there was any ill feeling or touchiness going on at all. Shows how much attention I pay to stuff I suppose.
Has something happened?
I've enjoyed my home made air fryer extra large 7" sweet and sour chicken & things pizza, and now plan to make some plum jam.
Contemplating an air fryer fruitcake to see if they work, but it looks very much like another of the "effort >> benefit" recipes, so it's now a Thai Curry vs Fish Fillet or Tuna & chips decisions.
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
Not sure its a left v right issue, more that all governments can end up losing popularity. Which is the entire point of democracy of course.
Labour in New Zealand had been in power for two Parliamentary terms, while Trudeau has previously won three elections in a row.
Labour won an absolute majority in NZ and have bombed out in barely three years. And Trudeau was behind on votes even last time.
I don't think left-wing governments in Western countries have a particularly long shelf life these days, and Germany is another example.
Lessons for Starmer. I'll certainly be betting against his 10 years.
Is it a left v right issue though? Tories here won a massive absolute majority last time and were bombed out within three years too.
Prior to Labour winning in NZ, the Nationals were in office themselves for 8 years, so no real difference.
There is undoubtedly a strong anti-incumbency mood nearly everywhere.
Austria - the OVP-Green coalition has seen its share of the vote collapse from 51% at the last election to 27% now.
Norway - the Labour-Centre Party coalition has dropped from 40% at the election to 28% now.
Germany - the SPD/Green/FDP Coalition scored 51% at the last election - they are now in the 30s but the winner has been Alternativ rather than the Union parties.
Denmark - the Social Democrat, Venstre and Moderate Coalition has lost more than ten points to opposition parties such as the Green Left and the Liberal Alliance.
Ireland - Sinn Fein are well ahead of FF and FG.
Netherlands - the VVD party are tied with the New Social Contract Party with elections in 5 weeks.
Sweden - the Left group of parties leads the governing Blue bloc by more than 10 points.
UK - Opposition Labour Party leads the governing Conservatives by 15-20 points.
We may well see the centre-right Polish Government thrown out tomorrow.
Exceptions to the rule - Hungary, Portugal, Greece. As for Spain, who knows? Having looked certain to win, PP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory aided by the underperformance of VOX. Feijoo failed to become Prime Minister so Pedro Sanchez may just survive.
Italy's new Government remains fairly popular - as for France, who knows?
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Not just that.
Until we sort the cost of housing, there's not that much point trying to do anything else with the economy. Any other prosperity generated will just be sucked into the rents and house prices people pay. ("Workers have had a £50 pay rise? Excellent, that means they can pay £50 more rent.")
Hence my argument I've had with some others many times recently, getting people into their own homes matters infinitely more than marginal "productivity" gains.
Our overcrowded cities theoretically have higher productivity, but its productivity based on (and on the back of) people being unable to afford a home and all their efforts going on rent.
Lower density housing towns have far more space for expansion and construction and much higher home ownership rates as a result. We need to encourage much more of this - or if you want cities, find a way to enable people to afford to live in them.
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
Not sure its a left v right issue, more that all governments can end up losing popularity. Which is the entire point of democracy of course.
Labour in New Zealand had been in power for two Parliamentary terms, while Trudeau has previously won three elections in a row.
The result in Poland tomorrow will tell us more about whether it's just an incumbency thing.
There is a lot turning on the result in Poland. The second most important support for Ukraine, the stability of the EU, oh, and the rule of law.
I've not followed the election in Poland but it seems that both the parties leading in the polls have been quite pro-support for Ukraine?
There's the incumbent government, which has been very pro-support, and Tusk's opposition, which I believe has also been?
So what's turning?
Poland and Ukraine have just had a massive diplomatic spat over grain supplies and Poland has now said it will stop supplying arms to Ukraine.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
I think this is the first post you have written where I agree completely with you. I believe that a basic level of affordable housing should be made available to everyone. It would solve lots of problems and probably save a lot of money too in the end. It is what exists in Finland and is a big contributory factor in there being hardly any crime.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Not just that.
Until we sort the cost of housing, there's not that much point trying to do anything else with the economy. Any other prosperity generated will just be sucked into the rents and house prices people pay. ("Workers have had a £50 pay rise? Excellent, that means they can pay £50 more rent.")
The last time I looked workers were doing rather well relatively, whilst rents were continuing to follow their long term trend of increases at less than the rate of inflation, unless like the gormo-media you believe surveys based on advertised prices rather than actually paid prices.
Seven o' clock and time for tea.
Have a good evening, all. Said Dickson of Dock Green.
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
Not sure its a left v right issue, more that all governments can end up losing popularity. Which is the entire point of democracy of course.
Labour in New Zealand had been in power for two Parliamentary terms, while Trudeau has previously won three elections in a row.
Labour won an absolute majority in NZ and have bombed out in barely three years. And Trudeau was behind on votes even last time.
I don't think left-wing governments in Western countries have a particularly long shelf life these days, and Germany is another example.
Lessons for Starmer. I'll certainly be betting against his 10 years.
Is it a left v right issue though? Tories here won a massive absolute majority last time and were bombed out within three years too.
Prior to Labour winning in NZ, the Nationals were in office themselves for 8 years, so no real difference.
There is undoubtedly a strong anti-incumbency mood nearly everywhere.
Austria - the OVP-Green coalition has seen its share of the vote collapse from 51% at the last election to 27% now.
Norway - the Labour-Centre Party coalition has dropped from 40% at the election to 28% now.
Germany - the SPD/Green/FDP Coalition scored 51% at the last election - they are now in the 30s but the winner has been Alternativ rather than the Union parties.
Denmark - the Social Democrat, Venstre and Moderate Coalition has lost more than ten points to opposition parties such as the Green Left and the Liberal Alliance.
Ireland - Sinn Fein are well ahead of FF and FG.
Netherlands - the VVD party are tied with the New Social Contract Party with elections in 5 weeks.
Sweden - the Left group of parties leads the governing Blue bloc by more than 10 points.
UK - Opposition Labour Party leads the governing Conservatives by 15-20 points.
We may well see the centre-right Polish Government thrown out tomorrow.
Exceptions to the rule - Hungary, Portugal, Greece. As for Spain, who knows? Having looked certain to win, PP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory aided by the underperformance of VOX. Feijoo failed to become Prime Minister so Pedro Sanchez may just survive.
Italy's new Government remains fairly popular - as for France, who knows?
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
Their overall quality is also higher than the mainstream supermarkets, especially Morrisons, who are pretty dire, certainly where we live.
Weirdly, I haven’t seen any Australian posters on here. Would have been good to have a little insight instead of people spouting forth weird analogies to Brexit.
The failure of the referendum leaves an unresolved problem in Australian politics, how to ensure representation for a historically marginalised and dispossessed 3% of the population?
Having said that, 8/76 senators identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and 3/151 MPs.
Do New Zealand have anything in place to ensure representation for the Indigenous peoples there?
Again- sorry I have to keep saying this but it is easy to be misconstrued on here - this is not a dig or anything but a genuine question as you are from there.
I have a cousin who emigrated to New Zealand and was for some years employed as a business consultant by one of the Maori groups to advise their young people on setting up businesses. AFAIR we came across several Maori run businesses.
Does it make a difference that the Maori are NOT indigenous to NZ and simply arrived a few hundred years earlier than Europeans which is a quite different situation to Australia (And elsewhere) ?
So far as we know, NZ is the last significant land mass to be occupied by humans. In this case the Maori. So they must be considered the indigenous population.
At first it feels strange it could have been missed for so long, as far as we can tell, when it's bloody huge as far as Islands go, but it can be easy to forget how far away it is from Australia sometimes. I don't know how far it is from the other directions and the other countless small islands colonised, but these migrations do take time.
I once read, in an Auckland museum, a description of how humans moved across the Pacific. Apparently a canoe (or catamaran) would be sent out with food and importantly water, for thirty days, aiming for a particular star. After fifteen days, if no land had been found, the crew would turn back. One can understand how New Zealand (or Aotearoa) was missed for many years. Nowhere is really near it.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
A Twitter thread trying to analyse what we know. The vague conclusion: unlikely to be a bomb, and either an IED in a vehicle or, less likely, an accidental explosion of a gas cylinder.
I don't know enough about any of this to perform an analysis of this analysis; it does pass my weak sniff test, though.
Alastair Meeks @AlastairMeeks · 1h I’m currently expecting them to hold both. This seems as good a place as any to record that expectation.
I like Labour for Mid Beds. Tamworth also. If the Cons hold both I'll have to revisit my confidence on Labour landslide. Labour winning one or both will reinforce it.
Had a quiet weekend so I'm spending it in mid-Beds (staying in a Travelodge, which seems much nicer than it's reputation). About 25 people on five Labour canvass teams and a general air of brisk competence - Rachel Reeves was there with two of her party staff. I gather that the area has EIGHTY small towns and villages (not sure if they're all in the constituency, but a lot are), making it an interesting challenge to cover.
I got here after lunch and went on two of today's four canvass rounds. Notes:
* The contact rate is pretty high so we were focusing on firming up the Labour vote and persuading doubtfuls/LibDems, plus a small number who hadn't answered the door on previous canvasses. * "I've always voted Tory but..." was repeated so often that we came to expect it. We only met two voters in the two sessions who said firmly that they were voting Tory, though a number of the numerous "don't knows" no doubt will. There is an active Tory canvass in progress but no posters. I counted 12 Labour and 9 LibDem posters, but considering that we were going round hundreds of houses and passing hundreds more, these are both remarkably low numbers. * Despite that sign of apathy, people were uniformly polite, only complaining mildly that they'd had a zillion leaflets. There is a "you're all the same" segment who won't vote, but in general it was a nice day. * We were being fairly successful in winning over about 1 in 4 people who'd planned to vote LibDem, because many of them were basing it purely on tactical considerations, and it was generally conceded that Labour had become the main challenger. Virtually nobody had any issues to raise (e.g. nobody mentioned Gaza) and I didn't get the impression that many voters had a strong preference for or against Lab or LibDem. * Labour activists varied from the fairly confident to the frankly baffled - the strength of the Tory vote is a real unknown. On the whole I think we're ahead, but I'll report again tomorrow.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
I think this is the first post you have written where I agree completely with you. I believe that a basic level of affordable housing should be made available to everyone. It would solve lots of problems and probably save a lot of money too in the end. It is what exists in Finland and is a big contributory factor in there being hardly any crime.
It used to be available here, until Thatcher enabled the sale of council houses without enabling the revenue raised to be used to build more council houses.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
The thing is that none of those 70 people would have died today if Hamas hadn’t committed their terrorist atrocity - before that the world, or more accurately the west, were not in favour of the current Israeli gov and seeing them for being a bad thing but in that one day Hamas swung support back behind them. If Hamas had not done what they did and bided their time who knows what might have come with outside pressure, better Israeli/Arab relations.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
I've banged this drum for years, food was the #1 cost in a families budget decades ago, its not been true for decades.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Not just that.
Until we sort the cost of housing, there's not that much point trying to do anything else with the economy. Any other prosperity generated will just be sucked into the rents and house prices people pay. ("Workers have had a £50 pay rise? Excellent, that means they can pay £50 more rent.")
Hence my argument I've had with some others many times recently, getting people into their own homes matters infinitely more than marginal "productivity" gains.
Our overcrowded cities theoretically have higher productivity, but its productivity based on (and on the back of) people being unable to afford a home and all their efforts going on rent.
Lower density housing towns have far more space for expansion and construction and much higher home ownership rates as a result. We need to encourage much more of this - or if you want cities, find a way to enable people to afford to live in them.
As someone who has that argument... Up to a point, Lord Copper.
Yes, extra housing (lots of it) is needed. But if we do it via lower density, we tie ourselves to a model that makes us less productive as a nation. The alternative is moderate density extensions to existing large towns and cities (think Poundbury, or Eddington in Cambridge).
As a bonus, many of the things that make life civilised work better on that scale and density, people have agreeably short commutes, and the price signals are that the demand is for dense but substantial houses near where the action is. Not so much for having it a car drive away.
How is it even possible to buy an entire dinosaur?
Same reason one of the Microsoft guys has a replica of the Babbage Analytical Engine in his living room. For LOLs.
IIRC, he funded the construction of the printer which Babbage had designed, for the Science Museum, and got them to make a replica of both printer and Engine for him as part ion the funding deal.
Is that the same printer that Leon was complaining about last night?
No drivers. Not an inkjet.
The driver was hardwired, and the printing (presumably) like a ribbon. Basically, Amstrad PCW8256 avant la lettre.
IIRC it works by automated type setting, followed by printing each page. The inking and printing it is standard Victorian automatic press.
Alastair Meeks @AlastairMeeks · 1h I’m currently expecting them to hold both. This seems as good a place as any to record that expectation.
I like Labour for Mid Beds. Tamworth also. If the Cons hold both I'll have to revisit my confidence on Labour landslide. Labour winning one or both will reinforce it.
Had a quiet weekend so I'm spending it in mid-Beds (staying in a Travelodge, which seems much nicer than it's reputation). About 25 people on five Labour canvass teams and a general air of brisk competence - Rachel Reeves was there with two of her party staff. I gather that the area has EIGHTY small towns and villages (not sure if they're all in the constituency, but a lot are), making it an interesting challenge to cover.
I got here after lunch and went on two of today's four canvass rounds. Notes:
* The contact rate is pretty high so we were focusing on firming up the Labour vote and persuading doubtfuls/LibDems, plus a small number who hadn't answered the door on previous canvasses. * "I've always voted Tory but..." was repeated so often that we came to expect it. We only met two voters in the two sessions who said firmly that they were voting Tory, though a number of the numerous "don't knows" no doubt will. There is an active Tory canvass in progress but no posters. I counted 12 Labour and 9 LibDem posters, but considering that we were going round hundreds of houses and passing hundreds more, these are both remarkably low numbers. * Despite that sign of apathy, people were uniformly polite, only complaining mildly that they'd had a zillion leaflets. There is a "you're all the same" segment who won't vote, but in general it was a nice day. * We were being fairly successful in winning over about 1 in 4 people who'd planned to vote LibDem, because many of them were basing it purely on tactical considerations, and it was generally conceded that Labour had become the main challenger. Virtually nobody had any issues to raise (e.g. nobody mentioned Gaza) and I didn't get the impression that many voters had a strong preference for or against Lab or LibDem. * Labour activists varied from the fairly confident to the frankly baffled - the strength of the Tory vote is a real unknown. On the whole I think we're ahead, but I'll report again tomorrow.
What you also need to know is the proportion of people who Lib Dem canvassers won over, who were planning to vote Labour (or Conservative).
A general point about initiatives: They can be used to overcome the power of "intense minorities" in legislatures. Assuming, of course, they have high turnouts.
For example: If I were trying to enact gun control legislation in a moderate US state, I might well choose to try to do so by an initiative. Those opposed to such measures often feel, to put it mildly, strongly on the issue, so strongly that they are single-issue voters. A legislator in a swing district might choose to please them, even though a majority of voters in his district favor those controls.
Similarly, if I were trying to reform public schools, I might choose an initiative to get the reforms past the powerful teacher's unions.
(Referendums, especially those with super majorities, can make decisions more acceptable to the losers, because they add legitimacy to the decisions. I have thought for many years that the EU would be stronger if it had encouraged them when nations were considering joining.)
After a woman was raped in a British hospital in 2021, staff there claimed no such crime was possible because the alleged perpetrator was not male but transgender. “They forgot that there was cctv, nurses and observers,” Lady Emma Nicholson told the House of Lords in March 2022. Lady Emma was calling for an end to a policy of allowing trans hospital patients to be placed with the gender with which they identify rather than their biological sex. The hospital later apologised to the woman, who did not pursue the case in court. And Lady Emma’s call is set to be heeded.
In 2019 the National Health Service introduced guidance advising hospitals to accommodate trans patients “according to their presentation: the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use”. They need not have had surgery or a gender recognition certificate (grc), which recognises that a person has transitioned. Anecdotal evidence suggests that while hospitals do accommodate trans women (biological men) on women’s wards, trans men tend not to ask to be placed with men.
I've remarked before on how terminology is indicative of stance. The phrase "biological male" as used here is gender critical and has the added virtue (or vice, depending on stance) of being ambiguous: does it include people with an intact dick or people with a removed dick?
This enables the speaker to mean one thing but the listener to believe another, which is good for rhetoric but bad for precision.
From the content of the article I assume the author meant those with a removed dick as well, which would change how the reader would perceive it if they had been specific.
Inspired partly by this mornings discussions I just called in at Lidl after being thrown out of the Council gym (closed at 5 - who would want to use the gym after 5 at a weekend?). But found on close inspection that Lidl is significantly cheaper than Asda for some basic foods (potatoes, cold meats, cheese). For instance you can buy 7.5 kilos of baking potatoes for £3. That is a lot of food. Also they have cheap bread etc that the other supermarkets don't stock any more, for 50p a loaf. Cheese is about £5 per kilo. Beans are 28p a can. Tuna is 60p a tin. carrots are 50p /kilo. If you were poor/ on the breadline and have an oven/toaster, you could still eat very cheaply. Probably a weeks food for less than £20? That is what, 2 hours work at the minimum wage?
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
That cheap bread is shite. Cardboard would be more nutritious and healthier.Cheap food is cheap for a reason, and it's the only food that vast swathes of the population can afford.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
A Twitter thread trying to analyse what we know. The vague conclusion: unlikely to be a bomb, and either an IED in a vehicle or, less likely, an accidental explosion of a gas cylinder.
I don't know enough about any of this to perform an analysis of this analysis; it does pass my weak sniff test, though.
What sort of blinding effing idiot writes this sort of thing and forgets to link it? I mean, surely failing to include the link is a sign of a feeble mind, a mind so weak that it could barely work out the area of a circle.
Shaping up to be a classic Saturday night on pb.com. Several people are already at the "touchy" stage of inebriation. Could be a bloodbath by 10pm.
I call for restraint. People have the right to express themselves but should do so within the parameters of civilized debate. No-one should be targeted unless they're asking for it.
Hahahaha.
My laugh is directed at myself not you guys. I am happily sat here chatting away with you all on various topics of interest and, until you mentioned it, it had competely escaped my attention that there was any ill feeling or touchiness going on at all. Shows how much attention I pay to stuff I suppose.
Has something happened?
I've enjoyed my home made air fryer extra large 7" sweet and sour chicken & things pizza, and now plan to make some plum jam.
Contemplating an air fryer fruitcake to see if they work, but it looks very much like another of the "effort >> benefit" recipes, so it's now a Thai Curry vs Fish Fillet or Tuna & chips decisions.
My numerical news interest this afternoon is focused on the poor quality upgraded shared footway-cycleway in Kent alongside the A2990 Old Thanet Way (Whitstable - Herne Bay) which seems to have 233 cracks in it soon after the project was completed.
Fortunately it has a 2 year warranty on the work, which the County Council can now take advantage of after a public-spirited person has counted the cracks.
Obviously local media is in Turbo-Whinge about waste of money mode.
To the credit of Kent CC, they are trying, rather than making Ashfield style excuses for not trying.
My numerical news interest this afternoon is focused on the poor quality upgraded shared footway-cycleway in Kent alongside the A2990 Old Thanet Way (Whitstable - Herne Bay) which seems to have 233 cracks in it soon after the project was completed.
Fortunately it has a 2 year warranty on the work, which the County Council can now take advantage of after a public-spirited person has counted the cracks.
Obviously local media is in Turbo-Whinge about waste of money mode.
To the credit of Kent CC, they are trying, rather than making Ashfield style excuses for not trying.
Thanks to "stodge" for his comments here at PB. They always provide new information, at least new information for me.
And thanks to you and SSI for coming on here and providing new information, sometimes too much info on US local elections for lazy people like me, and joining in the chat, mentioning things outside our usual window and generally that you care enough to post on a foreign political site/angry drunk shouting match, and keep coming back. I hope you enjoy it and get worthwhile knowledge or laughs from it.
And done. Maybe my favourite day of the London year. Endless glorious art
Frieze!
Could have all been done by AI and viewed virtually of course.
Unfortunately much of the super-modern art at Frieze London could DEFINITELY have been done by AI. And no one would know the difference
This will become a major issue in the art world very soon
Be honest, which pieces moved you, the ones that could be adequately designed by AI or the ones that could only have been done by the hand of man (or woman).
The results in Australia and New Zealand, and what's happening to Trudeau in the polling in Canada right now, show just how fragile left-wing governments in the West can be - even ones that win a massive majority.
Not sure its a left v right issue, more that all governments can end up losing popularity. Which is the entire point of democracy of course.
Labour in New Zealand had been in power for two Parliamentary terms, while Trudeau has previously won three elections in a row.
Labour won an absolute majority in NZ and have bombed out in barely three years. And Trudeau was behind on votes even last time.
I don't think left-wing governments in Western countries have a particularly long shelf life these days, and Germany is another example.
Lessons for Starmer. I'll certainly be betting against his 10 years.
Is it a left v right issue though? Tories here won a massive absolute majority last time and were bombed out within three years too.
Prior to Labour winning in NZ, the Nationals were in office themselves for 8 years, so no real difference.
There is undoubtedly a strong anti-incumbency mood nearly everywhere.
Austria - the OVP-Green coalition has seen its share of the vote collapse from 51% at the last election to 27% now.
Norway - the Labour-Centre Party coalition has dropped from 40% at the election to 28% now.
Germany - the SPD/Green/FDP Coalition scored 51% at the last election - they are now in the 30s but the winner has been Alternativ rather than the Union parties.
Denmark - the Social Democrat, Venstre and Moderate Coalition has lost more than ten points to opposition parties such as the Green Left and the Liberal Alliance.
Ireland - Sinn Fein are well ahead of FF and FG.
Netherlands - the VVD party are tied with the New Social Contract Party with elections in 5 weeks.
Sweden - the Left group of parties leads the governing Blue bloc by more than 10 points.
UK - Opposition Labour Party leads the governing Conservatives by 15-20 points.
We may well see the centre-right Polish Government thrown out tomorrow.
Exceptions to the rule - Hungary, Portugal, Greece. As for Spain, who knows? Having looked certain to win, PP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory aided by the underperformance of VOX. Feijoo failed to become Prime Minister so Pedro Sanchez may just survive.
Italy's new Government remains fairly popular - as for France, who knows?
Biden also only about 40% approval and trailing in some polls against Trump and other Republicans. Trudeau behind in Canada, NZ just thrown out its Labour government.
As you say in Germany the governing SPD trailing, in France Le Pen ahead in some polls and even in Spain the PP won most seats and Sanchez will need Catalan Nationalists to stay in power and they are refusing to do so unless major concessions.
It looks like Meloni in Italy is indeed one of the few western leaders still relatively popular, the current mood with inflation and cost of living is anti incumbent overall and of course here too
My numerical news interest this afternoon is focused on the poor quality upgraded shared footway-cycleway in Kent alongside the A2990 Old Thanet Way (Whitstable - Herne Bay) which seems to have 233 cracks in it soon after the project was completed.
Fortunately it has a 2 year warranty on the work, which the County Council can now take advantage of after a public-spirited person has counted the cracks.
Obviously local media is in Turbo-Whinge about waste of money mode.
To the credit of Kent CC, they are trying, rather than making Ashfield style excuses for not trying.
After all the bigging up of Wales, you would need a heart of stone not to laugh at their defeat today. I didn’t see the game but heard it on the way home. Sounds like it was strategically very poor?
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
The thing is that none of those 70 people would have died today if Hamas hadn’t committed their terrorist atrocity - before that the world, or more accurately the west, were not in favour of the current Israeli gov and seeing them for being a bad thing but in that one day Hamas swung support back behind them. If Hamas had not done what they did and bided their time who knows what might have come with outside pressure, better Israeli/Arab relations.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
In my view this is not only very poor logic, but it is deeply morally wrong and actively damaging to both Israeli and Palestinian interests.
Whoever blew up innocent civilians fleeing a war zone is responsible for their actions. To suggest anything else is horrific, in my view.
After all the bigging up of Wales, you would need a heart of stone not to laugh at their defeat today. I didn’t see the game but heard it on the way home. Sounds like it was strategically very poor?
Not strategically - tactically. They were tactically poorer than Argentina, who played a canny, niggly, incremental game, designed to win
Wales could have won, maybe should have won, but they made too many errors
Neither team was or is threatening to win the entire thing
May as well just march with images of beheaded babies and have done with it.
Have some sympathy for the girl, she’s forced to live in a country where women have equal rights to men under the law, if she wants to have an affair she isn’t going to be flogged, her gay colleague isn’t going to be executed for their biological sexual orientation, she can’t get on a flight to Saudi and live under Sharia law.
It's a pretty deliberate way of being clear it is more than support for a free Palestine that they are arguing for. They could have made that far more ambigious, disassociate from specific acts, but did not want to. Those sincerely against violence by any side should be a lot more mad at people like that tarnishing their image and cause.
Some of the most measured voices I’m hearing on here, the ones who seem most serious about ending this agony, seem to come from Israelis whose loved ones have just been murdered or abducted by Hamas.
After all the bigging up of Wales, you would need a heart of stone not to laugh at their defeat today. I didn’t see the game but heard it on the way home. Sounds like it was strategically very poor?
Not strategically - tactically. They were tactically poorer than Argentina, who played a canny, niggly, incremental game, designed to win
Wales could have won, maybe should have won, but they made too many errors
Neither team was or is threatening to win the entire thing
The simple fact is we made too many mistakes. Specifically our lineout (which has been strong so far) and too many knock ons.
We would probably have won in LRZ had gone over in the 66(?)th minute - but he didnt. Argentina had the better of us. No excuses.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
The thing is that none of those 70 people would have died today if Hamas hadn’t committed their terrorist atrocity - before that the world, or more accurately the west, were not in favour of the current Israeli gov and seeing them for being a bad thing but in that one day Hamas swung support back behind them. If Hamas had not done what they did and bided their time who knows what might have come with outside pressure, better Israeli/Arab relations.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
The Israelis have effectively made the life of the Gazeans unbearable. Without the daily humiliations it's unlikely Hamas would be in control. I have a work friend from Gaza who happens to be a deputy product manager for one of Procter and Gamble's hair products . Very bright and a nicer person you would be hard put to meet. But even in his slightly exalted position and the fact he's based in Saudi travel as you or I would know it is extremely difficult.
After all the bigging up of Wales, you would need a heart of stone not to laugh at their defeat today. I didn’t see the game but heard it on the way home. Sounds like it was strategically very poor?
Not strategically - tactically. They were tactically poorer than Argentina, who played a canny, niggly, incremental game, designed to win
Wales could have won, maybe should have won, but they made too many errors
Neither team was or is threatening to win the entire thing
The simple fact is we made too many mistakes. Specifically our lineout (which has been strong so far) and too many knock ons.
We would probably have won in LRZ had gone over in the 66(?)th minute - but he didnt. Argentina had the better of us. No excuses.
You've been pretty good in your predix so far, if we ignore your understandable favouring of Wales and disfavouring of England
Who do you reckon will win the entire thing? I was thinking the Boks but I reckon France can handle them, and I now fancy France for the whole tournament, propelled by home advantage
Paraglider isn't a simple bit of kit, and harder to launch, fuel, fly and navigate - particularly with a weapons load.
It's not as if you can order them on Amazon from Gaza.
Aaron's view
Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani · 1h These morons are doing the *opposite* of expressing solidarity with Palestinians, and helping the cause of Palestinian self determination.
They are idiots helping to undermine the tens of thousands of others on this demo. Childish indecency isn’t politics.
Last comment on the Aussie referendum, but I am not sure what the problem is with appealing to people who are undecided to vote no. Maybe there was something specific about how they did that which was odd? But presumably the yes campaign appealed to undecided voters to vote yes, and what's wrong with people not voting for a change if they are not sure of whether they back it or not? The way it is written it is distinct from the accusation of misinformation.
[No Leaders] were criticised over their appeal to undecided voters with a "Don't know? Vote no" message, and accused of running a campaign based on misinformation about the effects of the plan. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67110193
Paraglider isn't a simple bit of kit, and harder to launch, fuel, fly and navigate - particularly with a weapons load.
It's not as if you can order them on Amazon from Gaza.
Aaron's view
Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani · 1h These morons are doing the *opposite* of expressing solidarity with Palestinians, and helping the cause of Palestinian self determination.
They are idiots helping to undermine the tens of thousands of others on this demo. Childish indecency isn’t politics.
Aaron is right. The perception they want disspelled is that the demonstrators align with and support atrocities, and some amongst them actively reinforce that perception.
Bruno Maçães @MacaesBruno · 1h The US ships in the Mediterranean are there to add to Iron Done and shoot down Hezbollah missiles. If Israel invades Gaza tonight and Hezbollah attacks, then the US could be one day away from entering the war
Further evidence, not that it's needed, of Labour's grim determination to win the next election(s) and have no hostages to fortune. Seems to be working. You may not like it, but keeping 'Labour member supports Hamas' (because that's what support for Palestine would be twisted into) out of the tabloids seems a wise strategy.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
The thing is that none of those 70 people would have died today if Hamas hadn’t committed their terrorist atrocity - before that the world, or more accurately the west, were not in favour of the current Israeli gov and seeing them for being a bad thing but in that one day Hamas swung support back behind them. If Hamas had not done what they did and bided their time who knows what might have come with outside pressure, better Israeli/Arab relations.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
The Israelis have effectively made the life of the Gazeans unbearable. Without the daily humiliations it's unlikely Hamas would be in control. I have a work friend from Gaza who happens to be a deputy product manager for one of Procter and Gamble's hair products . Very bright and a nicer person you would be hard put to meet. But even in his slightly exalted position and the fact he's based in Saudi travel as you or I would know it is extremely difficult.
Yes the Israelis have made life for Gazans unbearable and the world was not in favour of Netanyahu and his current crew so there was finally a possibility that the Israeli gov might be forced to change its ways when western support dried up by their actions and just when that could happen Hamas did what they did. They could have waited, taken some messed up relative moral high ground and let the fact that huge amounts of Israelis also didn’t like the gov but they went and did unspeakable things, not just to soldiers and gov but to civilians and threw away any opportunity to change the direction there from war back to violence.
So again, every death in this cycle is down to Hamas.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
The Egyptian government is adamantly opposed to allowing a large number of Gazans into its country . That is partly because Egypt worries that its nation of more than 100 million people — already facing a severe economic crisis — could get sucked deeper into the regional unrest.
But Egypt and other governments in the area also fear that allowing Gazans to flee as refugees could lead to their permanent forced displacement, creating a deep setback for Palestinian rights and the struggle for a Palestinian state.
The Egyptian authorities have deployed military reinforcements along the country’s 8-mile border with the Gaza Strip, according to eyewitnesses, and makeshift cement barriers have been erected on the Egyptian side of the crossing, according to two witnesses on the Palestinian side.
The Egyptian government is adamantly opposed to allowing a large number of Gazans into its country . That is partly because Egypt worries that its nation of more than 100 million people — already facing a severe economic crisis — could get sucked deeper into the regional unrest.
But Egypt and other governments in the area also fear that allowing Gazans to flee as refugees could lead to their permanent forced displacement, creating a deep setback for Palestinian rights and the struggle for a Palestinian state.
The Egyptian authorities have deployed military reinforcements along the country’s 8-mile border with the Gaza Strip, according to eyewitnesses, and makeshift cement barriers have been erected on the Egyptian side of the crossing, according to two witnesses on the Palestinian side.
NY Times blog
My bold. Solidarity eh?
Cement barriers and military enforced blockades of solidarity and love.
Suggestions that Hamas are saying Israel have bombed one of the approved evac routes, Israel saying that they had no planes in the sky when the alleged attack took place and will provide proof of that. Israel suggesting that Hamas bombed the evac route to frame the IDF.
This could get messy.
It's taken about 36 hours after Israel going on the offensive for everyone to have forgotten about the atrocities and for it to all be about them again.
People are so worried about their overreaction they in effect argue they shouldn't do anything*. That's obviously impossible for the Israeli government after facing 9/11 x 5 mere days ago, even if they were so inclined. Obviously outside voices will hope for as little civilian death as possible, but without getting bloodthirsty about it Israel cannot do nothing in response.
*well, we know from plenty of demonstrations that there are also many who are not worried about overreaction, they just support the massacres as an act of resistance
I know very well Israel have been nibbling at the West Bank for decades, and will continue to do so.
But, I'm not sure I care. I'm totally done with the Palestinians and I think much of it is a cloak for Islamism and very unpleasant antisemitism.
I support Israel finishing the job in Gaza.
A week ago I supported the Israelis 100%. As the week has progressed, it seems that it is a conflict between two sets of terrorists, Hamas and Likud, with innocent Jews (both Israeli and elsewhere) and Palestinians (both within Palestine and Gaza and elsewhere) the innocent victims. Both sides are supported by useful idiots; people like Jeremy Corbyn for Hamas and Leon for Likud. Edit: deleting useful in respect of Leon.
Sigh. No I certainly do not support Likud
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
If evidence appears that Hamas killed the women and children trying to escape today, or evidence appears that the Israelis didn’t, or that it was a rogue unit that carried out the killing, I may change my mind. Until then, I can only hope that decent folk call out the targeting of innocent Jews and Palestinians everywhere, including here.
The thing is that none of those 70 people would have died today if Hamas hadn’t committed their terrorist atrocity - before that the world, or more accurately the west, were not in favour of the current Israeli gov and seeing them for being a bad thing but in that one day Hamas swung support back behind them. If Hamas had not done what they did and bided their time who knows what might have come with outside pressure, better Israeli/Arab relations.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
The Israelis have effectively made the life of the Gazeans unbearable. Without the daily humiliations it's unlikely Hamas would be in control. I have a work friend from Gaza who happens to be a deputy product manager for one of Procter and Gamble's hair products . Very bright and a nicer person you would be hard put to meet. But even in his slightly exalted position and the fact he's based in Saudi travel as you or I would know it is extremely difficult.
Despite this, Gaza has had one of the highest population growth rates in the world. Arguably the international aid regime has contributed to creating a pressure cooker environment.
The Egyptian government is adamantly opposed to allowing a large number of Gazans into its country . That is partly because Egypt worries that its nation of more than 100 million people — already facing a severe economic crisis — could get sucked deeper into the regional unrest.
But Egypt and other governments in the area also fear that allowing Gazans to flee as refugees could lead to their permanent forced displacement, creating a deep setback for Palestinian rights and the struggle for a Palestinian state.
The Egyptian authorities have deployed military reinforcements along the country’s 8-mile border with the Gaza Strip, according to eyewitnesses, and makeshift cement barriers have been erected on the Egyptian side of the crossing, according to two witnesses on the Palestinian side.
NY Times blog
My bold. Solidarity eh?
Cement barriers and military enforced blockades of solidarity and love.
Compare and contrast with Turkey, which still houses four million Syrian refugees after nearly ten years - and gives them a fair few rights as well. Or that well-known bastion of stability Lebanon, which has 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
The platform formerly known as Twitter used to be useful, entertaining, surprising, even joyful ... But last weekend, when news started trickling out about the Hamas attack on Israel, it was glaringly clear how degraded the platform had become ... On Saturday morning X was a putrid mess of fake footage, ideological screeds, lies and deflections. The platform is no longer useful. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2023/10/14/its-not-me-twitter-its-you-why-im-saying-goodbye-to-x/
Comments
Hamas are brutally targeting civilians and killing children and babies on purpose without warning.
Israel are going to war and giving civilians a warning to get out of the warzone.
In recent years my sympathies have been much more with the Palestinians. Not least because I’ve seen Israel become a more racist and unpleasant country in my life. I’ve personally witnessed it
I’d say under Netanyahu it is borderline apartheid and heading for theocratic fascism
But the October 7 atrocities were indescribably awful and have unleashed - or revealed - waves of anti Semitism. So what is one to think?
She failed to even win previously.
Frieze!
They don't care any more about Palestinian lives than they do Israeli.
Compare this with the other costs, council tax, electricity, water, rent... all going up. If you can manage on the above then food is going to be a much less significant cost than other expenditure.
The #1 cost in a budget today is housing. By miles.
The biggest difference between people's living standards today isn't really whether you earn more or less, its do you pay for your home or not?
For years people who rent have struggled. Now people who have to remortgage are joining them.
Live rent free and mortgage free? You're set for life.
Park Netanyahu and Likud and the lunatics. This isn't about them. This is about the only democracy in the region being invaded by psychopathic terrorists who are hell bent on genocide.
That doesn't give Israel a blank cheque to commit their own atrocities and they are not. Lots of objections to the call to evacuate civilians from the war zone, but that is better than not doing and saying so what. Or explicitly targeting civilians to break their resolve, Bomber Harris style.
Back Israel. Civilisation against savagery.
Hopefully they will soon be political footnotes (like the LibDems)
Is that really you, @Leon?
I am buying more from Lidl than ever (and their 70% dark chocolate is really smooth)
Until we sort the cost of housing, there's not that much point trying to do anything else with the economy. Any other prosperity generated will just be sucked into the rents and house prices people pay. ("Workers have had a £50 pay rise? Excellent, that means they can pay £50 more rent.")
I've enjoyed my home made air fryer extra large 7" sweet and sour chicken & things pizza, and now plan to make some plum jam.
Contemplating an air fryer fruitcake to see if they work, but it looks very much like another of the "effort >> benefit" recipes, so it's now a Thai Curry vs Fish Fillet or Tuna & chips decisions.
Austria - the OVP-Green coalition has seen its share of the vote collapse from 51% at the last election to 27% now.
Norway - the Labour-Centre Party coalition has dropped from 40% at the election to 28% now.
Germany - the SPD/Green/FDP Coalition scored 51% at the last election - they are now in the 30s but the winner has been Alternativ rather than the Union parties.
Denmark - the Social Democrat, Venstre and Moderate Coalition has lost more than ten points to opposition parties such as the Green Left and the Liberal Alliance.
Ireland - Sinn Fein are well ahead of FF and FG.
Netherlands - the VVD party are tied with the New Social Contract Party with elections in 5 weeks.
Sweden - the Left group of parties leads the governing Blue bloc by more than 10 points.
UK - Opposition Labour Party leads the governing Conservatives by 15-20 points.
We may well see the centre-right Polish Government thrown out tomorrow.
Exceptions to the rule - Hungary, Portugal, Greece. As for Spain, who knows? Having looked certain to win, PP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory aided by the underperformance of VOX. Feijoo failed to become Prime Minister so Pedro Sanchez may just survive.
Italy's new Government remains fairly popular - as for France, who knows?
Our overcrowded cities theoretically have higher productivity, but its productivity based on (and on the back of) people being unable to afford a home and all their efforts going on rent.
Lower density housing towns have far more space for expansion and construction and much higher home ownership rates as a result. We need to encourage much more of this - or if you want cities, find a way to enable people to afford to live in them.
Notes
Seven o' clock and time for tea.
Have a good evening, all. Said Dickson of Dock Green.
One can understand how New Zealand (or Aotearoa) was missed for many years. Nowhere is really near it.
I don't know enough about any of this to perform an analysis of this analysis; it does pass my weak sniff test, though.
This will become a major issue in the art world very soon
I got here after lunch and went on two of today's four canvass rounds. Notes:
* The contact rate is pretty high so we were focusing on firming up the Labour vote and persuading doubtfuls/LibDems, plus a small number who hadn't answered the door on previous canvasses.
* "I've always voted Tory but..." was repeated so often that we came to expect it. We only met two voters in the two sessions who said firmly that they were voting Tory, though a number of the numerous "don't knows" no doubt will. There is an active Tory canvass in progress but no posters. I counted 12 Labour and 9 LibDem posters, but considering that we were going round hundreds of houses and passing hundreds more, these are both remarkably low numbers.
* Despite that sign of apathy, people were uniformly polite, only complaining mildly that they'd had a zillion leaflets. There is a "you're all the same" segment who won't vote, but in general it was a nice day.
* We were being fairly successful in winning over about 1 in 4 people who'd planned to vote LibDem, because many of them were basing it purely on tactical considerations, and it was generally conceded that Labour had become the main challenger. Virtually nobody had any issues to raise (e.g. nobody mentioned Gaza) and I didn't get the impression that many voters had a strong preference for or against Lab or LibDem.
* Labour activists varied from the fairly confident to the frankly baffled - the strength of the Tory vote is a real unknown. On the whole I think we're ahead, but I'll report again tomorrow.
Every death in Gaza today, tomorrow, this last week, until this chapter is over is on Hamas.
Yes, extra housing (lots of it) is needed. But if we do it via lower density, we tie ourselves to a model that makes us less productive as a nation. The alternative is moderate density extensions to existing large towns and cities (think Poundbury, or Eddington in Cambridge).
As a bonus, many of the things that make life civilised work better on that scale and density, people have agreeably short commutes, and the price signals are that the demand is for dense but substantial houses near where the action is. Not so much for having it a car drive away.
For example: If I were trying to enact gun control legislation in a moderate US state, I might well choose to try to do so by an initiative. Those opposed to such measures often feel, to put it mildly, strongly on the issue, so strongly that they are single-issue voters. A legislator in a swing district might choose to please them, even though a majority of voters in his district favor those controls.
Similarly, if I were trying to reform public schools, I might choose an initiative to get the reforms past the powerful teacher's unions.
(Referendums, especially those with super majorities, can make decisions more acceptable to the losers, because they add legitimacy to the decisions. I have thought for many years that the EU would be stronger if it had encouraged them when nations were considering joining.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States
This enables the speaker to mean one thing but the listener to believe another, which is good for rhetoric but bad for precision.
From the content of the article I assume the author meant those with a removed dick as well, which would change how the reader would perceive it if they had been specific.
https://x.com/hurryupharry/status/1713192830641053878
Oh, it was me...
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1713241560752533662
Fortunately it has a 2 year warranty on the work, which the County Council can now take advantage of after a public-spirited person has counted the cracks.
Obviously local media is in Turbo-Whinge about waste of money mode.
To the credit of Kent CC, they are trying, rather than making Ashfield style excuses for not trying.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/new-cycle-path-branded-waste-of-taxpayers-money-after-233-295077/
Jonathan Freedland
As you say in Germany the governing SPD trailing, in France Le Pen ahead in some polls and even in Spain the PP won most seats and Sanchez will need Catalan Nationalists to stay in power and they are refusing to do so unless major concessions.
It looks like Meloni in Italy is indeed one of the few western leaders still relatively popular, the current mood with inflation and cost of living is anti incumbent overall and of course here too
Whoever blew up innocent civilians fleeing a war zone is responsible for their actions. To suggest anything else is horrific, in my view.
Wales could have won, maybe should have won, but they made too many errors
Neither team was or is threatening to win the entire thing
https://x.com/trussliz/status/1713224119313916201?s=20
It's not as if you can order them on Amazon from Gaza.
Feel her pain.
Some of the most measured voices I’m hearing on here, the ones who seem most serious about ending this agony, seem to come from Israelis whose loved ones have just been murdered or abducted by Hamas.
Some examples…
https://twitter.com/danielsilas/status/1712601486935421077
It's worth three points start to the opposition.
We would probably have won in LRZ had gone over in the 66(?)th minute - but he didnt. Argentina had the better of us. No excuses.
https://twitter.com/LeftieStats/status/1713212836808200376
Who do you reckon will win the entire thing? I was thinking the Boks but I reckon France can handle them, and I now fancy France for the whole tournament, propelled by home advantage
Aaron Bastani
@AaronBastani
·
1h
These morons are doing the *opposite* of expressing solidarity with Palestinians, and helping the cause of Palestinian self determination.
They are idiots helping to undermine the tens of thousands of others on this demo. Childish indecency isn’t politics.
[No Leaders] were criticised over their appeal to undecided voters with a "Don't know? Vote no" message, and accused of running a campaign based on misinformation about the effects of the plan.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67110193
https://twitter.com/PhilipProudfoot/status/1713162486944518338
Bruno Maçães
@MacaesBruno
·
1h
The US ships in the Mediterranean are there to add to Iron Done and shoot down Hezbollah missiles. If Israel invades Gaza tonight and Hezbollah attacks, then the US could be one day away from entering the war
So again, every death in this cycle is down to Hamas.
But Egypt and other governments in the area also fear that allowing Gazans to flee as refugees could lead to their permanent forced displacement, creating a deep setback for Palestinian rights and the struggle for a Palestinian state.
The Egyptian authorities have deployed military reinforcements along the country’s 8-mile border with the Gaza Strip, according to eyewitnesses, and makeshift cement barriers have been erected on the Egyptian side of the crossing, according to two witnesses on the Palestinian side.
NY Times blog
My bold. Solidarity eh?
Social Media 'aint helping one iota.
Lab posters cant criticise Tories and vice versa?
Non Corbynites cant comment on Jezza?
CHUMP
Game on!
Few sports can equal international rugby at this level
...
But last weekend, when news started trickling out about the Hamas attack on Israel, it was glaringly clear how degraded the platform had become
...
On Saturday morning X was a putrid mess of fake footage, ideological screeds, lies and deflections. The platform is no longer useful.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2023/10/14/its-not-me-twitter-its-you-why-im-saying-goodbye-to-x/
That Starmer is a right Bastard. Now if we still had The Jeremy as leader, we would be able to celebrate beheaded babies like all decent people.