If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
You're a Labour ex MP, so it's not surprising that you want Labour to win this by election. If the Libdems didn't stand you would probably do it. It's also true that if Labour didn't stand the Libdems would probably win it. Letting the Tories hold on, if they do, would be an unfortunate result of our electoral system. If only there was a way where all parties could fight for what they believe in and the electorate wasn't forced to make decisions about who was the main challenger.
A classic 'if only the world was as I wish it to be' post.
Some Labourites would have sympathy with your passion for PR.
Yet that is NOT the system, FPP is and there is near-zero chance of that changing anytime soon.
Ergo, you should play the game as it is, not as you wish it to be.
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
Would you rule out Rishi calling a snap election if the Tories hold both by-elections by fairly comfortable margins, in order to capitalise on those possible recriminations?
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
I’m normally a Labour voter so I won’t be happy if the Lib Dems cost Labour the seat . However I’m willing to let that go in my current area , Eastbourne . Refusing to vote Lib Dem here and playing the martyr will just enable a Tory win . Protesting and enabling the Tories is ridiculous . Number one mission is the Tories gone . To be blunt people need to get over themselves and put the greater good first .
Soviet troops arriving after the Poles were finally rescued from the Nazis
About the bit in bold: I hold no brief for the Soviets (nor the Nazis!), but you are implying that somebody else rescued the Poles from the Nazis before the Soviets arrived, and I'm pretty sure that's not the sequence of events...
I've read an awful lot on here, and elsewhere, about Mid-Bedfordshire, but hardly anything about Tamworth. Is that just because Tamworth is so dire that nobody goes there? I see that Labour are the bookies' clear favourites there, but I'm not sure why. Is that just because the LDs aren't in the game?
On the same note, I receive daily emails from Labour asking for help in Mid-Beds, but again, nothing on Tamworth. So, either Labour thinks it's in the bag, or they've given up. Does anybody know what's going on in Tamworth, and why there's such an apparent lack of interest?
My grandparents lived there for 80 years so I know it quite well.
Do you know it was basically capital of the country about 1,200 years ago? It was capital of Mercia when Mercia was the most powerful kingdom in Britain.
I'm as neutral as I can be about Israel/Palestine etc, and like most people sympathise with good people on both sides and not with bad people on both sides.
What is undeniable is that Hamas in taking and holding hostages has committed a war crime. What is odd is that the Arab and Islamic world is not putting immense and irresistible pressure on Hamas to release them.
As long as they are held then, while Israel's critics can say that the attacks and blockades on Gaza are siege/war crimes etc and they should desist, they have also to explain how Israel should go about rescuing the hostages.
As it happens the hostage situation is one where it isn't deniable that it is a war crime, AND is capable, unlike killings, of being put right at this moment.
Do you think that hostages are more or less likely to be released by Israel indiscriminately killing Palestinian civilians? Why is it that Israelis who have lost loved ones, some even relatives of those kidnapped, can clearly say that more violence from the state of Israel and Hamas will not solve anything or bring anyone back from the dead, and will only continue a cycle of killing and dying, dying and killing; yet western allies can only wring their hands at the clear breaches of the "international laws based order" that Israel is carrying out.
Have you see the ratio of hostage releases? Israel released 1,027 prisoners in order to get one soldier, Gilad Shalit, back. And allegedly at least one of those released prisoners was involved in organising the atrocity in Israel.
I haven't defended a single thing Hamas has done. In fact the opposite - I have clearly stated that it is morally unjustifiable. But one side doing the abhorrent does not give the other side carte blanche to also do the abhorrent.
What would be the good and better way of releasing the hostages? It's undeniably a war crime, time has elapsed for release to occur, and releasing them is beyond doubt a good thing to do and in itself is entirely lawful.
If you're asking what do I think is incumbent on Hamas, my position is of course they should release all hostages with no strings, make it clear where those hostages are and provide them safe passage out of Gaza. That would require them to telegraph that, publicly and/or through special channels.
And the next step if that has not occurred after a lapse of time? (Time matters for a number of reasons, not least the hostages including children).
From the position of Israel? The extraction of those hostages in such a way that minimises civilian casualties. At no point does that include a mass bombing campaign of urban areas, the mass starving of civilians, the mass arming of Israeli civilians alongside messages from the government to kill any Palestinian that may or may not be Hamas, etc etc.
The other day I quoted A Man For All Seasons, and I will do so again:
William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
What, exactly, is your military experience in, say, recovering hostages, fighting terrorists, fighting any sort of war etc.,?
Just so that we can assess your comments on what Israel should and should not do in the light of your expertise in such matters?
For myself, I find the suggestion that Israel should ask Egypt for the addresses of Hamas commanders so that they can be arrested at their homes grimly amusing. But a tad La La Landish. But what do I know - I am not a military person. Perhaps you are.
Frankly, I'm surprised that the IDF aren't on the phone, right now, to @148grss to find out how to completely deal with Hamas while causing just one casualty
And we have quite a few 'experts' on here of the opposite persuasion - applying their knowledge of modern urban warfare and concluding that Israel cannot possibly pop one on Hamas without accidentally obliterating a couple of hundred thousand (ish) Palestinian children.
Who to believe? Who to believe?
I thought you were going not going to comment on subjects on which, by your own admission, you are out of your depth?
I know! ...
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"
At the risk of upsetting one or two folk Sky News says it has seen a confidential Conservative telephone polling of Mid Beds and Tamworth. Mid Beds says the Cons vote will halve to 28-33%. So they have lost between 27 and 32%. However only 5% is going to Labour. Where is the other 23-28% going? This may also help to explain the Lib Dems apparent cautious optimism But of course there is the Independent and Reform. Fascinating. Looks like 35% is the winning line.
It's not totally obvious that the different percentages are all of the same base.
The memo does say directly that the "lost" Tories are overwhelmingly just sitting it out, with "very few direct switchers to opposition parties". That corresponds broadly to my impression although I met more Con-Lab switchers than 1 in 20. I still think Labour have a decent shot at it, if the LibDem effort doesn't undermine the tactical voting effort without bringing themselves within reach.
More strategically, both Opposition parties need to keep in mind that the Tory vote is basically just staying at home. That might not still hold in a year's time.
Voters who switch between Tory and Labour are rare beasts. This whole swing malarkey is an incorrect interpretation of variations in turnout between the two blocks of voters.
And let us not forget that canvassing is all about getting the vote out, not persuading voters to choose your party.
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
Would you rule out Rishi calling a snap election if the Tories hold both by-elections by fairly comfortable margins, in order to capitalise on those possible recriminations?
Both seats are not really Labour targets at the GE so not sure Sunak would react in that way. I expect there will still be a decent swing away from the Tories even with a comfortable majority and that still would cost them loads of seats at a GE . I really don’t see any recriminations lasting long unless people really are stupid and willing to shoot them selves in the foot .
Be interesting to see how this affects the next local elections.
Very interesting and not one I can easily call. The Greens are snapping at Labour's heels in the inner wards. There's the possibility for anti-LTN independents to stand against Labour but historically they've not done well. The LibDems are mostly in North Oxford so probably less affected, though the jams on St Clements might put off some of their Headington voters. Labour seems very split on the issue.
Historically single issue anti LTN candidates have done very poorly, but that was when no mainstream party was willing to seriously stand against them. I suspect this time around, taking their cue from party central, the Cons will campaign against. Labour will be torn: Some fraction of Labour has clearly been persuaded by the (disingenuous imo) framing of LTNs as a kind of class warfare.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
May be true, may be a hoax. Local socials are full of bullshit. There is a persistent one near us of poisoned food being left out where people walk their dogs, allegedly the council know etc etc. All bollocks.
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
I’m normally a Labour voter so I won’t be happy if the Lib Dems cost Labour the seat . However I’m willing to let that go in my current area , Eastbourne . Refusing to vote Lib Dem here and playing the martyr will just enable a Tory win . Protesting and enabling the Tories is ridiculous . Number one mission is the Tories gone . To be blunt people need to get over themselves and put the greater good first .
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
Since when did we start pandering to potential wrongdoers in this way?
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
I’m normally a Labour voter so I won’t be happy if the Lib Dems cost Labour the seat . However I’m willing to let that go in my current area , Eastbourne . Refusing to vote Lib Dem here and playing the martyr will just enable a Tory win . Protesting and enabling the Tories is ridiculous . Number one mission is the Tories gone . To be blunt people need to get over themselves and put the greater good first .
the greater good
The greater good IMO as in removing the Tories . Of course Tory voters will disagree .
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
I’m normally a Labour voter so I won’t be happy if the Lib Dems cost Labour the seat . However I’m willing to let that go in my current area , Eastbourne . Refusing to vote Lib Dem here and playing the martyr will just enable a Tory win . Protesting and enabling the Tories is ridiculous . Number one mission is the Tories gone . To be blunt people need to get over themselves and put the greater good first .
the greater good
The greater good IMO as in removing the Tories . Of course Tory voters will disagree .
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
LOL!
The reminds me of Gary Lineker and The Walker's Crips Adverts, which had him holding up pictures of Harold Shipman, Peter Sutcliffe, Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, etc.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
Since when did we start pandering to potential wrongdoers in this way?
The main problem - as with previous attempts - is to identify the breed and separate it from other breeds.
Andvthe backlash wouldn't come from the owners. It would come from organisations like the RSPCA or PETA.
Ukraine says it has destroyed nine Russian helicopters in an air strike on two cities in the Russian-occupied east of the country.
A special forces statement said an air defence system and other equipment were hit, as well as a munitions dump, in the cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk.
England need to take them to one side and explain that the fine tradition of the game is to make a promising start, then suffer an abysmal collapse, rather than the other way around.
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
That could be a storyline from One Foot In The Grave.
"I don't belieeeve it," he exclaims, tripping over a box of Kellogg's Special K.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
I've read an awful lot on here, and elsewhere, about Mid-Bedfordshire, but hardly anything about Tamworth. Is that just because Tamworth is so dire that nobody goes there? I see that Labour are the bookies' clear favourites there, but I'm not sure why. Is that just because the LDs aren't in the game?
On the same note, I receive daily emails from Labour asking for help in Mid-Beds, but again, nothing on Tamworth. So, either Labour thinks it's in the bag, or they've given up. Does anybody know what's going on in Tamworth, and why there's such an apparent lack of interest?
My grandparents lived there for 80 years so I know it quite well.
Do you know it was basically capital of the country about 1,200 years ago? It was capital of Mercia when Mercia was the most powerful kingdom in Britain.
I live not a million miles from Tamworth and pop over there regularly. While it's regarded as more down-to-earth than snooty Lichfield (the one-time ecclesiastical capital of Mercia, next town along Watling Street) it actually surprises with the pleasantness of the castle grounds and nearby shopping streets. Nevertheless, it is very white working class and, I'd say, pretty socially conservative. It's a big hill to climb for Labour, but the combination of a non-white, remote prime minister and Chris Pincher's antics might just be enough to get them over the line.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
Still leaves the possibility of them getting out. Particularly given the type of people who own them. Better to find a way to identify them and put them down
For clarity I am talking about the dogs, not the owners......
I've read an awful lot on here, and elsewhere, about Mid-Bedfordshire, but hardly anything about Tamworth. Is that just because Tamworth is so dire that nobody goes there? I see that Labour are the bookies' clear favourites there, but I'm not sure why. Is that just because the LDs aren't in the game?
On the same note, I receive daily emails from Labour asking for help in Mid-Beds, but again, nothing on Tamworth. So, either Labour thinks it's in the bag, or they've given up. Does anybody know what's going on in Tamworth, and why there's such an apparent lack of interest?
Yes, I'm trying ascertain whether Tories are VALUE there, at a good notch over 3.
It may be geographical. I get daily appeals on mid-Beds too, but I live in Surrey so Tamworth is further away. The Liverpool activists who I talked to at the conference said they were spending all their time in Tamworth.
At the Tory conference, it was clear that Tory MPs had been asked to help in both, though I only saw two Tory canvassers during the two days I was there.
Did you get a feel for how Festus Akinbusoye is regarded? I understand he's well known to the electorate already.
He's crime commissioner, so not an unknown face, but he wasn't mentioned. I didn't get a sense that anyone was very interested in the candidates, or indeed the policies - the feeling was overwhelmingly like people choosing which football team to support.
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
If you're not careful, C4 is going to offer you a reality show.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
Since when did we start pandering to potential wrongdoers in this way?
Well, something extraordinary happened- the remains of M39 missiles (Made in 1996 and 1997) of the MGM-140A ATACMS Block I system used by Ukrainian forces against Berdyansk AB.
Be interesting to see how this affects the next local elections.
Very interesting and not one I can easily call. The Greens are snapping at Labour's heels in the inner wards. There's the possibility for anti-LTN independents to stand against Labour but historically they've not done well. The LibDems are mostly in North Oxford so probably less affected, though the jams on St Clements might put off some of their Headington voters. Labour seems very split on the issue.
Historically single issue anti LTN candidates have done very poorly, but that was when no mainstream party was willing to seriously stand against them. I suspect this time around, taking their cue from party central, the Cons will campaign against. Labour will be torn: Some fraction of Labour has clearly been persuaded by the (disingenuous imo) framing of LTNs as a kind of class warfare.
Oxford Labour - like a lot of Labour - has a strong strain of "If the working class do something, it's by definition right, and we mustn't change it." I think you see that attitude in Linda Smith (Luke Akehurst's partner) and Michele Paule, for example. So because the taxi drivers and white van men of East Oxford like to drive down residential streets, they conclude LTNs are bad.
But you also have a swathe of younger Labour councillors in Oxford who tend to be more "progressive", in the sense of being willing to change stuff even if it's not what the traditional Labour vote might want. Until recently I thought they were in the ascendancy, but pulling out of the OCC coalition looked like the traditionalists asserting themselves.
I'm sure you're right that the Conservatives will campaign against the LTNs. Whether east Oxford will ever vote Tory though - big stretch. I don't think there's been a Conservative city councillor in Oxford for 20 years.
But the new enemy of this trend is TwitterPB, where non-readers of a publication take offence at a cartoon they don’t like .
FTF Fraser.
As others have said, the real problem is that he is neither funny nor incisive.
And as others have said, he's a satirist. And in any case humour and incision is subjective.
That said, I'm not a fan of his, nor cartoons in general, most are mediocre at best.
Even Matt, who is by far the best of them, is mostly mediocre and forgettable. It's just that every seven to ten days he produces a work of sheer genius, an enviable hit rate.
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
If you're not careful, C4 is going to offer you a reality show.
I have had several long-running japes going on the village FB including a lost speculum last seen at the bus stop and a "tall woman with a whip" who has been seen looking in people's windows at nights.
I usually wait a few weeks for the furore to die down and then claim my account was hacked.
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
If you're not careful, C4 is going to offer you a reality show.
I have had several long-running japes going on the village FB including a lost speculum last seen at the bus stop and a "tall woman with a whip" who has been seen looking in people's windows at nights.
I usually wait a few weeks for the furore to die down and then claim my account was hacked.
What comes next, a bucket of prop wash and a long weight?
This is true. I recently posted a photo of Harold Shipman on our village FB saying he was a vulnerable old man who needed donations of cornflakes and baked beans but ONLY cornflakes and baked beans. I posted the address of my mate who now has to step over cornflakes and baked beans on his doorstep every morning.
Labour is the Soviet troops arriving after the Poles were finally rescued from the Nazis.
Just be careful what you wish for, because it might not be what you expect.
I have no idea what you mean - who rescued which Poles?
Warsaw Uprising, maybe.
They weren't rescued. They were massacred whilst the Russians waited on the other side of the river.
Making sure the Poles were in no condition to resist once the war was over.
I think it was Hugh Delargy, then Labour MP for Thurrock, who, while visiting Poland in the 50’s remarked that he had never before seen a memorial to an army which didn’t come. He was looking at the Soviet Army memorial at the time.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
Still leaves the possibility of them getting out. Particularly given the type of people who own them. Better to find a way to identify them and put them down
For clarity I am talking about the dogs, not the owners......
I wonder why anyone would want a dog like that? Bad enough running into one but the owner has to actually live with it.
At the risk of upsetting one or two folk Sky News says it has seen a confidential Conservative telephone polling of Mid Beds and Tamworth. Mid Beds says the Cons vote will halve to 28-33%. So they have lost between 27 and 32%. However only 5% is going to Labour. Where is the other 23-28% going? This may also help to explain the Lib Dems apparent cautious optimism But of course there is the Independent and Reform. Fascinating. Looks like 35% is the winning line.
A most extraordinary extrapolation of a CONFIDENTIAL Conservative telephone poll. I've tried Google translate but it still reads as gobbledegook.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
At the risk of upsetting one or two folk Sky News says it has seen a confidential Conservative telephone polling of Mid Beds and Tamworth. Mid Beds says the Cons vote will halve to 28-33%. So they have lost between 27 and 32%. However only 5% is going to Labour. Where is the other 23-28% going? This may also help to explain the Lib Dems apparent cautious optimism But of course there is the Independent and Reform. Fascinating. Looks like 35% is the winning line.
I'm surprised the Tories are now odds-on favourite in Mid Beds. The 'other 23-28%' is largely not going anywhere - sitting on their hands.
I suspect the anti-Labour vote will be sufficiently split CP/LD/Reform/MacKay to allow Labour to come through the middle. If so it will be that conservatives not voting that will have decided it.
That doesn't affect vote share. Just turnout. Which is almost always significantly down in by-elections, anyway (by an average of 28% this Parliament).
If their vote share will halve to 28-33%, then the rest have to add up to 100%. If 5% of their lost vote share is going Labour, then the question is whether it's 5% from their original vote share (ie 3200 votes) or 5% of the reduced vote share.
If their vote share has halved on a reduced turnout, they could be looking at a total vote count of 10,000-12,000.
Labour got 14,000 last time and the Lib Dems a bit over 8,000. If 3,000 or so have gone to Labour and an unknown number to the Lib Dems, then the GOTV and the squeeze on the Green and Indie vote would be crucial.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
So you just shoot them, with darts or bullets
Where on earth would we find someone who was good enough at darts to do that.
Nick Palmer: what happens to your argument or gripe if the Lib Dems win. Labour were enormously buoyed by the Selby result but there the Lib Dems stood back, on reflection they probably think that was a mistake. I like the alleged views of "The Godalming three", when it comes to the General I guess there is nowhere else for them to go except Lib Dem, especially if the Conservatives have picked up nationally by then. All fun and games eh.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
There are societal limits on what the government could do even if it were motivated and competent - which this government is not.
They can ban the breed but they'll have to wait for all of the existing ones to cross the Bifrost Bridge as they can't set up a doggie Auschwitz to eliminate them all.
But the new enemy of this trend is TwitterPB, where non-readers of a publication take offence at a cartoon they don’t like .
FTF Fraser.
As others have said, the real problem is that he is neither funny nor incisive.
And as others have said, he's a satirist. And in any case humour and incision is subjective.
That said, I'm not a fan of his, nor cartoons in general, most are mediocre at best.
Even Matt, who is by far the best of them, is mostly mediocre and forgettable. It's just that every seven to ten days he produces a work of sheer genius, an enviable hit rate.
Also the Speccie has some quite poor cartoons, easily as bad as Bell
I like the insanely high minded New Yorker cartoons. Even when I don't get them (or there is nothing to "get") I enjoy the cerebral task of trying to understand
Cartooning appears to be hard. This could be an early space for AI to occupy
Well, something extraordinary happened- the remains of M39 missiles (Made in 1996 and 1997) of the MGM-140A ATACMS Block I system used by Ukrainian forces against Berdyansk AB.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
May be true, may be a hoax. Local socials are full of bullshit. There is a persistent one near us of poisoned food being left out where people walk their dogs, allegedly the council know etc etc. All bollocks.
Yep, ours can be like that.
Needless to say, we all got back from the treacherous walk to school safely without being accosted by a mutant mutt...
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
As with when handguns were banned, the government buys them from the owners, therefore creating incentives to comply.
I've read an awful lot on here, and elsewhere, about Mid-Bedfordshire, but hardly anything about Tamworth. Is that just because Tamworth is so dire that nobody goes there? I see that Labour are the bookies' clear favourites there, but I'm not sure why. Is that just because the LDs aren't in the game?
On the same note, I receive daily emails from Labour asking for help in Mid-Beds, but again, nothing on Tamworth. So, either Labour thinks it's in the bag, or they've given up. Does anybody know what's going on in Tamworth, and why there's such an apparent lack of interest?
My grandparents lived there for 80 years so I know it quite well.
Do you know it was basically capital of the country about 1,200 years ago? It was capital of Mercia when Mercia was the most powerful kingdom in Britain.
I live not a million miles from Tamworth and pop over there regularly. While it's regarded as more down-to-earth than snooty Lichfield (the one-time ecclesiastical capital of Mercia, next town along Watling Street) it actually surprises with the pleasantness of the castle grounds and nearby shopping streets. Nevertheless, it is very white working class and, I'd say, pretty socially conservative. It's a big hill to climb for Labour, but the combination of a non-white, remote prime minister and Chris Pincher's antics might just be enough to get them over the line.
The Starmer project is geared to seats like this. They should win or get close. Be a bit disappointing if they don’t.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
So you just shoot them, with darts or bullets
Where on earth would we find someone who was good enough at darts to do that.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
A few weeks ago Leon posted about the giant devil dogs of Armenia. I can happily report that Georgia’s canine population is huge - strays on every street - but seemingly not only well looked after with most having ear tags to signify they’ve been vaccinated for rabies and looking in fine health, but also placid and friendly.
Happiest stray dogs I’ve ever encountered. They cohabit with equally happy free range cattle and pigs. And weirdly, despite the cowpats on every corner, there’s a distinct lack of dog shit. I think they probably go in the bushes.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
Still leaves the possibility of them getting out. Particularly given the type of people who own them. Better to find a way to identify them and put them down
For clarity I am talking about the dogs, not the owners......
I wonder why anyone would want a dog like that? Bad enough running into one but the owner has to actually live with it.
I think that is where the problem with the Aussie system would be. The sorts of people who want that sort of dog strike me as the sort who won't pay much attention to the rules. I wonder if it works in Oz because most of these types of dogs are kept in remote areas? Otherwise I find it difficult to believe you wouldnot get the same problem there.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
With previous bans in other countries they are taken to dog homes, and euthanised by vets
Rather tough on the dogs, it should be the owners who REDACTED
Honestly, when you see one of these disgusting dogs, you immediately understand what all the fuss is about
As I have said, I saw my first version last night, on Camden High Street. The owner, a little guy of about 5 foot 5 was struggling to get his excitable dog in his crap car. The dog was almost as big as him, and if it ever turned on him it would chew him up in seconds
They just look evil, even if they are happy and tail-wagging. Because they are bred to be super aggessive and intimidating, and brutally dangerous, that's the whole point of them
Nothing can change that. You can't put a dress on a shark and make it friendly
As Leon says, when you see these dogs you will know. F&&king huge. Built like cast granite. I am a dog person all the way through but dear god these things are unnatural. I would have no qualms with having them put down. Not their fault they came into existence but we would be better off without them.
Labour is the Soviet troops arriving after the Poles were finally rescued from the Nazis.
Just be careful what you wish for, because it might not be what you expect.
I have no idea what you mean - who rescued which Poles?
Warsaw Uprising, maybe.
They weren't rescued. They were massacred whilst the Russians waited on the other side of the river.
Making sure the Poles were in no condition to resist once the war was over.
Sadly, this is completely true. Stalin chose to let the Nazis put down down the Warsaw uprising.
Following on from the earlier mention of 34 RAF planes being lost during the resupply operation, the Russians even went so far as to ban British planes from landing in Russian controlled territory during the operation so that they had to take off from the UK and land in Italy. This massively reduced the amunt of cargo they could carry because of fuel issues.
Honestly, when you see one of these disgusting dogs, you immediately understand what all the fuss is about
As I have said, I saw my first version last night, on Camden High Street. The owner, a little guy of about 5 foot 5 was struggling to get his excitable dog in his crap car. The dog was almost as big as him, and if it ever turned on him it would chew him up in seconds
They just look evil, even if they are happy and tail-wagging. Because they are bred to be super aggessive and intimidating, and brutally dangerous, that's the whole point of them
Nothing can change that. You can't put a dress on a shark and make it friendly
It's difficult to escape the conclusion that most of the owners of these dogs are inadequate people who are using them to try to boost their self esteem in some weird way.
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
A few weeks ago Leon posted about the giant devil dogs of Armenia. I can happily report that Georgia’s canine population is huge - strays on every street - but seemingly not only well looked after with most having ear tags to signify they’ve been vaccinated for rabies and looking in fine health, but also placid and friendly.
Happiest stray dogs I’ve ever encountered. They cohabit with equally happy free range cattle and pigs. And weirdly, despite the cowpats on every corner, there’s a distinct lack of dog shit. I think they probably go in the bushes.
Don't go to Armenia. There they have special wolfhounds - some kind of primitive breed dating back to Gobekli Tepe - and they have been known to take on and kill enormous bears. And they are all over the Caucasian uplands, they aren't rare. And they are exceptionally truculent
At the risk of upsetting one or two folk Sky News says it has seen a confidential Conservative telephone polling of Mid Beds and Tamworth. Mid Beds says the Cons vote will halve to 28-33%. So they have lost between 27 and 32%. However only 5% is going to Labour. Where is the other 23-28% going? This may also help to explain the Lib Dems apparent cautious optimism But of course there is the Independent and Reform. Fascinating. Looks like 35% is the winning line.
A most extraordinary extrapolation of a CONFIDENTIAL Conservative telephone poll. I've tried Google translate but it still reads as gobbledegook.
Yes, I must have an old version of Google Translate – no Liberal Propaganda language option on mine for some reason.
As Leon says, when you see these dogs you will know. F&&king huge. Built like cast granite. I am a dog person all the way through but dear god these things are unnatural. I would have no qualms with having them put down. Not their fault they came into existence but we would be better off without them.
Well phrased. That's the precise word
"Unnatural"
We bred these horror hounds. It is our fault, not nature
On another note, a local FB group has just had reports of a XL Bully loose near the end of the path that most of the secondary and primary school kids take - and which I will be taking in less than an hour. It is apparently acting 'aggressively'.
I wouldn't know a XL Bully if I saw one (compared to, say, a Bulldog), and goodness knows if acting aggressively just meant that it was sitting on the grass licking its own privates.
But it is another indication that the issue has some cut-through.
The school has been informed, at least.
You will know them when you see them. They are absolutely enormous and look like the Dogs from Hell
They could kill a child in seconds. It is a fucking disgrace that this pathetic government hasn't acted already
What form should this action take?
I'd like to see them all put down (plus all other dangerous breeds) but can you imagine the trouble that would cause prising them from the owners and then the government would get a backlash for murdering doggies.
The Aussies in NSW do it by physical characteristics, not genes, and no one complains and it works fine. You are actually allowed to keep a restricted breed, but with severe limitations, it has to wear a special collar, be neutered, be muzzled in public, and if anything goes wrong there are severe penalties - if it kills someone you will get ten years in jail
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
One fear is that owners simply abandon their devil dogs which in the short term causes even more danger.
That's what I was wondering. If you ban them where will they go?
A few weeks ago Leon posted about the giant devil dogs of Armenia. I can happily report that Georgia’s canine population is huge - strays on every street - but seemingly not only well looked after with most having ear tags to signify they’ve been vaccinated for rabies and looking in fine health, but also placid and friendly.
Happiest stray dogs I’ve ever encountered. They cohabit with equally happy free range cattle and pigs. And weirdly, despite the cowpats on every corner, there’s a distinct lack of dog shit. I think they probably go in the bushes.
Given that cattle will weigh around ten times as much as dogs, or more, and, as herbivores, will produce more excrement per kg of body mass, I think it's simply a case of not being able to find the dog shit among the cow pats.
By Elections, another thought heavy storms and wet weather all day Thursday, could impact major on the result and throw the outcome onto the Postal Vote which should be mainly Conservative. If the gales are really severe the by elections might get called off.
As Leon says, when you see these dogs you will know. F&&king huge. Built like cast granite. I am a dog person all the way through but dear god these things are unnatural. I would have no qualms with having them put down. Not their fault they came into existence but we would be better off without them.
I saw one about 18 months ago before I knew what they were and it was seriously scary.
I was running alonside a canal and someone was walking one coming in the other direction (without a lead). As I got closer and could see the dog more clearly I briefly considered turning around but didn't want to give it a target so decided just to stop running and walk past.
Labour is the Soviet troops arriving after the Poles were finally rescued from the Nazis.
Just be careful what you wish for, because it might not be what you expect.
I have no idea what you mean - who rescued which Poles?
Warsaw Uprising, maybe.
They weren't rescued. They were massacred whilst the Russians waited on the other side of the river.
Making sure the Poles were in no condition to resist once the war was over.
Sadly, this is completely true. Stalin chose to let the Nazis put down down the Warsaw uprising.
Following on from the earlier mention of 34 RAF planes being lost during the resupply operation, the Russians even went so far as to ban British planes from landing in Russian controlled territory during the operation so that they had to take off from the UK and land in Italy. This massively reduced the amunt of cargo they could carry because of fuel issues.
yes, to those who noticed: the political divide matches the old Russian/Prussian partition lines from the 19th century. There was one election where the division actually matched the old border exactly, down to the village level https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1714296832954716412
By Elections, another thought heavy storms and wet weather all day Thursday, could impact major on the result and throw the outcome onto the Postal Vote which should be mainly Conservative. If the gales are really severe the by elections might get called off.
By Elections, another thought heavy storms and wet weather all day Thursday, could impact major on the result and throw the outcome onto the Postal Vote which should be mainly Conservative. If the gales are really severe the by elections might get called off.
Well, they do say it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
That explosion in the Gaza white van may have been a "work accident". Some man or men was transporting explosives, unsafely. (Or some man was smoking in a van with a leaking gas can.)
Honestly, when you see one of these disgusting dogs, you immediately understand what all the fuss is about
As I have said, I saw my first version last night, on Camden High Street. The owner, a little guy of about 5 foot 5 was struggling to get his excitable dog in his crap car. The dog was almost as big as him, and if it ever turned on him it would chew him up in seconds
They just look evil, even if they are happy and tail-wagging. Because they are bred to be super aggessive and intimidating, and brutally dangerous, that's the whole point of them
Nothing can change that. You can't put a dress on a shark and make it friendly
It's difficult to escape the conclusion that most of the owners of these dogs are inadequate people who are using them to try to boost their self esteem in some weird way.
Yes
The only owners I feel remotely sorry for are genuinely vulnerable people - single mums on council estates, young women in dodgy areas, old people - who really do feel a need for protection. But there are still plenty of big dogs you CAN buy which will be a challenge to a burglar/robber - a German Shepherd or a Rotweiler will scare almost anyone, but those dogs are not bred to be psychotic and homicidal and too powerful to handle, they are not Bully XLs
All the other owners are apparently twats or inadequates. Drug dealers. Etc
If the Tories hold Mid Beds then the bitter recriminations will start between Labour and the Lib Dems. I don’t expect it though to last into the general election as you’re not going to waste time and money fighting unwillable seats .
There was an absolutely stark-raving crackers post from @Barnesian on here which claimed that the Liberals have no chance of winning a by-election unless Labour concedes it, and therefore Labour should have conceded it (even though the Liberals were in THIRD place).
Barnesian then went on to say that, as that nasty big bully boy Labour has decided to fight the seat in which it is the current challenger, he hopes the Tories win. A better exposition of Yellow Peril entitlement one could barely craft oneself.
He was, quite rightly, put in his place by @NickPalmer, as I recall. But Labour themselves are far from blameless – they should have been quicker sending the troops into Mid Beds and made it crystal clear to the Liberals from Day Zero that they weren't going to concede this one and hand them a free pass (as they rightly did in Somerton).
Lots of encouragement for Libdems to come up and help in Mid Beds with regular emails and phone calls.
It looks like that I will be based in Flitwick on Thursday. This is the largest town in the constituency but is only around 10% of the electorate so the GOTV campaign will need to be carefully managed.
If more than 30% is a winning score then focused activity on Thursday will be required to maximise the diffential voting pattern.
IMO based on the four canvass rounds that I've been on, the LibDems are behind by a large margin, and their effort will literally help the Tories beat Labour, as Barnesian says he'd prefer. I do expect that to have negative effects on tactical voting at the GE (I know three people personally in Godalming, a LibDem target, who voted tactically for them last time and won't do so again in protest at their "greediness"). So it's doubly beneficial for the Tories - both in holding the seat and weakening tactical efforts in the future.
I do think it's difficult for the LibDems to simply sit out two by-elections (this is also why appealing to the Greens to stay out rarely works), so I'm not as cheesed off as some, but I do think that the effort they're making has turned out to be against everyone's interest except the Tories, and perhaps some LibDems with the wider interest in mind will give polling day a miss.
I'll be helping Labour in Flitwick too on Thursday, Verulamius, so perhaps our paths will cross. I'll look out for anyone who looks like a centurion.
I’m normally a Labour voter so I won’t be happy if the Lib Dems cost Labour the seat . However I’m willing to let that go in my current area , Eastbourne . Refusing to vote Lib Dem here and playing the martyr will just enable a Tory win . Protesting and enabling the Tories is ridiculous . Number one mission is the Tories gone . To be blunt people need to get over themselves and put the greater good first .
Agreed. If only the Liberals would heed such a lesson!!
Comments
Some Labourites would have sympathy with your passion for PR.
Yet that is NOT the system, FPP is and there is near-zero chance of that changing anytime soon.
Ergo, you should play the game as it is, not as you wish it to be.
Do you know it was basically capital of the country about 1,200 years ago? It was capital of Mercia when Mercia was the most powerful kingdom in Britain.
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"
And let us not forget that canvassing is all about getting the vote out, not persuading voters to choose your party.
https://www.ft.com/content/b9a743ac-a7dd-4806-a461-b457df8e3999
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket
Do that here. Then these idiots can keep their stupid hellhounds but they won't be a menace to anyone else
Too much work today and yesterday, not enough cricket.
https://x.com/leo_chapuis/status/1713992562447458759
Domestic issues are hardly being covered by the media and Sunak has had a chance to play the PM during a crisis role .
The reminds me of Gary Lineker and The Walker's Crips Adverts, which had him holding up pictures of Harold Shipman, Peter Sutcliffe, Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, etc.
The victim, 23, has told French police she was attacked by a man wielding a knife at the Champ-de-Mars shortly before midnight that evening.
She said the suspect pulled out a knife as she tried to deflect his advances."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12640579/British-policewoman-23-raped-knifepoint-base-Eiffel-Tower.html
Andvthe backlash wouldn't come from the owners. It would come from organisations like the RSPCA or PETA.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67135163
Ukraine says it has destroyed nine Russian helicopters in an air strike on two cities in the Russian-occupied east of the country.
A special forces statement said an air defence system and other equipment were hit, as well as a munitions dump, in the cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-defence-of-steve-bell/
England need to take them to one side and explain that the fine tradition of the game is to make a promising start, then suffer an abysmal collapse, rather than the other way around.
"I don't belieeeve it," he exclaims, tripping over a box of Kellogg's Special K.
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.218056777
For clarity I am talking about the dogs, not the owners......
...and here it is.
The remains of the MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missile in the vicinity of the Russia-controlled Berdyansk Airport in southeastern Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1714286778658734358
Making sure the Poles were in no condition to resist once the war was over.
This variant has a range of ~165km, inertial guidance, and carries 950 M74 submunitions.
https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1714286709654143332
But you also have a swathe of younger Labour councillors in Oxford who tend to be more "progressive", in the sense of being willing to change stuff even if it's not what the traditional Labour vote might want. Until recently I thought they were in the ascendancy, but pulling out of the OCC coalition looked like the traditionalists asserting themselves.
I'm sure you're right that the Conservatives will campaign against the LTNs. Whether east Oxford will ever vote Tory though - big stretch. I don't think there's been a Conservative city councillor in Oxford for 20 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKBtVG5T5OA
TwitterPB, where non-readers of a publication take offence at a cartoon they don’t like .FTF Fraser.
Pondering.
The RAF lost 34 aircraft supporting (to little effect) the Warsaw Uprising.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising
That said, I'm not a fan of his, nor cartoons in general, most are mediocre at best.
Even Matt, who is by far the best of them, is mostly mediocre and forgettable. It's just that every seven to ten days he produces a work of sheer genius, an enviable hit rate.
I usually wait a few weeks for the furore to die down and then claim my account was hacked.
He was looking at the Soviet Army memorial at the time.
If their vote share will halve to 28-33%, then the rest have to add up to 100%.
If 5% of their lost vote share is going Labour, then the question is whether it's 5% from their original vote share (ie 3200 votes) or 5% of the reduced vote share.
If their vote share has halved on a reduced turnout, they could be looking at a total vote count of 10,000-12,000.
Labour got 14,000 last time and the Lib Dems a bit over 8,000.
If 3,000 or so have gone to Labour and an unknown number to the Lib Dems, then the GOTV and the squeeze on the Green and Indie vote would be crucial.
I like the alleged views of "The Godalming three", when it comes to the General I guess there is nowhere else for them to go except Lib Dem, especially if the Conservatives have picked up nationally by then.
All fun and games eh.
They can ban the breed but they'll have to wait for all of the existing ones to cross the Bifrost Bridge as they can't set up a doggie Auschwitz to eliminate them all.
I like the insanely high minded New Yorker cartoons. Even when I don't get them (or there is nothing to "get") I enjoy the cerebral task of trying to understand
Cartooning appears to be hard. This could be an early space for AI to occupy
Needless to say, we all got back from the treacherous walk to school safely without being accosted by a mutant mutt...
that Georgia’s canine population is huge - strays on every street - but seemingly not only well looked after with most having ear tags to signify they’ve been vaccinated for rabies and looking in fine health, but also placid and friendly.
Happiest stray dogs I’ve ever encountered. They cohabit with equally happy free range cattle and pigs. And weirdly, despite the cowpats on every corner, there’s a distinct lack of dog shit. I think they probably go in the bushes.
Rather tough on the dogs, it should be the owners who REDACTED
As I have said, I saw my first version last night, on Camden High Street. The owner, a little guy of about 5 foot 5 was struggling to get his excitable dog in his crap car. The dog was almost as big as him, and if it ever turned on him it would chew him up in seconds
They just look evil, even if they are happy and tail-wagging. Because they are bred to be super aggessive and intimidating, and brutally dangerous, that's the whole point of them
Nothing can change that. You can't put a dress on a shark and make it friendly
It is no wonder the Poles hated the Russians
https://archer.com/news/archer--abu-dhabi-investment-office-announce-plan-to-launch-archers-all-electric-air-taxi-service-across-the-uae
"Unnatural"
We bred these horror hounds. It is our fault, not nature
If the gales are really severe the by elections might get called off.
I was running alonside a canal and someone was walking one coming in the other direction (without a lead). As I got closer and could see the dog more clearly I briefly considered turning around but didn't want to give it a target so decided just to stop running and walk past.
See the Senate results from the recent elections:
https://twitter.com/Skalinskalin/status/1714161569557311609
yes, to those who noticed: the political divide matches the old Russian/Prussian partition lines from the 19th century. There was one election where the division actually matched the old border exactly, down to the village level
https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1714296832954716412
Hanlon's Razon? Possibly, in fact probably.
The only owners I feel remotely sorry for are genuinely vulnerable people - single mums on council estates, young women in dodgy areas, old people - who really do feel a need for protection. But there are still plenty of big dogs you CAN buy which will be a challenge to a burglar/robber - a German Shepherd or a Rotweiler will scare almost anyone, but those dogs are not bred to be psychotic and homicidal and too powerful to handle, they are not Bully XLs
All the other owners are apparently twats or inadequates. Drug dealers. Etc