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Things to put on the side of a bus? – politicalbetting.com

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    If there is a troll on here the most sophisticated has to be Leon who after numerous posts has finally come out as pro Putin
  • Options
    TazTaz Posts: 11,386
    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    Chris Christie absolutely annihilated Ramaswamy over this.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
  • Options
    dixiedean said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    Globalists want chaos and Civil War?
    Why isn't it here then? Since they control all?
    Also of course many in the MAGA movement use globalist as codeword for jew
  • Options
    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,350
    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    How does Carlson know?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,195
    Bermuda said:

    If there is a troll on here the most sophisticated has to be Leon who after numerous posts has finally come out as pro Putin

    Welcome back Budlight!

  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    Anyone reposting Vivek's shit is, prima facie, a troll.
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Russians are losing a hell of a lot of men you are right there. The problem is they dont value life the same as the west.
    It maybe our moral duty to support Ukraine but MAGA republicans dont see it that way sadly.
  • Options
    FishingFishing Posts: 4,562
    Bermuda said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Russians are losing a hell of a lot of men you are right there. The problem is they dont value life the same as the west.
    It maybe our moral duty to support Ukraine but MAGA republicans dont see it that way sadly.
    Russians not only don't value the lives lost, they actively want to lose most of them. They are clearly using the war to thin out their underclass and problematic minorities - just as we did in the 18th century by hanging convicts or dumping them in America and then Australia for trivial offences. They were almost all poor and unskilled. It is of course breathtakingly cynical and psychopathic, even by Putin's standards, but it does have a kind of logic.
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    And that's the bit that some people simply don't understand.

    Power, strength, realpolitik, call you what you want... It's important. But sometimes it's necessary to do the right thing, even if its odds don't look great. Otherwise, we all end up grovelling to the one most willing to act like a thug.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 36,013
    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Unlike Northern Ireland, Russia does have the option of exterminating the Ukrainian population in the occupied territory.

    But, I agree with the rest. Russia would not be conscripting the scum of its prisons if it had no
    shortage of recruits.

    And, in response to @Nigelb, the GOP has become a f*cking disgrace.

    Although Putin does have his little helpers like Cummings and Hitchens, over here.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    edited December 2023
    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Not only morally repugnant, but against our own interests.

    Even previous arch wobbler Scholz has recognised that.

    Scholz on Ukraine aid: Germany should be prepared to do more 'when others arefaltering'
    https://news.yahoo.com/scholz-ukraine-aidgermany-prepared-153343094.html
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Another thing is the attacks on Kyiv seem to have nealy stopped showing Russia is likely running out of missiles.
  • Options
    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Not only morally repugnant, but against our own interests.

    Even previous arch wobbler Scholz has recognise that.

    Scholz on Ukraine aid: Germany should be prepared to do more 'when others arefaltering'
    https://news.yahoo.com/scholz-ukraine-aidgermany-prepared-153343094.html
    Must admit after seeing Putin strutting round the uae last week i would like to see the spring taken oit of his step.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    edited December 2023
    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162

    CatMan said:
    These days, the cat would die, everyone would be arrested and there would probably be a judge led enquiry into what happened.

    Note: working at height without protection (hard hat, safety ropes etc) is stupid.
    What about two blokes hanging off a ladder without ropes while manhandling a scared cat into an unfamiliar basket?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,195
    Bermuda said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Russians are losing a hell of a lot of men you are right there. The problem is they dont value life the same as the west.
    It maybe our moral duty to support Ukraine but MAGA republicans dont see it that way sadly.
    Finally, proof that Ukrainians and Russians are different. The former care about human life, the latter do not.
  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,843
    edited December 2023
    Omnium said:

    MattW said:

    Portcullis House needs overhaul to ‘prevent glass falling on to people’
    Report warns of urgent need to address ‘severe structural failings’ in roof of Westminster’s parliamentary office building


    Squeaky-bum time for PBers who bet on the old Parliament building to fall down first.

    This bit is destined for HIGNFY:-
    It now appears that the building was constructed without providing easy access to the roof for workers. Maintenance requires abseiling teams, and a drone has been used to help visual inspections. “The original design of the building did not fully consider the need for safe access on the exterior of the main roof,” says the report dated August 2023.

    I wonder how the mahogany interiors, made from illegally sourced mahogany, are holding up.
    If only they'd learned the lessons of the Crystal Palace, or umpteen Victorian Stations. Probably.
    Crystal Palace was a temporary building. Probably bloody difficult to clean the roof.

    Paddington, which was inspired by it, was difficult to clean/fix IIRC.
    I'm not sure that the relocated Crystal Palace was regarded as temporary. There were some pretty non-temporary works around it that would suggest it wasn't. (Amazing tunnels)

    Paddington wasn't inspired by Crystal Palace. Brunel clearly would have had Paddington as a bit special.
    We have Pathe News of the roof being maintained and cleaned. AFAICS the roof ribs were set up with steps. Fascinating clip.
    https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/169629/

    We also have photos of it being cleaned by teams of workmen in the archive sold to Getty Images from the BBC. This is ~1930.


    Someone with Keyword-Fu may find more:
    https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/-cleaning-the-glass-roof-of-crystal-palace?assettype=image&phrase= cleaning the glass roof of Crystal Palace&family=editorial


  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    But he is plausible. And there are moves to get him on the trump ticket as VP. He has the intellectual ballast Trump lacks.
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    Bermuda said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Russians are losing a hell of a lot of men you are right there. The problem is they dont value life the same as the west.
    It maybe our moral duty to support Ukraine but MAGA republicans dont see it that way sadly.
    Finally, proof that Ukrainians and Russians are different. The former care about human life, the latter do not.
    Agreed but both sides have lost a lot of men but Ukrainians are of course fighting for their country.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    DougSeal said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    How does Carlson know?
    He has a direct line to God.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    DougSeal said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Budlite said:

    Maybe learn from the likes of Leon.

    How to spot a troll in 7 words or less...
    The quality of russian trolls appears to be declining. Perhaps Putin really does have a manpower problem.
    I’m always available but he seems not to be interested in recruiting seals.
    Seals tend to leak over time
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    I think that underestimates him as an effective propagandist.
  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,843
    MattW said:

    Omnium said:

    MattW said:

    Portcullis House needs overhaul to ‘prevent glass falling on to people’
    Report warns of urgent need to address ‘severe structural failings’ in roof of Westminster’s parliamentary office building


    Squeaky-bum time for PBers who bet on the old Parliament building to fall down first.

    This bit is destined for HIGNFY:-
    It now appears that the building was constructed without providing easy access to the roof for workers. Maintenance requires abseiling teams, and a drone has been used to help visual inspections. “The original design of the building did not fully consider the need for safe access on the exterior of the main roof,” says the report dated August 2023.

    I wonder how the mahogany interiors, made from illegally sourced mahogany, are holding up.
    If only they'd learned the lessons of the Crystal Palace, or umpteen Victorian Stations. Probably.
    Crystal Palace was a temporary building. Probably bloody difficult to clean the roof.

    Paddington, which was inspired by it, was difficult to clean/fix IIRC.
    I'm not sure that the relocated Crystal Palace was regarded as temporary. There were some pretty non-temporary works around it that would suggest it wasn't. (Amazing tunnels)

    Paddington wasn't inspired by Crystal Palace. Brunel clearly would have had Paddington as a bit special.
    We have Pathe News of the roof being maintained and cleaned. AFAICS the roof ribs were set up with steps. Fascinating clip.
    https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/169629/

    We also have photos of it being cleaned by teams of workmen in the archive sold to Getty Images from the BBC. This is ~1930.


    Someone with Keyword-Fu may find more:
    https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/-cleaning-the-glass-roof-of-crystal-palace?assettype=image&phrase= cleaning the glass roof of Crystal Palace&family=editorial
    Screenshot. The ribs *were* set up as ladders.


  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039

    DougSeal said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Budlite said:

    Maybe learn from the likes of Leon.

    How to spot a troll in 7 words or less...
    The quality of russian trolls appears to be declining. Perhaps Putin really does have a manpower problem.
    I’m always available but he seems not to be interested in recruiting seals.
    Seals tend to leak over time
    Even Navy Seals ?
  • Options
    I dont like the sound of this at all.

    The
    @guardian
    has learned a major anti-Ukraine conference will be held in Washington, DC tomorrow.

    @Heritage
    Foundation will bring together Hungarian President Viktor Orbán’s team & Republican congressmen to strategize how to end US support for Ukraine.

    https://x.com/DougKlain/status/1733878005137625174?s=20
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,949
    Nigelb said:

    DougSeal said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    How does Carlson know?
    He has a direct line to God.
    Though if God wanted Trump dead, he has better means.
  • Options
    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,039
    Bermuda said:

    I dont like the sound of this at all.

    The
    @guardian
    has learned a major anti-Ukraine conference will be held in Washington, DC tomorrow.

    @Heritage
    Foundation will bring together Hungarian President Viktor Orbán’s team & Republican congressmen to strategize how to end US support for Ukraine.

    https://x.com/DougKlain/status/1733878005137625174?s=20

    What do you make if the latest vaccine news ?
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    2 in one day! We are spoilt.

  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    I think that underestimates him as an effective propagandist.
    I actually think it makes him more dangerous if anything, that it's coming from cold calculation and ambition.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813
    I don't know why ydoethur hates Ofsted so much. They seem like a perfectly competent organization.

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/dec/10/ofsted-chief-should-quit-now-says-ruth-perrys-sister-as-briefing-memo-is-revealed

    "Ruth Perry’s family has called on Ofsted’s chief inspector to resign immediately after it was revealed its lead inspectors will spend just 90 minutes on a briefing to address concerns raised by the headteacher’s suicide.

    Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, said the “shocking” response showed that Amanda Spielman had “lost the plot” as chief inspector and should resign now ahead of her term finishing at the end of the year.

    A coroner last week concluded that Ofsted’s inspection of Perry’s school contributed to her death. After the verdict Spielman announced a delay to inspections this week for training on “recognising and responding to visible signs of anxiety” during visits by the regulator.

    However, an internal Ofsted memo, seen by the Guardian, shows that the “national briefing” planned for Monday will be a 90-minute online webinar and Q&A session, followed by a 30-minute regional “forum for follow-up” online meeting."
  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    I think that underestimates him as an effective propagandist.
    I actually think it makes him more dangerous if anything, that it's coming from cold calculation and ambition.
    Carlson is better than Trump i think at appealing to the comfortably off in nice suburbs.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    There's always the Maundy Money

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Maundy
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    edited December 2023
    Nigelb said:

    DougSeal said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Budlite said:

    Maybe learn from the likes of Leon.

    How to spot a troll in 7 words or less...
    The quality of russian trolls appears to be declining. Perhaps Putin really does have a manpower problem.
    I’m always available but he seems not to be interested in recruiting seals.
    Seals tend to leak over time
    Even Navy Seals ?
    Especially Navy Seals.

    Seal Team 6 is almost as bad as the Post Office for moral decay and abuse of power

    @Cyclefree
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    But he is plausible. And there are moves to get him on the trump ticket as VP. He has the intellectual ballast Trump lacks.
    Really? It says something about the MAGA strain of political thought if Tucker Carlson is considered one of its intellectuals.
  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,843
    Mr Trump is getting encouragingly dischuffed.

    He has now had his Court Order to stop him doxxing, abusing and threatening-via-inciting-third-parties Court Staff, their families, witnesses etc reaffirmed by the full New York Court of Appeals.

    His lawyer lady has been on the small screen arguing that such a Court Order will undermine his possibility to testify to the whole truth in the New York Civil Defamation suit - the one where he has already been found liable in two counts just on the undisputed facts of the case.

    Afaics it will simply stop him abusing people in the Court by name.

    He's up in arms because his performance is being limited to his defence case, which doesn't exist.

    He testifies, I think, tomorrow.
  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.

    That's only ten. You forgot the goalkeeper.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    CatMan said:

    I don't know why ydoethur hates Ofsted so much. They seem like a perfectly competent organization.

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/dec/10/ofsted-chief-should-quit-now-says-ruth-perrys-sister-as-briefing-memo-is-revealed

    "Ruth Perry’s family has called on Ofsted’s chief inspector to resign immediately after it was revealed its lead inspectors will spend just 90 minutes on a briefing to address concerns raised by the headteacher’s suicide.

    Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, said the “shocking” response showed that Amanda Spielman had “lost the plot” as chief inspector and should resign now ahead of her term finishing at the end of the year.

    A coroner last week concluded that Ofsted’s inspection of Perry’s school contributed to her death. After the verdict Spielman announced a delay to inspections this week for training on “recognising and responding to visible signs of anxiety” during visits by the regulator.

    However, an internal Ofsted memo, seen by the Guardian, shows that the “national briefing” planned for Monday will be a 90-minute online webinar and Q&A session, followed by a 30-minute regional “forum for mfollow-up” online meeting."


    90 minutes for a training session with separate follow ups for discussion sounds quite sensible!
  • Options
    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,350

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    But he is plausible. And there are moves to get him on the trump ticket as VP. He has the intellectual ballast Trump lacks.
    Really? It says something about the MAGA strain of political thought if Tucker Carlson is considered one of its intellectuals.
    Mind you isnt Leon considered an intellectual on pb.
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,949
    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    But he is plausible. And there are moves to get him on the trump ticket as VP. He has the intellectual ballast Trump lacks.
    Really? It says something about the MAGA strain of political thought if Tucker Carlson is considered one of its intellectuals.
    Mind you isnt Leon considered an intellectual on pb.
    Only by himself.
  • Options
    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,350
    Poor old Newcastle. All that money and they still get humped by Spurs.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813
    edited December 2023
    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,732
    Bermuda said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Another thing is the attacks on Kyiv seem to have nealy stopped showing Russia is likely running out of missiles.
    The attacks continue - at a rate that corresponds to what outside experts have guesstimated as the Russian production rate of missiles.

    They are additionally sending the Iranian drones - but these are mostly shot down now.
  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,843

    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    2 in one day! We are spoilt.

    Who's kids has she sent (would she send) to die, where, and how did (would?) she do it?

    How does this translate to corruption and a bigger house?

    Is Ramaswamy performing the Indian "Enough Rope to Hang Myself" trick?
  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.

    Scratchwood was perched on the very pinnacle of 1950s nomenclature. We shall remember it.
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,732

    CatMan said:
    These days, the cat would die, everyone would be arrested and there would probably be a judge led enquiry into what happened.

    Note: working at height without protection (hard hat, safety ropes etc) is stupid.
    What about two blokes hanging off a ladder without ropes while manhandling a scared cat into an unfamiliar basket?
    Like I said, the lessons learned would be the stupid, useless ones.

    Instead of -

    1) use protection and safety equipment at height
    2) crack on.
  • Options
    DougSeal said:

    Poor old Newcastle. All that money and they still get humped by Spurs.

    Good, Geordies have blood on their hands.
  • Options
    DougSeal said:

    Poor old Newcastle. All that money and they still get humped by Spurs.

    I shan't say anything about West Ham :(
  • Options
    Nigelb said:

    DougSeal said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Budlite said:

    Maybe learn from the likes of Leon.

    How to spot a troll in 7 words or less...
    The quality of russian trolls appears to be declining. Perhaps Putin really does have a manpower problem.
    I’m always available but he seems not to be interested in recruiting seals.
    Seals tend to leak over time
    Even Navy Seals ?
    "The goddam cook's a SEAL?"
  • Options
    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92
  • Options
    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Bermuda said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bermuda said:

    Nigelb said:

    Large parts of the GOP seem also to be a Russian troll operation these days.

    Republicans to meet allies of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid
    Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aidP

    And of course theres Tucker Carlson who has also been interviewd by Russian tv. Heres his latest

    Tucker says we are on a fast track towards assassination (of Trump)

    Look.. I'm the furthest thing from a fear mongerer. Most people would actually call my views hopium.

    But I gotta be real on this one... This would be my fear.

    DJT is the only thing allowing most people to hang on to any hope still, at this point. If Trump were taken out.. The globalists would get exactly what they want.

    Chaos in the streets.. UN soldiers.. Civil war.. Our worlds would turn inside out.

    We know to much now. We won't let them get away with a JFK or a 9/11 again.. Not without a fight. And that's what I believe they want.

    Dasting comments..

    https://x.com/BrainStorm_Joe/status/1733223155877986755?s=20
    A loon, but a dangerous one with a huge following.
    Carlson is more bad than mad imo. I doubt he believes most of the drivel he so fluently comes out with.
    But he is plausible. And there are moves to get him on the trump ticket as VP. He has the intellectual ballast Trump lacks.
    Really? It says something about the MAGA strain of political thought if Tucker Carlson is considered one of its intellectuals.
    Mind you isnt Leon considered an intellectual on pb.
    Not really. His main source seems to be a middlebrow current affairs mag.
  • Options
    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,350

    DougSeal said:

    Poor old Newcastle. All that money and they still get humped by Spurs.

    I shan't say anything about West Ham :(
    Three points from 2 away games this week is not a bad haul.
  • Options
    Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,542
    OK, why do so many Scots believe that “Scotland sends more to Westminster than it gets back in public spending”?

    Have leaders of the SNP been making that claim, without being "fact-checked"? Or what?
  • Options
    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    Nothing like a bit of Indian American on Indian American :lol:
  • Options
    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,350
    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    She’s 86. Even I have my limits.
  • Options

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Wow! Your aunt is Fergie?
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,732

    Nigelb said:

    DougSeal said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Budlite said:

    Maybe learn from the likes of Leon.

    How to spot a troll in 7 words or less...
    The quality of russian trolls appears to be declining. Perhaps Putin really does have a manpower problem.
    I’m always available but he seems not to be interested in recruiting seals.
    Seals tend to leak over time
    Even Navy Seals ?
    "The goddam cook's a SEAL?"
    Fruit Salad with Crystallised Ginger

    2 cups Granny Smith apples
    2 cups papaya cubes
    1 cup kiwi slices
    ¼ cup crystallized ginger
    1 cup raspberries
    ¼ cup seedless grapes
    Fresh mint leaves
    1-1 ½ cups poppy seed dressing
    2 tablespoons lime juice
  • Options
    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
  • Options
    Good on Dave.

    Foreign secretary ⁦@David_Cameron is threatening to withdraw ⁦cooperation from Scottish government over ⁦@HumzaYousaf meeting with Turkish president at #cop28

    https://twitter.com/GlennBBC/status/1733905307523236114
  • Options

    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
    Not really. Would he have been a class act in Thatchers cabinet for example.
  • Options
    Bermuda said:

    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
    Not really. Would he have been a class act in Thatchers cabinet for example.
    Yes.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,162
    MattW said:

    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    2 in one day! We are spoilt.

    Who's kids has she sent (would she send) to die, where, and how did (would?) she do it?

    How does this translate to corruption and a bigger house?

    Is Ramaswamy performing the Indian "Enough Rope to Hang Myself" trick?
    It was bullshit.

    Basically when she quite as UN ambassador she was $1m in debt. In the next 7 years she went from that position to a Forbes estimate of $8m net assets.

    From disclosure she spent a year on the board of Boeing ($300k), wrote two books (O’Reilly estimated $400k), made 11 paid speeches ($2.3m). She also bought a house for $2.4m but - according to O’Reilly - “there’s no way she could get that large a mortgage”

    He then insinuated she was corrupt because she went straight from being Governor of South Carolina (and giving tax breaks to attract Boeing to the state) to become a director of Boeing. Ignoring the fact that there was a 2 year+ gap between the roles.

    The “sending your kids to war” I guess is based on her being UN ambassador?
  • Options
    Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,542
    Off topic: This story shows one of the reasons Biden's ratings are as low as they are:
    "Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire defeated Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race in Saturday’s runoff election after a campaign heavily focused on voter concerns over safety on the streets.

    Whitmire, a perennial tough-on-crime voice who for decades heralded Texas regulations over public safety, was declared the winner by the Associated Press with 57 percent reporting. At that point, Whitmire was leading by an almost 2-to-1 margin."
    source: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/09/john-whitmire-sheila-jackson-lee-houston-mayor-00130873

    Rightly, or wrongly, Biden will be blamed by many voters for surges in crime -- especially when those surges happen in Democratic-controlled cities.

    (For the record: For decades I have believed that -- if you really want to help black people -- the best thing governments can do for them is to give them more protection from predators. The data supporting that conclusion is, to say the least, extensive. But has mostly been ignored by the left, in the US.)
  • Options

    OK, why do so many Scots believe that “Scotland sends more to Westminster than it gets back in public spending”?

    Have leaders of the SNP been making that claim, without being "fact-checked"? Or what?

    Reckon that a majority of Washington State residents outside Seattle/King County think the same thing with respect to to their tax dollars with respect to the Emerald City and environs.

    Even though it ain't so, as media reports from time to time.

    In fact, the belief of country mice, that they are subsidizing they are subsidizing city rats, is hardly a new thing. Rather, a very old thing . . . and hardly limited to Caledonians . . .
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429

    DougSeal said:

    Poor old Newcastle. All that money and they still get humped by Spurs.

    I shan't say anything about West Ham :(
    You mean West Hammered?
  • Options
    MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 25,418
    ...

    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
    The problem he has is the company he is currently keeping. The stench emanating from that Cabinet room will linger on his clothes for days. Not so pungent now Jenrick has left, granted.

    But yes, other than losing us Euroland and being the architect of Brexitland, one of the great Prime Ministers.
  • Options
    Fishing said:

    Bermuda said:

    rcs1000 said:

    As an aside, while @Leon was correct about the (very) limited progress of Ukraine's 2024 advance, he is otherwise completely wrong.

    For example, he was convinced that Russia's reign of missiles on Ukraine would break resistance there.

    Those who noted (a) that Russian production of long range missiles was too limited to keep up a high intensive bombardment for long; and (b) that bombing infrastructure to break the will of the defenders did not have a high success rate historically.

    Most people - including me, I suspect - see principally what we want to see. So @Leon sees that Ukraine is struggling to find troops. He therefore concludes that Ukrainian resistance is approaching breaking point.

    He chooses not to see that Russia is similarly struggling to find fighters.

    Likewise, he notes that Ukraine is very dependent arms from the West.

    But chooses not to see that Russia is running down its stockpiles of ever more ancient equipment.

    Now, it is possible that Ukrainian resistance breaks, and that they are forced to sue for peace.

    It is also possible that the conflict freezes, with largely static front lines, in some kind of repeat of the Korean war.

    The first - fwiw - could easily happen if aid from abroad dries up. The second, though, ignores the fact that maintaining that frozen front line is incredibly expensive for Russia.

    Northern Ireland - where more than half the population was desperate to remain British - was incredibly expensive to occupy. Does anyone - other than Budlight's political masters - really think Eastern Ukraine is full of people who would rather live in Putin's Russia? (And if that is the case, where are those Ukrainian Russian troops?)

    At the start of the war, I said that invasion is usually the easy part. Countries succeed at invasion far more often than the succeed at occupation.

    But all of this misses the most important part: it is our moral duty to support Ukraine, for so long as they wish to fight. Even if I though that resistance was futile (and so far, it has been anything but), then this is not our war. We don't get to say to Ukraine: stop dying for your country. Withdrawing support, candidly, is morally repugnant.

    Russians are losing a hell of a lot of men you are right there. The problem is they dont value life the same as the west.
    It maybe our moral duty to support Ukraine but MAGA republicans dont see it that way sadly.
    Russians not only don't value the lives lost, they actively want to lose most of them. They are clearly using the war to thin out their underclass and problematic minorities - just as we did in the 18th century by hanging convicts or dumping them in America and then Australia for trivial offences. They were almost all poor and unskilled. It is of course breathtakingly cynical and psychopathic, even by Putin's standards, but it does have a kind of logic.
    Wrong.
    Look at the demographics. Russia cannot afford to lose young men of fighting and working age.
    "From 1992 to 2012, and again since 2016, Russia's death rate has exceeded its birth rate, which has been called a demographic crisis by analysts.[14] Subsequently, the nation has an ageing population, with the median age of the country being 40.3 years.[15] In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years; during the mid-2010s, Russia had seen increased population growth due to declining death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration"

    "Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the demographic crisis in the country has deepened,[29] as the country has reportedly suffered high military fatalities while facing renewed brain drain and human capital flight caused by Western mass-sanctions and boycotts"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Russia#Further_reading
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
  • Options
    Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,542
    It is not hard to find these facts about Nikki Haley's husband:
    "Haley is an officer with the South Carolina Army National Guard and specializes in security cooperation.[2]

    In January 2012, Haley was deployed on a yearlong tour of duty in Afghanistan as a captain in the South Carolina Army National Guard.[3][4][5] The unit served in Helmand Province as an agribusiness development team helping Afghan farmers improve farming techniques and develop cash crops to replace opium poppies.[6] Haley served as a liaison between the military and civilian authorities.[7] He is thought to have been the first spouse of a governor to serve on active duty in a war zone."
    source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Haley_(soldier)

    BTW, he was adopted at the age of four, so he didn't have the greatest start in life.


    (Her daughter is a nurse, married to a football player, and her son is finishing up at Villanova. source: https://people.com/all-about-nikki-haley-family-7965486 )
  • Options

    kinabalu said:

    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.

    Scratchwood was perched on the very pinnacle of 1950s nomenclature. We shall remember it.
    It was just renamed Gateway - it's still there, good views from Thameslink trains between Elstree and Mill Hill.
  • Options
    MattW said:

    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    2 in one day! We are spoilt.

    Who's kids has she sent (would she send) to die, where, and how did (would?) she do it?

    How does this translate to corruption and a bigger house?

    Is Ramaswamy performing the Indian "Enough Rope to Hang Myself" trick?
    Nikki's also Indian :lol:
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429

    OK, why do so many Scots believe that “Scotland sends more to Westminster than it gets back in public spending”?

    Have leaders of the SNP been making that claim, without being "fact-checked"? Or what?

    It's a nebulous area that allows different conclusions depending on how you look at it.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813
    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
  • Options
    MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 25,418
    edited December 2023
    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    I remember going to the bar at Cricklewood Studios because Guinness was discounted to 99p around 1984/5. Lager around London was about £1.20. How much a pint in London now? £7/£8
  • Options

    Good on Dave.

    Foreign secretary ⁦@David_Cameron is threatening to withdraw ⁦cooperation from Scottish government over ⁦@HumzaYousaf meeting with Turkish president at #cop28

    https://twitter.com/GlennBBC/status/1733905307523236114

    Dave = Unelected Has-Been!
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888
    edited December 2023

    OK, why do so many Scots believe that “Scotland sends more to Westminster than it gets back in public spending”?

    Have leaders of the SNP been making that claim, without being "fact-checked"? Or what?

    Reckon that a majority of Washington State residents outside Seattle/King County think the same thing with respect to to their tax dollars with respect to the Emerald City and environs.

    Even though it ain't so, as media reports from time to time.

    In fact, the belief of country mice, that they are subsidizing they are subsidizing city rats, is hardly a new thing. Rather, a very old thing . . . and hardly limited to Caledonians . . .
    Hmmm... I'm not sure the 'Scotland = country, England = city' analogy works at all. Both countries have an urbanisation rate of 83%.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,429
    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    A disgrace to his profession.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888

    Good on Dave.

    Foreign secretary ⁦@David_Cameron is threatening to withdraw ⁦cooperation from Scottish government over ⁦@HumzaYousaf meeting with Turkish president at #cop28

    https://twitter.com/GlennBBC/status/1733905307523236114

    Dave = Unelected Has-Been!
    He was the future once.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888
    edited December 2023
    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    The BoE inflation calculator gives £10 in 1983 = £32.49 today. Of course, your gut feel might be better than the BoE's inflation index. But I suspect not.

    https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator

    Interestingly (sorry) £10 in 1973 = £102 now. You can't beat the 70s for inflation.
  • Options
    Believe that Vivek Ramaswamy's strategy is to be even more of a shithead than Donald Trump.

    Somewhat similar to Ron DeSantis strategy of trying to out-wing-nut DJT ideologically, but with bonus for VR, that he hopes it just might get him a spot on Trump 2024 ticket, or at least a cabinet position in 2025.

    On the theory that #45 will like the cut of his jib, and pick an multi-cultural mini-me.

    VR has certainly been as nasty as his role model, and thus earned massive dislike.

    Problem is that, while Trump is mostly disliked/despised by non-GOPers, Ramaswamy on the other hand has made himself heartily disliked by most Republicans.

    Note that Ted Cruz also attempted same tactic in 2016. And got his foul head handed to him.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813

    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    The BoE inflation calculator gives £10 in 1983 = £32.49 today. Of course, your gut feel might be better than the BoE's inflation index. But I suspect not.

    https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
    Yes but that's just for one year. You'd need to work out how much £10 is worth for every year since at least 1983.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,813
    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    Err I mean "His" elderly Aunt. I think my French lessons are affecting my subconscious.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888
    CatMan said:

    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    The BoE inflation calculator gives £10 in 1983 = £32.49 today. Of course, your gut feel might be better than the BoE's inflation index. But I suspect not.

    https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
    Yes but that's just for one year. You'd need to work out how much £10 is worth for every year since at least 1983.
    Ok I've given the right answer to the wrong question.
  • Options

    kinabalu said:

    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.

    Scratchwood was perched on the very pinnacle of 1950s nomenclature. We shall remember it.
    It was just renamed Gateway - it's still there, good views from Thameslink trains between Elstree and Mill Hill.
    I've no doubt it's best appreciated from a moving train. But I'd occasionally stop there for R&R after 90 minutes battling my way out of central London - a practice now safely consigned to the dustbin of my personal history along with algebra homework and Saturday night 'dances'.
  • Options
    Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,448
    edited December 2023

    ...

    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
    The problem he has is the company he is currently keeping. The stench emanating from that Cabinet room will linger on his clothes for days. Not so pungent now Jenrick has left, granted.

    But yes, other than losing us Euroland and being the architect of Brexitland, one of the great Prime Ministers.
    Good evening

    Just a short pop in and note that we had a very quick visitor who was suitably dispatched

    On David Cameron he was a good PM and the coalition with Clegg was excellent

    He did call the referendum and had a poor team trying to win a very winnable argument, but that is yesterday's news

    As most fellow posters know I am a one nation conservative and completely at odds with the Braverman’s , Jenrick and the ERG, and hope that once the public have sent the party into opposition, at least some one nation conservatives will remain
  • Options
    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 19,136
    CatMan said:

    CatMan said:

    kinabalu said:

    CatMan said:

    DougSeal said:

    boulay said:

    The arrogance of the Royal Family.

    They send Christmas cards, not with pictures of robins, snowmen or Santa, but with photos of themselves.

    What’s worse is that when they stick e tenner in the card for your present it’s also got their picture on. It’s all about them.
    Correction: ". . . IF they stick a tenner in the card . . ."

    What are the odds of receiving 10-pounds gratis from The Royal Family?
    My aunt has sent me a tenner in a Christmas card every year for at least 40 years.
    Would have been nice of her to keep up with inflation.

    According to the BoE Inflation Calculator (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator), £10 in 1983 is £32.49 now. You should sue her for loss of earnings!
    More than £32.49 surely?
    Yes. I can't be arsed to work it out, but it must be hundred of pounds. But for some strange reason DougSeal doesn't want to pursue legal action against her elderly aunt. Takes all sorts I suppose.
    The BoE inflation calculator gives £10 in 1983 = £32.49 today. Of course, your gut feel might be better than the BoE's inflation index. But I suspect not.

    https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
    Yes but that's just for one year. You'd need to work out how much £10 is worth for every year since at least 1983.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_present_value
  • Options

    Off topic: This story shows one of the reasons Biden's ratings are as low as they are:
    "Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire defeated Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race in Saturday’s runoff election after a campaign heavily focused on voter concerns over safety on the streets.

    Whitmire, a perennial tough-on-crime voice who for decades heralded Texas regulations over public safety, was declared the winner by the Associated Press with 57 percent reporting. At that point, Whitmire was leading by an almost 2-to-1 margin."
    source: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/09/john-whitmire-sheila-jackson-lee-houston-mayor-00130873

    Rightly, or wrongly, Biden will be blamed by many voters for surges in crime -- especially when those surges happen in Democratic-controlled cities.

    (For the record: For decades I have believed that -- if you really want to help black people -- the best thing governments can do for them is to give them more protection from predators. The data supporting that conclusion is, to say the least, extensive. But has mostly been ignored by the left, in the US.)

    While JM makes a reasonable point, to a degree, also worth noting (again) that both Houston mayoral candidates are Democrats; and also that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Brown entered (and leaves) the race with high personal negative ratings, with over 40% of likely voters in one poll I saw saying they would NEVER vote for her.

    Crime was/is major issue for Houstonians, but NOT the only issue.

    Note that Whitmire's victory was largely due to his success in winning votes from Republicans. Crime helped him on that front, but so did his moderation on other issues contrasted with Jackon Lee's less-than-moderate progressivism.

    Would also note that, on another coast (sorta) voters in Seattle elected a Republican (sorta) as city prosecuting attorney, and crime WAS the key issue.

    However, does NOT mean that there was or will be a surge of voters in the Emerald City going for Trump, or any other Republican.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888

    kinabalu said:

    Right just back, let's see if I can do this straight from memory while it's fresh:

    Woodall
    Tibshelf
    Trowell
    Donnington
    Leicester Forest
    Watford Gap
    Northampton
    Newport Pagnell
    Toddington
    London Gateway

    Yep. Very confident. Truly impressive for a person of my age.

    Scratchwood was perched on the very pinnacle of 1950s nomenclature. We shall remember it.
    It was just renamed Gateway - it's still there, good views from Thameslink trains between Elstree and Mill Hill.
    I've no doubt it's best appreciated from a moving train. But I'd occasionally stop there for R&R after 90 minutes battling my way out of central London - a practice now safely consigned to the dustbin of my personal history along with algebra homework and Saturday night 'dances'.
    Start with those Gateway services and before you know it you've gone for a Burton-in-Kendal with Gordano and Hamilton, down Clacket Lane. Frankley it's just not Tamworth it.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,888

    ...

    Bermuda said:

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    Says something about the cabinet when Cameron is considered the class act.
    He'd be a class act in every cabinet.
    The problem he has is the company he is currently keeping. The stench emanating from that Cabinet room will linger on his clothes for days. Not so pungent now Jenrick has left, granted.

    But yes, other than losing us Euroland and being the architect of Brexitland, one of the great Prime Ministers.
    Good evening

    Just a short pop in and note that we had a very quick visitor who was suitably dispatched

    On David Cameron he was a good PM and the coalition with Clegg was excellent

    He did call the referendum and had a poor team trying to win a very winnable argument, but that is yesterday's news

    As most fellow posters know I am a one nation conservative and completely at odds with the Braverman’s , Jenrick and the ERG, and hope that once the public have sent the party into opposition, at least some one nation conservatives will remain
    You had a mouse?
  • Options
    Oh, and has someone fallen into the Bermuda Triangle?
  • Options
    FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,066

    Dave the best.

    and the figure now dominating the government’s top table discussions is David Cameron — Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton — whose clear eye for political strategy and messaging has impressed colleagues since his return as foreign secretary last month....

    ...Cameron’s deployment comes after ministers said the former prime minister dominates cabinet. “He asks the right questions and what the strategy is and the messaging and some ministers seem not to have thought about these things,” said one. “Then offers his views. He is already the class act in cabinet.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-tory-party-rwanda-bill-david-cameron-s8n8kfb92

    There is a lack of political experience in cabinet. However Cameron spent his time in government trying to get through to next Monday. After a quiet start he's seems to be saying the right things regards foreign policy.
  • Options
    squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,394
    On thread
    Things to put on the side of a bus, preferably all London Buses.

    Fulham 5 West Ham 0

    Happy days.
  • Options

    MattW said:

    Bermuda said:

    Theres also Vivek in the usa. Watch this.

    JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a ‘NIKKI IS CORRUPT’ sign during the Republican debate and shames Haley on stage for being willing to send Americans to die so she can “buy a bigger house.”

    Brutal 🔥

    “I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.”

    “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1732593214081978586?s=20

    2 in one day! We are spoilt.

    Who's kids has she sent (would she send) to die, where, and how did (would?) she do it?

    How does this translate to corruption and a bigger house?

    Is Ramaswamy performing the Indian "Enough Rope to Hang Myself" trick?
    It was bullshit.

    Basically when she quite as UN ambassador she was $1m in debt. In the next 7 years she went from that position to a Forbes estimate of $8m net assets.

    From disclosure she spent a year on the board of Boeing ($300k), wrote two books (O’Reilly estimated $400k), made 11 paid speeches ($2.3m). She also bought a house for $2.4m but - according to O’Reilly - “there’s no way she could get that large a mortgage”

    He then insinuated she was corrupt because she went straight from being Governor of South Carolina (and giving tax breaks to attract Boeing to the state) to become a director of Boeing. Ignoring the fact that there was a 2 year+ gap between the roles.

    The “sending your kids to war” I guess is based on her being UN ambassador?
    While I agree with your analysis, the Boeing connection IS interesting. Given significant (and strategic) shift in the corporation's operations from . . . wait for it . . . Washington State to South Carolina.

    Which has had so far mixed results for Boeing, with quality-control issues curdling the bean-counters' cream) but mostly positives for the Palmetto State.

    Certainly Boeing bigwings (and boneheads) are appreciative of Nikki Haley's past (non-corrupt) services and her continuing clout in SC politics.

    And her stint as UN Ambassador further enhanced her value.

    All this is FAR from a serious or even semi-serious impediment for a POTUS candidate. But as in case of Mitt Romney, this is kind of corporate-government connection that raises eyebrows (as opposed to watering them) and inspires attack ads.
This discussion has been closed.