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From apotheosis to arrest – politicalbetting.com
From apotheosis to arrest – politicalbetting.com
If a year ago you had told me in 2023 Nicola Sturgeon would resign as Scottish First Minister & SNP Leader and then her husband and later herself would be arrested regarding the SNP finances I would have chastised you for drinking too many eggnogs but that’s what happened.
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"It was not immediately clear if the apparent attack was a result of an domestic group or a group directed by Israel."
Now I am no crime scene investigator and equally I am aware of stuff going on in the middle east right now but I thought that was a bit previous for a news report.
So either they were collecting the poo from their garden to put in a bin down the street or they had collected the crap that an inconsiderate dog owner had left behind. The latter being an example of Lord Cameron's Big Society.
They mentioned various rumours. But what makes absolutely no sense is the bizarre, impossible to conceal actions, that led directly to this result. Buy a camper van on party funds and then never move it? Not provide party accounts? Stop the officers of the party from seeng the books?
No one could work out how any of this made sense - it just seems so certain that it would end badly.
...Iran only recently said it had eradicated a group backed by the Mossad, the Israeli state secret service.
A representative of Kerman province accused agents of Israel of committing the offence, the first elected representative reported to make such an attribution. Separately, Kianush Jahanpur, the former spokesman of Iran’s health ministry, said on social media: “The answer to this crime should only be in Tel Aviv, Haifa.”
Some analysts said it was unusual for Israel to undertake a generalised attack on civilians with no high-level military targets and so did not fit a previous pattern of behaviour in what Israel has done to date inside Iran. Israel rarely comments on international operations...
One of the ways that Israel has been useful to the dictatorships, is in providing a bogeyman to justify the repression in the name of State Security.
I am led to believe there are lots of historical examples of such people, some of whom are quite well-known.
Imagine the following -
1) They present damaging allegations/charges before the election.
2) The SNP manage to be at least part of the next government of Scotland.
3) The relations between Police Scotland and members of the government could be a tad frosty.
I suspect that they will report after the enquiry on the ferries is completed, but before the enquiry on the trams is done.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/03/dead-in-blasts-at-memorial-for-assassinated-iranian-commander
"I would rather have a lucky general than a smart general.... They win battles, and they make me lucky."
I say "allegedly" because while several so-called "quotation" websites list above quote, they do NOT provide any attribution, so methinks they are garbage.
However, still makes more sense than "lucky politician" seeing has how Ike had very little respect or use for politicos, as opposed to generals.
The meaning of "it's not immediately clear" is very different when read along with those paragraphs. It's not as though you yourself are unacquainted with mild irony.
The resignation . . . of NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles is bad news for the NT Labor government. It already faces a difficult re-election campaign in August 2024, and starting election year with a third Chief Minister this term is bad news for NT Labor, and good news for the Country Liberal opposition.
Thinking back through the last 50 years, I can think of three cases of government’s with three Premiers in a term. Queensland had three between 1986 and 1989, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Mike Ahern and Russell Cooper. NSW had three between 2007 and 2011, Morris Iemma, Nathan Rees and Kristina Keneally. Both governments were thrashed at the next election. The NSW Coalition had three Premier between 1973 and 1976, Bob Askin, Tom Lewis and Eric Willis. It lost narrowly at the 1976 election. . . .
The Northern Territory’s current situation concerns a Chief Minister retiring and another resigning over failure to disclose a pecuniary interest. . . .
But it is a bad start to an election year for a government that after two terms in office was starting to look old and ragged. And losing a Chief Minister, whatever the gravity of the transgression, is a negative for Labor, and a huge boost for . . . the Country Liberal Party [opposition].
https://antonygreen.com.au/
SSI - Sound a wee bit familiar?
But it's far from impossible, as they do have history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Israel_proxy_conflict
Take your permanent outrage machine elsewhere.
Essentially, Sturgeon well and truly shat the bed before handing over to Yousaf and, however popular she was in her pomp, that makes it really difficult for her successor to do well.
Borrowers' pain eased as lenders cut mortgage rates
Some 1.6 million homeowners will see their current fixed-rate deal expire over the next 12 months, the vast majority of whom could see their monthly repayments rise quite sharply.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67873017
But it's okay, we get the message: you don't personally subscribe to the well-known antisemitic trope that everything is always the fault of the Jews, but have zero issues with a major UK news outlet insinuating as such. Well done you.
I've always been infuriated by that. So much so that I refuse to acknowledge it. If for some reason I find myself in Starbucks (which sometimes despite best efforts I do) I will make a point to freight my coffee order with "your smallest size" please.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-general-election-snp-scotland-kzfvnvs32
TLDR; if Richi loses in May and the SNP get trounced, Yousless might face a leadership election. If Richi hangs on longer, Yousless might too
. . . Eisenhower indicated that if he won the nomination, Nixon would be his first choice for the vice presidency, because Eisenhower believed the party needed to promote leaders who were aggressive, capable, and young. Eisenhower later developed a list of seven potential candidates, with Nixon's name at the top.
After Eisenhower was nominated, his key supporters met to discuss vice presidential possibilities.[9] Eisenhower informed the group's chairman, Herbert Brownell Jr. that he did not wish to appear to dictate to the convention by formally sponsoring a single candidate, so the group reviewed several, including Taft, Everett Dirksen, and Alfred E. Driscoll, all of whom they quickly rejected.[9] Dewey then raised Nixon's name; the group quickly concurred. Brownell checked with Eisenhower, who indicated his approval.
Brownell then called Nixon to inform him that he was Eisenhower's choice. Nixon accepted, then departed for Eisenhower's hotel room to discuss the details of the campaign and Eisenhower's plans for his vice president if the ticket was successful in the general election.
The delegates soon assembled to formalize the selection. Nixon asked Knowland to nominate him, and Knowland agreed.[12] After Taft supporter John W. Bricker declined Nixon's request to second the nomination, Driscoll agreed to do so. There were no other candidates, and Nixon was nominated by acclamation. . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Republican_Party_vice_presidential_candidate_selection
SSI - Note that Nixon attended 1952 Republican National Convention as California delegate pledged to then CA Gov. (and future SCOTUS Chief Justice) Earl Warren. However, Warren apparently was convinced that Nixon was REALLY working to secure GOP nomination for Eisenhower.
Addendum - And Ike was hardly "indifferent about politics" quite the contrary. He just had little respect for professional politicos.
https://news.sky.com/story/girl-10-wins-years-supply-of-crisps-after-campaigning-to-get-niche-flavour-back-on-shelves-13041322
Good news from the spiritual home of the campervan.
If you re-read the piece right this minute then you will see that magically (sensibly to maintain their reputation more like) the "offending" line has been omitted.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/03/dead-in-blasts-at-memorial-for-assassinated-iranian-commander
I know Ike cultivated an outsider appeal - the General drafted to the Presidency somewhat against his will. It had the benefit of being half true... but it half wasn't. He was no fool politically.
A lesson that Bernard Montgomery learned the hard way.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-acknowledges-long-claimed-weapons-supply-to-syrian-rebels/
Just because they're paranoid, it doesn't mean Israel isn't out to get them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Tehran_attacks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Shah_Cheragh_attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005–06_Ahvaz_bombings
and quite a few more.
But they DO have "a good reason" - maximizing profits.
Certainly good for Starbucks, if not for you, me and the deep blue sea.
To be pedantic.
But there is a life hack available which I can share. If you order a Flat White it short-circuits the entire problem because a Flat White doesn't come in different sizes. Of course this only works if (like me) you happen to like Flat White. Otherwise you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The number of times Prime just strips off films and shows I want to watch from their site, for no reason.
They impertinently ask for your name and then announce it several times loudly and publicly.
While there are good many SB locations in town and all around Puget Sound, personally do not know a single person who gets their morning/noon/night coffee fix fixxed there (where ever that is).
There used to be a Starbucks on my street, but no more; however, we do have 7 "independent" coffee shops (at least) within mile & a half of my humble abode.
NOTE on the other hand, that when out of town - or at the airport - the average Seattleite is VERY likely to turn to Starbucks for caffeination.
Partly because they are there, and often the only semi-civilized option in the howling wastelands east of Snoqualmie Pass.
BUT also because, while we scorn Starbucks from the comfort home, in the great beyond Starbucks IS a home comfort.
BTW, for all you "Fraser" fans out there, the coffee shop were he & etc. imbibe, does NOT exist anywhere withing a hundred miles of Pike Place Market (alleged locale of reputed quasi-original Starbucks location).
Specifically, in these parts, one does NOT walk into a coffee shop, sit down then have a waiter take your order, deliver it to your table, then come back to give you your check.
In your dreams, maybe . . . but NOT in Seattle. Not in 1990s, and not today.
Tall
Grande
Venti
Trenta
God knows how big "Trenta" is. It must be like a bucket or something.
Also with Pret for what that's worth (half a wooden farthing?)
Best place to patronize a Starbucks, is somewhere where Starbuckian coffee kulture ain't ubiquitious.
Such as Ulaan Bator or Parkersburg WV.
Why? Because in such places, the baristas tend to be very serious and conscientious when it comes to making your order. And also tend NOT to shout out your name, esp. if you are sole customer.
- There is a well-known antisemitic trope that Jews are responsible for anything and everything that happens in a geopolitical context (usually bad stuff)
- The Guardian, in implicitly blaming Israel for today's bombing, were keying into that trope, and "justifying" it by quoting people who are clearly themselves motivated by antisemitism (ie, Iranian officials)
- You, for whatever reason, are defending their "right" to do so
I assume your point in response is that you disagree with the second bullet, since the other two are unarguable. In which case we are back to Topping's comment that you're apparently determined not to get the point, and your (incorrect) retort that the point is dishonest.
And on the coffee, is it definitely both a different size and cheaper? Or more expensive as bespoke perhaps?
But there are times when it is the best - or only - option.
Small Airports in the US, for example. There Starbucks is often the best chance of getting a coffee that isn't flavoured in some weird and deeply unpleasant way.
Which is the point.
I don't actually mind Starbucks (decaf) coffee. Tall decaf americano leave room for milk is the way I roll.
I also remember going to the Starbucks in Whistler Village in the mid-nineties and thinking it, and therefore I were impossibly glamorous and I felt like an extra in a Hollywood film.