I see Kemi Badenoch has one of those big style makeover feature things in the Times.
Which suggests Rupert has decided she’s next.
Remember I've been on the Kemi bandwagon for a couple of years!
I’m suspecting now Kemi will be next Tory leader.
Great News for Starmer and Labour. She’s so utterly arrogant and abusive, and really into all that MAGA woke war stuff.
But that would be the least of her problems. How is she going work with Braverman and the others? Remember Braverman was not sacked by Liz for a security lapse, it was because she was working with backbenchers to defeat not just Truss policy, but the policy of the government she was in. The only news Badenoch Shadow Cabinet will make will be all about personality and factional conflicts, suppressing their poll rating the whole term.
Badenoch will be bad news for the Conservatives. They are not coming back to sanity so we can vote for them anytime soon. 😕
What's her lane in the 2024/5 leadership election?
I suspect it's "strong right-wingery tempered by realism". And that loses to "strong right-wingery with no concessions to objective reality" (see Truss-Sunak). Unless she can engineer a final two where her opponent is a Centrist, she loses. And I'm not sure she can.
Two other things.
One is that, yes, many bits of her life story are impressive. But there is also a streak of "global elite who happens to have landed in the UK". She's not as clueless about the country as Sunak, but it's a problem. An occupational hazard of being Conservative is becoming someone who sees themselves as a self-made (wo)man who is entitled to worship their creator.
The other is that, once she is off the culture war stuff, she's not up to much. See her failure with the Post Office stuff.
Not that it matters in a way. The next Conservative leader is more likely than not to resign after losing in 2028. If Badenoch is that leader, her successor will probably be even more batso.
Things can get a lot worse yet.
We have diagnosed the same problem in Kemi. She’s like an anti woke Davos woman
Braverman seems much more authentically British
Badenoch is the most interesting of the potential candidates of the Tory right. But faces the same problem they all do, one which not being completely crackers may make worse. Namely, lots of the ideas that would form their core pitch have become widely discredited with the public over the past decade- a position made worse by the simple demographics of them being more hated the younger you get (and being very unpopular even among the middle-aged) in a way that's not being mitigated by people becoming more conservative as they age.
Good luck running a Tory 2029 campaign on the idea that Brexit is still a terrific idea and that an overmighty public sector needs cutting back when people think it's crumbling underneath them. Even on something like immigration, where the public maybe more sympathetic to the right, Labour can point to Tory hardliners' preferred policies doing nothing to reduce it - and even arguably contributing to it rocketing.
Difficult to see how Badenoch overcomes that. Especially as her greatest flaw is not being able to disguise her irritation and contempt when people question her and point out where they think she's wrong. An asset when your opponent is being stupid and pushing oddball ideas and you can 'pwn' them. But not one when they have significant expertise and are broadly with the public on an issue.
Hard to argue with a lot of that
However the 2020s are proving so volatile who the fuck knows. I don’t believe Labour are going to have an easy time. How can they? Debt, migration, health, everything - it could easily overwhelm them
And a new force could arise on the right. I don’t see why Britain should be immune to the pressures driving populist right support across the west
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
Omg the stupidity
On the left, a lethal dose of heroin. On the right, a lethal dose of fentanyl
Over the years I’ve legally dispensed all sorts of addictive drugs, generally but not exclusively for the relief of terminal pain. Fentanyl patches, and indeed other formulations, are very useful. As are heroin and morphine in their various forms. I’ve also supplied addictive drugs, legally, as maintainance drugs to those unfortunate enough to be addicted to them. They’ve all got a place in medicine, and can all be abused. That the latter can happen doesn’t make their existence wrong.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
Oh indeed. The problem appears to be that the fentanyl isn’t what people are actually looking for, it’s what’s being cut with other drugs such as heroin and cocaine that people are expecting. It’s also very potent, and very easy for the black-market maker of drugs to put in too much or not mix it properly, leading to overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
(Am I playing this game correctly?)
How many people are burgled, attacked, etc. by criminals who haven't been convicted or jailed because a right wing government CBA to do that properly?
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
We questioned it when it was prescribed to my mother as part of end of life care, and were told that it was used so commonly precisely because it produced fewer hallucinations and less feeling of being "high" than other opiods for the same amount of pain relief.
So I'm not sure I quite believe that it produces a better or more profound high than fifty times as much heroin would.
Even if it does, I still think the main factor driving its abuse is largely economic - a cheap synthetic drug from a lab rather than an expensive import from an unreliable country mired in chaos. Seems obvious that one would become more readily than the other.
Sorry for your loss. My Mum’s end of life care also involved plenty of opioids. They are very effective drugs with lots of sensible clinical uses.
But there is also a big abuse problem and, yes, I think I would agree that that reflects socio-economic issues. The US has also had a big problem with over-prescribing opioids, which is partly about the nature of how the healthcare system works there. Here’s a recent research paper on the topic, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10278447/
“The crisis in the US began in the mid-1990s with the excessive prescribing of opioids, in part due to aggressive marketing tactics by pharmaceutical companies 16 and small, poorly conducted trials and case reports assessing opioid efficacy.17–19 The widespread prescribing of opioids in the US led to a death rate of 20.7 per 100,000 people in 2020. 20 In England, the opioid death rate has been substantially lower at 4.0 per 100,000 people in 2020, yet the prescribing of high-dose and long-acting opioids increased by 457% from 1998 to 2018.21,22 The differences in death rates may be driven by the contrasting healthcare systems. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) provides universal access to healthcare and has a centralised model of primary care services whereby patients must register with a single general practice. In the US, the physician network is decentralised, enabling patients to ‘doctor shop’ to collect multiple opioid prescriptions. Furthermore, the US has direct-to-consumer marketing of pharmaceuticals, which increases demand and knowledge of opioids as a ‘quick fix’ for all pain conditions.
“Although the opioid death rate is lower in England than the US, England is still experiencing higher than expected rates of mortality and morbidity from opioids. Opioid-related hospitalisations increased by 49% from 2008 to 2018, 23 and the number of people receiving treatment for prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug misuse also increased between 2009 and 2016. 24 Factors that contributed to the increased opioid mortality and morbidity in England may include the socio-economic fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, higher unemployment rates and deprivation, and the increasing ageing population that puts more people at risk of developing chronic non-cancer pain.22,25,26 However, mortality statistics in England and Wales do not distinguish between the source of opioid involved in drug poisonings (i.e., prescribed, illicit, or a combination). Although, the number of methadone-related deaths significantly increased in England in 2021, 2 and methadone is mainly used in opioid substitution therapy to treat misuse, suggesting that part of the increase is due to the illicit use of opioids. 2 Whilst the volume of opioids prescribed in the NHS has declined modestly since 2017, 22 the outcomes of this reduction remain unclear.”
But didn’t your uncle Alfie work in a car park less than seventeen miles from a betting shop yet he never got addicted to gambling?
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 GRAINS of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
How can you stop fentanyl imports when it takes so little to make so much? Prohibition will not work when a bag of flour could have two million doses*. IMO you have to deal with the addicts and their addiction pathways not the substance.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
(Am I playing this game correctly?)
You're getting there but you've made a slight category error.
Premature death due to long-term disease with many contributing factors is not the same as being cut down in your prime because you've been killed by someone with a knife, or had an adverse reaction to a drug, or been hit by a car, or indeed, because you've been caught in a tragic miscarriage of justice and been killed by the state.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
Omg the stupidity
On the left, a lethal dose of heroin. On the right, a lethal dose of fentanyl
Over the years I’ve legally dispensed all sorts of addictive drugs, generally but not exclusively for the relief of terminal pain. Fentanyl patches, and indeed other formulations, are very useful. As are heroin and morphine in their various forms. I’ve also supplied addictive drugs, legally, as maintainance drugs to those unfortunate enough to be addicted to them. They’ve all got a place in medicine, and can all be abused. That the latter can happen doesn’t make their existence wrong.
Is PB honestly unable to distinguish between the legitimate use of a violently powerful painkiller, in a tightly controlled medical setting - completely fine - administered in tiny parsimonious doses (because of the lethality) and the manufacture and sale of the same drug on the street, causing thousands of deaths, because of the same lethality?
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
(Am I playing this game correctly?)
You're getting there but you've made a slight category error.
Premature death due to long-term disease with many contributing factors is not the same as being cut down in your prime because you've been killed by someone with a knife, or had an adverse reaction to a drug, or been hit by a car, or indeed, because you've been caught in a tragic miscarriage of justice and been killed by the state.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 GRAINS of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
How can you stop fentanyl imports when it takes so little to make so much? Prohibition will not work when a bag of flour could have two million doses*. IMO you have to deal with the addicts and their addiction pathways not the substance.
*And there are far more potent opiates available
It’s a monumental problem, I’m not disputing that. I used to be “legalise all drugs”, “tax them and make money for the NHS” etc
But you can’t do that with these drugs. They are too dangerous and too addictive. You are condemning thousands to death
So then you are left with the Singapore option. Brutal deterrence, executions, hideously long jail sentences
If you have a third option do tell us because governments all over the world are desperate to find one
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Western populations aren't too happy when people get wrongly imprisoned - see for instance the post office situation.
We can start with the low hanging fruit: execute multiple murderers where there is no plausible doubt about their guilt.
It amazes me how many people have seemingly never heard of Timothy Evans or the Birmingham Six.
That's like arguing against vaccinations because some people will have fatal adverse events.
Have you heard of Stephen Wright?
No it isn't. People can choose to not get a vaccine. People can't opt out of being executed falsely
How many people have been killed by recidivist criminals and how could they opt out?
How many people are killed by air pollution and how could they opt out?
(Am I playing this game correctly?)
You're getting there but you've made a slight category error.
Premature death due to long-term disease with many contributing factors is not the same as being cut down in your prime because you've been killed by someone with a knife, or had an adverse reaction to a drug, or been hit by a car, or indeed, because you've been caught in a tragic miscarriage of justice and been killed by the state.
Ella Kissi-Debrah was 9.
That's a politicised example. You could just as well attribute childhood diseases to the decrease in infant mortality leading to more sickly children growing up.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 GRAINS of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
How can you stop fentanyl imports when it takes so little to make so much? Prohibition will not work when a bag of flour could have two million doses*. IMO you have to deal with the addicts and their addiction pathways not the substance.
*And there are far more potent opiates available
It’s a monumental problem, I’m not disputing that. I used to be “legalise all drugs”, “tax them and make money for the NHS” etc
But you can’t do that with these drugs. They are too dangerous and too addictive. You are condemning thousands to death
So then you are left with the Singapore option. Brutal deterrence, executions, hideously long jail sentences
If you have a third option do tell us because governments all over the world are desperate to find one
We are not Singapore though. Our coastline is massive and one boat could saturate the country with opiates. So I don't think you can fight this at the borders.
There's always going to be addiction and we'll have to accept it but... addiction festers in unhappy people. The only way is to ameliorate the factors that drag people into the lifestyle. Yes, some will still fall into it but we have to at least try the human approach before the Singaporean model.
“The crisis in the US began in the mid-1990s with the excessive prescribing of opioids, in part due to aggressive marketing tactics by pharmaceutical companies 16 and small, poorly conducted trials and case reports assessing opioid efficacy.17–19 The widespread prescribing of opioids in the US led to a death rate of 20.7 per 100,000 people in 2020. 20 In England, the opioid death rate has been substantially lower at 4.0 per 100,000 people in 2020, yet the prescribing of high-dose and long-acting opioids increased by 457% from 1998 to 2018.21,22”
The excerpt is tendentious, ascribing motive. Recast to be more objective
Define "widespread"
("Substantially" is OK as is supported by the sentence)
To what part of the excerpt should he increase from 1998 to 2018 apply? If you attach it to the US/UK comparison, you'd need to include the US rise as well.
A small trial is not necessarily bad. It depends on the effect size.
Suggest the following
“The rise in opioid-related deaths in the US began in the mid-1990s with the greater prescribing of opioids accompanied by pharmaceutical marketing. Prescriptions rose from X per 100,000 people in 1998 to Y in 2018, a rise of ???%. But trials were too small for the demonstrated effect (show this) and case reports assessing opioid efficacy were few (give number). By 2020 the death rate from opioid prescription reached 20.7 per 100,000 people. This is considered excessive (justify this).
In England (UK? England? England and Wales? Check this), the opioid death rate has been substantially lower at 4.0 per 100,000 people in 2020. This was also accompanied by a rise in prescriptions from X per 100,000 people in 1998 to Y in 2018, a rise of 457%.
Below we discuss differences between the two countries that may explain the discrepancy."
Not everything has to be a murder mystery. Calm accounting of the facts works much better.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
Oh indeed. The problem appears to be that the fentanyl isn’t what people are actually looking for, it’s what’s being cut with other drugs such as heroin and cocaine that people are expecting. It’s also very potent, and very easy for the black-market maker of drugs to put in too much or not mix it properly, leading to overdoses.
Sadly, this isn’t entirely true either
Often a user’s first encounter with fentanyl is when they take “another” drug which has been laced with F
So they get amazingly high and then they go seeking the real thing. Actual Fentanyl
The dealers do this deliberately. Because a Fentanyl addict is a customer for life - until they die (which they do with alarming frequency)
I see Kemi Badenoch has one of those big style makeover feature things in the Times.
Which suggests Rupert has decided she’s next.
Remember I've been on the Kemi bandwagon for a couple of years!
I’m suspecting now Kemi will be next Tory leader.
Great News for Starmer and Labour. She’s so utterly arrogant and abusive, and really into all that MAGA woke war stuff.
But that would be the least of her problems. How is she going work with Braverman and the others? Remember Braverman was not sacked by Liz for a security lapse, it was because she was working with backbenchers to defeat not just Truss policy, but the policy of the government she was in. The only news Badenoch Shadow Cabinet will make will be all about personality and factional conflicts, suppressing their poll rating the whole term.
Badenoch will be bad news for the Conservatives. They are not coming back to sanity so we can vote for them anytime soon. 😕
What's her lane in the 2024/5 leadership election?
I suspect it's "strong right-wingery tempered by realism". And that loses to "strong right-wingery with no concessions to objective reality" (see Truss-Sunak). Unless she can engineer a final two where her opponent is a Centrist, she loses. And I'm not sure she can.
Two other things.
One is that, yes, many bits of her life story are impressive. But there is also a streak of "global elite who happens to have landed in the UK". She's not as clueless about the country as Sunak, but it's a problem. An occupational hazard of being Conservative is becoming someone who sees themselves as a self-made (wo)man who is entitled to worship their creator.
The other is that, once she is off the culture war stuff, she's not up to much. See her failure with the Post Office stuff.
Not that it matters in a way. The next Conservative leader is more likely than not to resign after losing in 2028. If Badenoch is that leader, her successor will probably be even more batso.
Things can get a lot worse yet.
We have diagnosed the same problem in Kemi. She’s like an anti woke Davos woman
Braverman seems much more authentically British
Badenoch is the most interesting of the potential candidates of the Tory right. But faces the same problem they all do, one which not being completely crackers may make worse. Namely, lots of the ideas that would form their core pitch have become widely discredited with the public over the past decade- a position made worse by the simple demographics of them being more hated the younger you get (and being very unpopular even among the middle-aged) in a way that's not being mitigated by people becoming more conservative as they age.
Good luck running a Tory 2029 campaign on the idea that Brexit is still a terrific idea and that an overmighty public sector needs cutting back when people think it's crumbling underneath them. Even on something like immigration, where the public maybe more sympathetic to the right, Labour can point to Tory hardliners' preferred policies doing nothing to reduce it - and even arguably contributing to it rocketing.
Difficult to see how Badenoch overcomes that. Especially as her greatest flaw is not being able to disguise her irritation and contempt when people question her and point out where they think she's wrong. An asset when your opponent is being stupid and pushing oddball ideas and you can 'pwn' them. But not one when they have significant expertise and are broadly with the public on an issue.
Hard to argue with a lot of that
However the 2020s are proving so volatile who the fuck knows. I don’t believe Labour are going to have an easy time. How can they? Debt, migration, health, everything - it could easily overwhelm them
And a new force could arise on the right. I don’t see why Britain should be immune to the pressures driving populist right support across the west
Quite easy to see Starmer going the same way as other non-charismatic lefty centrists such as Hollande and the current German chancellor. In tough times you need a bit of pizzazz and passion to retain young and working class voters. Managerial competence - even if you have it - not enough.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
Fentanyl is a symptom of the war on drugs: a drug of absurd potency so that huge profits can be made off quantities small enough to evade the authorities. The only interesting question about drugs like Fentanyl is why so many people are in a state of mind to take it, despite the obvious massive risks. That is the problem that needs fixing, and it can't be solved by a punative approach. It's a symptom of a society in which people feel bored, depressed, unloved, disconnected.
I do not believe Fentanyl is a "symptom of the war on drugs". I believe it is a symptom of Mexican drug cartels realising they can make vast profits out of an extremely powerful, monstrously addictive drug made with cheap precursor chemicals, a drug so potent it is much easier to smuggle (because, less bulk), and it doesn't matter if punters die because the high is so intense others will come
Plus, they might have been aided and abetted by the Chinese government, wanting to destabilise America - by flooding it with these awful drugs. A lot of Fent comes from China, and it would be a neat revenge for the opium war, when the West did exactly this to THEM
AIUI it's mostly the precursor chemicals that get shipped from China, which have a number of other purposes, so stopping the flows isn't that simple. The fact is Fentanyl is much easier to ship because it is so insanely potent, so small quantities easy to get past the authorities can make crazy profits while evading the authorities. The war on drugs is replete with examples of prohibition leading to new, worse, substances emerging.
I have a simple betting rule - I never bet on something I want to happen - so I never bet on Wales matches.
But if you are looking for an outside bet today then a Wales win is a possibility (but not a prediction).
It’s not. It’s really not. 🏴
Wales always worry me as en England rugby fan
More than Ireland or Scotland - even tho Ireland in particular have been a much greater threat for a decade
@leon this isn't a dig but a genuine question - I've just popped in for a cuppa and can see you have posted endlessly today. Why aren't you doing something else? I get told off for wasting too much time here and I'm probably here less than 10% of the time you are here and you are traveling the world. There must be something more exciting than this all day long.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 GRAINS of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
How can you stop fentanyl imports when it takes so little to make so much? Prohibition will not work when a bag of flour could have two million doses*. IMO you have to deal with the addicts and their addiction pathways not the substance.
*And there are far more potent opiates available
It’s a monumental problem, I’m not disputing that. I used to be “legalise all drugs”, “tax them and make money for the NHS” etc
But you can’t do that with these drugs. They are too dangerous and too addictive. You are condemning thousands to death
So then you are left with the Singapore option. Brutal deterrence, executions, hideously long jail sentences
If you have a third option do tell us because governments all over the world are desperate to find one
While not going for the brutality of capital punishment - too much can go wrong. But a third option could be "legalise and licence most drugs" but impose significant, harsh sanctions on those who deal in ones you deem so dangerous they remain illegal, plus harsh medical interventions on those using said drugs.
A tranche of the public will always need the escape that substances provide. Heck, that's why alcohol is a part of our culture. In the 21st Century we are surely able to create or refine substances that fulfill that need more safely - while treating those who seek to profit from ones that are almost guaranteed to destroy their users, as effectively murdering their customers.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 GRAINS of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
How can you stop fentanyl imports when it takes so little to make so much? Prohibition will not work when a bag of flour could have two million doses*. IMO you have to deal with the addicts and their addiction pathways not the substance.
*And there are far more potent opiates available
It’s a monumental problem, I’m not disputing that. I used to be “legalise all drugs”, “tax them and make money for the NHS” etc
But you can’t do that with these drugs. They are too dangerous and too addictive. You are condemning thousands to death
So then you are left with the Singapore option. Brutal deterrence, executions, hideously long jail sentences
If you have a third option do tell us because governments all over the world are desperate to find one
We are not Singapore though. Our coastline is massive and one boat could saturate the country with opiates. So I don't think you can fight this at the borders.
There's always going to be addiction and we'll have to accept it but... addiction festers in unhappy people. The only way is to ameliorate the factors that drag people into the lifestyle. Yes, some will still fall into it but we have to at least try the human approach before the Singaporean model.
The Singaporean model also treats someone taking MDMA occasionally at the weekend the same as someone hooked on opioids, when the two are really entirely different in every way. It works in Singapore but wouldn't work in a country like Britain which has always had quite a louche attitude towards illegal substances.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
In the UK and the US our drug dealers are feted. Despite Purdue Pharma promoting Oxycontin to the detriment of the population at large we make the Sacklurs and their like patrons of the arts.
The story of the Sacklers is an absolute disgrace, I agree, but it is not fundemantal to the rise of Fentanyl and now Tranq
People who never went near Oxycontin or any of those horrible legal opioids are dying of Fent and Tranq
110,000 Americans in a year. Like a really bad war; like two Vietnams, every year
The problem with the OxyContin story, is that it’s a massive setback for those who want to see a more liberal approach to drugs, when a legal drug causes so many societal issues.
As as been said many times before, you have to have an extreme approach to be successful. Either you sell everything in pharmacies and spend the taxes on rehab facilities, or you go down the Singapore route of high sentences for first offenders. The “war on drugs” route, as seen in most of the west, simply doesn’t work.
Yep, it's one or the other
I used to be libertarian: legalise everything, tax it for the benefit of the state. Having now personally witnessed what the latest drugs are doing to the USA, I have almost entirely changed my mind. Singapore might be the only solution
America cannot tolerate 110,000 deaths from OD every year, and getting worse...
Most of the nastiest drugs are as a result of prohibition - pack more punch into a smaller volume, insanely dangerous home chemistry etc.
Not to mention an opiates crisis driven by doctors being paid to prescribe as much as possible.
Yes the Oxy problem was a specifically American problem, because of the unique way prescription drugs are advertised and marketed in that country.
If you could just go and get generic heroin or morphine from the pharmacy for a few bucks, it would ease many of the current issues in the States.
This is wrong
Fentanyl is not just 50 times stronger than smack, it offers a way more profound high. A more intense oblivion - so users say
So even if you sell heroin at the corner shop the junkies will still seek out the better drug
Well sell them all in the corner shop then. At least people will know what exactly they’re taking, most of the deaths are from unintentional overdoses.
Fentanyl has many routine clinical uses and is regularly prescribed in the NHS. My Mum was on fentanyl patches for >1 year. It was effective in controlling the pain she was suffering and you wouldn’t have known she was on it talking to her. Some of the more journalistic stories about it can give a misleading impression that it is uniquely powerful or addictive or dangerous.
We questioned it when it was prescribed to my mother as part of end of life care, and were told that it was used so commonly precisely because it produced fewer hallucinations and less feeling of being "high" than other opiods for the same amount of pain relief.
So I'm not sure I quite believe that it produces a better or more profound high than fifty times as much heroin would.
Even if it does, I still think the main factor driving its abuse is largely economic - a cheap synthetic drug from a lab rather than an expensive import from an unreliable country mired in chaos. Seems obvious that one would become more readily than the other.
Honestly, this is quite idiotic. You haven’t a clue what you’re talking about
Yes Fentanyl has legitimate medical uses - for severe pain - but yes it is also incredibly strong and dangerous. So the amounts any person would receive in a hospital are going to be way less than anything you buy on the street. And it will be precisely measured in a hospital - partly because it is so lethal. And at such low medicinal doses no there wont be a buzz
Why do you think users come back for this drug - so obviously dangerous - if they don’t get a massive rush from it? They’re not doing it as a job
It also causes horrendous withdrawal pains once you are habituated
Despite your disagreement here, you and @AlsoLei have a remarkably similar writing style.
I have a simple betting rule - I never bet on something I want to happen - so I never bet on Wales matches.
But if you are looking for an outside bet today then a Wales win is a possibility (but not a prediction).
It’s not. It’s really not. 🏴
Wales always worry me as en England rugby fan
More than Ireland or Scotland - even tho Ireland in particular have been a much greater threat for a decade
@leon this isn't a dig but a genuine question - I've just popped in for a cuppa and can see you have posted endlessly today. Why aren't you doing something else? I get told off for wasting too much time here and I'm probably here less than 10% of the time you are here and you are traveling the world. There must be something more exciting than this all day long.
I’ve explained this several times. I’ve deliberately trapped myself in Phnom Penh, forcing myself to work hard as possible without distractions
I believe it is working. The work feels good. But Christ it is isolating
But my work is done by the time you all wake up then I want a debate
It’s not forever. I couldn’t cope with much more of this - about 2/3 more weeks and I’m freeeeeee
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
This might not make me popular (not that this has ever stopped me before) but Bukele of El Salvador really does have some mighty charisma
@williamglenn linked to his speech after his phenomenal victory. It is electrifying - partly because of the setting, the huge jubilant crowds, the enormous victory, the palpable relief of an entire nation saved from violent anarchy. BUT he also has IT, the gift, the charisma
You can see how it could easily tip over into demagoguery, and then Fascism, but for now he appears to be a democrat, and extremely good at it, albeit ruthless (but he had no choice, and it is the will of the people - as he constantly says)
He is already describing himself as 'philosopher king' on Twitter
I really hope he doesn't descend into Fascism. Watching that crowd adoring him I got a sense of what it might have been like to see Mussolini or Hitler in their early successful years, with huge crowds chanting your name. It must be intoxicating, for him AND them
He keeps insisting he is a democrat....
The one lesson that will surely be copied is that being genuinely tough on crime, as opposed to just posturing, a) works and b) is popular.
Indeed. If we had the death penalty for drug trafficking into the uk much of the uk drug trade would be wiped out overnight. At present prison is seen as an acceptable cost of doing business.
Back in my day on a Saturday we watched and smiled, because "Saturday is Tiswas, never a day to miss 'cos Saturday is Tiswas day".
Now Saturday is house troll day. We don't want your death penalty over here matey boy!
I fear it may be coming. Drugs like Fentanyl and Tranq are so dangerous, nations may have to start executing the dealers
110,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Horrendous. If you could save those lives by hanging 1000 dealers, would you take the offer? Many would
I suspect Salvador will export its policy
Fentanyl is a symptom of the war on drugs: a drug of absurd potency so that huge profits can be made off quantities small enough to evade the authorities. The only interesting question about drugs like Fentanyl is why so many people are in a state of mind to take it, despite the obvious massive risks. That is the problem that needs fixing, and it can't be solved by a punative approach. It's a symptom of a society in which people feel bored, depressed, unloved, disconnected.
I do not believe Fentanyl is a "symptom of the war on drugs". I believe it is a symptom of Mexican drug cartels realising they can make vast profits out of an extremely powerful, monstrously addictive drug made with cheap precursor chemicals, a drug so potent it is much easier to smuggle (because, less bulk), and it doesn't matter if punters die because the high is so intense others will come
Plus, they might have been aided and abetted by the Chinese government, wanting to destabilise America - by flooding it with these awful drugs. A lot of Fent comes from China, and it would be a neat revenge for the opium war, when the West did exactly this to THEM
AIUI it's mostly the precursor chemicals that get shipped from China, which have a number of other purposes, so stopping the flows isn't that simple. The fact is Fentanyl is much easier to ship because it is so insanely potent, so small quantities easy to get past the authorities can make crazy profits while evading the authorities. The war on drugs is replete with examples of prohibition leading to new, worse, substances emerging.
At least you appreciate the potency of Fentanyl!
I agree it is an insanely difficult problem to solve
Even if it wan’t Trump, who’ll be an easy opponent for the Dems with his back catalogue, I still think it will be plain sailing for Biden once it all starts properly.
What? He can't string a coherent sentence together and clearly has no idea where he is or what he's going.The dam has broken and the media, which have hitherto been largely covering it all up, will now be remorseless. It will be like a pack pf wolves devouring a stricken animal. It's going to be brutal to watch.
So Biden's finished. Done. He may not even finish his first term depending how how hard the media pack goes for him.
The only question is what the Dems do now to get themselves out of the situation they've got themselves into.
Rubbish.
Media always do this. Especially in football. Five wins in a row and the managers the goat. Five without a win and it’s crisis time. A few weeks later, goat again. Media only do it becuase they love the “comeback” headlines and story, maybe it’s that one which sells copy.
This “fuckmule” has only blown up because of how Biden got away with his breach, it’s only given boost because of comments in that report, and like all vulture frenzies it will burn itself out without more red meat examples to go on.
Also remember, Trump’s camp is cannily aware of this as well. If one candidate falls for being old and mangling sentences, where’s the media coming for their next victim?
Look at your post and reflect it against Politics is about hollowing out your opponent for your own knockout punch, not losing them for a fresh, unhollowed out opponent.
I'm not sure you're right on this occasion.
The media have bought the narrative, and every time Biden gaffes - which is hardly infrequent - they'll rehash it.
And there is then the genuine question of how much his faculties have in reality declined - and what shape he'll be in by late summer.
I am probably one of Biden's strongest proponents, but I just don't know how this plays out.
I too have no idea how it plays out. We are in uncharted territory, although that’s more the unprecedented nature of Trump than the unprecedented nature of Biden. So, as we’re kinda meant to be about betting, what’s the answer? Make trading bets. There’s been a big shift away from Biden. I think the market is overreacting, so maybe bet on Biden in order to lay when his odds improve again. Michelle Obama at 7% may be worth laying. The counter-argument is that you are locking your money up for several months for a poor return, but as a trading bet, you can probably realise your investment much sooner when her odds move out again. If Biden is in trouble, then Harris is undervalued.
It's a great betting heat imo. I'm green on everything bar Trump - which like many nasty things is big and red.
My best results are with women as it happens. Obama, Harris, Haley.
I've also dropped a deep water hedge, Trump to win the PV at 4.7. This will mitigate my loss if I'm not only wrong but badly wrong.
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
My research leads me to believe him to be an ironed blue denim and beige corduroy clad primary school geography teacher called Keith from the Marches village of Ewyas Harold.
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
Here you go
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
It’s not idyllic. It’s certainly not a holiday. It’s nice and warm tho, and the food is unbelievably good
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
Here you go
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
It’s not idyllic. It’s certainly not a holiday. It’s nice and warm tho, and the food is unbelievably good
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
Here you go
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
It’s not idyllic. It’s certainly not a holiday. It’s nice and warm tho, and the food is unbelievably good
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
Here you go
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
It’s not idyllic. It’s certainly not a holiday. It’s nice and warm tho, and the food is unbelievably good
Obviously AI generated.
Blue card for Leon then.
The cunning thing that @leon does is to steal photos from a genuine traveller, to give his fake life a hint of versimilitude. I do feel sorry for the poor chap he stalks though, even though it is all done from a cheap flat in Wick.
I have a simple betting rule - I never bet on something I want to happen - so I never bet on Wales matches.
But if you are looking for an outside bet today then a Wales win is a possibility (but not a prediction).
It’s not. It’s really not. 🏴
Wales always worry me as en England rugby fan
More than Ireland or Scotland - even tho Ireland in particular have been a much greater threat for a decade
@leon this isn't a dig but a genuine question - I've just popped in for a cuppa and can see you have posted endlessly today. Why aren't you doing something else? I get told off for wasting too much time here and I'm probably here less than 10% of the time you are here and you are traveling the world. There must be something more exciting than this all day long.
I’ve explained this several times. I’ve deliberately trapped myself in Phnom Penh, forcing myself to work hard as possible without distractions
I believe it is working. The work feels good. But Christ it is isolating
But my work is done by the time you all wake up then I want a debate
It’s not forever. I couldn’t cope with much more of this - about 2/3 more weeks and I’m freeeeeee
Next cuppa. I'm presuming you don't have to work, but do so because you want to. So why not do it at your own pace. I guess I am assuming my preferences are the same as others, which they clearly are not.
I wonder whether anyone really believes "Leon" is a jet-setting globetrotter taking time from his idyllic surroundings to post here incessantly, or ...
Here you go
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
As you asked, please post a picture of 500,000 whatevers, in front of a newspaper report of what the Special Counsel said about Biden's memory problems.
As an aside, I assume @Leon isn't here because the Putin interview bombed, and he's a bit embarassed.
It does seem to have backfired a bit, as Putin with his ludicrous "history" lesson comes across as unhinged. Great meme material, but maybe not the propaganda value they expected.
And the slightly bizarre panic about the interview itself.
I can remember when Saddam Insane or Daffy Duck (Libyan franchise), various Serbian warlords etc would do similar - put the Sgt. Pepper uniform away, put on a suit and try and do a “serious interview”.
It always ended up with a slightly fucked in the head monologue about their world view, IIRC.
I think Putin might have gotten more value out of a normal interview, where he could have shot back at the interviewer with provocative answers but would have been given less rope to hang himself. By being allowed to ramble on Putin has perfectly demonstrated how absurd the Russian revanchist position is.
On reddit even the subreddits that lean Trump/GOP/anti-Ukraine are poking fun at mad Vlad.
It occurs to me that it's a bit like an interrogation, you want the suspect to talk and talk.
The history stuff matters a bit because that's why Putin invaded Ukraine. It makes no sense to anyone outside Russia and probably not to most people in Russia.
The most important and clear takeaway from the interview is that Putin is not nearly done with Ukraine. He wants to control the country ("de Nazify" it) and he wants to take more Ukrainian territory for Russia.
Those urging Ukraine to settle with Russia need to explain how it's going to stop Russia carrying on with its annexation.
A historian friend has suggested that Scotland hand Orkney back to Norway (was transferred in 1472 as a security for a dowry).
The interview has just made him look silly. Remarkably, Carlson has come out quite well with his weird expressions and patience.
Doesn't Carlson come out of it badly because he is so obviously being played by Putin?
He supped with the devil but forgot to take a long spoon.
They both came out of it badly. A sycophant and a prattling despot.
This is just moronic. Carlson got what every journalist on the planet wanted. THE interview with Putin. Much of the professional criticism is envy - especially the stuff from CNN/BBC etc. You get idiots saying "Ugh he shouln't have done that, Putin is Hitler", then a moment later the same person says "We've been trying to get an interview with Putin for a year"
The fact that he got the interview is less important than the fact that the interview was bad. It confirmed Putin as a rambling despot rather than spiritual leader of the conservative right and confirmed Carlson was more influencer than journalist.
Of course it’s newsworthy, a notorious American shock jock interviews a warmongering dictator who’s been threatening nuclear war, so we’re going to talk about it.
I think Putin really missed his chance. He could have spent 2 hours tickling all the MAGA erogenous zones and practically guaranteed the republicans stand in the way of future aid to Ukraine. Family values, climate hoax, anti woke, perhaps namecheck antifa, immigration, European socialised medicine, gun rights. He missed a long list of open goals.
Yes he did. That’s why I think it was clever of Carlson to let him ramble on about history at first. Putin kinda lost his way. He actually admits that about 40 minutes in - “this is not a normal interview.sorry”
Or Carlson just got lucky?
I've not watched this interview but my initial reaction was pretty similar to @TimS. However on reflection I suspect that this was a carefully considered move on the part of the Russians. Putin can do a 'culture warrior' thing but decided not to. It ties in to the point I made yesterday evening, that maybe it suits Russian strategic objectives that the west keep on pumping money in to Ukraine because it is ultimately working to their advantage as it destabilises and weakens the west. In a deeper sense the analysis is that the west is too weak, insecure, and culturally fragmented and could not therefore win a long war against Russia despite its overwhelming economic and military advantage. Hence the various 'history lessons'.
The war in Ukraine is rounding error on the West’s military budget. Nearly everything sent has been second hand and about to time expire.
For Russia, it is a financially staggering toll, with whole sectors of the economy partially shuttered.
The reason is that Russia is Mexico with a large pile of rusty stuff left over from the Cold War.
Putin didn’t do culture warrior because this was about him in his comfort zone - he wanted to explain his perfectly reasonable world view. Right from the beginning.
The reason it was a bit of a fail, was that his world view is actually a sad mishmash of fuckwit irredentism and fascism of the saloon bar variety.
As far as I can work out it is 5% of the total US military budget. So £48 billion of £877 billion ish. It also seems like the war has also prompted the modernisation of the Russian Military, new alliances, supply lines etc, to the point where it can actually fight, and is not a 'paper tiger'. There is also the issue of the war prompting all those who oppose Putin to quit the country. I am just putting these points out there. I don't know how this end but if Ukraine win and Russia get 'beaten back', as perhaps they will; it relies on a large amount of luck going our way, looking at the current situation there.
Forget the cash and the arms support, important though those are, the bottom line for me is the level of determination amongst the Ukraine population to resist, even into a period were it to happen where they are under the Russian control.
From the few Ukrainians I have met - admittedly refugees and a few promoting their cause on cultural tours - they seem vehemently determined. 'Britain in the Blitz' levels of determination. Afghan Taliban levels of determination.
Fair enough, I don't disagree. But my point about the weakeness of this discussion on PB, is that I am interested in the strategy for how the war in Ukraine gets resolved, and then the strategy for the long war with Russia, how it is won or avoided. With some exceptions, all I am hearing back is propoganda and wishful thinking; and then attempts to close down the discussion by defining any views that depart from the 'consensus' as 'pro Putin' or 'appeasement', which just gets tiring.
Re the 'debate', I think it exists in 2 guises. There's the rhetorical sinew-stiffening stuff. This says the war is a clear right/wrong matter and therefore as long as Ukraine wants to keep fighting we should continue to support them. End of. No ifs or buts. This is simplistic (since there are ifs and buts, obviously there are) however I don't mind it because I agree about the right/wrong and at present this IS the policy. It doesn't make for a great discussion but it has a point. It's the 'right' thing to say, which I mean in a positive way. Not right as in "PC" or "virtue signalling", just right as in right.
The other 'debate' is about trying to predict how the war will actually pan out, eg opining on how we ought to react to various possible developments. Here people will say different things depending on their worldview and thought processes (eg I'll stress the potential impact of GOP/MAGA ascendency), and so one gets a more 'grainy' discourse, which people should be able to contribute pessimistically to without being called names. Maybe Ukraine won't get their territory back, they're not bound to just because they're the good guys. This sort of chat is definitely more interesting. But it's also pointless because nobody has much of a clue how things will unfold.
the issue that Ukraine is preparing for full mobilisation due to a lack of soldiers, whereas Russia has moved away from mobilisation and is fighting the war through a professional army on relatively well paid contracts who sign up due to dire poverty, and who can die at a rate of 1000 per day with no political consequence....
Um, this isn't right. Russia is fighting using a mercenary army and it's own troops, the latter of which are reinforced by unwilling conscriptees and prison battalions: it's the exact opposite of a professional army. As for the Ukrainians, they have been fully mobilised since the beginning.
My understanding is that Russia is that it is scaling back the prison battalions and conscription and is fighting with contract soldiers, but this is from what I have read on the internet.
Happy to be corrected on the above.
Because they’ve gone through all the young men in Dagestan and emptied the prisons.
And Putin ain’t sending white Muscovites to die in a pointless war.
Who would PBers pick as the most impressive leader in the western world? Is there one? Do we have any?
Biden - lol Sunak - oh dear Scholz - who? Macron - lame duck allowing the hard right into power Meloni - too early, but not looking good Trudeau - effete, lame duck That Australian guy who lost his own referendum, lol
Err......
Humza Yousaf? Perhaps it is Humza Yousaf
Probably Drakeford, for his principled position on road safety. Sticking with an unpopular policy because it's the right thing to do is a sign of political leadership. Khan for the same reason, on ULEZ. It is a good question though and illustrates what a poor crop we have right now. Hopefully it is darkest before dawn.
Other way round for me.
Democracy should be about accurately representing the will of the people. There are arguments to be made about liberalism and the dangers of the tyranny of the majority, i.e. we shouldn't bring back hanging just because 51% of people approve of it.
But in a democratic system, if a policy is overwhelmingly unpopular, a politician - as a representative of the people - shouldn't be trying to force it through.
At best, we can get rid of them at the next election and vote in someone more aligned to the majority view. At worst, our democratic institutions aren't enough to act as a check on this. For example, the way FPTP delivers majorities on a minority of votes, or the enormous structural democratic deficit at the heart of the EU.
TL;DR. Democracy should be about representing the will of the people. It should not be about politicians pursuing their pet projects. Unless you're arguing that we don't know what's good for us, in which case we might as well have done with it and appoint a dictator.
You are getting into the whole Burkean argument of representatives vs delgates
If a democratic leader is just a delegate what’s the point. Might as well have a cat. They are cheaper, more consistent and cleaner.
I don’t know that they’re more consistent. Yesterday, my tomcat loved Bonkers cat treats. Today, he refuses to eat them.
Comments
However the 2020s are proving so volatile who the fuck knows. I don’t believe Labour are going to have an easy time. How can they? Debt, migration, health, everything - it could easily overwhelm them
And a new force could arise on the right. I don’t see why Britain should be immune to the pressures driving populist right support across the west
(Am I playing this game correctly?)
Fentanyl patches, and indeed other formulations, are very useful. As are heroin and morphine in their various forms.
I’ve also supplied addictive drugs, legally, as maintainance drugs to those unfortunate enough to be addicted to them.
They’ve all got a place in medicine, and can all be abused. That the latter can happen doesn’t make their existence wrong.
*And there are far more potent opiates available
Premature death due to long-term disease with many contributing factors is not the same as being cut down in your prime because you've been killed by someone with a knife, or had an adverse reaction to a drug, or been hit by a car, or indeed, because you've been caught in a tragic miscarriage of justice and been killed by the state.
Is PB honestly unable to distinguish between the legitimate use of a violently powerful painkiller, in a tightly controlled medical setting - completely fine - administered in tiny parsimonious doses (because of the lethality) and the manufacture and sale of the same drug on the street, causing thousands of deaths, because of the same lethality?
Really?
I mean. Jesus
I have a simple betting rule - I never bet on something I want to happen - so I never bet on Wales matches.
But if you are looking for an outside bet today then a Wales win is a possibility (but not a prediction).
But you can’t do that with these drugs. They are too dangerous and too addictive. You are condemning thousands to death
So then you are left with the Singapore option. Brutal deterrence, executions, hideously long jail sentences
If you have a third option do tell us because governments all over the world are desperate to find one
More than Ireland or Scotland - even tho Ireland in particular have been a much greater threat for a decade
There's always going to be addiction and we'll have to accept it but... addiction festers in unhappy people. The only way is to ameliorate the factors that drag people into the lifestyle. Yes, some will still fall into it but we have to at least try the human approach before the Singaporean model.
- The excerpt is tendentious, ascribing motive. Recast to be more objective
- Define "widespread"
- ("Substantially" is OK as is supported by the sentence)
- To what part of the excerpt should he increase from 1998 to 2018 apply? If you attach it to the US/UK comparison, you'd need to include the US rise as well.
- A small trial is not necessarily bad. It depends on the effect size.
Suggest the following“The rise in opioid-related deaths in the US began in the mid-1990s with the greater prescribing of opioids accompanied by pharmaceutical marketing. Prescriptions rose from X per 100,000 people in 1998 to Y in 2018, a rise of ???%. But trials were too small for the demonstrated effect (show this) and case reports assessing opioid efficacy were few (give number). By 2020 the death rate from opioid prescription reached 20.7 per 100,000 people. This is considered excessive (justify this).
In England (UK? England? England and Wales? Check this), the opioid death rate has been substantially lower at 4.0 per 100,000 people in 2020. This was also accompanied by a rise in prescriptions from X per 100,000 people in 1998 to Y in 2018, a rise of 457%.
Below we discuss differences between the two countries that may explain the discrepancy."
Not everything has to be a murder mystery. Calm accounting of the facts works much better.
Often a user’s first encounter with fentanyl is when they take “another” drug which has been laced with F
So they get amazingly high and then they go seeking the real thing. Actual Fentanyl
The dealers do this deliberately. Because a Fentanyl addict is a customer for life - until they die (which they do with alarming frequency)
England should copy. Suggestions for songs?
Beatles? Hey Jude?
On to the Gold Cup. 🏆
I’m not entirely convinced by Galopin Des Champs this season
A tranche of the public will always need the escape that substances provide. Heck, that's why alcohol is a part of our culture. In the 21st Century we are surely able to create or refine substances that fulfill that need more safely - while treating those who seek to profit from ones that are almost guaranteed to destroy their users, as effectively murdering their customers.
I wonder if they also write for the Gazette.
I believe it is working. The work feels good. But Christ it is isolating
But my work is done by the time you all wake up then I want a debate
It’s not forever. I couldn’t cope with much more of this - about 2/3 more weeks and I’m freeeeeee
I agree it is an insanely difficult problem to solve
My best results are with women as it happens. Obama, Harris, Haley.
I've also dropped a deep water hedge, Trump to win the PV at 4.7. This will mitigate my loss if I'm not only wrong but badly wrong.
(Like many Sparks songs has very droll lyrics if you can make them out.)
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/09/politics/fact-check-biden-makes-three-false-claims-about-his-handling-of-classified-information/index.html
They need a really thumping singalong chorus
Pretty Vacant might work?
Off you go, we'll see you back here in exactly. 12 hours with your very big list.
A mere two decades old.
Hasn't quite got the anthemic quality?
Heroes, by Bowie? Maybe not
It's actually quite hard, they have to be easy to sing, have rousing choruses and also be distinctive and well-known
500 Miles by the Proclaimers is perfect because of that giddy chanting back-and-forth
So Sunny Afternoon, say.
Easy to imagine that rolling around Twickers after a stirring win.
150,000 Cambodian Riel, photographed on my balcony in my hotel in Bassac Lane, Phnom Penh. That’s about $40
You can ask for a picture of 50,000 or 500,000 or anything in between
It’s not idyllic. It’s certainly not a holiday. It’s nice and warm tho, and the food is unbelievably good
They should play it at the beginning of matches
They really should do this. Be imaginaitve. Get Twickers buzzing
oooh. Smiths?
NEW THREAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snILjFUkk_A&t=9s
And Putin ain’t sending white Muscovites to die in a pointless war.