So does anyone have any thoughts about the special election to replace George Santos in New York ?
It's a swing seat. It will be interesting to see who wins. The Republican candidate is an Israeli who is registered as a Democrat. The Democrat candidate is the former Rep.
If the Democrats retake the seat it would suggest that they are not doing as badly among their core vote as one or two here have suggested.
There's a market on Betfair exchange, but no decent odds available. The weather would tend to favour the Democrat, given their advantage in early voting.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What an absurd paragraph.
The class system was the stuff of history books and a "Frost Report" sketch until austerity. If an equalisation means better schools, diet and healthcare for the majority of the nation's children, the eradication AGAIN of Victorian childhood diseases like rickets, scurvy and tooth decay bring it on.
The plurality of Infosys making hay with burgeoning government contracts whilst schoolchildren are down to one meal a day and school buildings are crumbling is not the look of a fair and equitable society. No wonder the peasants are revolting.
Team Starmer, by the way, doesn't look like the answer and I doubt it will be anything like as ambitious as the hack suggests.
The New Statesman feels very middling in recent times - perched in the general area of social liberalism, posh green and social democrat. A decent proportion of it is readable. I suspect that keeping an eye on it as Labour assume power and then spend a year or two dealing with reality will be quite informative.
It is also much less self consciously pseudo intellectual than it sometimes has been. For that, and much further left, you have to go to the London Review of Books.
I wouldn't describe the LRB as pseudo-intellectual. Or to put it another way, if the LRB isn't intellectual, what is?
Good point, lots of views possible. My tentative suggestion: in the humanities intellectualism is characterised by depth, open mindedness, clarification, stimulation, consideration of multiple viewpoints, excitement and brilliant communication.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
The New Statesman feels very middling in recent times - perched in the general area of social liberalism, posh green and social democrat. A decent proportion of it is readable. I suspect that keeping an eye on it as Labour assume power and then spend a year or two dealing with reality will be quite informative.
It is also much less self consciously pseudo intellectual than it sometimes has been. For that, and much further left, you have to go to the London Review of Books.
I wouldn't describe the LRB as pseudo-intellectual. Or to put it another way, if the LRB isn't intellectual, what is?
Good point, lots of views possible. My tentative suggestion: in the humanities intellectualism is characterised by depth, open mindedness, clarification, stimulation, consideration of multiple viewpoints, excitement and brilliant communication.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Totally agree.
It's pretty crude and simple - either you stop him in Ukraine, or he'll be looking at the next bit - which is the Baltics. Russian Irredentism regards everything that used to be in the Russian Empire as part of Russia.
So does anyone have any thoughts about the special election to replace George Santos in New York ?
It's a swing seat. It will be interesting to see who wins. The Republican candidate is an Israeli who is registered as a Democrat. The Democrat candidate is the former Rep.
If the Democrats retake the seat it would suggest that they are not doing as badly among their core vote as one or two here have suggested.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
Absolute poppycock. Won't of course read the article but the premise is complete rubbish. Modern pop music is fantastic starting with Tay Tay and upwards, downwards and across from her.
Now if you are trying to compare She's Lost Control with Shake it Off I think we possibly have a category error.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
We've had plenty of class war from the other side too, I don't see why we should be the ones to go all kumbaya.
An eye for an eye only makes the whole world go blind.
It may seem a laughable idea but the reality is that it is almost certain that the Conservatives would do better at the next GE with Cameron as leader than they would with anybody else.
How you arrange the mechanics I don't know. It would have to be along the lines of Sunak remaining PM until the GE, Cameron giving up his Peerage, Cameron fighting a safe seat at the GE on the basis he would then become leader post GE.
I guess technically he could become leader as soon as Parliament is dissolved because at that point there are no Conervative MPs and someone has to be leader if Rishi resigned as leader.
But I think it would be best for Rishi to remain PM until GE day to avoid charges of an unelected PM. But the Conservative Party would campaign on the basis that Cameron would take over the day after the GE.
I'm afraid this is patent nonsense. How exactly does Cameron rebuild Boris's coalition?
Absolute poppycock. Won't of course read the article but the premise is complete rubbish. Modern pop music is fantastic starting with Tay Tay and upwards, downwards and across from her.
Now if you are trying to compare She's Lost Control with Shake it Off I think we possibly have a category error.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
The New Statesman feels very middling in recent times - perched in the general area of social liberalism, posh green and social democrat. A decent proportion of it is readable. I suspect that keeping an eye on it as Labour assume power and then spend a year or two dealing with reality will be quite informative.
It is also much less self consciously pseudo intellectual than it sometimes has been. For that, and much further left, you have to go to the London Review of Books.
The New Statesman peaked in 2007 with this article then it has been downhill ever since.
We cannot be killed
'Shortly there will be an election, in which Labour will increase its majority'
Just watching BBC News and a report on ambulance services in Gaza. I’m not sure how much more anti-Israeli, or at least Gazan-sympathetic anything could be.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Totally agree.
It's pretty crude and simple - either you stop him in Ukraine, or he'll be looking at the next bit - which is the Baltics. Russian Irredentism regards everything that used to be in the Russian Empire as part of Russia.
Yes. But try getting an appointment with an NHS irridentist.
(Not my joke. Made by a PBer a couple of days ago. Redolent of the "as rich as creases" glory days of PB.)
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
Absolute poppycock. Won't of course read the article but the premise is complete rubbish. Modern pop music is fantastic starting with Tay Tay and upwards, downwards and across from her.
Now if you are trying to compare She's Lost Control with Shake it Off I think we possibly have a category error.
Just watching BBC News and a report on ambulance services in Gaza. I’m not sure how much more anti-Israeli, or at least Gazan-sympathetic anything could be.
I heard the report on Today this morning. Talking about "the war".
Interesting to know that Gazans appreciate that it is indeed a war.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
They won’t get far past Dover as the British unveil their secret weapon, Operation Stack, leaving the Russian Army kicking their heals on the M20.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
They’ve got to get through France first, where the farmers might have their tractors and hay bails out. And the toll motorways are expensive.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
In rural France the farmers’ latest wheeze has been turning all the village road signs upside down as some sort of protest.
Though that might make them look more like Cyrillic.
Even if they did make Lord Cameron (lol) PM - the Tories cannot get out of the material reality we live in and, if anything, it would highlight the fact they're just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. No new leader will save them - if they want to do better in an election they need to change their policies towards wealth redistribution so poorer people feel less precarious. But, because they're Tories, they won't do that. So they're going to lose badly.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
They got rid of the Cones Hotline. So the Russian armour will be stuck in a contra-flow at some abandoned traffic works. For years.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Totally agree.
It's pretty crude and simple - either you stop him in Ukraine, or he'll be looking at the next bit - which is the Baltics. Russian Irredentism regards everything that used to be in the Russian Empire as part of Russia.
Yes. But try getting an appointment with an NHS irridentist.
(Not my joke. Made by a PBer a couple of days ago. Redolent of the "as rich as creases" glory days of PB.)
Irredentist you say? Where do you stand on the location of the Ukraine/Republic of China border?
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
They got rid of the Cones Hotline. So the Russian armour will be stuck in a contra-flow at some abandoned traffic works. For years.
Junction 10 of the M6.
Meant to be finished two years ago.
Final deadline was last August.
Still a coned-off shambles.
And I've not seen anyone actually working there for a good six months.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
The sad thing for them is that before the war they were free to make tank and naval incursions into France on a regular basis, driving their SUVs up the champs Élysées and parking their super yachts in Cannes harbour.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
Still, seven million, eh?
You are so exercised by injustice and suffering, yet you just forgot to mention this. Not even once. Not a peep. Zilchoroonie. Nada. Nillissimo. Nuffink. Weird, huh
But then, there's no Jews doing it, so I guess it's less important?
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
The sad thing for them is that before the war they were free to make tank and naval incursions into France on a regular basis, driving their SUVs up the champs Élysées and parking their super yachts in Cannes harbour.
Quite. Purveyors of handbags are no doubt still grieving, as well as praying to all that's holy that we don't get into a spat with China.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
That's written by a Times journalist not a Shadow Cabinet minister.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
The sad thing for them is that before the war they were free to make tank and naval incursions into France on a regular basis, driving their SUVs up the champs Élysées and parking their super yachts in Cannes harbour.
A certain poster here was horrified by the effect of the Ukraine War - apparently the mood in his favourite hotel was going to be miserable. Because so many people had lost their yachts to sanctions.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
It'll be fine! We have HMS Prince of Wales on standby.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
It'll be fine! We have HMS Prince of Wales on standby.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
They got rid of the Cones Hotline. So the Russian armour will be stuck in a contra-flow at some abandoned traffic works. For years.
Junction 10 of the M6.
Meant to be finished two years ago.
Final deadline was last August.
Still a coned-off shambles.
And I've not seen anyone actually working there for a good six months.
So the taking of Wednesbury might be not be as simple as Putin first thought.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
It'll be fine! We have HMS Prince of Wales on standby.
Don't you mean, we have the PoW and QE2 both on standby?
It may seem a laughable idea but the reality is that it is almost certain that the Conservatives would do better at the next GE with Cameron as leader than they would with anybody else.
How you arrange the mechanics I don't know. It would have to be along the lines of Sunak remaining PM until the GE, Cameron giving up his Peerage, Cameron fighting a safe seat at the GE on the basis he would then become leader post GE.
I guess technically he could become leader as soon as Parliament is dissolved because at that point there are no Conervative MPs and someone has to be leader if Rishi resigned as leader.
But I think it would be best for Rishi to remain PM until GE day to avoid charges of an unelected PM. But the Conservative Party would campaign on the basis that Cameron would take over the day after the GE.
It's a good idea, and I prefer Cameron to Sunak, but what's in it for Sunak? What backroom deal would he need to be offered to accept that?
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
Still, seven million, eh?
You are so exercised by injustice and suffering, yet you just forgot to mention this. Not even once. Not a peep. Zilchoroonie. Nada. Nillissimo. Nuffink. Weird, huh
But then, there's no Jews doing it, so I guess it's less important?
One dreads to think of your incontinence on the subject if you didn't find it eternally dull.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Yes. This is a catastrophe in itself, and a walking disaster for how the west, the Islamic world, African leaders, and its governments and media act. Sudan is a gigantic human rights disaster, ethnic cleansing disaster, refugee disaster and so on. Any reasonably objective news media (BBC) would give it billing alongside Ukraine and Gaza. The fact they don't illustrates the real bias of most of the world towards certain places and people.
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France: https://sudantribune.com/
It may seem a laughable idea but the reality is that it is almost certain that the Conservatives would do better at the next GE with Cameron as leader than they would with anybody else.
How you arrange the mechanics I don't know. It would have to be along the lines of Sunak remaining PM until the GE, Cameron giving up his Peerage, Cameron fighting a safe seat at the GE on the basis he would then become leader post GE.
I guess technically he could become leader as soon as Parliament is dissolved because at that point there are no Conervative MPs and someone has to be leader if Rishi resigned as leader.
But I think it would be best for Rishi to remain PM until GE day to avoid charges of an unelected PM. But the Conservative Party would campaign on the basis that Cameron would take over the day after the GE.
It's a good idea, and I prefer Cameron to Sunak, but what's in it for Sunak? What backroom deal would he need to be offered to accept that?
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Yes. This is a catastrophe in itself, and a walking disaster for how the west, the Islamic world, African leaders, and its governments and media act. Sudan is a gigantic human rights disaster, ethnic cleansing disaster, refugee disaster and so on. Any reasonably objective news media (BBC) would give it billing alongside Ukraine and Gaza. The fact they don't illustrates the real bias of most of the world towards certain places and people.
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France: https://sudantribune.com/
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Yes. This is a catastrophe in itself, and a walking disaster for how the west, the Islamic world, African leaders, and its governments and media act. Sudan is a gigantic human rights disaster, ethnic cleansing disaster, refugee disaster and so on. Any reasonably objective news media (BBC) would give it billing alongside Ukraine and Gaza. The fact they don't illustrates the real bias of most of the world towards certain places and people.
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France: https://sudantribune.com/
For me the discrepancy is, pretty much, proof positive that a large chunk of the "anguish" invoked by Gaza is, in fact, badly masked anti-Semitism
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
That's written by a Times journalist not a Shadow Cabinet minister.
Removing tax exemptions for the better off, building houses because middle class younger people can't currently afford them and requiring large businesses to obey the law is hardly SWP/Dave Spart is it? Sounds like centrist social democrats in dull action.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
It'll be fine! We have HMS Prince of Wales on standby.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
No. To make it quite clear: you are so one-eyed about Palestine that you support *any* action by *any* actor that might harm Israel or us. Including by other regimes that kill and maim in ways you should condemn.
The lives of the sailors on the ships don't matter. The lives of gay Yemenis don't matter; just as long as Israel is defeated.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
That’s different, his inherited house is exempt as it’s only nicer houses in nicer areas owned by people who are a bit richer that must be taken. Especially if they are Tories.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Yes. This is a catastrophe in itself, and a walking disaster for how the west, the Islamic world, African leaders, and its governments and media act. Sudan is a gigantic human rights disaster, ethnic cleansing disaster, refugee disaster and so on. Any reasonably objective news media (BBC) would give it billing alongside Ukraine and Gaza. The fact they don't illustrates the real bias of most of the world towards certain places and people.
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France: https://sudantribune.com/
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Yes. This is a catastrophe in itself, and a walking disaster for how the west, the Islamic world, African leaders, and its governments and media act. Sudan is a gigantic human rights disaster, ethnic cleansing disaster, refugee disaster and so on. Any reasonably objective news media (BBC) would give it billing alongside Ukraine and Gaza. The fact they don't illustrates the real bias of most of the world towards certain places and people.
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France: https://sudantribune.com/
For me the discrepancy is, pretty much, proof positive that a large chunk of the "anguish" invoked by Gaza is, in fact, badly masked anti-Semitism
It's a veiled way to vent Jew-hatred. That's it
Careful theuniondiv will make some arch comment bemoaning the killing of Hamas operatives posing as flower sellers in downtown Rafah.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
It worked out quite poorly in the Soviet Union. And Cambodia. And North Korea. And China. And indeed absolutely everywhere it's been tried without exception.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
That’s different, his inherited house is exempt as it’s only nicer houses in nicer areas owned by people who are a bit richer that must be taken. Especially if they are Tories.
Thank you for clearing that up. It's such a minefield it's good to have some definitive guidance.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
No. To make it quite clear: you are so one-eyed about Palestine that you support *any* action by *any* actor that might harm Israel or us. Including by other regimes that kill and maim in ways you should condemn.
The lives of the sailors on the ships don't matter. The lives of gay Yemenis don't matter; just as long as Israel is defeated.
Sure, believe what you want - I'll hold on my backs those lives, I'll leave with you the lives of almost 30,000 Palestinians, almost half of whom are children.
Bad people do good things sometimes, even for bad reasons. If this government recognised a state of Palestine, for example, I would be happy and would praise them. That would not be me endorsing every policy they have.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
No. To make it quite clear: you are so one-eyed about Palestine that you support *any* action by *any* actor that might harm Israel or us. Including by other regimes that kill and maim in ways you should condemn.
The lives of the sailors on the ships don't matter. The lives of gay Yemenis don't matter; just as long as Israel is defeated.
Sure, believe what you want - I'll hold on my backs those lives, I'll leave with you the lives of almost 30,000 Palestinians, almost half of whom are children.
Bad people do good things sometimes, even for bad reasons. If this government recognised a state of Palestine, for example, I would be happy and would praise them. That would not be me endorsing every policy they have.
That last line shows your issue: what the Houthis are doing with the shipping is *not* good for anyone. And you cheer them on.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
This must deserve a place on the rostrum in the pantheon of 'Weakest arguments combined with special pleading and conscience free verbiage 2024' contest.
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes' Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
Who supports one action that the Houthis took. Once again, there is a difference between saying "this one thing they did was good, actually" and "everything they do is good".
No. To make it quite clear: you are so one-eyed about Palestine that you support *any* action by *any* actor that might harm Israel or us. Including by other regimes that kill and maim in ways you should condemn.
The lives of the sailors on the ships don't matter. The lives of gay Yemenis don't matter; just as long as Israel is defeated.
Sure, believe what you want - I'll hold on my backs those lives, I'll leave with you the lives of almost 30,000 Palestinians, almost half of whom are children.
Bad people do good things sometimes, even for bad reasons. If this government recognised a state of Palestine, for example, I would be happy and would praise them. That would not be me endorsing every policy they have.
Are we absolutely sure about that half of whom are children line? The UN thinks not. I mean it will be a huge number which is hugely to be regretted but there was also the odd Hamas fighter in there also.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. (1) It will squeeze private schools and (2) spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. (3) It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. (4) It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
(1) Possibly, although we will see what happens when/if the fact they are pursuing a foolish policy which will have the opposite effect of the one intended hits home.
(2) Is already happening. Can literally see it from my windows.
(3) That would be tragic. How would we ever cope with a government actually holding the feet of a gang of criminals making 'mistakes' like that to the fire and actually forcing them to accept their obligations? I mean, how bloody dare they? It's as bad as the courts going after Donald Trump just because he breaks all those laws all the time.
(4) Well, it may. Just as Mogg can't hide his malicious pleasure as he does stupid stuff. Or Dorries as she lies about her actions. It's unfortunately what politicians do
And working class? Well, why not? Not as if the posh people from so-called elite schools and unis dominating our current system of government have been any good.
Time for @148grss to post his funny cartoon pointing out the absurdity of saying just because I think people should give their inherited houses away doesn't mean I should give my inherited house away.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
I mean, the richest 10% of households in the UK hold 43% of the wealth, whereas the bottom 50% have 9% of the wealth. So I would argue whatever makes that figure more proportional would be great. Reminder - wealth is not the same thing as income. Now, if we did this policy starting at the top and working our way down (starting with the wealthiest person we could find and hiving off wealth for the public good until they're left with a still ridiculous amount of money) and we still start hitting people who have very few liquid assets and only have their house as wealth, we can talk about where the line should be and how to manage that. But, to begin with, let's have a crack at the wealth redistribution first.
David 'two dead brains' Willetts contemplates ways of losing the Conservatives support among GenX:
But at the moment you can access your pension pot with no penalty above the age of 54. That is a lot younger than the state pension/retirement age in France or Germany and means older workers with generous defined benefit pensions can leave the workforce early. The Government is already raising this age to 57 but it will still be ten years younger than the state pension age. Why not move to a model where it is state pension age minus five years instead?
We could also be bolder on the state pension age. We have got ourselves trapped in the assumption that the only thing that matters here is life expectancy and so pension age should be set by a formula of RIP minus X years. But many other factors can be taken into account in setting the pension age such as the costs of the pension and the budgetary pressures presented by the aging of the big cohort of Baby Boomers. So increasing the pension age is a legitimate tool of policy in these circumstances.
OK, I'm going to say it: I find the whole Israel/Gaza/Palestine thing deeply deeply boring and I'm not sure I care.
Next.
Almost 13,000 dead kids - *yawns* One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
You want to talk numbers?
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Does my government actively support and sell weapons to the aggressors in Sudan? Is my government, in my name, running cover for the atrocities happening in Sudan? Is my government actively defending a genocide in Sudan? No. So why would we need to march - there is no policy change we need to demand. I have talked about it, although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family (as I talk about many things outside of this forum) - but it is something where the power of the state is already doing what it will in roughly the right direction (even if like me you are inherently distrustful of our state's motives for doing so).
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
This must deserve a place on the rostrum in the pantheon of 'Weakest arguments combined with special pleading and conscience free verbiage 2024' contest.
I particularly like
"I have talked about it [Sudan], although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family"
Yes, of course you have, you've banged on about Sudan endlessly with "other peace activists". And you've probably bored your poor family to death with your agonised tears over the displaced of Darfur. Just, er, not on here
Meanwhile the displaced number has actually grown. TEN million
Time for @148grss to post his funny cartoon pointing out the absurdity of saying just because I think people should give their inherited houses away doesn't mean I should give my inherited house away.
I will happily pay taxes when I inherit things (the mortgageless house I mentioned previously is still in my dad's name, I just happen to be the one who lives in it). I would also be more than happy, if we lived in a system where it happened to everyone, to abolish the idea of inheritance. These things only make sense when done at a societal level, the act devoid of that context isn't inherently moral - it is the understanding that wealth gets redistributed to those who most need it from those who least need it that is important.
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
The latest remarks that have come to light are that he said Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Obviously Labour thinks that even saying that is unacceptable!
I think we just have to accept that all criticism of Israel is a thought crime in Britain. If the Israelis want to kill another 12000 Gazan children who are we to question them?
I think we just have to be very careful what we say on the subject, and to whom, because a lot of people are very touchy about it and desperate to portray their side as victims and the other side as monsters.
Both sides have victims, and both sides have monsters. That's why it's so difficult to speak about without upsetting people.
In comparison, the Ukraine war is exceedingly simple morally: Russia is in the wrong, and Ukraine is in the right.
It's more than that with Ukraine, JJ.
We have a dog in the fight. If Ukraine goes, where next? We stop Putin now, we save ourselves a lot of problems later. That is all very simple.
Indeed. I doubt Putin will stop at Calais because of all the hassle to complete post-Brexit paperwork.
IIRC T-55s have issues at certain speeds. Something to do with the way the gearbox is set up. So, if he tries to invade the UK with his old rust pile, the 20mph zones may prove a problem.
As the Russian tanks grind to a halt at Monmouth because of the 20 mph limits at the Monnow Bridge that's a relief for me here in Wales, but you are still all f***** in England.
We'll remove all the road signs. That will stop them in their tracks.
As many have pointed out, given the difficulty they seem to have had taking Kiev, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Russia will be driving tanks up the Champs Elysee any time soon. And if they were, it's debatable whether it would be our job to do some kind of British Expeditionary Force of the 21st century to stop them.
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
It'll be fine! We have HMS Prince of Wales on standby.
Namesake sunk by the Japs in 1941
At least if it remains tied up at Rosyth it will avoid that fate.
After all you wouldn't take your vintage Ferrari out in the rain.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
It worked out quite poorly in the Soviet Union. And Cambodia. And North Korea. And China. And indeed absolutely everywhere it's been tried without exception.
But those weren't Real Communism. If we do it right, *this time*....
Good morning from Aberdeen airport. Could I please offer my congratulations to @NickPalmer ? His attempted smear of the Liberal Democrat’s over Cyril Smith in response to his own candidate being thrown out in disgrace was quality entertainment.
It’s pretty clear in this by election. We have a choice of disgraced former Labour candidates - Ali, Galloway, Danczuk. We have a disgraced party - the Tories. Or we have the LibDems.
We know that people want to Get The Tories Out. Happily in Rochdale they don’t have a chance. Plenty of people also seem to want to vote for foaming dog fever. If you want to stop both, vote LibDem.
On this topic; ages ago I argued that Labour were going to get such a stonking majority, that they would be inundated with new, untested MPs. And therefore there might be more examples of (ahem) 'poor' MPs, such as the ex-member for Sheffield Hallam (and I don't mean Clegg...).
It seems this is coming true much earlier than I expected. There's something rotten in the way Labour chooses candidates. The same might be true for the other parties, as well.
I’ve been a candidate. I’ve interviewed candidates. I’ve discussed candidates with regional office staff. I cannot understand how they managed to miss this.
Worst thing is that it would appear that at least some local party members had heard the comments - and voted for Ali anyway. Which means the CLP needs suspending. This wasn’t an HQ parachute candidate, the CLP actively chose him.
What have they actually missed though. The only thing the mail on Sunday came up with are remarks the Israeli government allowed the Hamas attack so they could have the war they wanted - not the most blisteringly anti semitic of statements, unless you disagree?
What is vaguely interesting is the reaction from the Jewish press was quite restrained. It was the Mail on Sunday that made the running on this.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
I mean, the richest 10% of households in the UK hold 43% of the wealth, whereas the bottom 50% have 9% of the wealth. So I would argue whatever makes that figure more proportional would be great. Reminder - wealth is not the same thing as income. Now, if we did this policy starting at the top and working our way down (starting with the wealthiest person we could find and hiving off wealth for the public good until they're left with a still ridiculous amount of money) and we still start hitting people who have very few liquid assets and only have their house as wealth, we can talk about where the line should be and how to manage that. But, to begin with, let's have a crack at the wealth redistribution first.
Brilliant. So confiscate their shareholdings, as a lot of the top 10% wealth is in shares of public and private companies. Nothing can go wrong except those shares crashing, companies folding, pensions being gutted and nobody wanting to set up a company in the UK.
Then we take their land holdings. Again not a problem as nobody just below that line will think, “hang on they might come for us next so let’s sell”, leaving land prices crashing and huge swathes empty that people cannot build houses on because the housebuilding companies have collapsed due to the asset confiscations, and there are no farmers because they can’t see the point of working all hours for a pittance because their land might just get taken.
But at least we confiscate the expensive houses and we can give them to people who can’t actually afford to live in them because the upkeep is huge and all the tradesmen have gone bust because there aren’t any wealthy people to pay them to upkeep the really expensive houses. And we can’t sell them to foreigners and use the tax receipts to incpvest in the country because foreigners saw the asset seizures and won’t touch the UK with a barge pole.
But as long as they don’t get down to the level of mortgage free university tutors it’s all heart warming and good for the soul as well as the country.
Euch, working class people with political power, how awful.
The final paragraph is instructive, though, in that it seems to be gleefully anticipating a bit of class war.
That's not healthy. If it does this then it might entrench division. I can't see anything that would promote a more rapid recovery of the Tories in their base than this. And that's almost regardless of who they select as LoTO:
"The first working-class government in decades will speak that language. It will also be chippy. It will squeeze private schools and spray concrete newbuild homes all over the shires. It will go after companies who make the same mistakes as P&O. It may struggle to hide the pleasure it takes in doing so."
What if class war, against the rich, is good actually? Like - taking their stuff, because they have an over abundance of it, and giving said stuff to people who don't have stuff, and actively need more stuff to live and such - is good. That is a good thing to do. Especially since many of the people who have lots of stuff - have it for no good reason. Like they inherited it, or managed to hide it in a tax haven, or they got lucky and invested in something at the right time and place.
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
Sounds great. Can you please define "rich". Does it include those who own their homes mortgage-free?
I mean, the richest 10% of households in the UK hold 43% of the wealth, whereas the bottom 50% have 9% of the wealth. So I would argue whatever makes that figure more proportional would be great. Reminder - wealth is not the same thing as income. Now, if we did this policy starting at the top and working our way down (starting with the wealthiest person we could find and hiving off wealth for the public good until they're left with a still ridiculous amount of money) and we still start hitting people who have very few liquid assets and only have their house as wealth, we can talk about where the line should be and how to manage that. But, to begin with, let's have a crack at the wealth redistribution first.
A CLARIFICATION:
Whereas I previously said that taking stuff from people, for example if they inherited it, and giving it to people who need it was a good thing, I now realise that this was a gross oversimplification of the situation and what I actually meant was we need to segment the country such that I am not in the segment which has to give stuff away.
If we do get a Labour government - still an if as far as I am concerned - it will be on the back of votes from the under-60s. A government elected by working people. That, not class, is what will matter.
Comments
The weather would tend to favour the Democrat, given their advantage in early voting.
The class system was the stuff of history books and a "Frost Report" sketch until austerity. If an equalisation means better schools, diet and healthcare for the majority of the nation's children, the eradication AGAIN of Victorian childhood diseases like rickets, scurvy and tooth decay bring it on.
The plurality of Infosys making hay with burgeoning government contracts whilst schoolchildren are down to one meal a day and school buildings are crumbling is not the look of a fair and equitable society. No wonder the peasants are revolting.
Team Starmer, by the way, doesn't look like the answer and I doubt it will be anything like as ambitious as the hack suggests.
For me, the LRB doesn't quite make it.
Mr. Eagles, someone born when that article was written will be able to vote next year.
"A Houthi-run court in Yemen has sentenced 13 people to executed, on charges relating to homosexuality, a judicial court confirmed this week."
https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/02/08/houthi-rebels-death-penalty-homosexuality-charges/
"Yemen: Huthi authorities sentence seven to stoning and two to crucifixion for homosexual 'crimes'
Separately, 13 students sentenced to death for ‘spreading homosexuality’"
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/yemen-huthi-authorities-sentence-seven-stoning-and-two-crucifixion-homosexual-crimes
Went downhill when they kept bringing back that clichéd combover Bibi.
Modern pop music is rubbish: and it is scientifically proven
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-official-modern-music-is-bad/
Now if you are trying to compare She's Lost Control with Shake it Off I think we possibly have a category error.
One old man with sausage fingers gets bum cancer - hold my beer!
Most moral monarchist in the world!
£203.85 a week isn't wealth.
Starmer would have to outdo GE2024 in GE2028/29.
(Not my joke. Made by a PBer a couple of days ago. Redolent of the "as rich as creases" glory days of PB.)
Interesting to know that Gazans appreciate that it is indeed a war.
"More than 7 million displaced by Sudan fighting as safe zones shrink
More than seven million people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan, the United Nations said on Thursday as more displaced people continued to flee a former safe haven."
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20231222-more-than-7-million-displaced-by-sudan-fighting-as-safe-zones-shrink
SEVEN MILLION
And yet not a peep from the likes of you about Sudan. Nothing. Nothing at all. What is it about the Israel-Gaza conflict that so exercises you, whereas stuff in Africa, on an epically greater scale, makes you yawn?
i mean, what could it be? Why isn't Azhar Ali going on about Sudan in Rochdale? Why aren't there marches in London? What a mystery
Though that might make them look more like Cyrillic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Yemen#LGBT_rights
We need a strong navy, with masses of drones, firstly to protect our land, secondly to try to keep trading routes open, thirdly to help supply our allies and blockade naughty people. That's all we need to do, and it's a lot more than most do.
Why was South Africa such a target for outrage by many people - it certainly wasn't the most oppressive government at the time. It was because the obvious injustice and horrors that were being committed were being committed with the support of people we are supposed to be able to have influence over because they represent us. The same goes for Israel.
Meant to be finished two years ago.
Final deadline was last August.
Still a coned-off shambles.
And I've not seen anyone actually working there for a good six months.
You are so exercised by injustice and suffering, yet you just forgot to mention this. Not even once. Not a peep. Zilchoroonie. Nada. Nillissimo. Nuffink. Weird, huh
But then, there's no Jews doing it, so I guess it's less important?
#OligarchsFeelingsMatter
What backroom deal would he need to be offered to accept that?
Al Jazeera covers it more than most, and the best source I know of is based in France:
https://sudantribune.com/
Dealing with the average persons material reality - that life is shit and getting shitter - and making life less shit might be popular.
It's a veiled way to vent Jew-hatred. That's it
The lives of the sailors on the ships don't matter. The lives of gay Yemenis don't matter; just as long as Israel is defeated.
Bad people do good things sometimes, even for bad reasons. If this government recognised a state of Palestine, for example, I would be happy and would praise them. That would not be me endorsing every policy they have.
(2) Is already happening. Can literally see it from my windows.
(3) That would be tragic. How would we ever cope with a government actually holding the feet of a gang of criminals making 'mistakes' like that to the fire and actually forcing them to accept their obligations? I mean, how bloody dare they? It's as bad as the courts going after Donald Trump just because he breaks all those laws all the time.
(4) Well, it may. Just as Mogg can't hide his malicious pleasure as he does stupid stuff. Or Dorries as she lies about her actions. It's unfortunately what politicians do
And working class? Well, why not? Not as if the posh people from so-called elite schools and unis dominating our current system of government have been any good.
But at the moment you can access your pension pot with no penalty above the age of 54. That is a lot younger than the state pension/retirement age in France or Germany and means older workers with generous defined benefit pensions can leave the workforce early. The Government is already raising this age to 57 but it will still be ten years younger than the state pension age. Why not move to a model where it is state pension age minus five years instead?
We could also be bolder on the state pension age. We have got ourselves trapped in the assumption that the only thing that matters here is life expectancy and so pension age should be set by a formula of RIP minus X years. But many other factors can be taken into account in setting the pension age such as the costs of the pension and the budgetary pressures presented by the aging of the big cohort of Baby Boomers. So increasing the pension age is a legitimate tool of policy in these circumstances.
https://conservativehome.com/2024/02/13/david-willetts-where-have-all-the-workers-gone/
I'm not sure millions of people would be happy to work longer than they want just to increase GDP and reduce the pay of those younger than themselves.
"I have talked about it [Sudan], although not here, with other peace activists, friends and family"
Yes, of course you have, you've banged on about Sudan endlessly with "other peace activists". And you've probably bored your poor family to death with your agonised tears over the displaced of Darfur. Just, er, not on here
Meanwhile the displaced number has actually grown. TEN million
https://www.france24.com/en/video/20240212-more-than-10-million-displaced-by-sudan-conflict-says-unicef
Show all due deference you pleb.
After all you wouldn't take your vintage Ferrari out in the rain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Cameron
Then we take their land holdings. Again not a problem as nobody just below that line will think, “hang on they might come for us next so let’s sell”, leaving land prices crashing and huge swathes empty that people cannot build houses on because the housebuilding companies have collapsed due to the asset confiscations, and there are no farmers because they can’t see the point of working all hours for a pittance because their land might just get taken.
But at least we confiscate the expensive houses and we can give them to people who can’t actually afford to live in them because the upkeep is huge and all the tradesmen have gone bust because there aren’t any wealthy people to pay them to upkeep the really expensive houses. And we can’t sell them to foreigners and use the tax receipts to incpvest in the country because foreigners saw the asset seizures and won’t touch the UK with a barge pole.
But as long as they don’t get down to the level of mortgage free university tutors it’s all heart warming and good for the soul as well as the country.
(To be fair, I don't know of any personally dodgy dealings involving Carmen Smith.)
Whereas I previously said that taking stuff from people, for example if they inherited it, and giving it to people who need it was a good thing, I now realise that this was a gross oversimplification of the situation and what I actually meant was we need to segment the country such that I am not in the segment which has to give stuff away.