One day there will be something like this for me. A great Sepulchre of the Flint Knapper
Silent and pensive. Grandiose yet tranquil
People will quietly pace the gravelled precincts, thinking of my work, my writings, my great endeavours, perhaps consoling themselves that I may be dead, yet somehow I scorned death
An avenue of exotic trees will be hung with flags, barely shifting in the sunlit breeze, denoting all the countries where I spanked a hooker
This tweet is causing quite a bit if anger on twitter.
Its from Nazir Afzal.
With @vaughangething becoming First Minister of Wales (congrats BTW) & @HumzaYousaf First Minister Scotland & Rishi Sunak PM & Michelle O’Neill as First Minister NI, there are now no white men leading the countries of the United Kingdom Representation matters, actions matter more 10:45 AM · Mar 16, 2024 · 216.1K Views
EXCL: Latest on the plot to replace Rihsi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt
Rebel plan to hold a Tory "papal conclave" to anoint next PM
They want to oust Rishi & lock Tory MPs in a room & not let them out til there is white smoke
Would be over in an afternoon
Starvation would take longer than an afternoon.
Meanwhile, in "there's no flipping way there could be a May election" news from Tim Shipman,
Insiders are clear that the party is not ready for a vote. There is no manifesto, for one thing. “The meetings with secretaries of state only began last week,” a source said. “They’re still just casting around for ideas.”
The AI I currently use at work can get me to a 65% ok first draft in about 2 minutes, as opposed to 2 hours.
But, it does require me to feed it the key points & prompts, and then edit and correct the draft.
It's not a mindreader.
So does it actually save you time and/or other resources (such as your nerves) compared to just pounding it out?
Certainly the advent of the "word processor" increased my personal productivity AND preserved (a wee bit of) my sanity, compared with typewriters no matter how fancy.
Yeah, a bit. Sometimes I think: I want to write an article and make these five points. So it saves me doing all the boring drafting.
It doesn't save you thinking about the five points.
In about 2-4 years it will do all that. GPT6 or 7 or so
And then your job is gone
This is not personal, this is something we must all face, artists very much included
You think everyone's job will be gone.
This is utterly ludicrous, for obvious reasons.
Some people's jobs maybe...
ChatGPT 3.5
User Write a short travel piece on Colombia and Simon Bolivar in the style of Sean Thomas of The Spectator
ChatGPT Colombia: A Journey Through Bolivar's Land
In the sultry embrace of Colombia's vibrant cities and lush landscapes, one cannot escape the palpable spirit of Simon Bolivar, the liberator whose vision shaped a nation. As I wandered through Bogotá's cobbled streets, I found myself enraptured by the echoes of history that reverberate through its colonial facades.
From the bustling plazas to the tranquil retreats of Cartagena, Colombia's tapestry of contrasts bewitches the senses. Here, amidst the rhythmic pulse of salsa and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, one can't help but feel the pulse of a nation steeped in resilience.
Venturing into the verdant valleys of Boyacá, where Bolivar's army once triumphed against tyranny, I couldn't shake the sense of awe at the landscapes that bore witness to his valiant struggle. Each step felt like a pilgrimage through the annals of Colombian history, where the legacy of El Libertador lives on in the hearts of its people.
As I stood atop the majestic peaks of the Andes, gazing out over a land of untold beauty and boundless potential, I couldn't help but reflect on Bolivar's unwavering determination to forge a nation united in liberty and justice. In Colombia, his spirit endures, a beacon of hope amidst the tumult of the modern world.
So, as the sun sets over the Caribbean coast, casting its golden hues upon the tranquil shores of Santa Marta, I find solace in the enduring legacy of Simon Bolivar. For in Colombia, his legacy is not merely confined to the pages of history but is woven into the very fabric of a nation's identity, a testament to the enduring power of vision and sacrifice.
Whatever happened to "Feather-footed through the plashy fen..."
... passes the questing vole?
And does Leon go to Harrods to collect his cleft sticks?
Foreign correspondents aren't what they used to be.
"Before either had spoken, the General sized William up; in any other department, he would have been recognised as a sucker; here, among the trappings of high adventure, he was, more gallantly, a greenhorn.
‘Your first visit to Ishmaelia, eh? Then perhaps I can be of some help to you. As no doubt you know, I was there in ’97 with poor “Sprat” Larkin…’.
‘I want some cleft sticks, please’, said William firmly.
The General’s manner changed abruptly. His leg had been pulled before, often. Only last week there had been an idiotic young fellow dressed up as a missionary…
‘What the devil for?’ he asked tartly.
‘Oh, just for my dispatches, you know.’
It was with exactly such an expression of simplicity that the joker had asked for a tiffin gun, a set of chota pegs and a chota mallet. ‘Miss Barton will see to you,’ he said, and turning on his heel began to inspect a newly-arrived consignment of rhinocerous hide whips in a menacing way.
Miss Barton was easier to deal with. ‘We can have some cloven for you,’ she said brightly. ‘If you will make your selection I will send them down to our cleaver.’"
This tweet is causing quite a bit if anger on twitter.
Its from Nazir Afzal.
With @vaughangething becoming First Minister of Wales (congrats BTW) & @HumzaYousaf First Minister Scotland & Rishi Sunak PM & Michelle O’Neill as First Minister NI, there are now no white men leading the countries of the United Kingdom Representation matters, actions matter more 10:45 AM · Mar 16, 2024 · 216.1K Views
This tweet is causing quite a bit if anger on twitter.
Its from Nazir Afzal.
With @vaughangething becoming First Minister of Wales (congrats BTW) & @HumzaYousaf First Minister Scotland & Rishi Sunak PM & Michelle O’Neill as First Minister NI, there are now no white men leading the countries of the United Kingdom Representation matters, actions matter more 10:45 AM · Mar 16, 2024 · 216.1K Views
🚨 The HuffPost UK weekend political read on why Tory MPs believe Rishi Sunak is “certain” to face a leadership challenge in weeks.
One said: “This feels like the week where it’s started to fall apart completely.”
Even if he did he would win it easily
if true or not that ignores how much weaker he would be comfortably winning after even just a100 MPs, voting to put him out and get Penny in.
There isn’t a “it can’t get worse argument” so might as well carry on with PM polling as bad as it got under Truss and PM polling shows is as despised as Boris and Corbyn - even if a VONC showing just a third of MPs want Sunak out and the Tory’s split and infighting doesn’t send them lower in polls, it can still be harming the swingback they need before General Election.
Improvement threatened is what’s this about.
It’s like F1 qualifying where in drop zone with one lap left to get out of trouble, so you need a blemish free last lap to get out of trouble - last thing you need is a VONC half way round!
In the Lord Ashcroft poll, 2019 Tories have Boris in second place behind Penny Mourdant. It doesn’t really matter that Labour and Lib Dem voters hate (fear?) other potential Tory leaders less
What do you make of Patel and Badenoch, Isam?
I don’t know a lot about Badenoch really. I used to quite like Patel. To be honest I don’t follow politics as obsessively as I used to, hence my only real opinion is the Tories made a mistake getting rid of Boris.
I listened to a good interview with Suella Braverman the other day. Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast, but that was from 2019 - she came across really well, and the hate she gets from people I disagree with on almost everything means I’d prob quite like her as PM.
I just wish Sir Keir wasn’t Labour leader, then I could happily take no interest in who wins
Both Patel and Braverman have a massive authoritarian streak and are not afraid to go way beyond what is either necessary or decent to get their way. Neither of them deserve to be anywhere near power.
Badenoch has not shown that streak in my mind as yet so I am willing to consider her. I don't see Mordant as being anywhere near as 'woke' as some like to claim. She strikes me as being far more of a 'live and let live' sort of politician unemcumbered by the bigotries of too many others in herparty.
Apart from the Post Office handling, this was the red flag for me about Badenoch.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week....
...Some of DeSantis’s views would be considered far outside mainstream UK politics – he recently signed a law to ban abortion in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy, for example.
So-called parental rights legislation passed under his governorship has also led to the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries in the state.
DeSantis insists only books that are “pornographic, violent or inappropriate” have been banned, but some school districts have responded to the new laws by removing books including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume’s Forever from circulation.
People will regret DeSantis not succeeding, when Trump wins the presidency later this year (as seems likely)
Assuming Trump isn't convicted and jailed in his criminal cases by November of course, handing Biden re election on a plate.
If he is, then DeSantis, having ruled out being Trump's VP nominee today, will likely battle it out with Haley for the 2028 GOP nomination
If Trump gets jailed then surely there is a high risk of civil war?
Certainly ups the risk of some reddit users who live off supplements and protein shakes being mown down by Apache attack helicopters, if that's what you mean?
The great irony of the MoS's headline is that if they weren't so determined to have killed her chances, we could have had Penny Mordaunt PM replacing Boris.
Some findings: "In 2022, there were 5.1 million foreign-born Black Americans, about 11% of the U.S. Black population. This is an increase from 2000, when 2.4 million people, or 7%, among the Black population were foreign born."
"The U.S. Black population is young. The median age of Black people in 2022 was 32.1 years, nearly six years younger than the U.S. population’s median age of 38.0."
"Among Black U.S. households in 2022, 49% earned less than $50,000, while 51% made $50,000 or more. A third of Black households (34%) earned $75,000 or more, including 22% that made $100,000 or more." (Not sure how that compares to the UK, since I can't recall the exchange rate.)
"About a sixth of married Black adults (17%) are married to someone who is not Black. This includes 21% of married Black men and 13% of married Black women."
🚨 The HuffPost UK weekend political read on why Tory MPs believe Rishi Sunak is “certain” to face a leadership challenge in weeks.
One said: “This feels like the week where it’s started to fall apart completely.”
Even if he did he would win it easily
Boris Johnson and Theresa May won their VONCs and were gone within weeks.
Not this close to a GE
Irrelevant.
We changed Prime Ministers during both World Wars, changing a PM a few months before an election is no biggie.
It is when you have already done it twice
We changed PMs twice during WWII.
I think we should change PM. For the lols.
Also, the more time the Tories spend sticking daggers into each other and getting excited over leadership elections, the less time they have to pass policies that will do irrevocable damage to the UK. So purely from a defensive securing-the-motherland perspective, bring it on.
The great irony of the MoS's headline is that if they weren't so determined to have killed her chances, we could have had Penny Mordaunt PM replacing Boris.
I think just a couple of votes difference and it would have been Sunak vs Mordaunt in the election.
In the Lord Ashcroft poll, 2019 Tories have Boris in second place behind Penny Mourdant. It doesn’t really matter that Labour and Lib Dem voters hate (fear?) other potential Tory leaders less
What do you make of Patel and Badenoch, Isam?
I don’t know a lot about Badenoch really. I used to quite like Patel. To be honest I don’t follow politics as obsessively as I used to, hence my only real opinion is the Tories made a mistake getting rid of Boris.
I listened to a good interview with Suella Braverman the other day. Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast, but that was from 2019 - she came across really well, and the hate she gets from people I disagree with on almost everything means I’d prob quite like her as PM.
I just wish Sir Keir wasn’t Labour leader, then I could happily take no interest in who wins
Both Patel and Braverman have a massive authoritarian streak and are not afraid to go way beyond what is either necessary or decent to get their way. Neither of them deserve to be anywhere near power.
Badenoch has not shown that streak in my mind as yet so I am willing to consider her. I don't see Mordant as being anywhere near as 'woke' as some like to claim. She strikes me as being far more of a 'live and let live' sort of politician unemcumbered by the bigotries of too many others in herparty.
Apart from the Post Office handling, this was the red flag for me about Badenoch.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week....
...Some of DeSantis’s views would be considered far outside mainstream UK politics – he recently signed a law to ban abortion in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy, for example.
So-called parental rights legislation passed under his governorship has also led to the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries in the state.
DeSantis insists only books that are “pornographic, violent or inappropriate” have been banned, but some school districts have responded to the new laws by removing books including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume’s Forever from circulation.
People will regret DeSantis not succeeding, when Trump wins the presidency later this year (as seems likely)
Assuming Trump isn't convicted and jailed in his criminal cases by November of course, handing Biden re election on a plate.
If he is, then DeSantis, having ruled out being Trump's VP nominee today, will likely battle it out with Haley for the 2028 GOP nomination
If Trump gets jailed then surely there is a high risk of civil war?
Certainly ups the risk of some reddit users who live off supplements and protein shakes being mown down by Apache attack helicopters, if that's what you mean?
I consulted Reddit this afternoon on the vexed question of why IKEA doesn’t sell duvets or covers that fit a superking bed, despite displaying 2 singles joined together into a superking in their bed section.
Some findings: "In 2022, there were 5.1 million foreign-born Black Americans, about 11% of the U.S. Black population. This is an increase from 2000, when 2.4 million people, or 7%, among the Black population were foreign born."
"The U.S. Black population is young. The median age of Black people in 2022 was 32.1 years, nearly six years younger than the U.S. population’s median age of 38.0."
"Among Black U.S. households in 2022, 49% earned less than $50,000, while 51% made $50,000 or more. A third of Black households (34%) earned $75,000 or more, including 22% that made $100,000 or more." (Not sure how that compares to the UK, since I can't recall the exchange rate.)
"About a sixth of married Black adults (17%) are married to someone who is not Black. This includes 21% of married Black men and 13% of married Black women."
USD 100k is GBP 65k in equivalent purchasing power parity terms.
Pleasing gastronomic results this evening. I aimed to make an authentic Georgian dinner with Khinkali and Adjaran kachapuri, and the results were authentic enough for my daughter to say it’s just like when we were in Georgia.
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
Is *anyone* on this Board planning to vote Tory at the next election?
Chortle.
Loads of people on here will vote Tory.
I'll probably vote Tory, as I don't want Starmer reversing the coming Sunak curbs on immigration.
I would never vote Reform under Farage though, given that he is another one of Putin's cucks. Tice at least defends the West against its enemies.
I might vote Tory. Not with any enthusiasm. But if it is - as it appears to be - a straight choice between Tory or Labour then - to simplify wildly - for me, everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger. And the Lib Dems wronger still.
Not that it'll make the slightest difference in Wythenshawe and Sale East.
He has the option to move on with dignity. His plotters briefed ruthlessly and constantly about Truss - well it turns out you lose things how you got them.
Is *anyone* on this Board planning to vote Tory at the next election?
Chortle.
Loads of people on here will vote Tory.
I'll probably vote Tory, as I don't want Starmer reversing the coming Sunak curbs on immigration.
I would never vote Reform under Farage though, given that he is another one of Putin's cucks. Tice at least defends the West against its enemies.
The Tories have smashed up net migration rates. So you're going to vote Tory to stop Starmer smashing up the net migration rates.
Yup.
It’s things like this that explain the bizarre residual VI for conservative in opinion polls.
Some people vote tribally and will do all they can to find excuses to vote for 'their' party no matter how dire that party has been performing. Same for Labour at times.
The great irony of the MoS's headline is that if they weren't so determined to have killed her chances, we could have had Penny Mordaunt PM replacing Boris.
I think just a couple of votes difference and it would have been Sunak vs Mordaunt in the election.
How much buyers' remorse amongst Tory MPs who basically fucked up their Party by their leadership voting choices?
In the Lord Ashcroft poll, 2019 Tories have Boris in second place behind Penny Mourdant. It doesn’t really matter that Labour and Lib Dem voters hate (fear?) other potential Tory leaders less
What do you make of Patel and Badenoch, Isam?
I don’t know a lot about Badenoch really. I used to quite like Patel. To be honest I don’t follow politics as obsessively as I used to, hence my only real opinion is the Tories made a mistake getting rid of Boris.
I listened to a good interview with Suella Braverman the other day. Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast, but that was from 2019 - she came across really well, and the hate she gets from people I disagree with on almost everything means I’d prob quite like her as PM.
I just wish Sir Keir wasn’t Labour leader, then I could happily take no interest in who wins
Both Patel and Braverman have a massive authoritarian streak and are not afraid to go way beyond what is either necessary or decent to get their way. Neither of them deserve to be anywhere near power.
Badenoch has not shown that streak in my mind as yet so I am willing to consider her. I don't see Mordant as being anywhere near as 'woke' as some like to claim. She strikes me as being far more of a 'live and let live' sort of politician unemcumbered by the bigotries of too many others in herparty.
Apart from the Post Office handling, this was the red flag for me about Badenoch.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week....
...Some of DeSantis’s views would be considered far outside mainstream UK politics – he recently signed a law to ban abortion in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy, for example.
So-called parental rights legislation passed under his governorship has also led to the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries in the state.
DeSantis insists only books that are “pornographic, violent or inappropriate” have been banned, but some school districts have responded to the new laws by removing books including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume’s Forever from circulation.
People will regret DeSantis not succeeding, when Trump wins the presidency later this year (as seems likely)
Assuming Trump isn't convicted and jailed in his criminal cases by November of course, handing Biden re election on a plate.
If he is, then DeSantis, having ruled out being Trump's VP nominee today, will likely battle it out with Haley for the 2028 GOP nomination
If Trump gets jailed then surely there is a high risk of civil war?
Certainly ups the risk of some reddit users who live off supplements and protein shakes being mown down by Apache attack helicopters, if that's what you mean?
I consulted Reddit this afternoon on the vexed question of why IKEA doesn’t sell duvets or covers that fit a superking bed, despite displaying 2 singles joined together into a superking in their bed section.
But their widest duvet is 240cm. Bastards.
The psychological and indeed psychiatric underpinning of IKEA is profoundly subtle but there is no doubt that it is designed to drive their customers insane.
Goodness me Boris Johnson was a terrible PM. Really, really bad. Quite possibly the worst of of all time, shame on the Tories for ever putting him in Number Ten.
I wonder which paper has better sources in the Tory Party...
Two things that are probably both true: 1 The plot is on. 2 The plot is ridiculous.
Most likely outcome is that the VONC is bad enough to wound Sunak without toppling him (100, maybe 120 against).
May limped on for six months after a similar disastrous win, which takes Sunak safely close to a late election.
No particular insight or information, but the Conservatives are clearly in the "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" zone
“ The plot is ridiculous.‘
What’s ridiculous about exchanging a crap General Election result for a better one?
Another swap out doesn’t come without cost, but the cost is more than matched by the electorates delight the hated Sunak is removed. The fact the well liked Penny replaces him only adds to the poll bounce.
I’m 100% sure, Labour don’t want the Sunak to Penny swan event.
🚨 The HuffPost UK weekend political read on why Tory MPs believe Rishi Sunak is “certain” to face a leadership challenge in weeks.
One said: “This feels like the week where it’s started to fall apart completely.”
Even if he did he would win it easily
Boris Johnson and Theresa May won their VONCs and were gone within weeks.
Not this close to a GE
Irrelevant.
We changed Prime Ministers during both World Wars, changing a PM a few months before an election is no biggie.
It is when you have already done it twice
We changed PMs twice during WWII.
I think we should change PM. For the lols.
Also, the more time the Tories spend sticking daggers into each other and getting excited over leadership elections, the less time they have to pass policies that will do irrevocable damage to the UK. So purely from a defensive securing-the-motherland perspective, bring it on.
For proper lols the Tories should change PM every two weeks before the election, give everyone a go, so that when Labour win the public are going to be seriously fucking bored of Starmer after a couple of months and wanting a change. The Tories can recondition the public to think of PMs like a reality tv contestant. Fun fun fun.
Is *anyone* on this Board planning to vote Tory at the next election?
Chortle.
Loads of people on here will vote Tory.
I'll probably vote Tory, as I don't want Starmer reversing the coming Sunak curbs on immigration.
I would never vote Reform under Farage though, given that he is another one of Putin's cucks. Tice at least defends the West against its enemies.
I might vote Tory. Not with any enthusiasm. But if it is - as it appears to be - a straight choice between Tory or Labour then - to simplify wildly - for me, everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger. And the Lib Dems wronger still.
Not that it'll make the slightest difference in Wythenshawe and Sale East.
If the Tories change PM again, Labour will surely jump on the attack line that you have no idea who you're voting for with the Conservatives. It could be [Morduant] that you vote for but it's [Jacob Rees Mogg] that you'll get within 12 months.
Replacing PM once in a parliament is something that happens. Replacing a second was clearly necessary under the circumstances but has lost a lot of Truss(t). Replacing a third starts to look like a game of musical chairs.
In the Lord Ashcroft poll, 2019 Tories have Boris in second place behind Penny Mourdant. It doesn’t really matter that Labour and Lib Dem voters hate (fear?) other potential Tory leaders less
What do you make of Patel and Badenoch, Isam?
I don’t know a lot about Badenoch really. I used to quite like Patel. To be honest I don’t follow politics as obsessively as I used to, hence my only real opinion is the Tories made a mistake getting rid of Boris.
I listened to a good interview with Suella Braverman the other day. Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast, but that was from 2019 - she came across really well, and the hate she gets from people I disagree with on almost everything means I’d prob quite like her as PM.
I just wish Sir Keir wasn’t Labour leader, then I could happily take no interest in who wins
Both Patel and Braverman have a massive authoritarian streak and are not afraid to go way beyond what is either necessary or decent to get their way. Neither of them deserve to be anywhere near power.
Badenoch has not shown that streak in my mind as yet so I am willing to consider her. I don't see Mordant as being anywhere near as 'woke' as some like to claim. She strikes me as being far more of a 'live and let live' sort of politician unemcumbered by the bigotries of too many others in herparty.
Apart from the Post Office handling, this was the red flag for me about Badenoch.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week....
...Some of DeSantis’s views would be considered far outside mainstream UK politics – he recently signed a law to ban abortion in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy, for example.
So-called parental rights legislation passed under his governorship has also led to the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries in the state.
DeSantis insists only books that are “pornographic, violent or inappropriate” have been banned, but some school districts have responded to the new laws by removing books including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume’s Forever from circulation.
People will regret DeSantis not succeeding, when Trump wins the presidency later this year (as seems likely)
Assuming Trump isn't convicted and jailed in his criminal cases by November of course, handing Biden re election on a plate.
If he is, then DeSantis, having ruled out being Trump's VP nominee today, will likely battle it out with Haley for the 2028 GOP nomination
If Trump gets jailed then surely there is a high risk of civil war?
Certainly ups the risk of some reddit users who live off supplements and protein shakes being mown down by Apache attack helicopters, if that's what you mean?
I consulted Reddit this afternoon on the vexed question of why IKEA doesn’t sell duvets or covers that fit a superking bed, despite displaying 2 singles joined together into a superking in their bed section.
But their widest duvet is 240cm. Bastards.
It’s not the Scandinavian way:
(The downside is that many Scandinavian hotels don’t distinguish between double and twin rooms, and you may find yourself rather closer to your platonic friend than you expect)
EXCL: Latest on the plot to replace Rihsi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt
Rebel plan to hold a Tory "papal conclave" to anoint next PM
They want to oust Rishi & lock Tory MPs in a room & not let them out til there is white smoke
Would be over in an afternoon
It is a pipe dream
Read the article by the Guardian I have just posted
That pro keeping Sunak sources say something like that to the Gaurdian and other media tells us absolutely zilch Big B.
If there is a vonc, do you even know for certain how “these sources” are even voting in it? 😈
That source includes JRM which is significant and nobody seems to have asked Penny
However, the conservatives will lose and Starmer will be PM this year
What happens next will be fascinating
JRM doesn’t want Penny because he wants the right to reclaim the party after the GE, and whilst I don't think PM is a paid up centrist Cameronite, she's also far from the right's favourite.
Davis is more interesting because he supported PM in the leadership election (afaik), so one might expect him to keep his counsel.
It's interesting to hear PM has been on manoeuvres privately - she's certainly been keeping a very low profile publicly.
Is *anyone* on this Board planning to vote Tory at the next election?
Chortle.
Loads of people on here will vote Tory.
I'll probably vote Tory, as I don't want Starmer reversing the coming Sunak curbs on immigration.
I would never vote Reform under Farage though, given that he is another one of Putin's cucks. Tice at least defends the West against its enemies.
I might vote Tory. Not with any enthusiasm. But if it is - as it appears to be - a straight choice between Tory or Labour then - to simplify wildly - for me, everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger. And the Lib Dems wronger still.
Not that it'll make the slightest difference in Wythenshawe and Sale East.
You might be onto something here. I'm trying to find a reason for people to vote Tory when Labour have broadly accepted the same policies but are hungrier, better organised and more competent.
"Everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger" could be the compelling slogan to vote Tory.
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
The USA has the best anthem ever.
The US anthem has the same faults as the British. Ends on a low note, no final instrumental, and is a bit dirgy throughout.
This debate has been had countless times on PB so there’s no need to re-argue it here, but simply stated the best national anthems in descending order are:
1. Wales - land of my fathers 2. Germany - Deutschland Uber allés 3. The Marseillaise 4. South Africa - Nkosi sikelel iAfrica 5. Norniron - Danny boy
The great irony of the MoS's headline is that if they weren't so determined to have killed her chances, we could have had Penny Mordaunt PM replacing Boris.
As I remember it, Team Sunak lent Truss votes in final round, because they Feared Penny would beat Rishi, whilst Truss would be easier.
Pleasing gastronomic results this evening. I aimed to make an authentic Georgian dinner with Khinkali and Adjaran kachapuri, and the results were authentic enough for my daughter to say it’s just like when we were in Georgia.
I introduced some of my friends to Georgian cuisine in Riga last year, and then had to look the other way while they ate khinkali with knives and forks
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
In the Lord Ashcroft poll, 2019 Tories have Boris in second place behind Penny Mourdant. It doesn’t really matter that Labour and Lib Dem voters hate (fear?) other potential Tory leaders less
What do you make of Patel and Badenoch, Isam?
I don’t know a lot about Badenoch really. I used to quite like Patel. To be honest I don’t follow politics as obsessively as I used to, hence my only real opinion is the Tories made a mistake getting rid of Boris.
I listened to a good interview with Suella Braverman the other day. Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast, but that was from 2019 - she came across really well, and the hate she gets from people I disagree with on almost everything means I’d prob quite like her as PM.
I just wish Sir Keir wasn’t Labour leader, then I could happily take no interest in who wins
Both Patel and Braverman have a massive authoritarian streak and are not afraid to go way beyond what is either necessary or decent to get their way. Neither of them deserve to be anywhere near power.
Badenoch has not shown that streak in my mind as yet so I am willing to consider her. I don't see Mordant as being anywhere near as 'woke' as some like to claim. She strikes me as being far more of a 'live and let live' sort of politician unemcumbered by the bigotries of too many others in herparty.
Apart from the Post Office handling, this was the red flag for me about Badenoch.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week.
Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, has backed UK business secretary Kemi Badenoch in taking on what he calls “the woke”.
DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, met Badenoch and foreign secretary James Cleverly on a visit to London this week....
...Some of DeSantis’s views would be considered far outside mainstream UK politics – he recently signed a law to ban abortion in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy, for example.
So-called parental rights legislation passed under his governorship has also led to the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries in the state.
DeSantis insists only books that are “pornographic, violent or inappropriate” have been banned, but some school districts have responded to the new laws by removing books including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume’s Forever from circulation.
People will regret DeSantis not succeeding, when Trump wins the presidency later this year (as seems likely)
Assuming Trump isn't convicted and jailed in his criminal cases by November of course, handing Biden re election on a plate.
If he is, then DeSantis, having ruled out being Trump's VP nominee today, will likely battle it out with Haley for the 2028 GOP nomination
If Trump gets jailed then surely there is a high risk of civil war?
Certainly ups the risk of some reddit users who live off supplements and protein shakes being mown down by Apache attack helicopters, if that's what you mean?
I consulted Reddit this afternoon on the vexed question of why IKEA doesn’t sell duvets or covers that fit a superking bed, despite displaying 2 singles joined together into a superking in their bed section.
But their widest duvet is 240cm. Bastards.
The psychological and indeed psychiatric underpinning of IKEA is profoundly subtle but there is no doubt that it is designed to drive their customers insane.
IKEA was founded by an actual Nazi.
So it is part of his plan to slowly torment Western Europeans until they smash all the wardrobes, and start building flat pack searchlights for recreation of the Cathedral Of Light.
"Senate Majority PAC, an independent group aligned with Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), is spending $2.7 million to elevate Donald Trump’s pick — a fellow 2020 election denier — in a three-way Republican primary on Tuesday. The idea is to help the candidate, former luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno, because he would be the easiest GOP nominee for incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to defeat in the fall.
It’s a replay of the cynical tactic Democrats employed in the 2022 midterm elections. Then, they spent more than $53 million across nine states’ primaries to boost far-right Republican House candidates who had questioned or denied the validity of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, as well as MAGA-inclined gubernatorial candidates in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Illinois." (Links omitted.) source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/16/senate-ohio-primary-trump-moreno/
Will it work again? Only if Republican voters fall for it.
🚨 The HuffPost UK weekend political read on why Tory MPs believe Rishi Sunak is “certain” to face a leadership challenge in weeks.
One said: “This feels like the week where it’s started to fall apart completely.”
Even if he did he would win it easily
Boris Johnson and Theresa May won their VONCs and were gone within weeks.
Not this close to a GE
Irrelevant.
We changed Prime Ministers during both World Wars, changing a PM a few months before an election is no biggie.
It is when you have already done it twice
Anyway not sure why I am arguing because no matter the conservatives are going into opposition and likely for a long time no matter what they do
A huge difference in opposition with 215 MPs and LOTO Penny, and in opposition with 125 MPs and LOTO Braverman.
That’s what the argument and growing emotion around six more months of PM Sunak is about - that Tory members and voters and goodness knows how many MPs till proved by the coming VONC don’t want PM Sunak too, as well as everyone else in the country.
Pleasing gastronomic results this evening. I aimed to make an authentic Georgian dinner with Khinkali and Adjaran kachapuri, and the results were authentic enough for my daughter to say it’s just like when we were in Georgia.
I introduced some of my friends to Georgian cuisine in Riga last year, and then had to look the other way while they ate khinkali with knives and forks
I had to do that with a couple that burst in the pan and lost all their juice.
Still tasted good though. The Georgian combination of coriander, parsley, tarragon and fenugreek (particularly the fenugreek) is so different from anything else it instantly transports you there. That and the Mtsvane.
Is it that ‘stupid’ a question? BoB followed one company from D-Day to the end of the war. Plenty of other companies stories to be told. How about the big red one? Or a British tank regiment. For that matter, why not a Bomber Command series?
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
The USA has the best anthem ever.
The US anthem has the same faults as the British. Ends on a low note, no final instrumental, and is a bit dirgy throughout.
This debate has been had countless times on PB so there’s no need to re-argue it here, but simply stated the best national anthems in descending order are:
1. Wales - land of my fathers 2. Germany - Deutschland Uber allés 3. The Marseillaise 4. South Africa - Nkosi sikelel iAfrica 5. Norniron - Danny boy
GSTQ (it's not GSTK) is simple, with nice neat rhymes, and it's got a good climax. The Marseillaise falters off after a strong start. The Star Spangled Banner starts off very similar to the Marseillaise to my ears, but has a great climax.
Is it that ‘stupid’ a question? BoB followed one company from D-Day to the end of the war. Plenty of other companies stories to be told. How about the big red one? Or a British tank regiment. For that matter, why not a Bomber Command series?
Christ if they did a British tank regiment it would be some sort of shitshow where the Brits were so busy drinking tea that some passing Americans had to rescue them then take over the tanks.
A series on the desert war would be great but there would be limited US interest so wouldn’t get made on that scale that would do it justice.
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
The USA has the best anthem ever.
I always suspected you were an idiot. Now I know that you are an idiot without soul. Hearing La Marseillaise makes me wish I were French, and that’s even without the cheese, the wine, the sensible attitude to lunch and the healthy disregard for their “betters”.
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
Is it that ‘stupid’ a question? BoB followed one company from D-Day to the end of the war. Plenty of other companies stories to be told. How about the big red one? Or a British tank regiment. For that matter, why not a Bomber Command series?
Christ if they did a British tank regiment it would be some sort of shitshow where the Brits were so busy drinking tea that some passing Americans had to rescue them then take over the tanks.
A series on the desert war would be great but there would be limited US interest so wouldn’t get made on that scale that would do it justice.
The great sadness is that the Americans of WW2 really respected and appreciated British knowledge and experience of fighting the Germans. The modern shit we get from Hollywood is just weird.
Not going to lie but La Marseillaise is the best national anthem in the world.
I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say that.
Even my loins girded there.
You mean the words about thicko revolutionaries marching on the next town to chop everyone up with scythes? The Marseillaise is gibberish, one of the worst national anthems out there as it doesn’t represent a nation at all if it’s not repressing the life, love and philosophies are those all chopped up by scythes when all they were doing was out shopping for onions.
The USA has the best anthem ever.
I always suspected you were an idiot. Now I know that you are an idiot without soul. Hearing La Marseillaise makes me wish I were French, and that’s even without the cheese, the wine, the sensible attitude to lunch and the healthy disregard for their “betters”.
I also like the French approach to horizontal jogging love.
Comments
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/16/conservatives-slam-bonkers-plot-to-topple-rishi-sunak-before-election?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
EXCL: Latest on the plot to replace Rihsi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt
Rebel plan to hold a Tory "papal conclave" to anoint next PM
They want to oust Rishi & lock Tory MPs in a room & not let them out til there is white smoke
Would be over in an afternoon
It was over this afternoon.
Read the article by the Guardian I have just posted
Its from Nazir Afzal.
With
@vaughangething
becoming First Minister of Wales (congrats BTW) &
@HumzaYousaf
First Minister Scotland & Rishi Sunak PM & Michelle O’Neill as First Minister NI, there are now no white men leading the countries of the United Kingdom
Representation matters, actions matter more
10:45 AM · Mar 16, 2024
·
216.1K
Views
https://x.com/nazirafzal/status/1768951785534767521?s=20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Anse_aux_Meadows
Meanwhile, in "there's no flipping way there could be a May election" news from Tim Shipman,
Insiders are clear that the party is not ready for a vote. There is no manifesto, for one thing. “The meetings with secretaries of state only began last week,” a source said. “They’re still just casting around for ideas.”
And does Leon go to Harrods to collect his cleft sticks?
Foreign correspondents aren't what they used to be.
"Before either had spoken, the General sized William up; in any other department, he would have been recognised as a sucker; here, among the trappings of high adventure, he was, more gallantly, a greenhorn.
‘Your first visit to Ishmaelia, eh? Then perhaps I can be of some help to you. As no doubt you know, I was there in ’97 with poor “Sprat” Larkin…’.
‘I want some cleft sticks, please’, said William firmly.
The General’s manner changed abruptly. His leg had been pulled before, often. Only last week there had been an idiotic young fellow dressed up as a missionary…
‘What the devil for?’ he asked tartly.
‘Oh, just for my dispatches, you know.’
It was with exactly such an expression of simplicity that the joker had asked for a tiffin gun, a set of chota pegs and a chota mallet. ‘Miss Barton will see to you,’ he said, and turning on his heel began to inspect a newly-arrived consignment of rhinocerous hide whips in a menacing way.
Miss Barton was easier to deal with. ‘We can have some cloven for you,’ she said brightly. ‘If you will make your selection I will send them down to our cleaver.’"
🚨 The HuffPost UK weekend political read on why Tory MPs believe Rishi Sunak is “certain” to face a leadership challenge in weeks.
One said: “This feels like the week where it’s started to fall apart completely.”
Due to a collision in my hash tables, I’m imagining the collected sayings of a cumugeonly, gay, platypus with an orange mohawk and a monocle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlRe4fuNkiw
End of a conversation someone had with Claude about it's own perception of itself, given voice by eleven-labs.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/16/if-a-child-is-hungry-it-doesnt-matter-if-youre-a-bloody-good-teacher
https://youtu.be/d3Mrfut-FSw?si=KTAtnsgriTDTpSmG
That's all.
I would never vote Reform under Farage though, given that he is another one of Putin's cucks. Tice at least defends the West against its enemies.
We changed Prime Ministers during both World Wars, changing a PM a few months before an election is no biggie.
Anyway not sure why I am arguing because no matter the conservatives are going into opposition and likely for a long time no matter what they do
There isn’t a “it can’t get worse argument” so might as well carry on with PM polling as bad as it got under Truss and PM polling shows is as despised as Boris and Corbyn - even if a VONC showing just a third of MPs want Sunak out and the Tory’s split and infighting doesn’t send them lower in polls, it can still be harming the swingback they need before General Election.
Improvement threatened is what’s this about.
It’s like F1 qualifying where in drop zone with one lap left to get out of trouble, so you need a blemish free last lap to get out of trouble - last thing you need is a VONC half way round!
What, is he going to curbs it to three quarters of a million a year?
And that compares to how many under the last Labour government?
The Guardian says it is not.
I wonder which paper has better sources in the Tory Party...
While looking for something else, I came across these two, overlapping pieces from Pew Research:
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/facts-about-the-us-black-population/
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/18/key-facts-about-black-americans/
Some findings:
"In 2022, there were 5.1 million foreign-born Black Americans, about 11% of the U.S. Black population. This is an increase from 2000, when 2.4 million people, or 7%, among the Black population were foreign born."
"The U.S. Black population is young. The median age of Black people in 2022 was 32.1 years, nearly six years younger than the U.S. population’s median age of 38.0."
"Among Black U.S. households in 2022, 49% earned less than $50,000, while 51% made $50,000 or more. A third of Black households (34%) earned $75,000 or more, including 22% that made $100,000 or more." (Not sure how that compares to the UK, since I can't recall the exchange rate.)
"About a sixth of married Black adults (17%) are married to someone who is not Black. This includes 21% of married Black men and 13% of married Black women."
Also, the more time the Tories spend sticking daggers into each other and getting excited over leadership elections, the less time they have to pass policies that will do irrevocable damage to the UK. So purely from a defensive securing-the-motherland perspective, bring it on.
If there is a vonc, do you even know for certain how “these sources” are even voting in it? 😈
But their widest duvet is 240cm. Bastards.
However, the conservatives will lose and Starmer will be PM this year
What happens next will be fascinating
Yup.
1 The plot is on.
2 The plot is ridiculous.
Most likely outcome is that the VONC is bad enough to wound Sunak without toppling him (100, maybe 120 against).
May limped on for six months after a similar disastrous win, which takes Sunak safely close to a late election.
No particular insight or information, but the Conservatives are clearly in the "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" zone
The USA has the best anthem ever.
Not with any enthusiasm.
But if it is - as it appears to be - a straight choice between Tory or Labour then - to simplify wildly - for me, everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger. And the Lib Dems wronger still.
Not that it'll make the slightest difference in Wythenshawe and Sale East.
They'll deserve to lose their seats.
What’s ridiculous about exchanging a crap General Election result for a better one?
Another swap out doesn’t come without cost, but the cost is more than matched by the electorates delight the hated Sunak is removed. The fact the well liked Penny replaces him only adds to the poll bounce.
I’m 100% sure, Labour don’t want the Sunak to Penny swan event.
Replacing PM once in a parliament is something that happens. Replacing a second was clearly necessary under the circumstances but has lost a lot of Truss(t). Replacing a third starts to look like a game of musical chairs.
(The downside is that many Scandinavian hotels don’t distinguish between double and twin rooms, and you may find yourself rather closer to your platonic friend than you expect)
Davis is more interesting because he supported PM in the leadership election (afaik), so one might expect him to keep his counsel.
It's interesting to hear PM has been on manoeuvres privately - she's certainly been keeping a very low profile publicly.
(oops!
"Everything that the Tories are wrong about, Labour are wronger" could be the compelling slogan to vote Tory.
This debate has been had countless times on PB so there’s no need to re-argue it here, but simply stated the best national anthems in descending order are:
1. Wales - land of my fathers
2. Germany - Deutschland Uber allés
3. The Marseillaise
4. South Africa - Nkosi sikelel iAfrica
5. Norniron - Danny boy
So it is part of his plan to slowly torment Western Europeans until they smash all the wardrobes, and start building flat pack searchlights for recreation of the Cathedral Of Light.
"Senate Majority PAC, an independent group aligned with Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), is spending $2.7 million to elevate Donald Trump’s pick — a fellow 2020 election denier — in a three-way Republican primary on Tuesday. The idea is to help the candidate, former luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno, because he would be the easiest GOP nominee for incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to defeat in the fall.
It’s a replay of the cynical tactic Democrats employed in the 2022 midterm elections. Then, they spent more than $53 million across nine states’ primaries to boost far-right Republican House candidates who had questioned or denied the validity of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, as well as MAGA-inclined gubernatorial candidates in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Illinois."
(Links omitted.)
source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/16/senate-ohio-primary-trump-moreno/
Will it work again? Only if Republican voters fall for it.
That’s what the argument and growing emotion around six more months of PM Sunak is about - that Tory members and voters and goodness knows how many MPs till proved by the coming VONC don’t want PM Sunak too, as well as everyone else in the country.
Still tasted good though. The Georgian combination of coriander, parsley, tarragon and fenugreek (particularly the fenugreek) is so different from anything else it instantly transports you there. That and the Mtsvane.
A series on the desert war would be great but there would be limited US interest so wouldn’t get made on that scale that would do it justice.
horizontal jogginglove.