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Sunak’s spot of sunshine: Reform underperformed – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,929

    Taz said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    I am happy to go as nature intended when on my bike, in the summer anyway.
    A shirt and tie, a suit with turnup trousers, stout leather shoes and bicycle clips?
    No waistcoat? No hat?

    What kind of dodgy foreigner are you?

    Next you’ll be suggesting going out of the house without waxing your moustache properly.


    What's he doing going out in his nightclothes?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,262

    Another good walk today, 43km, and I've got just beyond Pamplona to one of its suburbs called Villava. This leaves me with only about 63km left, but quite a bit of climbing as I get into the Pyrenees

    It felt a shame not to linger longer in Pamplona itself. It's a beautiful city, full of great places to eat. But I have been here before, and I'll be back in the next few days. I made contact today with the daughter of a lovely lady on my mail round

    She lives very near Pamplona, so I've decided to come straight back here (hopefully by public transport) after I've finished the Camino. She seemed on the phone to be just as kind and sweet as her Mum. She'll come and get me from Pamplona and I'll stay a night or two at her place, before heading on to San Sebastian

    I'm in a rather nice, but quite pricey, hotel tonight. Probably pricey because the only room left was a junior suite on the top floor with a terrace and a "massage shower"

    Dinner at the hotel restaurant is more reasonably priced. I'm having seafood rice to start followed by grilled cuttlefish. A bottle of local red, which is very nice indeed, is included in the 16€ set menu price

    They didn't give me a wine glass so I'm drinking the wine from a 400ml water glass


    You should really turn your travel notes into an annotated route map. I find it gives another dimension to pictures to associate them with their places on a map.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,929

    Another good walk today, 43km, and I've got just beyond Pamplona to one of its suburbs called Villava. This leaves me with only about 63km left, but quite a bit of climbing as I get into the Pyrenees

    It felt a shame not to linger longer in Pamplona itself. It's a beautiful city, full of great places to eat. But I have been here before, and I'll be back in the next few days. I made contact today with the daughter of a lovely lady on my mail round

    She lives very near Pamplona, so I've decided to come straight back here (hopefully by public transport) after I've finished the Camino. She seemed on the phone to be just as kind and sweet as her Mum. She'll come and get me from Pamplona and I'll stay a night or two at her place, before heading on to San Sebastian

    I'm in a rather nice, but quite pricey, hotel tonight. Probably pricey because the only room left was a junior suite on the top floor with a terrace and a "massage shower"

    Dinner at the hotel restaurant is more reasonably priced. I'm having seafood rice to start followed by grilled cuttlefish. A bottle of local red, which is very nice indeed, is included in the 16€ set menu price

    They didn't give me a wine glass so I'm drinking the wine from a 400ml water glass


    You should really turn your travel notes into an annotated route map. I find it gives another dimension to pictures to associate them with their places on a map.
    Indeed. I just spent a few minutes poking around on google maps near where they are.
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 5,916
    RobD said:

    @BlancheLivermore - I'm curious, do you have a map of the route you have taken?

    The only map I have for the route is the one in the app I downloaded called Buen Camino, which I've only deviated from a couple of times
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,632
    RobD said:

    Another good walk today, 43km, and I've got just beyond Pamplona to one of its suburbs called Villava. This leaves me with only about 63km left, but quite a bit of climbing as I get into the Pyrenees

    It felt a shame not to linger longer in Pamplona itself. It's a beautiful city, full of great places to eat. But I have been here before, and I'll be back in the next few days. I made contact today with the daughter of a lovely lady on my mail round

    She lives very near Pamplona, so I've decided to come straight back here (hopefully by public transport) after I've finished the Camino. She seemed on the phone to be just as kind and sweet as her Mum. She'll come and get me from Pamplona and I'll stay a night or two at her place, before heading on to San Sebastian

    I'm in a rather nice, but quite pricey, hotel tonight. Probably pricey because the only room left was a junior suite on the top floor with a terrace and a "massage shower"

    Dinner at the hotel restaurant is more reasonably priced. I'm having seafood rice to start followed by grilled cuttlefish. A bottle of local red, which is very nice indeed, is included in the 16€ set menu price

    They didn't give me a wine glass so I'm drinking the wine from a 400ml water glass


    You should really turn your travel notes into an annotated route map. I find it gives another dimension to pictures to associate them with their places on a map.
    Indeed. I just spent a few minutes poking around on google maps near where they are.
    Stalker.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,929

    RobD said:

    Another good walk today, 43km, and I've got just beyond Pamplona to one of its suburbs called Villava. This leaves me with only about 63km left, but quite a bit of climbing as I get into the Pyrenees

    It felt a shame not to linger longer in Pamplona itself. It's a beautiful city, full of great places to eat. But I have been here before, and I'll be back in the next few days. I made contact today with the daughter of a lovely lady on my mail round

    She lives very near Pamplona, so I've decided to come straight back here (hopefully by public transport) after I've finished the Camino. She seemed on the phone to be just as kind and sweet as her Mum. She'll come and get me from Pamplona and I'll stay a night or two at her place, before heading on to San Sebastian

    I'm in a rather nice, but quite pricey, hotel tonight. Probably pricey because the only room left was a junior suite on the top floor with a terrace and a "massage shower"

    Dinner at the hotel restaurant is more reasonably priced. I'm having seafood rice to start followed by grilled cuttlefish. A bottle of local red, which is very nice indeed, is included in the 16€ set menu price

    They didn't give me a wine glass so I'm drinking the wine from a 400ml water glass


    You should really turn your travel notes into an annotated route map. I find it gives another dimension to pictures to associate them with their places on a map.
    Indeed. I just spent a few minutes poking around on google maps near where they are.
    Stalker.
    Next time I'll slip a AirTag in their bag, that'll make it much easier.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,632
    LOL.

    John Swinney: I'll work with Unionists if they park independence opposition

    https://twitter.com/simon_telegraph/status/1787922230791352712
  • AlsoLeiAlsoLei Posts: 1,457
    Unpopular said:

    Foxy said:

    DM_Andy said:

    Can we recreate the UN Mandate of Palestine? It would be reasonable to place it under the stewardship of a Security Council member that can be trusted to be neutral between both Jewish and Muslim communities (China seems like an obvious choice) until such time as both parties get together on a power-sharing arrangement.

    I don't think it worked out last time that was tried...
    I've just finished read 'A Line in the Sand', which goes into a bit of detail around the Imperialist wrangling between Britain and France over the ME and what comes across in the book is that the British were in way over their heads in the Mandate of Palestine and really had no clue what to do about it.
    There are surely so many layers of mistake and regret that it's almost impossible to peel them all back to find any point of departure from which you might expect a better solution to have arisen.

    With Northern Ireland, you can maybe squint hard and point at some point between 1785 and 1805 where things might have changed for the good, and turned out well.

    How far do you have to go back to find something similar in the history of Palestine? Obviously before Mandatory Palestine. And before San Remo, before the Balfour Declaration, before Sykes-Picot, clearly. How about before the First Aliyah? Before the repopulation the Sanjak of Jerulsalem as a bulwark against the Khedivate of Egypt? Before the Beys? The Mamluks? And on and on and on into the depths of history.

    But, no. They are where they are. Things need to move on from here, from where they are now. Historical inquiry might help understand some of the grievances but it doesn't point a way to the future.
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 5,916
    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    Another good walk today, 43km, and I've got just beyond Pamplona to one of its suburbs called Villava. This leaves me with only about 63km left, but quite a bit of climbing as I get into the Pyrenees

    It felt a shame not to linger longer in Pamplona itself. It's a beautiful city, full of great places to eat. But I have been here before, and I'll be back in the next few days. I made contact today with the daughter of a lovely lady on my mail round

    She lives very near Pamplona, so I've decided to come straight back here (hopefully by public transport) after I've finished the Camino. She seemed on the phone to be just as kind and sweet as her Mum. She'll come and get me from Pamplona and I'll stay a night or two at her place, before heading on to San Sebastian

    I'm in a rather nice, but quite pricey, hotel tonight. Probably pricey because the only room left was a junior suite on the top floor with a terrace and a "massage shower"

    Dinner at the hotel restaurant is more reasonably priced. I'm having seafood rice to start followed by grilled cuttlefish. A bottle of local red, which is very nice indeed, is included in the 16€ set menu price

    They didn't give me a wine glass so I'm drinking the wine from a 400ml water glass


    You should really turn your travel notes into an annotated route map. I find it gives another dimension to pictures to associate them with their places on a map.
    Indeed. I just spent a few minutes poking around on google maps near where they are.
    Stalker.
    Next time I'll slip a AirTag in their bag, that'll make it much easier.
    My mum has an airtag in my backpack. I had to find a new battery for it in Burgos. She got very concerned by the low battery warnings
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388

    kle4 said:

    HYUFD said:

    kle4 said:

    The man child has posted


    He knows going to jail for a few hours will only boost him with the Cult I guess.
    Joe Walsh, a super anti-Trump conservative is also super free speech, and reckons if Trump is put in jail due to a gag order violation he will win re-election, and he opposes the orders as violating Trump's speech.

    I don't really understand that level of belief in 'free' speech, due to not being American I suppose, because even if the specific gag orders Trump is under are seen to be wrong, what if he was directly threatening witnesses, no ambiguity? Courts being able to protect witnesses or proceedings to ensure a fair trial is also a right, why would that go out the window?
    The MAGA crowd think that but a jail sentence would be the final blow that sends Independents to Biden
    Any 'jail' sentence will just be Trump hanging out with the secret service detail, no prison guards or other prisoners would have any access to him and the whole thing would be a circus.
    I remain very confident he will never see a day in any kind of prison.

    Even if convicted there will be years of appeals and they won't put him inside (or whatever pseudo-jail arrangement they need to come up with), and assuming he has not been re-elected President I would not be surprised to see him physically deterioriate quickly as the really serious trials cannot be put off any longer. He'll be 78, not in great shape, under tremendous stress, and facing very serious jailtime, and even his political sway would reduce after a second loss (assuming his intended campaign of violence and state interference in that event does not succeed).

    The NY is still about crimes, but even if convicted may not result in a jail sentence, so as stressed as he will be about it he can handle it just about.
    I suspect any convictions will disappear in the Supreme Court in any case.
    Stick him in prison and you're about a night from civil war anyway. Regardless it will be tit for tat from here. They'll go gunning for Clinton, Biden, Obama etc
    Grim times ahead for the States
    This is a state crime. SCOTUS has no jurisdiction.

    That's why it's the only one to move forward (Georgia has got wrapped up in vexatious federal powers lawsuits).
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388
    Foxy said:

    kle4 said:

    Unpopular said:

    Foxy said:

    DM_Andy said:

    Can we recreate the UN Mandate of Palestine? It would be reasonable to place it under the stewardship of a Security Council member that can be trusted to be neutral between both Jewish and Muslim communities (China seems like an obvious choice) until such time as both parties get together on a power-sharing arrangement.

    I don't think it worked out last time that was tried...
    I've just finished read 'A Line in the Sand', which goes into a bit of detail around the Imperialist wrangling between Britain and France over the ME and what comes across in the book is that the British were in way over their heads in the Mandate of Palestine and really had no clue what to do about it.
    Finding out the details on things generally shows those involved were not in as masterful command of a situation as they or history may have imagined.
    Having established a Jewish national home via the Balfour declaration we then denied Jewish refugees from the Nazis sanctuary both before and after the war. Its like we wanted for both sides to hate us.
    'We are busily hammering a much-divided Middle East into a hostile unanimty.'

    John Buchan, 1922.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
    No - it's about whether it happened (first) and whether he paid her hush money (second) and whether he forged business records to conceal the payment (fourth) and whether that was done to gain an advantage in the election (fifth).

    Long chain of reasoning that needs to hang together there...
  • OllyOlly Posts: 42
    AlsoLei said:

    Unpopular said:

    Foxy said:

    DM_Andy said:

    Can we recreate the UN Mandate of Palestine? It would be reasonable to place it under the stewardship of a Security Council member that can be trusted to be neutral between both Jewish and Muslim communities (China seems like an obvious choice) until such time as both parties get together on a power-sharing arrangement.

    I don't think it worked out last time that was tried...
    I've just finished read 'A Line in the Sand', which goes into a bit of detail around the Imperialist wrangling between Britain and France over the ME and what comes across in the book is that the British were in way over their heads in the Mandate of Palestine and really had no clue what to do about it.
    There are surely so many layers of mistake and regret that it's almost impossible to peel them all back to find any point of departure from which you might expect a better solution to have arisen.

    With Northern Ireland, you can maybe squint hard and point at some point between 1785 and 1805 where things might have changed for the good, and turned out well.

    How far do you have to go back to find something similar in the history of Palestine? Obviously before Mandatory Palestine. And before San Remo, before the Balfour Declaration, before Sykes-Picot, clearly. How about before the First Aliyah? Before the repopulation the Sanjak of Jerulsalem as a bulwark against the Khedivate of Egypt? Before the Beys? The Mamluks? And on and on and on into the depths of history.

    But, no. They are where they are. Things need to move on from here, from where they are now. Historical inquiry might help understand some of the grievances but it doesn't point a way to the future.
    Stuff like this is circulating on tiktok.

    "To eliminate any doubts, the primary goal was to ethnically cleanse Palestinians and grab the land."

    Watch this powerful video.

    https://x.com/abierkhatib/status/1787756093927563502
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Looking forward to the vitriolic response from Daily Mail to this:


    "At Sulkava prison in Finland, I stood on the edge of a lake where, in the summer, prisoners fished for their dinner and foraged in the woodland for mushrooms and lingonberries. “Being here and able to cook for myself brings me a sense of normality, dignity and self-sufficiency,” one prisoner told me."


    Appetising, delicious food served up to prisoners? It works for the Nordic countries

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/07/prisoners-nordic-countries-cook-eat-forage-britain

    Teaching them how to cook for when they get out is not a small thing. Not every prisoner is a PB aficionado who can discourse learnedly on this hot sauce or that vegan recipe.
    I agree. I was being flippant.

    Uk prisons are a disgrace.
    Oh, you didn't come over as flippant at all - just savagely ironic. And rightly so.
    I thought teaching people to cook was violently middle class?

    I recall the outrage when Delia published a book starting with how to cook an egg.
    My mum gave it to me when I was a student. I needed it.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    ydoethur said:

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
    No - it's about whether it happened (first) and whether he paid her hush money (second) and whether he forged business records to conceal the payment (fourth) and whether that was done to gain an advantage in the election (fifth).

    Long chain of reasoning that needs to hang together there...
    If he paid her hush money and it didn't happen surely that could still be fraud?
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,081

    LOL.

    John Swinney: I'll work with Unionists if they park independence opposition

    https://twitter.com/simon_telegraph/status/1787922230791352712

    There's a problem there. I can't quite put my finger on it... 😀
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,368

    LOL.

    John Swinney: I'll work with Unionists if they park independence opposition

    https://twitter.com/simon_telegraph/status/1787922230791352712

    SNP-Con coalition incoming.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,962

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
    Isn't he still denying they took place?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,589
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Looking forward to the vitriolic response from Daily Mail to this:


    "At Sulkava prison in Finland, I stood on the edge of a lake where, in the summer, prisoners fished for their dinner and foraged in the woodland for mushrooms and lingonberries. “Being here and able to cook for myself brings me a sense of normality, dignity and self-sufficiency,” one prisoner told me."


    Appetising, delicious food served up to prisoners? It works for the Nordic countries

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/07/prisoners-nordic-countries-cook-eat-forage-britain

    Teaching them how to cook for when they get out is not a small thing. Not every prisoner is a PB aficionado who can discourse learnedly on this hot sauce or that vegan recipe.
    I agree. I was being flippant.

    Uk prisons are a disgrace.
    Oh, you didn't come over as flippant at all - just savagely ironic. And rightly so.
    I thought teaching people to cook was violently middle class?

    I recall the outrage when Delia published a book starting with how to cook an egg.
    My mum gave it to me when I was a student. I needed it.
    Sounds like something Trump might say....
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Looking forward to the vitriolic response from Daily Mail to this:


    "At Sulkava prison in Finland, I stood on the edge of a lake where, in the summer, prisoners fished for their dinner and foraged in the woodland for mushrooms and lingonberries. “Being here and able to cook for myself brings me a sense of normality, dignity and self-sufficiency,” one prisoner told me."


    Appetising, delicious food served up to prisoners? It works for the Nordic countries

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/07/prisoners-nordic-countries-cook-eat-forage-britain

    Teaching them how to cook for when they get out is not a small thing. Not every prisoner is a PB aficionado who can discourse learnedly on this hot sauce or that vegan recipe.
    I agree. I was being flippant.

    Uk prisons are a disgrace.
    Oh, you didn't come over as flippant at all - just savagely ironic. And rightly so.
    I thought teaching people to cook was violently middle class?

    I recall the outrage when Delia published a book starting with how to cook an egg.
    My mum gave it to me when I was a student. I needed it.
    Sounds like something Trump might say....
    Now that is absolutely gross.

    I did also have a very basic Penguin book, and an old rationing-era MiniFood booklet. All great basic stuff.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405
    megasaur said:

    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    I've read the Stormy Daniels testimony.

    Does anyone have industrial strength mind bleach?

    Can you summarise the salacious bits first please 🙏
    It was missionary, unprotected, and brief.
    That's no fun.

    (Which by the sounds of it is also an accurate summary of Ms Daniel's experience.)
    Many of these details are not super necessary to the case of course, but since Trump denies any sexual encounter took place at all it has to be gotten into since the jury will need to weigh the credibility of the parties about what happened, and thus why the payoffs occurred.
    Has he considered dropping his trousers to demonstrate his penis doesn't look like a mushroom?

    If not, why not?
    There's a popular strain of pailocybe cubensis called Penis Envy which looks exactly like a penis, which might confuse the issue.
    megasaur said:

    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    I've read the Stormy Daniels testimony.

    Does anyone have industrial strength mind bleach?

    Can you summarise the salacious bits first please 🙏
    It was missionary, unprotected, and brief.
    That's no fun.

    (Which by the sounds of it is also an accurate summary of Ms Daniel's experience.)
    Many of these details are not super necessary to the case of course, but since Trump denies any sexual encounter took place at all it has to be gotten into since the jury will need to weigh the credibility of the parties about what happened, and thus why the payoffs occurred.
    Has he considered dropping his trousers to demonstrate his penis doesn't look like a mushroom?

    If not, why not?
    There's a popular strain of pailocybe cubensis called Penis Envy which looks exactly like a penis, which might confuse the issue.
    Unless mine is rather odd, the pictures on Wikipedia don’t agree…
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_cubensis
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
    Which is why the judge - and the defence - placed limits on her testimony, which she crossed to some extent.
    What could, and couldn’t be presented as evidence (not just the encounter) was extensively litigated pre-trial.

    It’s notable the defence didn’t object much as she was giving evidence, and the judge later ruled what was said was insufficiently prejudicial for a mistrial. (Note a lot of what they claimed was “new” wasn’t.)

  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,785
    Unpopular said:

    Foxy said:

    DM_Andy said:

    Can we recreate the UN Mandate of Palestine? It would be reasonable to place it under the stewardship of a Security Council member that can be trusted to be neutral between both Jewish and Muslim communities (China seems like an obvious choice) until such time as both parties get together on a power-sharing arrangement.

    I don't think it worked out last time that was tried...
    I've just finished read 'A Line in the Sand', which goes into a bit of detail around the Imperialist wrangling between Britain and France over the ME and what comes across in the book is that the British were in way over their heads in the Mandate of Palestine and really had no clue what to do about it.
    Somewhat tangential, but I've just today finished a (now seeming ancient) Radio4 production of 'The Riddle of the Sands'. I suspect this is it, but your copyright mileage may vary :

    https://archive.org/details/erskine-childers-the-riddle-of-the-sands

  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,785

    LOL.

    John Swinney: I'll work with Unionists if they park independence opposition

    https://twitter.com/simon_telegraph/status/1787922230791352712

    SNP-Con coalition incoming.
    Kate Forbes as First Minister incoming...
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,368
    edited May 7

    Taz said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    I am happy to go as nature intended when on my bike, in the summer anyway.
    A shirt and tie, a suit with turnup trousers, stout leather shoes and bicycle clips?
    No waistcoat? No hat?

    What kind of dodgy foreigner are you?

    Next you’ll be suggesting going out of the house without waxing your moustache properly.


    I had a picture of Boris Johnson, cyclist in mind, but I forgot the top hat for cranial protection. Perhaps borrowed from JRM. Safety first!
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    Croatia looking good. Not sure why the band wear gimp masks.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388
    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    The man child has posted


    I don’t know much about the case, but why do the details of the supposed ‘encounter’ matter? Surely it’s about the money paid or not paid? Isn’t the use of her testimony just about embarrassing Trump?
    No - it's about whether it happened (first) and whether he paid her hush money (second) and whether he forged business records to conceal the payment (fourth) and whether that was done to gain an advantage in the election (fifth).

    Long chain of reasoning that needs to hang together there...
    If he paid her hush money and it didn't happen surely that could still be fraud?
    AIUI (and I will not pretend to be an expert) if he just forged his business records it's a civil offence or a misdemeanour. It's the possible implications for the election that make it an actual felony.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 28,901
    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361

    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
    RTÉ can't afford it. They'd have to get Ukraine to host it for them instead.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647

    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
    Getting heavily backed...


  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,557
    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405

    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
    RTÉ can't afford it. They'd have to get Ukraine to host it for them instead.
    As part of the build up to Saturday we watched the Father Ted Euro episode. Still Genius all these years and viewings later.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388

    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
    RTÉ can't afford it. They'd have to get Ukraine to host it for them instead.
    As part of the build up to Saturday we watched the Father Ted Euro episode. Still Genius all these years and viewings later.
    It was a lovely horse.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405
    Read this tweet and thought the 30mph mafia had finally come for Mark Drakeford…
    https://twitter.com/MattWallace888/status/1787850989120164318
  • OllyOlly Posts: 42
    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    Maybe its foreign hackers again.
  • megasaurmegasaur Posts: 586

    megasaur said:

    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    I've read the Stormy Daniels testimony.

    Does anyone have industrial strength mind bleach?

    Can you summarise the salacious bits first please 🙏
    It was missionary, unprotected, and brief.
    That's no fun.

    (Which by the sounds of it is also an accurate summary of Ms Daniel's experience.)
    Many of these details are not super necessary to the case of course, but since Trump denies any sexual encounter took place at all it has to be gotten into since the jury will need to weigh the credibility of the parties about what happened, and thus why the payoffs occurred.
    Has he considered dropping his trousers to demonstrate his penis doesn't look like a mushroom?

    If not, why not?
    There's a popular strain of pailocybe cubensis called Penis Envy which looks exactly like a penis, which might confuse the issue.
    megasaur said:

    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    I've read the Stormy Daniels testimony.

    Does anyone have industrial strength mind bleach?

    Can you summarise the salacious bits first please 🙏
    It was missionary, unprotected, and brief.
    That's no fun.

    (Which by the sounds of it is also an accurate summary of Ms Daniel's experience.)
    Many of these details are not super necessary to the case of course, but since Trump denies any sexual encounter took place at all it has to be gotten into since the jury will need to weigh the credibility of the parties about what happened, and thus why the payoffs occurred.
    Has he considered dropping his trousers to demonstrate his penis doesn't look like a mushroom?

    If not, why not?
    There's a popular strain of pailocybe cubensis called Penis Envy which looks exactly like a penis, which might confuse the issue.
    Unless mine is rather odd, the pictures on Wikipedia don’t agree…
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_cubensis
    I am only seeing the species there. PE is a cultivar

    https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.myshrooms.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Penis-Envy.jpg&tbnid=aOrfprZzp06ncM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https://www.myshrooms.co.za/product/penis-envy/&docid=5xkRH3sC2KxUqM&w=900&h=900&itg=1&hl=en&source=sh/x/im/m1/2&kgs=dbacaea2fa80e668&shem=abme,trie
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    Finland... no words...
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,634

    Finland... no words...

    Are instrumentals allowed?
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647

    Finland... no words...

    No Rules...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,388

    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    How can they tell?
    It's stopping people getting in, so has clearly gone completely wrong.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    ydoethur said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    How can they tell?
    It's stopping people getting in, so has clearly gone completely wrong.
    Going for the bonus!

    Genius move to get the net migration figures down.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,310

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,929
    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    It's a sacrifice women must make for the greater good.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    Your username does imply that you are free of cycling.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,821
    RobD said:

    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    It's a sacrifice women must make for the greater good.
    The Greater Good!
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    edited May 7
    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    ...
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,632
    Carnyx said:

    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    Er, he's not actually complaining about women in Lycra. For whatever reason I can't imagine.
    Deep down I am very shallow.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    Australia's entry could be in with a chance
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,557
    edited May 7

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I don't understand why they think red lights don't apply to them.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,286
    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    Appears to be a computer outage? Wonder if they've been hacked?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    Andy_JS said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I don't understand why they think red lights don't apply to them.
    Thank you for that link. I read the article. It's bollocks. Another right-winger moaning that the party isn't right wing enough.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,874
    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070

    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    Your username does imply that you are free of cycling.
    Or a freeform cyclist.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,632
    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,507

    Foxy said:

    Irelands Eurovision entry is completely bonkers. I hope it makes the final.

    De Valera would not approve.

    I don't watch the semi finals. Ever. I watched Ireland tonight. Twice.

    CROWN THE WITCH
    I like it.

    Grimesesque

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGRXRrlIspY
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070
    Rudy G can't find an accountant willing to work for him in his court defence, after the guy he had walked.
    https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1787940514836213946
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,220

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Maybe that was Trump's problem.

    Not British Enough.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,634

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
    Zero net migration is surely the most neutral position?
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,990
    GIN1138 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    Appears to be a computer outage? Wonder if they've been hacked?
    Heathrow down as well.

    The likely cause?

    The system is run by Fujitsu...
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,507
    edited May 7

    On topic, I agree with Pip.

    Wait. When I put Reform smelted down to 3% come polling day and Tories on 33%, you called me a loon.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,507
    Why has Dune 2 hit streaming so quickly, I thought it was supposed to be good?
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    On topic, I agree with Pip.

    Wait. When I put Reform smelted down to 3% come polling day and Tories on 33%, you called me a loon.
    I’ve had a bet on the under 10.5%.

    Dunno if it will be 3% but happy to wager under 10.5%
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,589
    I bought a trisuit in March.

    It feels good.
    I look good in it.

    The only issue is... I'm slightly embarrassed to be seen in public in it.

    It hides nothing. It's a little obscene. :)
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Most things people have done is less than walking on the moon, I guess.

    Unless the original poster means 'fewer'? In which case: slept with me. There, that makes me feel more special than the moon :smiley:
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,153
    edited May 7

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,874

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
    That may be true but I think the party has elements who would support limited immigration on economic grounds.

    The other nuance to this observer is whether they mean literally "one in one out" or whether it's more about a severe clampdown on illegal migration (the aim being its elimination) and far more restrictive conditions on legal migration.
  • megasaurmegasaur Posts: 586

    Why has Dune 2 hit streaming so quickly, I thought it was supposed to be good?

    Can't be as bad as bullet train which I am currently watching. Director who thinks you got Japanese fights and people saying fuck in cockney accents and you are Quentin T. Really embarrassing.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    I bought a trisuit in March.

    It feels good.
    I look good in it.

    The only issue is... I'm slightly embarrassed to be seen in public in it.

    It hides nothing. It's a little obscene. :)

    tri-suit? like jacket, trousers and waistcoat? :wink:
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,994

    Why has Dune 2 hit streaming so quickly, I thought it was supposed to be good?

    I suspect it was very popular among a smallish group of aficionados (including many journalists) but small groups of aficionados don’t sustain a long cinema run.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    That's a made-up rule. "Less" and "fewer" have both been used for countable things for centuries.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
    That may be true but I think the party has elements who would support limited immigration on economic grounds.

    The other nuance to this observer is whether they mean literally "one in one out" or whether it's more about a severe clampdown on illegal migration (the aim being its elimination) and far more restrictive conditions on legal migration.
    They've said what their policy is. It is for net zero immigration (legal or "illegal"). It's not quite one in one out. You don't sit waiting to be let in until someone leaves, but it's effectively one in one out.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    That's a made-up rule. "Less" and "fewer" have both been used for countable things for centuries.
    Aren't all rules made up?
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,310
    edited May 7

    Cyclefree said:

    I almost had my own cyclegate incident yesterday. A cyclist went through a red light into a box junction completely oblivious to any other traffic.

    I'd ban cyclists for the simple reason nobody wants to see a man in Lycra.

    Ban this sick filth.
    Are you assuming that women don't cycle ...... tsk
    Your username does imply that you are free of cycling.
    Er... the opposite. My very first ever social media comment was about the then stupid rule preventing cycling in Royal Parks. Husband on bike suffered a serious head injury from a hit and run driver in the Outer Circle of Regents Park.

    I have been cycling since university. I've done charity rides, fun rides, cycling all round London to various jobs and I have any number of cycling injuries to show for it all. My husband has been a long-standing campaigner for the West Coast cycling path to be extended round here. We are a cycling family.
  • megasaurmegasaur Posts: 586

    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    That's a made-up rule. "Less" and "fewer" have both been used for countable things for centuries.
    True.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Surely fewer?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,589
    Selebian said:

    I bought a trisuit in March.

    It feels good.
    I look good in it.

    The only issue is... I'm slightly embarrassed to be seen in public in it.

    It hides nothing. It's a little obscene. :)

    tri-suit? like jacket, trousers and waistcoat? :wink:
    I'd look obscene in that as well...
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    edited May 7
    Reform UK policy:

    https://assets.nationbuilder.com/reformuk/pages/303/attachments/original/1696527070/Reform_is_Essential_-_5Oct23.pdf?1696527070

    A responsible government has a duty to
    protect our borders. We must know who
    is coming in and who is going out of the
    country, at our airports and ports. Again,
    this is basic common sense.
    Let’s welcome those who have high
    level skills and talents that we need —
    such as doctors, engineers, software
    developers, scientists and surgeons — in
    tightly controlled numbers that meet our
    requirements.
    Net zero immigration means that the
    number legally allowed to enter to live
    and work in the UK each year should
    equal the number emigrating, so the
    overall population remains approximately
    the same. Some 400,000 people leave
    every year so there is plenty of scope for
    bringing in the skills and people we need.
    This policy will mean wages for lower
    paid will rise, it will help young British
    workers and so help to significantly
    reduce the number of people on out of
    work benefits. It will reduce pressure on
    affordable housing and public services,
    given that we already have a record high
    population. We want these valuable
    people to come and work in the UK
    legally, and play by the rules, respecting
    our values.
    Illegal immigration is unacceptable and
    those entering illegally must not be
    granted asylum in the UK. Reform UK is
    the only party committed to stopping the
    boats. We must adopt the tactics used by
    Australia when they stopped the boats.
    We must declare a national security
    threat, leave the European Convention
    on Human Rights (ECHR), and use
    existing legislation robustly to stop this
    illegal trade. We must also use offshore
    processing centres as Australia did.
    We must also create a new Department
    of Immigration staffed with people who
    believe in the task at hand, to protect our
    borders. The Home Office is simply not fit
    for purpose
    Everyone must know that no-one coming
    via these illegal routes will be allowed to
    stay in the UK. Cases must be determined
    in just a few weeks
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070
    Anyone surprised ?

    Ukrainian state prosecutors analyzed debris from 21 out of roughly 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia at Ukraine, uncovering a 50% failure rate with many detonating mid-air.
    https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1787905511599333818

  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,012
    Olly said:

    AlsoLei said:

    Unpopular said:

    Foxy said:

    DM_Andy said:

    Can we recreate the UN Mandate of Palestine? It would be reasonable to place it under the stewardship of a Security Council member that can be trusted to be neutral between both Jewish and Muslim communities (China seems like an obvious choice) until such time as both parties get together on a power-sharing arrangement.

    I don't think it worked out last time that was tried...
    I've just finished read 'A Line in the Sand', which goes into a bit of detail around the Imperialist wrangling between Britain and France over the ME and what comes across in the book is that the British were in way over their heads in the Mandate of Palestine and really had no clue what to do about it.
    There are surely so many layers of mistake and regret that it's almost impossible to peel them all back to find any point of departure from which you might expect a better solution to have arisen.

    With Northern Ireland, you can maybe squint hard and point at some point between 1785 and 1805 where things might have changed for the good, and turned out well.

    How far do you have to go back to find something similar in the history of Palestine? Obviously before Mandatory Palestine. And before San Remo, before the Balfour Declaration, before Sykes-Picot, clearly. How about before the First Aliyah? Before the repopulation the Sanjak of Jerulsalem as a bulwark against the Khedivate of Egypt? Before the Beys? The Mamluks? And on and on and on into the depths of history.

    But, no. They are where they are. Things need to move on from here, from where they are now. Historical inquiry might help understand some of the grievances but it doesn't point a way to the future.
    Stuff like this is circulating on tiktok.

    "To eliminate any doubts, the primary goal was to ethnically cleanse Palestinians and grab the land."

    Watch this powerful video.

    https://x.com/abierkhatib/status/1787756093927563502
    That was a party political broadcast by the Green Party.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,957
    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    And "less" if you can stick a pitchfork into it.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,957
    Selebian said:

    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    That's a made-up rule. "Less" and "fewer" have both been used for countable things for centuries.
    Aren't all rules made up?
    LOL absolutely. V good point.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    Reform UK policy:

    https://assets.nationbuilder.com/reformuk/pages/303/attachments/original/1696527070/Reform_is_Essential_-_5Oct23.pdf?1696527070

    A responsible government has a duty to
    protect our borders. We must know who
    is coming in and who is going out of the
    country, at our airports and ports. Again,
    this is basic common sense.
    Let’s welcome those who have high
    level skills and talents that we need —
    such as doctors, engineers, software
    developers, scientists and surgeons — in
    tightly controlled numbers that meet our
    requirements.
    Net zero immigration means that the
    number legally allowed to enter to live
    and work in the UK each year should
    equal the number emigrating, so the
    overall population remains approximately
    the same. Some 400,000 people leave
    every year so there is plenty of scope for
    bringing in the skills and people we need.
    This policy will mean wages for lower
    paid will rise, it will help young British
    workers and so help to significantly
    reduce the number of people on out of
    work benefits. It will reduce pressure on
    affordable housing and public services,
    given that we already have a record high
    population. We want these valuable
    people to come and work in the UK
    legally, and play by the rules, respecting
    our values.
    Illegal immigration is unacceptable and
    those entering illegally must not be
    granted asylum in the UK. Reform UK is
    the only party committed to stopping the
    boats. We must adopt the tactics used by
    Australia when they stopped the boats.
    We must declare a national security
    threat, leave the European Convention
    on Human Rights (ECHR), and use
    existing legislation robustly to stop this
    illegal trade. We must also use offshore
    processing centres as Australia did.
    We must also create a new Department
    of Immigration staffed with people who
    believe in the task at hand, to protect our
    borders. The Home Office is simply not fit
    for purpose
    Everyone must know that no-one coming
    via these illegal routes will be allowed to
    stay in the UK. Cases must be determined
    in just a few weeks

    From that I conclude that Reform policy writers are still working on very low resolution screens with a horizontal width of ~40 characters and writing in Notepad with manual line returns.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    TOPPING said:

    rcs1000 said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Remembered that the word is "fewer" if the thing in question is countable.
    And "less" if you can stick a pitchfork into it.
    You can stick a pitchfork into a person...
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    edited May 7

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Very odd. Very precise wording. But still ambiguous. Could refer to an enemy fleet as a whole; doesn't say all of it has to be in action (which is impossible anyway in practice). So what about single ship actions? Even ignoring those, and the Java Sea (because under Netherlands command), and sticking to 1707-today, it's not hard to get 12 and more:

    Gulf of Thailand
    Denmark Strait
    Indian Ocean (Hermes etc.)
    Italian MAS Maiales in Alexandria
    PQ17, HX229/SC112 and several other convoys
    Norwegian Campaign/Unternehmen Juno
    Skagerrak/Jutland
    Coronel
    Mauritius
    MInorca
    Chesapeake
    Lizard

    PS If anyone is relying on "the high seas", then there are very few naval battles on the high seas anyway, making Mr Snow's statement almost meaningless. Most of them are near the choke points or bases of one sidfe or other.

  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,012

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
    That may be true but I think the party has elements who would support limited immigration on economic grounds.

    The other nuance to this observer is whether they mean literally "one in one out" or whether it's more about a severe clampdown on illegal migration (the aim being its elimination) and far more restrictive conditions on legal migration.
    They've said what their policy is. It is for net zero immigration (legal or "illegal"). It's not quite one in one out. You don't sit waiting to be let in until someone leaves, but it's effectively one in one out.
    Like a supermarket during Covid.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,716
    Nigelb said:

    Anyone surprised ?

    Ukrainian state prosecutors analyzed debris from 21 out of roughly 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia at Ukraine, uncovering a 50% failure rate with many detonating mid-air.
    https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1787905511599333818

    I am. Surprised it is as low as 50% failure rate to be honest.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,874

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    The premise of this and other like-minded pieces is Reform voters are all Conservatives who will run back to the blue rosette at the first whiff of electoral gunpowder. The analogy is with those Conservatives who used to "protest" in mid-term by voting Lib Dem at Council elections and Parliamentary by-elections.

    This produced fantastic results for the LDs but the problem was as soon as a GE heaved into view and it was a forced choice between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government the protesters headed back to the Conservatives as did those who registered their "protest" by staying at home for local elections and by-elections.

    What you had were Conservatives who were never really Lib Dems at all but realised they could use a vote for the LDs as a harmless (well, not for the unfortunate Conservative local candidate) but significant kick for the incumbent Government.

    So, are the current Reform voters something similar? There's not much polling to answer that question definitively - there is a think a significant divergent between Tice/Farage and the membership. To this observer, the Reform leadership, apart from their hostility to the EU, are unreconstructed Thatcherites kken on lower taxes and big cuts in public spending but the Reform membership seems to be more in the Boris Johnson mould which is interventionist and keen to see public money spent but in certain areas and on certain things.

    Even on immigration, there's a line being walked between outright hostility to all migrants, both legal and illegal, and a recognition a growing economy leads a level of immigration and recognising gaps in key specialisms needed to fuel that growth can only be filled with immigration.

    That's the paradox Reform probably won't address let alone resolve this side of a GE.

    How is Reform UK walking a line on immigration? They've made net zero immigration the central plank of their policies.
    That may be true but I think the party has elements who would support limited immigration on economic grounds.

    The other nuance to this observer is whether they mean literally "one in one out" or whether it's more about a severe clampdown on illegal migration (the aim being its elimination) and far more restrictive conditions on legal migration.
    They've said what their policy is. It is for net zero immigration (legal or "illegal"). It's not quite one in one out. You don't sit waiting to be let in until someone leaves, but it's effectively one in one out.
    It isn't really - there's a bit of wiggle room around the numbers - but I appreciate where the policy is going.

    Presumably the hope of Conservative strategists is Rwanda will be seen to have an effect and that will draw Reform supporters back - the problem is if it doesn't work or the perception is it isn't working, what then?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,716
    Not sure that is going to end well.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405
    Scott_xP said:

    GIN1138 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sky News: "Manchester Airport says UK Border System is down".

    Appears to be a computer outage? Wonder if they've been hacked?
    Heathrow down as well.

    The likely cause?

    The system is run by Fujitsu...
    So we can expert the check in clerks to do prison time then…
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,402
    Carnyx said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Very odd. Very precise wording. But still ambiguous. Could refer to an enemy fleet as a whole; doesn't say all of it has to be in action (which is impossible anyway in practice). So what about single ship actions? Even ignoring those, and the Java Sea (because under Netherlands command), and sticking to 1707-today, it's not hard to get 12 and more:

    Gulf of Thailand
    Denmark Strait
    Indian Ocean (Hermes etc.)
    Italian MAS Maiales in Alexandria
    PQ17, HX229/SC112 and several other convoys
    Norwegian Campaign/Unternehmen Juno
    Skagerrak/Jutland
    Coronel
    Mauritius
    MInorca
    Chesapeake
    Lizard



    I just knew someone on PB would come up with a list given enough time.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,447
    Carnyx said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Very odd. Very precise wording. But still ambiguous. Could refer to an enemy fleet as a whole; doesn't say all of it has to be in action (which is impossible anyway in practice). So what about single ship actions? Even ignoring those, and the Java Sea (because under Netherlands command), and sticking to 1707-today, it's not hard to get 12 and more:

    Gulf of Thailand
    Denmark Strait
    Indian Ocean (Hermes etc.)
    Italian MAS Maiales in Alexandria
    PQ17, HX229/SC112 and several other convoys
    Norwegian Campaign/Unternehmen Juno
    Skagerrak/Jutland
    Coronel
    Mauritius
    MInorca
    Chesapeake
    Lizard



    There's that inferiority complex again.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,060
    Australia is available at 500/1. Put money on Australia!
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    dixiedean said:

    Carnyx said:

    This has made me tumescent proud to be British.


    Very odd. Very precise wording. But still ambiguous. Could refer to an enemy fleet as a whole; doesn't say all of it has to be in action (which is impossible anyway in practice). So what about single ship actions? Even ignoring those, and the Java Sea (because under Netherlands command), and sticking to 1707-today, it's not hard to get 12 and more:

    Gulf of Thailand
    Denmark Strait
    Indian Ocean (Hermes etc.)
    Italian MAS Maiales in Alexandria
    PQ17, HX229/SC112 and several other convoys
    Norwegian Campaign/Unternehmen Juno
    Skagerrak/Jutland
    Coronel
    Mauritius
    MInorca
    Chesapeake
    Lizard



    I just knew someone on PB would come up with a list given enough time.
    Just think of the scope for argument. But it's my bedtime, which is perhaps as well.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,153
    You know, I think someone wrote a book about a President who did such a thing.
This discussion has been closed.