One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
Like the renaming of the Brecon Beacons. And indeed drag queen story time. So much of what the right get annoyed at is because those in minor positions of power are actively thinking "what can we do which will annoy people?"
The NHS thing at the London Olympics doesn't really fall into that category. Right wing people's reaction wasn't a furious " we are offended by the existence of the NHS" but a weary "must we really venerate this institution? It's like venerating the DVLA."
I thought the NHS thing in 2012 really strange - as if Alex Boyle had dragged weirdness out of his imagination and combined it with rose-tinted spectacles, giving us cavorting nit-nurses.
The NHS should most definitely be celebrated, but if we want to remember the 1950s we should remember that it was a time of iron lungs, and 150,000 people locked up in mental health institutions largely under Victorian legislation.
The Mental Health Act 1959 was the first piece of legislation to make a big difference. William Beveridge was on the Eugenics Society Consultative Council until the late 1950s.
We should look our history in the eye, not tell ourselves Fairy Stories about it.
The best comparison from NOW I can think of is celebrating our Prison System as it is now, rather than as we hope it will be in 10 years when it has come out of the 1920s.
Now we have a similar number locked up in prisons instead. Two of them are HMP Highdown and Downsview, built on the site of the vast Banstead Mental Hospital.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
To say "united" implies they weren't already in lockstep.
Given that radical Muslims in France have spent the last ten years burning down churches, blowing up cathedrals, slaughtering priests and generally beheading Catholic things, it is quite hard to say Catholic and Muslim are “united” in France
Indeed, that is one reason Thomas Jolly’s degraded portrayal of the Last Supper was SO offensive and contemptible. Fair enough - - maybe - if you are going to insult every religion in France, then - maybe - it is justified (but even then I doubt it gravely for an Olympic Ceremony, it should be reserved for fringe theatre)
However Thomas The Brave Jolly didn’t go after Islam, did he? I wonder why. He went after Catholicism, in Catholic France, the daughter of the church
I hope they throw him in the Loire
And yet you never noticed last night – only now that outrage has spread like a virus through social media, a bit like the Manchester airport kerfuffle.
i saw it at the time. Glanced at it for a few minutes.. And thought UGH
Also I was drunk and happy in Espalion and didn’t want a ruckus
Yeah, I know, amazing. I prioritised a long evening of happiness over a massive row on PB with people much less intelligent than me who I will never meet, such as yourself. Mad!
At least we are both bright enough to read a tube map.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
Am I the only one who'd build it straight through Stonehenge?
Probably.
As it stands it virtually does go straight through Stonehenge. Any canning of this scheme means it will for another generation at least.
You only have to go to Hindhead to see the difference a tunnel makes.
Mind you, there is a valid argument to move the Stones. The A303 (aka Harroway) is tens of thousands of years older. They were probably only put there in the first place as it was near a prehistoric "crossroads" with the North to South "Gold Road"
Don’t they have to be shifted anyway when the clocks change for BST?
I think they predate it and use UDT, or Universal Druid Time. The French of course use TUD, for temps universel des druides, because they're awkward. I'm sure there's an ISO for it.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
No offence intended, but wtf sort of person puts an egg in a microwave in its shell, un-pricked? Imagine if you had used a goose egg.
Were you drunk, or just a student, or had someone said "An egg in a microwave explodes"?
I was unused to microwaves. Not everybody has them, had them, or grew up with them. Lacking this deep lore I was unused to the subtleties.
Although after the door blew up I learned fast. Steep learning curve, as they say.
Can relate, because when microwave ovens first appeared (for average households that is) our family did NOT get one, because my mother had a pacemaker which the microwave would have interfered with.
Wasn't until years later that I got one for my own humble abobe.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
From memory, less than two minutes. Possibly much less.
Of course you'll have to put the hostages in the fo'c'sle and buy a leather jacket with the Stars and Stripes on the back while Miles Edward O'Brien does a computer thing
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
France might be a secular state but we are not. We have a King by the Grace of God anointed by the Archbishop and Head of the Church of England. See coins for further evidence. Even Parliament kicks off the day with Prayers. We just tolerate those of other religions and none rather than persecute them.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
After a few weeks your microwave will be smelling like a [redacted on taste and decency grounds as this is a family friendly blog.]
Damn right.
Old socks are not a proper topic of conversation.
Not Leon’s anyway.
I watched Deadpool and Wolverine today.
One of the many scenes that had me LOLing was Deadpool once again breaking the fourth wall and with an impending geekgasm telling the audience
"Get your special sock out, nerds, it's going to get good."
Only downside to the film was the Welsh flag was on display during a few scenes.
Who on earth hasn’t wanked into a sock??
I have a close friend who used to stand in the scullery and wank directly into the flip top bin, to “save on tissues”
But my favourite is another friend who - midway this life we’re bound upon - realised that for some reason he could only get aroused and wank successfully if he lay naked on the cool kitchen floor. Which he then did for several months. Awkwardly, he was married, and one night at 3am his wife came downstairs to find her husband naked on the kitchen floor, having a wank
Unsurprisingly, as that was his name, she said “Nicholas, what on earth are you doing?”
My friend, realising that there was no way out of this without some proactive audacity, adopted a tone of affronted irritation, and said
“Doing? DOING?? My dear, I am TRYING to have a wank!”
This was so successful his wife got nervous, at having interrupted him in this precious and difficult pursuit, which involved him lying naked in the kitchen so as to have a wank, and she hurried back upstairs, and the whole thing was never mentioned again
Nothing makes sense in the conservative party at present
Indeed they may not see power again unless they move to the centre which by the way Starmer is showing how it is done
In 1974 Heath lost from the centre, in 1979 Thatcher won from the right.
In 2017 May failed to win a majority from the centre, in 2019 Boris won a majority from the right.
The centre doesn't always win
As a former conservative activist and member I look at the candidates to take over from Sunak and would not vote for any of them
Hence why I refused the recent e mail requesting me to rejoin so I could vote for a candidate
Attitudes and times have changed and by the time the next GE arrives, many in the party will still be like the Japanese soldier still fighting in the jungle on his own decades later
There is a need for a sensible centre right party but as of now and going forward Starmer is occupying that space very well
Am I the only one who'd build it straight through Stonehenge?
Probably.
As it stands it virtually does go straight through Stonehenge. Any canning of this scheme means it will for another generation at least.
You only have to go to Hindhead to see the difference a tunnel makes.
Mind you, there is a valid argument to move the Stones. The A303 (aka Harroway) is tens of thousands of years older. They were probably only put there in the first place as it was near a prehistoric "crossroads" with the North to South "Gold Road"
Don’t they have to be shifted anyway when the clocks change for BST?
I think they predate it and use UDT, or Universal Druid Time. The French of course use TUD, for temps universel des druides, because they're awkward. I'm sure there's an ISO for it.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
France might be a secular state but we are not. We have a King by the Grace of God anointed by the Archbishop and Head of the Church of England. See coins for further evidence. Even Parliament kicks off the day with Prayers. We just tolerate those of other religions and none rather than persecute them.
And yet strangely enough you're allowed to make fun of the state religion and make something like the life of brian (1979) without getting your head cut off. That's what I mean by a secular state.
Religion exists within the system as an anachronism, see the lords temporal and so on. But the idea that organised religion has any power at all within the state hasn't existed in the lifetime of 99% of the population.
When I say we live in a secular state, I mean we live in one where people are welcome to practice any religion they want, without the state or the 'majority' enforcing a particular view on anyone else.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
Nothing makes sense in the conservative party at present
Indeed they may not see power again unless they move to the centre which by the way Starmer is showing how it is done
In 1974 Heath lost from the centre, in 1979 Thatcher won from the right.
In 2017 May failed to win a majority from the centre, in 2019 Boris won a majority from the right.
The centre doesn't always win
On what basis did Boris win 'from the right'?
Nothing about the 2019-2024 felt right-wing to me. It strikes me that this is just falling into the trap of flawed thinking whereby positions on the political spectrum can be defined by arbitrary or transient factors like how hard a Brexit one prefers or, in the US, if you prefer the killing of foetuses or convicts.
The only objectively right-wing government in recent memory was 2010-2016, even if that wasn't much. At least there was a stab at austerity and book-balancing; a vague commitment to streamlining and scrapping quangos and taking on the blob; a general sense that personal liberty and responsibility were important; that thing about the introduction of new legislation being conditional upon removing at least the same quantity of existing legislation, and so on.
For a genuine right-winger (as opposed to a populist/nationalist/xenophobe or whatever) the Coalition years were an absolute utopia.
But there is undoubtedly a perception that Cameron and his government was on and of 'the centre', despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. We have to decide what 'centre' actually means when we talk about winning elections from it.
I'd be quite happy with a government that 'made the right noises' to convince people they were centrist, whilst actually getting on with doing right-wing stuff. Instead of the polar opposite which is what we appear to have had under Boris and Rishi.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
After a few weeks your microwave will be smelling like a [redacted on taste and decency grounds as this is a family friendly blog.]
Damn right.
Old socks are not a proper topic of conversation.
Not Leon’s anyway.
I watched Deadpool and Wolverine today.
One of the many scenes that had me LOLing was Deadpool once again breaking the fourth wall and with an impending geekgasm telling the audience
"Get your special sock out, nerds, it's going to get good."
Only downside to the film was the Welsh flag was on display during a few scenes.
Who on earth hasn’t wanked into a sock??
I have a close friend who used to stand in the scullery and wank directly into the flip top bin, to “save on tissues”
But my favourite is another friend who - midway this life we’re bound upon - realised that for some reason he could only get aroused and wank successfully if he lay naked on the cool kitchen floor. Which he then did for several months. Awkwardly, he was married, and one night at 3am his wife came downstairs to find her husband naked on the kitchen floor, having a wank
Unsurprisingly, as that was his name, she said “Nicholas, what on earth are you doing?”
My friend, realising that there was no way out of this without some proactive audacity, adopted a tone of affronted irritation, and said
“Doing? DOING?? My dear, I am TRYING to have a wank!”
This was so successful his wife got nervous, at having interrupted him in this precious and difficult pursuit, which involved him lying naked in the kitchen so as to have a wank, and she hurried back upstairs, and the whole thing was never mentioned again
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
Never mind that, we have our own religion in Bedfordshire. The Panaceans. Led by the Prophetess Joanna Southcott (PBUH).
When the rapture comes the whole world will be destroyed except that which is in a 30 mile radius of Bedford, which is the site of the Garden of Eden. Verily.
At the rapture, the second coming of the Messiah would occur and He would take up residence in an end of terrace house in Albany Road.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Crappy Lib Dems like Liz Truss, who saw the most dramatic collapse in Tory polling over the last 14 years.
Looks like more CCTV footage of the incident at Manchester Airport is now out. Shows the fracas that lead to the man being kicked on the ground by a police officer. A female officer is floored after being punched in the face and the object of the kick had wrestled a police officer to the ground. Can we expect the BBC to now focus on the story with the full context available or will it be quietly dropped?
Doesn't seem to be featuring highly on the website.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
You can't be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity, you may as well be Jewish or Muslim if you believe Muhammad is your main Prophet
I doubt belief in the Trinity is essential. Belief in the Resurrection, on the other hand, is.
Again, not so for Unitarians.
I’ve never really looked into Unitarianism but I must confess I thought they were closer to traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual members, and different congregations, can have a diverse set of beliefs. While many believe in God, not all do. Many Unitarians are escapees from other Christian traditions, while others come from other faith and non-faith backgrounds.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Crappy Lib Dems like Liz Truss, who saw the most dramatic collapse in Tory polling over the last 14 years.
Yes, Liz Truss would be part of the trend, she was an 'A-lister' - as it happens I think she turned out well, but others would argue that with me.
At the last election CCHQ literally tried to select someone who couldn't stand because they were already standing as a Lib Dem.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
France might be a secular state but we are not. We have a King by the Grace of God anointed by the Archbishop and Head of the Church of England. See coins for further evidence. Even Parliament kicks off the day with Prayers. We just tolerate those of other religions and none rather than persecute them.
The British state might retain its anachronistic vestiges of Christianity, but that is the state. We definitely live in a secular society. And there is such a thing as society, it's just not the same as the state.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
You can't be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity, you may as well be Jewish or Muslim if you believe Muhammad is your main Prophet
I doubt belief in the Trinity is essential. Belief in the Resurrection, on the other hand, is.
Again, not so for Unitarians.
I’ve never really looked into Unitarianism but I must confess I thought they were closer to traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual members, and different congregations, can have a diverse set of beliefs. While many believe in God, not all do. Many Unitarians are escapees from other Christian traditions, while others come from other faith and non-faith backgrounds.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
It shouldn't be free. We don't value things that are free.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
You can't be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity, you may as well be Jewish or Muslim if you believe Muhammad is your main Prophet
I doubt belief in the Trinity is essential. Belief in the Resurrection, on the other hand, is.
Again, not so for Unitarians.
I’ve never really looked into Unitarianism but I must confess I thought they were closer to traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual members, and different congregations, can have a diverse set of beliefs. While many believe in God, not all do. Many Unitarians are escapees from other Christian traditions, while others come from other faith and non-faith backgrounds.
Nothing makes sense in the conservative party at present
Indeed they may not see power again unless they move to the centre which by the way Starmer is showing how it is done
In 1974 Heath lost from the centre, in 1979 Thatcher won from the right.
In 2017 May failed to win a majority from the centre, in 2019 Boris won a majority from the right.
The centre doesn't always win
On what basis did Boris win 'from the right'?
Nothing about the 2019-2024 felt right-wing to me. It strikes me that this is just falling into the trap of flawed thinking whereby positions on the political spectrum can be defined by arbitrary or transient factors like how hard a Brexit one prefers or, in the US, if you prefer the killing of foetuses or convicts.
The only objectively right-wing government in recent memory was 2010-2016, even if that wasn't much. At least there was a stab at austerity and book-balancing; a vague commitment to streamlining and scrapping quangos and taking on the blob; a general sense that personal liberty and responsibility were important; that thing about the introduction of new legislation being conditional upon removing at least the same quantity of existing legislation, and so on.
For a genuine right-winger (as opposed to a populist/nationalist/xenophobe or whatever) the Coalition years were an absolute utopia.
But there is undoubtedly a perception that Cameron and his government was on and of 'the centre', despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. We have to decide what 'centre' actually means when we talk about winning elections from it.
I'd be quite happy with a government that 'made the right noises' to convince people they were centrist, whilst actually getting on with doing right-wing stuff. Instead of the polar opposite which is what we appear to have had under Boris and Rishi.
Arguably Boris won from the left. His platform included the more popular elements lifted from 2017 Labour. He ran against Cameron and May as much as against Corbyn. Brexit is not inherently left or right wing, especially as he was deliberately vague and even lied about what form it should take.
Never mind that, we have our own religion in Bedfordshire. The Panaceans. Led by the Prophetess Joanna Southcott (PBUH).
When the rapture comes the whole world will be destroyed except that which is in a 30 mile radius of Bedford, which is the site of the Garden of Eden. Verily.
At the rapture, the second coming of the Messiah would occur and He would take up residence in an end of terrace house in Albany Road.
They're absolutely brilliant. It was basically a cult run by Hyacinth Bucket. The Panacea Museum is excellent and well worth a visit
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
It shouldn't be free. We don't value things that are free.
It is the party which would gain the value; most of its potential voters would be involved in policy formation...
"A straw poll of taxi drivers in Paris that I conducted in the run-up to the Olympics suggested less than enthusiasm for them. While such straw polls may not even be representative of taxi drivers, let alone of the population as a whole, this is a method employed by many journalists and is often as accurate as any other. Taxi drivers have sensitive antennae.
Far from salivating at the prospect of increased fares, most of those to whom I spoke wanted to abscond from the city for the duration of the Games: They had decided to take their annual holidays while they lasted. They were exasperated by the constant roadworks beforehand that added greatly to the difficulty and aggravation of getting round the city, all for an ephemeral festival in which they took no interest."
If she expects the Tories to lose the next GE, and the leader to then resign, then holding back until next time could be a smart move. She's young enough to wait.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
How long does it take to explode? Just asking in case I get trapped by terrorists in a warship’s galley and need to create an explosive distraction and all I have is an egg and a microwave.
For maximum effect use an ostrich egg
A seagal egg
That's an egg with a liberal amount of dye and marker pen to make it look like the egg is not bald
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
The problem with that is, for the 5 elections 2010 through 2024, a minority of voters stuck with the same party each time.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
We should all be free to mock. However I do think there is a question (mainly to be asked by French people) as to why it was considered appropriate to mount a tableaux that seemed to be calculatedly offensive to Christians as part of a celebration of sport. Why do the organisers wish to single out and offend Christians? It leaves a nasty taste. It would also leave a nasty taste if they'd done it to accountants, or gingers, or El Salvadorians, or stamp collectors. It's not that hard to find themes that everyone likes and that unite us.
If she expects the Tories to lose the next GE, and the leader to then resign, then holding back until next time could be a smart move. She's young enough to wait.
That's the feeling I'm getting.
She may have read her history on William Hague.
Frankly, she's not ready for prime time imho and would be wise to sit this out.
If she stands and wins she will not be leader at the next GE I predict.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
It shouldn't be free. We don't value things that are free.
It is the party which would gain the value; most of its potential voters would be involved in policy formation...
I don't think freebie members would involve themselves that much, except in mischief-making things like electing Count Binface as leader, voting to rename CCHQ 'MacHeadquartery-face' etc. We don't value things that are free. You pay for something, you're going to participate. If something came to you valued at nothing, you treat it like its value is nothing.
If the Tory Party is democratised, it could well grow into what it once was. Making it free to all and sundry is not (in my opinion) how to do it.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
We should all be free to mock. However I do think there is a question (mainly to be asked by French people) as to why it was considered appropriate to mount a tableaux that seemed to be calculatedly offensive to Christians as part of a celebration of sport. Why do the organisers wish to single out and offend Christians? It leaves a nasty taste. It would also leave a nasty taste if they'd done it to accountants, or gingers, or El Salvadorians, or stamp collectors. It's not that hard to find themes that everyone likes and that unite us.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
The premise is a nonsense. The core strength of the West is not kindness. I have travelled to five continents and have seen far more extreme kindness on display from African shanty town dwellers or Central Asian herders than I typically see at home.
No. The fundamental strength of the West is the Enlightenment and constitutional government. That is why we have been at the forefront of science for centuries and why the industrial revolution happened here.
Christians just don't like to admit that, because they were directly plugging the opposite of those things for almost two millenia.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
In USA, the (much derided) primary system of nominating candidates, ensures that more than a derisory number of voters (in most cases) determines the outcome(s),
Wisconsin was that first to adopt primaries (also initiatives, referendums and recalls) at start of 20th century, under leadership of Robert La Follette (the Wisconsin plan).
In some states, voters must be registered as affiliated with a political party in order to vote in that party's primaries. As a wrinkle to this, some states allow parties to open their primaries to non-affiliated voters.
In other states, there is no party registration, however primary voters must declare a party preference, then can only vote that party's primary ballot.
Another alternative is the "Top Two" primary, sometimes called a "Jungle" primary (first being neutral or positive description, second obviously pejorative) with no party registration, whereby the top two vote-getters for each office advance to the general election, regardless of party preference, or no-party pref.
Washington State has Top Two primary system; we USED to have the best damn primary system in the country, the "Blanket" primary, with no party reg, voters all got same ballot (like Top Two) HOWEVER they could vote for their first choice regardless of party; for example, a Democrat for US Senator but a Republican for Governor - with the top votegetter IN EACH PARTY winning that party's nomination for whatever.
Blanket primary gave individual voters maximum leeway AND ensured that each major party would have a general election candidate provided someone from that party ran in the primary; as for independent & third-party candidates IF they got 1% of the primary vote, they automatically advanced to general.
Great system, UNTIL of course SCOTUS lead by Antonin Scalia ruled in unconstitutional, via decision that's pile of varmint poop.
If she expects the Tories to lose the next GE, and the leader to then resign, then holding back until next time could be a smart move. She's young enough to wait.
That's the feeling I'm getting.
She may have read her history on William Hague.
Frankly, she's not ready for prime time imho and would be wise to sit this out.
If she stands and wins she will not be leader at the next GE I predict.
She rather blew that one by running in 2022.
If she wants to be taken seriously as a big beast in opposition (no sniggering at the back, please), she has to run this time.
Her career might be better served by running and not winning, but beggars can't be choosers.
Wasn't the opening ceremony just about French Laïcité. And since Christianity has been a part of French culture much longer than Islam they made fun of that. It's not like the French have shied away from making fun of Islam before
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
We should all be free to mock. However I do think there is a question (mainly to be asked by French people) as to why it was considered appropriate to mount a tableaux that seemed to be calculatedly offensive to Christians as part of a celebration of sport. Why do the organisers wish to single out and offend Christians? It leaves a nasty taste. It would also leave a nasty taste if they'd done it to accountants, or gingers, or El Salvadorians, or stamp collectors. It's not that hard to find themes that everyone likes and that unite us.
Yes, the director said it was done specifically to polarise people. This is twattish behaviour, but there's a place for that sort of thing on your own time and budget. But it doesn't really seem to fit the bill for an Olympic opening ceremony, which you would have thought would call for a "let's all agree" type theme.
I can unite the Conservative Party and turn us back into a winning machine - Our values haven’t failed. Our members have done nothing wrong. It’s politicians who fell short
I think I'm Team Priti for the time being. Her Telegraph piece is no more impressive than I'd expect policy-wise, but it has reminded me of her position as part of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. To me, the Tory Party's problems have come almost exclusively from CCHQ - a damaging collection of idiots that dictates the direction of the party without being asked for. Who created it? What's it for? Its selection of crappy lib dems (sometimes literally) to be candidates over the heads of loyal party workers has undermined successive conservative Governments, and it needs to stop if the Tories are ever to govern in more than name. That's important, and if Patel can successfully democratise the party, it will be a massive step forward for the Tories and for British politics and Britain in general.
Party democracies probably produce results more acceptable to the electorate when major parties have millions of members, not a couple of hundred thousand. No idea how we get back to those days though.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
It shouldn't be free. We don't value things that are free.
It is the party which would gain the value; most of its potential voters would be involved in policy formation...
I don't think freebie members would involve themselves that much, except in mischief-making things like electing Count Binface as leader, voting to rename CCHQ 'MacHeadquartery-face' etc. We don't value things that are free. You pay for something, you're going to participate. If something came to you valued at nothing, you treat it like its value is nothing.
If the Tory Party is democratised, it could well grow into what it once was. Making it free to all and sundry is not (in my opinion) how to do it.
Trouble is the old model (lots and lots of essentially social members of countless Conservative Clubs) doesn't really work either.
We have supermarkets for cheap drinks and assorted apps to meet potential partners.
1) I'm not rowing back on my views of the hundred, but tonight's match was at least entertainingly close. I don't think the quality of cricket was high, but it was certainly engaging. 2) Watching the beach volleyball. This is also engaging. Also, unlike, say, fencing, it's very easy to see what they're tryingto do and easy to be impressed by their skill. There are a LOT of whistles in volleyball though. And I doubt those two fellas were born in Qatar.
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
We should all be free to mock. However I do think there is a question (mainly to be asked by French people) as to why it was considered appropriate to mount a tableaux that seemed to be calculatedly offensive to Christians as part of a celebration of sport. Why do the organisers wish to single out and offend Christians? It leaves a nasty taste. It would also leave a nasty taste if they'd done it to accountants, or gingers, or El Salvadorians, or stamp collectors. It's not that hard to find themes that everyone likes and that unite us.
I think that's a reasonable take. Another one is that it was acknowledging the secularisation of western society, the arguable defeat of faith, and the nature of the new gods we are likely to worship.
It is as much a critical analysis of our society as an offense to Christianity.
Sunset Times front page reporting that Labour might scrap HS2 between Euston and Old Oak to help pay for hotels for illegal immigrants and inflation busting public sector rises £20 billion gap in finances the Tories left
Wasn't the opening ceremony just about French Laïcité. And since Christianity has been a part of French culture much longer than Islam they made fun of that. It's not like the French have shied away from making fun of Islam before
We're overthinking this, I suspect. Most likely the organising committee, who appear to have kitchen-sinked this ceremony, decided we need some drag queens for the diversity angle and it would be good have a Leonardo angle because the French think that painter was actually French. Then someone came up with the idea of a Last Supper tableau, which can be put in the "Seemed like a good idea at the time" category.
Wasn't the opening ceremony just about French Laïcité. And since Christianity has been a part of French culture much longer than Islam they made fun of that. It's not like the French have shied away from making fun of Islam before
We're overthinking this, I suspect. Most likely the organising committee, who appear to have kitchen-sinked this ceremony, decided we need some drag queens for the diversity angle and it would be good have a Leonardo angle because the French think that painter was actually French. Then someone came up with the idea of a Last Supper tableau, which can be put in the "Seemed like a good idea at the time" category.
Wasn't the opening ceremony just about French Laïcité. And since Christianity has been a part of French culture much longer than Islam they made fun of that. It's not like the French have shied away from making fun of Islam before
I suspect they have shied away quite a lot since January 2015
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
You can't be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity, you may as well be Jewish or Muslim if you believe Muhammad is your main Prophet
I doubt belief in the Trinity is essential. Belief in the Resurrection, on the other hand, is.
Again, not so for Unitarians.
I’ve never really looked into Unitarianism but I must confess I thought they were closer to traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual members, and different congregations, can have a diverse set of beliefs. While many believe in God, not all do. Many Unitarians are escapees from other Christian traditions, while others come from other faith and non-faith backgrounds.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
The premise is a nonsense. The core strength of the West is not kindness. I have travelled to five continents and have seen far more extreme kindness on display from African shanty town dwellers or Central Asian herders than I typically see at home.
No. The fundamental strength of the West is the Enlightenment and constitutional government. That is why we have been at the forefront of science for centuries and why the industrial revolution happened here.
Christians just don't like to admit that, because they were directly plugging the opposite of those things for almost two millenia.
Sunset Times front page reporting that Labour might scrap HS2 between Euston and Old Oak to help pay for hotels for illegal immigrants and inflation busting public sector rises £20 billion gap in finances the Tories left
£20 billion is also the amount earmarked by the previous government for carbon capture and storage. And that is just for the first two clusters.
Wasn't the opening ceremony just about French Laïcité. And since Christianity has been a part of French culture much longer than Islam they made fun of that. It's not like the French have shied away from making fun of Islam before
We're overthinking this, I suspect. Most likely the organising committee, who appear to have kitchen-sinked this ceremony, decided we need some drag queens for the diversity angle and it would be good have a Leonardo angle because the French think that painter was actually French. Then someone came up with the idea of a Last Supper tableau, which can be put in the "Seemed like a good idea at the time" category.
No, they were just bigots.
Lots of people are bigots, just not bigoted towards the same people.
Watching the women's time trials. As someone has observed the official butt-holder in the Panama hat is doing God's work, but could they not find a woman to do that job?
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
All religion should be mocked including mine, simple fact if you cant take the mocking you don't have faith
We should all be free to mock. However I do think there is a question (mainly to be asked by French people) as to why it was considered appropriate to mount a tableaux that seemed to be calculatedly offensive to Christians as part of a celebration of sport. Why do the organisers wish to single out and offend Christians? It leaves a nasty taste. It would also leave a nasty taste if they'd done it to accountants, or gingers, or El Salvadorians, or stamp collectors. It's not that hard to find themes that everyone likes and that unite us.
Yes, the director said it was done specifically to polarise people. This is twattish behaviour, but there's a place for that sort of thing on your own time and budget. But it doesn't really seem to fit the bill for an Olympic opening ceremony, which you would have thought would call for a "let's all agree" type theme.
To be fair to the director he says the opposite of what you have just quoted here:
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
I recall that when Vermin decided to put statues of the Virgin Mary in some of their shops, it was militant Islamic protestors (peace be upon them) who put an end to it in short order.
Jesus though is a prophet to Muslims too though, they just don't believe in the Trinity
This is where I say not all Christians believe in the Trinity, you say that you have to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian, I then say that most Unitarians don't believe in the Trinity and you round things off by saying that Unitarians aren't really Christians.
You can't be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity, you may as well be Jewish or Muslim if you believe Muhammad is your main Prophet
I doubt belief in the Trinity is essential. Belief in the Resurrection, on the other hand, is.
Again, not so for Unitarians.
I’ve never really looked into Unitarianism but I must confess I thought they were closer to traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual members, and different congregations, can have a diverse set of beliefs. While many believe in God, not all do. Many Unitarians are escapees from other Christian traditions, while others come from other faith and non-faith backgrounds.
I have belatedly discovered that fish cooks PERFECTLY in a microwave
I know this is not on a par with pending religious war, but still. Incroyable
If you put an egg in a microwave it blows the door off.
Ask me how I know.
viewcode, how do you know that when you put an egg in a microwave, it blows the door off?
I put an egg in a microwave.
It blew the microwave door off. Which impacted the opposite wall, bounced back, and hit the floor.
That really happened. It was impressive. And expensive.
No offence intended, but wtf sort of person puts an egg in a microwave in its shell, un-pricked? Imagine if you had used a goose egg.
Were you drunk, or just a student, or had someone said "An egg in a microwave explodes"?
I was unused to microwaves. Not everybody has them, had them, or grew up with them. Lacking this deep lore I was unused to the subtleties.
Although after the door blew up I learned fast. Steep learning curve, as they say.
Our first child didn't really sleep. My wife expressed some milk which we froze. When I got home from work she fell into bed leaving yours truly in charge. Sure enough baby L needed fed. I got the frozen milk from the freezer and put it in the microwave, forgetting that it had an internal cap. The bang was truly impressive and had my poor wife downstairs sharpish as baby L screamed in terror.
It was 33 years ago but it still gets a mention from time to time.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
The premise is a nonsense. The core strength of the West is not kindness. I have travelled to five continents and have seen far more extreme kindness on display from African shanty town dwellers or Central Asian herders than I typically see at home.
No. The fundamental strength of the West is the Enlightenment and constitutional government. That is why we have been at the forefront of science for centuries and why the industrial revolution happened here.
Christians just don't like to admit that, because they were directly plugging the opposite of those things for almost two millenia.
step 1) identify the West’s core cultural strength (kindness)
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
The premise is a nonsense. The core strength of the West is not kindness. I have travelled to five continents and have seen far more extreme kindness on display from African shanty town dwellers or Central Asian herders than I typically see at home.
No. The fundamental strength of the West is the Enlightenment and constitutional government. That is why we have been at the forefront of science for centuries and why the industrial revolution happened here.
Christians just don't like to admit that, because they were directly plugging the opposite of those things for almost two millenia.
Excellent point, well made.
No it is not. You would have to export a shanty town dweller/herder to Europe before you could even think about calibrating relative kindness
One thing that seems to have united Christians and Muslims on twitter is condemnation of that drag themed last supper at the opening ceremony, whether intentional or not.
It was intentional. The idiot creator, a gay guy called Thomas jolly, says he wanted to provoke and polarise people
Brilliant idea. At an Olympics opening ceremony
@Tweedledee amusingly called it the “Woke Waterloo”
I doubt that’s right but let’s hope so
If he wanted a way to swing provincial France further towards Le Pen in 2027 that was it, it might be clever in largely leftwing and woke Paris it won't have played so well beyond
It was stupid and inappropriate for the Olympics. But, gods, I am always surprised by just how oversensitive and easily triggered religious people are. Muslims are the worse, but Christians are pretty far down that scale. It's like they know how intellectually weak their world view is, so have to throw a stroppy fit at any criticism to discourage people from offending them. They are just like the difficult toddler that everyone treads on eggshells around, because they know she is one wrong word from a full blown tantrum.
Seems all pretty indirect as far a I can see - just parodying a famous piece of art that happened to have a religious theme. 'Chariots of Fire' takes its title from a religiously themed poem and we had Mr Bean running along to it. What's the difference?
it’s Da Vinci’s THE LAST SUPPER you stupid fucking maggot. It is THE most famous portrayal of probably the most sacred moment in the whole of the Christian narrative
It is hard to think of an equivalent for Islam, as they don’t have religious art like Christianity. But imagine a drag artist portraying Mohammad as a trans woman with enormous fake tits as she conquers Mecca in a ballgown, surrounded by dancing midgets with their cocks hanging out, and all of this broadcast to one billion people
Islam would explode with anger and violence. Now, to me, that violence would be utterly stupid and wrong, but it would definitely happen, That’s probably why Thomas the Provoker didn’t go after Islam, he didn’t want to be Salman Rushdie and get blinded or beheaded. So in his pathetic Woke cowardice he crudely and childishly mocked Catholic Christianity instead. The man should be thrown in the new Bastille
This is an argument that religion is stupid, not an argument that people shouldn't be able to provoke it or make fun of it.
Or maybe you agree with the murderers who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices?
Though I agree wholeheartedly with your point that we feel free to satirise Christianity while mocking Islam invites murderous retribution.
We live in a secular society and anyone who doesn't subscribe that should f. off back to whatever hellhole they came from.
France might be a secular state but we are not. We have a King by the Grace of God anointed by the Archbishop and Head of the Church of England. See coins for further evidence. Even Parliament kicks off the day with Prayers. We just tolerate those of other religions and none rather than persecute them.
Or the majority of the population tolerate a bit of relatively harmless religious flummery.
Comments
It is said that both had the same inmates.
Aint progress great.
One of the many scenes that had me LOLing was Deadpool once again breaking the fourth wall and with an impending geekgasm telling the audience
"Get your special sock out, nerds, it's going to get good."
Only downside to the film was the Welsh flag was on display during a few scenes.
Were you drunk, or just a student, or had someone said "An egg in a microwave explodes"?
(Update & photo quota: I think it's the type of person who does *this* to a bollard:
https://x.com/WorldBollard/status/1816582103275843903 )
Nothing makes sense in the conservative party at present
Indeed they may not see power again unless they move to the centre which by the way Starmer is showing how it is done
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/07/27/priti-patel-unite-conservative-party-winning-machine/
Until the Conservatives have a leader who can convincingly say "nothing to do with me", they're marking time at best.
If they are very very lucky, that person has just entered Parliament for the first time.
In 2017 May failed to win a majority from the centre, in 2019 Boris won a majority from the right.
The centre doesn't always win
Although after the door blew up I learned fast. Steep learning curve, as they say.
Wasn't until years later that I got one for my own humble abobe.
Of course you'll have to put the hostages in the fo'c'sle and buy a leather jacket with the Stars and Stripes on the back while Miles Edward O'Brien does a computer thing
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/15/kirk-broadfoot-egg-explosion-rangers
I have a close friend who used to stand in the scullery and wank directly into the flip top bin, to “save on tissues”
But my favourite is another friend who - midway this life we’re bound upon - realised that for some reason he could only get aroused and wank successfully if he lay naked on the cool kitchen floor. Which he then did for several months. Awkwardly, he was married, and one night at 3am his wife came downstairs to find her husband naked on the kitchen floor, having a wank
Unsurprisingly, as that was his name, she said “Nicholas, what on earth are you doing?”
My friend, realising that there was no way out of this without some proactive audacity, adopted a tone of affronted irritation, and said
“Doing? DOING?? My dear, I am TRYING to have a wank!”
This was so successful his wife got nervous, at having interrupted him in this precious and difficult pursuit, which involved him lying naked in the kitchen so as to have a wank, and she hurried back upstairs, and the whole thing was never mentioned again
Hence why I refused the recent e mail requesting me to rejoin so I could vote for a candidate
Attitudes and times have changed and by the time the next GE arrives, many in the party will still be like the Japanese soldier still fighting in the jungle on his own decades later
There is a need for a sensible centre right party but as of now and going forward Starmer is occupying that space very well
Religion exists within the system as an anachronism, see the lords temporal and so on. But the idea that organised religion has any power at all within the state hasn't existed in the lifetime of 99% of the population.
When I say we live in a secular state, I mean we live in one where people are welcome to practice any religion they want, without the state or the 'majority' enforcing a particular view on anyone else.
On what basis did Boris win 'from the right'?
Nothing about the 2019-2024 felt right-wing to me. It strikes me that this is just falling into the trap of flawed thinking whereby positions on the political spectrum can be defined by arbitrary or transient factors like how hard a Brexit one prefers or, in the US, if you prefer the killing of foetuses or convicts.
The only objectively right-wing government in recent memory was 2010-2016, even if that wasn't much. At least there was a stab at austerity and book-balancing; a vague commitment to streamlining and scrapping quangos and taking on the blob; a general sense that personal liberty and responsibility were important; that thing about the introduction of new legislation being conditional upon removing at least the same quantity of existing legislation, and so on.
For a genuine right-winger (as opposed to a populist/nationalist/xenophobe or whatever) the Coalition years were an absolute utopia.
But there is undoubtedly a perception that Cameron and his government was on and of 'the centre', despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. We have to decide what 'centre' actually means when we talk about winning elections from it.
I'd be quite happy with a government that 'made the right noises' to convince people they were centrist, whilst actually getting on with doing right-wing stuff. Instead of the polar opposite which is what we appear to have had under Boris and Rishi.
https://www.ft.com/content/6e31bec8-9516-4657-a3d9-bfe7efa16d6c
Photo at the top is the oyster shack on Custom House Quay I commended to you a month ago.
When the rapture comes the whole world will be destroyed except that which is in a 30 mile radius of Bedford, which is the site of the Garden of Eden. Verily.
At the rapture, the second coming of the Messiah would occur and He would take up residence in an end of terrace house in Albany Road.
2) devise an ideology which subverts it and turns it into a societal weakness (wokeness, particularly genderism)
3) ruthlessly plug said ideology through digital platforms and proxies and watch Western society tear itself apart (social media, legacy media, universities)
4) position your own public image to be the antithesis of the destructive ideology as a cultural counterpoint to the failing West (no nonsense strong man).
The success of Putin’s strategy has been so complete, that half of you sat and watched that abomination last night without thinking anything peculiar of it.
Doesn't seem to be featuring highly on the website.
It's a broad church.
(If party membership were free, but a system prevented one being a member of a multiple parties, how big would party memberships be?)
At the last election CCHQ literally tried to select someone who couldn't stand because they were already standing as a Lib Dem.
Far from salivating at the prospect of increased fares, most of those to whom I spoke wanted to abscond from the city for the duration of the Games: They had decided to take their annual holidays while they lasted. They were exasperated by the constant roadworks beforehand that added greatly to the difficulty and aggravation of getting round the city, all for an ephemeral festival in which they took no interest."
https://www.takimag.com/article/medaling-with-paris/
She may have read her history on William Hague.
Frankly, she's not ready for prime time imho and would be wise to sit this out.
If she stands and wins she will not be leader at the next GE I predict.
https://x.com/jamesmelville/status/1817100630202208674?s=61
If the Tory Party is democratised, it could well grow into what it once was. Making it free to all and sundry is not (in my opinion) how to do it.
No. The fundamental strength of the West is the Enlightenment and constitutional government. That is why we have been at the forefront of science for centuries and why the industrial revolution happened here.
Christians just don't like to admit that, because they were directly plugging the opposite of those things for almost two millenia.
Wisconsin was that first to adopt primaries (also initiatives, referendums and recalls) at start of 20th century, under leadership of Robert La Follette (the Wisconsin plan).
In some states, voters must be registered as affiliated with a political party in order to vote in that party's primaries. As a wrinkle to this, some states allow parties to open their primaries to non-affiliated voters.
In other states, there is no party registration, however primary voters must declare a party preference, then can only vote that party's primary ballot.
Another alternative is the "Top Two" primary, sometimes called a "Jungle" primary (first being neutral or positive description, second obviously pejorative) with no party registration, whereby the top two vote-getters for each office advance to the general election, regardless of party preference, or no-party pref.
Washington State has Top Two primary system; we USED to have the best damn primary system in the country, the "Blanket" primary, with no party reg, voters all got same ballot (like Top Two) HOWEVER they could vote for their first choice regardless of party; for example, a Democrat for US Senator but a Republican for Governor - with the top votegetter IN EACH PARTY winning that party's nomination for whatever.
Blanket primary gave individual voters maximum leeway AND ensured that each major party would have a general election candidate provided someone from that party ran in the primary; as for independent & third-party candidates IF they got 1% of the primary vote, they automatically advanced to general.
Great system, UNTIL of course SCOTUS lead by Antonin Scalia ruled in unconstitutional, via decision that's pile of varmint poop.
If she wants to be taken seriously as a big beast in opposition (no sniggering at the back, please), she has to run this time.
Her career might be better served by running and not winning, but beggars can't be choosers.
Here is irrefutable proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI_lxFv203I&t=397s
We have supermarkets for cheap drinks and assorted apps to meet potential partners.
https://x.com/ArchRose90/status/1817250145928626525
2) Watching the beach volleyball. This is also engaging. Also, unlike, say, fencing, it's very easy to see what they're tryingto do and easy to be impressed by their skill.
There are a LOT of whistles in volleyball though.
And I doubt those two fellas were born in Qatar.
Not sure how that would work in practice? At least "into" as opposed to "onto".
"Alexa, can you tell me just how a girl like you can wank into a sock?"
It is as much a critical analysis of our society as an offense to Christianity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQuacxEjAU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQZAOK24IQ
From earlier tonight. Some of it sounds like the sort of speech patterns that got Joe Biden put out to grass.
https://news.sky.com/story/paris-2024-olympics-organisers-respond-to-offended-reactions-to-opening-ceremony-13185771
Perhaps you should have RTFM'd ?
It was 33 years ago but it still gets a mention from time to time.
Unfortunately, there's only £1 on the table on BF.
That feels as if it could stick - some truth, close to the real name, and memorable.
Here's the lyric:
"And I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me"
Trump literally told John McCaine he was a loser for going to war for america and getting captured.