I see that recognition of a Palestinian state polls well, with majority support of every party apart from Reform, and even there it has substantial support.
Plurality rather than majority support from the Tories but yes a clear overall majority for it from uniparty voters and overall 45% for the UK recognising a Palestinian state, only 14% against. Reform again the exception. 37% of Reform voters oppose recognising a Palestinian state, just 15% in favour
Once again demonstrating that Reform and Tory voters are not interchangeable.
Starmer says UK will recognise Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel agrees ceasefire and two-state solution
Downing Street has just issued its readout of today’s cabinet meeting on Gaza.
Here is the key extract.
Turning to recognition, the prime minister said it had been this government’s longstanding position that recognition of a Palestinian state was an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and that we would recognise a Palestinian state as part of a process to peace and a two state solution.
He said that because of the increasingly intolerable situation in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of a peace process towards a two state solution, now was the right time to move this position forward. He said that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September, before UNGA, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two state solution. He reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm.
No preconditions on Hamas surrendering then, capitulation by the government and rewarding them for October 7th. Disgusting.
I don't see recognition of Hamas as Govt, or for that matter Gaza included, but it is not clear.
There are also four conditions that apply to Hamas: releasing all hostages, agreeing a ceasefire, withdrawing from the government of Gaza, and disarming. But the UK was calling for these anyway, and there seems little prospect of Hamas agreeing all of them.
I’m no longer convinced that Gaza is saveable in any recognisable form. It’s just too damaged. I wonder if a compromise could be agreed whereby the West Bank is properly protected, by UN peacekeeping forces if necessary, with a commitment to absolutely no more Israeli settlers. Gazans could be encouraged to settle in the West Bank, or stay in their present territory as part of Israel, but again, protected from violence as long as they lay down their arms. It would need support of the wider world, including the Arab nations, who seem to be not supporting their fellow Arabs sufficiently.
P.S. Has anyone ever seen Topping and Benjamin Netanyahu in the same room?
Their 'fellow Arabs' in the West Bank and Gaza who are in their eyes hand in glove with their *real* enemies - Iran and Russia?
As for Gaza I think you've misunderstood what's happening. The whole idea is and has been for some years to make it so damaged it is uninhabitable because if the 2 million Palestinians leave it (for wherever) there will be an Israeli majority in the mandate so the West Bank can be annexed, even if it is given limited autonomy within the Israeli state (and by limited autonomy I mean on the level of West Yorkshire rather than Scotland or even Wales).
Netanyahu is accelerating this process because he's scared his collar is about to be felt, but it's been ongoing since at least 2007. Indeed, Sharon's withdrawal was aimed at tightening Israel's grip on the West Bank.
The West Bank is what they really want as it has fertile land, water, a strategic position between Israel and Jordan, the Biblical and tourist heartlands and perhaps above all means that Israel will be wider than ten miles wide.
The question we might want to ask is why did Hamas hand them this opportunity to do all these things under political and diplomatic cover on a plate? And that's a question to which we still do not have a real answer. It was obvious from the get-go that this would be how Netanyahu's government would play it and that should have been obvious to Hamas too.
That’s why Palestine, i.e. the West Bank, needs to be a sovereign independent country recognised by the rest of the World. Then, if Israel invades, they are invading a sovereign country, and should be treated like Russia. Their choice.
I always wonder why all the Arab states hate Palestinians and never lift a finger to help them.
Have you read the history of the region? Start with Jordan.
Alternatively, watch the film Animal House
Boon: [Niedermyer is abusing Flounder in ROTC] Vicious mother, isn't he? Otter: He can't do that to our pledges! Boon: Only we can do that to our pledges.
No but imagine it is just that they love killing each other on a regular basis and if stuck just fight among themselves.
Everyone in the region seems to like Palestinians as a minority to kick. See the First Gulf War and the Palestinian "guest workers" in Kuwait, their reaction to the Iraqi invasion. And the Kuwaiti's reaction to that, when they returned to power.
The US economy is amazingly resilient despite Trump's best efforts,
The US is due to report annualised second-quarter growth of 2.5 per cent on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, after the world’s largest economy shrank at the start of the year. The IMF believes the US is now set to grow by 1.9 per cent this year and 2 per cent in 2026
The dream of a 2% a year growth rate in the UK.....
They picked a hot woman who is well known because she has been in some big hit tv shows to advertise some clothes. There ain't anything deeper than that.
It's a hilarious story really. Dislike it for its lazy appeal to sexuality (as if that's never been done before), sure, but 'coded promotion of eugenics'? Get a grip. Yes, it quotes the line about genes passed down etc, but it's just a lame pun. She's not going to be an A-lister, despite attempts, but it almost feels like some people right and left want to make her an aspect of a culture war.
I do also hate the trend of 'user on X/tiktok/etc said Y' quotes. I guess it is just modern vox pop, but it means people saying stuff online itself becomes a story.
1. Sydney Sweeney is genuinely and remarkably hot
2. I suspect the ad writers wanted exactly this response, and got what they desired
3. It will be way more successful than the Jaguar rebrand, which went the opposite way
Starmer says UK will recognise Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel agrees ceasefire and two-state solution
Downing Street has just issued its readout of today’s cabinet meeting on Gaza.
Here is the key extract.
Turning to recognition, the prime minister said it had been this government’s longstanding position that recognition of a Palestinian state was an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and that we would recognise a Palestinian state as part of a process to peace and a two state solution.
He said that because of the increasingly intolerable situation in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of a peace process towards a two state solution, now was the right time to move this position forward. He said that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September, before UNGA, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two state solution. He reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm.
No preconditions on Hamas surrendering then, capitulation by the government and rewarding them for October 7th. Disgusting.
I don't see recognition of Hamas as Govt, or for that matter Gaza included, but it is not clear.
There are also four conditions that apply to Hamas: releasing all hostages, agreeing a ceasefire, withdrawing from the government of Gaza, and disarming. But the UK was calling for these anyway, and there seems little prospect of Hamas agreeing all of them.
I’m no longer convinced that Gaza is saveable in any recognisable form. It’s just too damaged. I wonder if a compromise could be agreed whereby the West Bank is properly protected, by UN peacekeeping forces if necessary, with a commitment to absolutely no more Israeli settlers. Gazans could be encouraged to settle in the West Bank, or stay in their present territory as part of Israel, but again, protected from violence as long as they lay down their arms. It would need support of the wider world, including the Arab nations, who seem to be not supporting their fellow Arabs sufficiently.
P.S. Has anyone ever seen Topping and Benjamin Netanyahu in the same room?
Their 'fellow Arabs' in the West Bank and Gaza who are in their eyes hand in glove with their *real* enemies - Iran and Russia?
As for Gaza I think you've misunderstood what's happening. The whole idea is and has been for some years to make it so damaged it is uninhabitable because if the 2 million Palestinians leave it (for wherever) there will be an Israeli majority in the mandate so the West Bank can be annexed, even if it is given limited autonomy within the Israeli state (and by limited autonomy I mean on the level of West Yorkshire rather than Scotland or even Wales).
Netanyahu is accelerating this process because he's scared his collar is about to be felt, but it's been ongoing since at least 2007. Indeed, Sharon's withdrawal was aimed at tightening Israel's grip on the West Bank.
The West Bank is what they really want as it has fertile land, water, a strategic position between Israel and Jordan, the Biblical and tourist heartlands and perhaps above all means that Israel will be wider than ten miles wide.
The question we might want to ask is why did Hamas hand them this opportunity to do all these things under political and diplomatic cover on a plate? And that's a question to which we still do not have a real answer. It was obvious from the get-go that this would be how Netanyahu's government would play it and that should have been obvious to Hamas too.
That’s why Palestine, i.e. the West Bank, needs to be a sovereign independent country recognised by the rest of the World. Then, if Israel invades, they are invading a sovereign country, and should be treated like Russia. Their choice.
I always wonder why all the Arab states hate Palestinians and never lift a finger to help them.
Because each time they do, they get their arses handed to them?
David Brindle @DavidJ_Brindle · 7h Almost 1 in 4 #socialcare jobs now held by non-EU overseas workers, @skillsforcare reports. Numbers doubled in just 2 years. Hard to see how sector will cope with visa clampdown.
The old stat was ~84% were British, while people act like all care workers are non-British. Holding the wages down at minimum wage and opening up visas has lowered the British percentage but its still over three quarters.
The sector can cope by paying its staff a market rate. Then people will apply for the jobs. Or the sector can go bust and shut down due to lack of employees. Their choice. No need to import minimum wage people to save a sector from paying a market rate.
So, am I being stupid but seems the logic to Hamas is if they keep fighting and there is no ceasefire then they get the UK to recognise a Palestinian state?
They picked a hot woman who is well known because she has been in some big hit tv shows to advertise some clothes. There ain't anything deeper than that.
It's a hilarious story really. Dislike it for its lazy appeal to sexuality (as if that's never been done before), sure, but 'coded promotion of eugenics'? Get a grip. Yes, it quotes the line about genes passed down etc, but it's just a lame pun. She's not going to be an A-lister, despite attempts, but it almost feels like some people right and left want to make her an aspect of a culture war.
I do also hate the trend of 'user on X/tiktok/etc said Y' quotes. I guess it is just modern vox pop, but it means people saying stuff online itself becomes a story.
1. Sydney Sweeney is genuinely and remarkably hot
2. I suspect the ad writers wanted exactly this response, and got what they desired
3. It will be way more successful than the Jaguar rebrand, which went the opposite way
I am not sure a butt naked Sydeny Sweeney on the hood of the new Jag like some return to 1980s tyre calendars could save them. You would of course have to provide your ID to see such a picture if you were in the UK and not using a VPN.
So, am I being stupid but seems the logic to Hamas is if they keep fighting and there is no ceasefire then they get the UK to recognise a Palestinian state?
Yep.
Stupid gesture and meaningless politics from Starmer, but what else should we expect from him?
The US economy is amazingly resilient despite Trump's best efforts,
The US is due to report annualised second-quarter growth of 2.5 per cent on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, after the world’s largest economy shrank at the start of the year. The IMF believes the US is now set to grow by 1.9 per cent this year and 2 per cent in 2026
The dream of a 2% a year growth rate in the UK.....
Cheap energy is one of the surest ways to economic growth. Thank God we've got Ed Miliband to save us from this outcome
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
Both Owen Jones and Nigel Farage are calling for the repeal of the Online Safety Act.
Is this good or bad for the Act’s probability of survival? I honestly can’t tell any more.
There are some issues that unite left and right?
They are both worshippers of Onan?
They're both Very Very Online.
For Very Online People, this is existential. It's saying that the ground on which you have built a chunk of your life is so toxic as to be uninhabitable by healthy people.
Understandable that some people are taking that badly.
(If you want the naughty bits without shame, whether it's seeing the contents of people's underwear or the ability to proclaim fruity opinions, just put your details in. If you're worried about the resulting shame, that's your conscience telling you something that web culture has falsely encouraged you to ignore.)
It’s not entirely clear to me why I should need to reveal my identity to read (checks notes) the cider making reddit, websites that advise sexual abuse victims or online discussions of immigration, amongst a plethora of other topics that the OSA deems unsuitable for children.
Most people think that requiring some kind of age verification for porn sites is reasonable. That’s not the problem with the OSA.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
David Brindle @DavidJ_Brindle · 7h Almost 1 in 4 #socialcare jobs now held by non-EU overseas workers, @skillsforcare reports. Numbers doubled in just 2 years. Hard to see how sector will cope with visa clampdown.
The old stat was ~84% were British, while people act like all care workers are non-British. Holding the wages down at minimum wage and opening up visas has lowered the British percentage but its still over three quarters.
The sector can cope by paying its staff a market rate. Then people will apply for the jobs. Or the sector can go bust and shut down due to lack of employees. Their choice. No need to import minimum wage people to save a sector from paying a market rate.
{Checks notes}
It's Extreme Right Ultra Neon Nazism to suggest that jobs in care homes should pay enough to attract workers. The jobs are supposed to be left for slaves imported through Bristol docks.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
Yes, via channels like Youtube and at Rewind Festivals etc. There will always be an audience keen on reliving their youth, and another audience keen on rediscovering a youth that wasn't theirs.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
Labour will be fans of the random number generator today then
IMF are famous for getting it right after all.
Like having Nostradamus there.
If only they had an anonymous new pal that they’d just had a drink with, that’s the gold standard we need.
Do you think I am making this up?
Yes. Not like you haven’t made up poorly conceived characters on here before.
Stop being a twit. If I'm gonna make shit up it would be more interesting than this
I have made friends with a very rich guy. It's not unknown. I've got one friend who is worth over a billion. Several friends are in the £100m-1bn range
I recommend making friends who are absurdly wealthy. They have nice houses around the world, and invite you to stay, and shit like that
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
Yes, via channels like Youtube and at Rewind Festivals etc. There will always be an audience keen on reliving their youth, and another audience keen on rediscovering a youth that wasn't theirs.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
David Brindle @DavidJ_Brindle · 7h Almost 1 in 4 #socialcare jobs now held by non-EU overseas workers, @skillsforcare reports. Numbers doubled in just 2 years. Hard to see how sector will cope with visa clampdown.
The old stat was ~84% were British, while people act like all care workers are non-British. Holding the wages down at minimum wage and opening up visas has lowered the British percentage but its still over three quarters.
The sector can cope by paying its staff a market rate. Then people will apply for the jobs. Or the sector can go bust and shut down due to lack of employees. Their choice. No need to import minimum wage people to save a sector from paying a market rate.
{Checks notes}
It's Extreme Right Ultra Neon Nazism to suggest that jobs in care homes should pay enough to attract workers. The jobs are supposed to be left for slaves imported through Bristol docks.
Or have I got my cue cards mixed up again?
It's not... But we then have to be willing to pay enough (one way or another) for social care providers to pay decent wages. And all the evidence is that nobody is prepared to do that.
(Personal anecdote: I teach, I have a paid-off mortgage, I'm in my early fifties. I'm not seriously thinking of retiring, but am starting to do the whole 'would it work if I stopped working... what would happen?' thing because it's blooming tempting. I'm certainly in the 'if this job isn't enjoyable, I won't do it because I don't have to' space. Very nice for me, but I'm not sure it's healthy for society.
And I don't know how you manage people like me- we can't collectively afford to do it with money.)
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
I’ve just read the article, and to draw such a comparison, between modern Scotland, and Jim Crow era America, with its very different demographic and socio-economic profile, seems like an argument made in bad faith to me.
I'm just not sure what is gained by the analogy in the context made, even within the wider article. Bearing in mind an experienced academic said it in that context they presumably think it a great point, but at best it seems a distraction to me from broader and more positive arguments being sought.
It doesn't make sense at any level. That's *beyond* "Death Recorded" level of stupidity.
I presume it is part of the Americanisation of socio-political discourse.
There was someone ranting about the price of drugs in healthcare the other day, on Reddit. For the UK.
He exploded when various people pointed out that NHS bulk buys and gets very good prices on most things. When it was pointed out that some of the reforms to bulk buying and using generics happened under Thatcher - he nearly got banned by the mods. From his "points" he had obviously absorbed a lot of content about US healthcare.
Giving the best possible case for the argument: you could perhaps argue that if the Jim Crow South can manage to appoint that many black people then a Scottish University drawing on the peoples of the British Empire ought to have at least managed reach that same low bar?
The racial make-up still doesn’t make any sense of course: the Scottish Universities should (by this argument) have been recruiting this fraction mostly from the Indian subcontinent, not people of African descent.
I don't understand that - are you saying that Scottish universities should have more ethnic diversity than the Scottish population, due to international students/fellows?
By this argument, yes? Why should Scottish universities restrict themselves only to Scottish academics?
I’m not 100% pushing this line, but it’s a line you could take - a colourable argument as US lawyers like to say.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
David Brindle @DavidJ_Brindle · 7h Almost 1 in 4 #socialcare jobs now held by non-EU overseas workers, @skillsforcare reports. Numbers doubled in just 2 years. Hard to see how sector will cope with visa clampdown.
The old stat was ~84% were British, while people act like all care workers are non-British. Holding the wages down at minimum wage and opening up visas has lowered the British percentage but its still over three quarters.
The sector can cope by paying its staff a market rate. Then people will apply for the jobs. Or the sector can go bust and shut down due to lack of employees. Their choice. No need to import minimum wage people to save a sector from paying a market rate.
{Checks notes}
It's Extreme Right Ultra Neon Nazism to suggest that jobs in care homes should pay enough to attract workers. The jobs are supposed to be left for slaves imported through Bristol docks.
Or have I got my cue cards mixed up again?
It's not... But we then have to be willing to pay enough (one way or another) for social care providers to pay decent wages. And all the evidence is that nobody is prepared to do that.
(Personal anecdote: I teach, I have a paid-off mortgage, I'm in my early fifties. I'm not seriously thinking of retiring, but am starting to do the whole 'would it work if I stopped working... what would happen?' thing because it's blooming tempting. I'm certainly in the 'if this job isn't enjoyable, I won't do it because I don't have to' space. Very nice for me, but I'm not sure it's healthy for society.
And I don't know how you manage people like me- we can't collectively afford to do it with money.)
Yes, it's a great position to be in, I am much the same only a bit older. I enjoy my work, but it's a very comfortable place to be both financially and in terms of dealing with management.
If the Government, the commissioners or the Trust do something that I really don't like then I can just walkaway.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
Yes, via channels like Youtube and at Rewind Festivals etc. There will always be an audience keen on reliving their youth, and another audience keen on rediscovering a youth that wasn't theirs.
Phew.
Is there any way of identifying these people, so I can avoid having to engage them in conversation?
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Blanche is a “he”.
Well if is possible. Lady G. was gender fluid, or so I recall.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Blanche is a “he”.
Then that’s my mistake and I will go sit in the naughty corner
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Oh dear
In the words of Taggart, ‘there’s been a misgendering’
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Oh dear
In the words of Taggart, ‘there’s been a misgendering’
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
VPN, I meant! God, embarrassing or what. It's like I'm a tech nincompoop.
My conclusion is that it's a good name to massage your ego, but a terrible one to win votes.
I think it's decent enough, for the large numbers who claim Labour is by definition not Left anymore.
Though having the leaders already suggest names would somewhat undermine their efforts to mock the people who mocked them for not coming up with a name in the first place.
I think something more dynamic would be better though - why not Peace and Justice, the name of Corbyn's ego vehicle?
I’ve just read the article, and to draw such a comparison, between modern Scotland, and Jim Crow era America, with its very different demographic and socio-economic profile, seems like an argument made in bad faith to me.
I'm just not sure what is gained by the analogy in the context made, even within the wider article. Bearing in mind an experienced academic said it in that context they presumably think it a great point, but at best it seems a distraction to me from broader and more positive arguments being sought.
It doesn't make sense at any level. That's *beyond* "Death Recorded" level of stupidity.
I presume it is part of the Americanisation of socio-political discourse.
There was someone ranting about the price of drugs in healthcare the other day, on Reddit. For the UK.
He exploded when various people pointed out that NHS bulk buys and gets very good prices on most things. When it was pointed out that some of the reforms to bulk buying and using generics happened under Thatcher - he nearly got banned by the mods. From his "points" he had obviously absorbed a lot of content about US healthcare.
Giving the best possible case for the argument: you could perhaps argue that if the Jim Crow South can manage to appoint that many black people then a Scottish University drawing on the peoples of the British Empire ought to have at least managed reach that same low bar?
The racial make-up still doesn’t make any sense of course: the Scottish Universities should (by this argument) have been recruiting this fraction mostly from the Indian subcontinent, not people of African descent.
I don't understand that - are you saying that Scottish universities should have more ethnic diversity than the Scottish population, due to international students/fellows?
By this argument, yes? Why should Scottish universities restrict themselves only to Scottish academics?
I’m not 100% pushing this line, but it’s a line you could take - a colourable argument as US lawyers like to say.
It'd be ok to suggest it should be more diverse than the generaal population, but that's not really the same as lambasting them as equivalent to the Jim Crow era if all they do is match the general population - even in context it is overly harsh.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Weirdly wrong. He is a he. Have you heard of aliases? They don’t have to conform to your actual biological sex…
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Weirdly wrong. He is a he. Have you heard of aliases? They don’t have to conform to your actual biological sex…
Seems weird to call hers... er, I mean himself "Blanche".
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
Had similar with an ex’s teenage daughter who announced that she had discovered a really cool band we wouldn’t know of. Apparently something called Fleetwood Mac.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, chorus girl, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Weirdly wrong. He is a he. Have you heard of aliases? They don’t have to conform to your actual biological sex…
Right that's it, in that case I am demanding single sex lavatories here at PB. That could become expensive.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
Yes, via channels like Youtube and at Rewind Festivals etc. There will always be an audience keen on reliving their youth, and another audience keen on rediscovering a youth that wasn't theirs.
Phew.
Is there any way of identifying these people, so I can avoid having to engage them in conversation?
I’ve just read the article, and to draw such a comparison, between modern Scotland, and Jim Crow era America, with its very different demographic and socio-economic profile, seems like an argument made in bad faith to me.
I'm just not sure what is gained by the analogy in the context made, even within the wider article. Bearing in mind an experienced academic said it in that context they presumably think it a great point, but at best it seems a distraction to me from broader and more positive arguments being sought.
It doesn't make sense at any level. That's *beyond* "Death Recorded" level of stupidity.
I presume it is part of the Americanisation of socio-political discourse.
There was someone ranting about the price of drugs in healthcare the other day, on Reddit. For the UK.
He exploded when various people pointed out that NHS bulk buys and gets very good prices on most things. When it was pointed out that some of the reforms to bulk buying and using generics happened under Thatcher - he nearly got banned by the mods. From his "points" he had obviously absorbed a lot of content about US healthcare.
Giving the best possible case for the argument: you could perhaps argue that if the Jim Crow South can manage to appoint that many black people then a Scottish University drawing on the peoples of the British Empire ought to have at least managed reach that same low bar?
The racial make-up still doesn’t make any sense of course: the Scottish Universities should (by this argument) have been recruiting this fraction mostly from the Indian subcontinent, not people of African descent.
I don't understand that - are you saying that Scottish universities should have more ethnic diversity than the Scottish population, due to international students/fellows?
By this argument, yes? Why should Scottish universities restrict themselves only to Scottish academics?
I’m not 100% pushing this line, but it’s a line you could take - a colourable argument as US lawyers like to say.
Does anyone have data on the international cohort of students/fellows etc at Scottish universities vs other universities? I would suspect that Edinburgh and St Andrews would have quite a few...
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
Tbf they are objectively so good. Not forever on my Spotify but Sultans of Swing is Desert Island Discs level.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
My conclusion is that it's a good name to massage your ego, but a terrible one to win votes.
Prefer YP. I think they should stick with that. They need to attract some NOTAs.
Yes, "Your Party" is unusual, but might just work. Certainly distinctive
"Left Party" is calamitous. Left on the shelf, Left at the altar, Left way behind, Left at the party by all of his friends
It's a bad sign if they cannot even agree on a decent name. It's not hard
It's one of the curious blind spots people on the left seem to have. (I teach. I work with some people who are utterly delightful and damn good at what they do and are utterly professional... but very left-wing.) They seem convinced that Proper Left will be popular, when all the evidence is that it isn't.
The right has mostly avoided that pitfall, at least until the rise of Nige.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She's a pound ship Unity Mitford.
FAR more interesting than Unity Mitford, who was just a bit dim
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
In news that might cheer you up - I recently took on a new hire who's "first prime minister" was David Cameron.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
In news that might cheer you up - I recently took on a new hire who's "first prime minister" was David Cameron.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She's a pound ship Unity Mitford.
‘She believed Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were strong leaders’
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, chorus girl, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She wasn't so much "the saviour of the Spitfire" as the "saviour of the design team at Rolls specialising in V-12 aero engines."
They essentially trained up on building the R, which meant that they could make a pitch to the board to produce a private venture V-12 to fill a perceived gap win the line up of engines. Which gave us the Merlin. The same team (pretty much) then pitched the Griffon to the Royal Navy.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She's a pound ship Unity Mitford.
‘She believed Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were strong leaders’
I am lightheaded with surprise.
I didn't claim she was "nice"
I said her life story is jaw-dropping. And it is
I love all the little details, eg
"In 1932, she offered to give £200,000 (equivalent to £15 million in 2023) to strengthen the British Armed Forces. The National Government refused. She hung a huge electric sign, "DOWN WITH MACDONALD THE TRAITOR", in the rigging of Liberty and sailed round Great Britain.[11]"
My conclusion is that it's a good name to massage your ego, but a terrible one to win votes.
Prefer YP. I think they should stick with that. They need to attract some NOTAs.
Yes, "Your Party" is unusual, but might just work. Certainly distinctive
"Left Party" is calamitous. Left on the shelf, Left at the altar, Left way behind, Left at the party by all of his friends
It's a bad sign if they cannot even agree on a decent name. It's not hard
Both of the names sound like they belong in an episode of Borgen. The kind of party Nyborg would have either set up and regretted, or had a dalliance with then ditched at a crucial moment due to some momentary drama.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, chorus girl, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She wasn't so much "the saviour of the Spitfire" as the "saviour of the design team at Rolls specialising in V-12 aero engines."
They essentially trained up on building the R, which meant that they could make a pitch to the board to produce a private venture V-12 to fill a perceived gap win the line up of engines. Which gave us the Merlin. The same team (pretty much) then pitched the Griffon to the Royal Navy.
The Gazette has asked me to write about this thing called "the Online Safety Act"
Has anyone got any thoughts? I hear bad things
Beyond terrible. Another post passed as we sleepwalk our way into the totalitarian surveillance state. And all to appease earnestly woke do-gooders who wouldn't recognise a VPL if it joined them for breakfast.
Is it during the traditional twerking stage of breakfast that you recognise the visible panty line?
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Stop it, he's in no mood for a sponge bath.
I was being unusually nice!
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
So attentive that you’ve missed that she’s not a ‘he’
Weirdly wrong. He is a he. Have you heard of aliases? They don’t have to conform to your actual biological sex…
Seems weird to call hers... er, I mean himself "Blanche".
The only real world Blanche Livermore known to me was a Yankee-Doodle Quiltist.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
In news that might cheer you up - I recently took on a new hire who's "first prime minister" was David Cameron.
I did say 'might'.
You employ child labour??
They're so cheap to hire. Literally work for sweeties.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
Had similar with an ex’s teenage daughter who announced that she had discovered a really cool band we wouldn’t know of. Apparently something called Fleetwood Mac.
There's masses of stuff on Youtube of young 'ums listening to classic tracks for the first time.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She's a pound ship Unity Mitford.
‘She believed Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were strong leaders’
I am lightheaded with surprise.
I didn't claim she was "nice"
I said her life story is jaw-dropping. And it is
I love all the little details, eg
"In 1932, she offered to give £200,000 (equivalent to £15 million in 2023) to strengthen the British Armed Forces. The National Government refused. She hung a huge electric sign, "DOWN WITH MACDONALD THE TRAITOR", in the rigging of Liberty and sailed round Great Britain.[11]"
Known about her for decades. She paid for the Everest flights. I had a model Westland Wallace on the shelf when I was young, which is how I know (they used to put lots of historical information in with the kits in those days).
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
I've found myself saying things like 'I remember about 30 years ago' a lot lately. Definitely becoming an old codger.
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
Yes, via channels like Youtube and at Rewind Festivals etc. There will always be an audience keen on reliving their youth, and another audience keen on rediscovering a youth that wasn't theirs.
Phew.
Is there any way of identifying these people, so I can avoid having to engage them in conversation?
I just heard the most depressing prognosis of Britain's economic situation from one of the smartest businessmen I've ever met, who has recently become a friend
Suffice to say, wow we're fucked
Coming from you, a man who never ever expresses such serious concerns about the future makes that even more scary.
Oh wait.
Not saying you/he is wrong, but gives us the gist please?
Evening everyone. I just had dinner with someone really important and special, but I can't tell you who they are. Anyway, the thing is he said something that exactly fits my existing political views.
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
She's a pound ship Unity Mitford.
‘She believed Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were strong leaders’
I am lightheaded with surprise.
I didn't claim she was "nice"
I said her life story is jaw-dropping. And it is
I love all the little details, eg
"In 1932, she offered to give £200,000 (equivalent to £15 million in 2023) to strengthen the British Armed Forces. The National Government refused. She hung a huge electric sign, "DOWN WITH MACDONALD THE TRAITOR", in the rigging of Liberty and sailed round Great Britain.[11]"
Known about her for decades. She paid for the Everest flights. I had a model Westland Wallace on the shelf when I was young, which is how I know (they used to put lots of historical information in with the kits in those days).
She's utterly fabulous. OK she liked Hitler, no one is perfect
I sense an essay coming on
It was my daughter today who got me into her lifestory. As we walked around Nunhead Cemetery
That's my daughter who is reading The Master and Margarita
And I think Katy Perry is an untalented 40 year old singer.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
Yes probably, in the same way people listen to Bucks Fizz and Toni Basil now - as fun nostalgia. Her songs will never be regarded as classics, but a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
Wait.
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
A while back I was walking behind two young students. One was extolling an amazing band he'd come across. Just *so good*. Etc, etc.
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
I employ people who until quite recently had never heard of Oasis.
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
I've found myself saying things like 'I remember about 30 years ago' a lot lately. Definitely becoming an old codger.
Then you realise it was actually 40 years ago. While the youngsters look at their new-fangled 'mobile telephones' in embarrassment.
Comments
Zarah Sultana MP
@zarahsultana
·
2h
Palestinian self-determination is an inalienable right, not a bargaining chip.
https://x.com/zarahsultana/status/1950236130114490513
The US is due to report annualised second-quarter growth of 2.5 per cent on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, after the world’s largest economy shrank at the start of the year. The IMF believes the US is now set to grow by 1.9 per cent this year and 2 per cent in 2026
The dream of a 2% a year growth rate in the UK.....
Many countries in the OECD will out-perform us
But I feel like her principal point of the support not being firm enough is clear.
Watch: Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spotted having dinner together
Sighting of former Canadian PM and singer in high-end restaurant raises questions of potential budding romance
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/07/29/katy-perry-justin-trudeau-dinner-together/
2. I suspect the ad writers wanted exactly this response, and got what they desired
3. It will be way more successful than the Jaguar rebrand, which went the opposite way
The old stat was ~84% were British, while people act like all care workers are non-British. Holding the wages down at minimum wage and opening up visas has lowered the British percentage but its still over three quarters.
The sector can cope by paying its staff a market rate. Then people will apply for the jobs. Or the sector can go bust and shut down due to lack of employees. Their choice. No need to import minimum wage people to save a sector from paying a market rate.
Will anyone be playing her music in two decades time?
https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3lv4q5ebnkk2l
Stupid gesture and meaningless politics from Starmer, but what else should we expect from him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAp9BKosZXs&list=RDtAp9BKosZXs&start_radio=1
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25349555.zarah-sultana-reveals-preference-name-new-party/
My conclusion is that it's a good name to massage your ego, but a terrible one to win votes.
Most people think that requiring some kind of age verification for porn sites is reasonable. That’s not the problem with the OSA.
How are you doing, you poor old sod? Are you still in hospital? Do you need cheering up?!
Her relatively cheery hit California Girls did lead bubblegum music out of its dark/all black wearing/illuminati-pop phase, for which we should all be somewhat grateful. Though someone else would have done it if she hadn't.
It's Extreme Right Ultra Neon Nazism to suggest that jobs in care homes should pay enough to attract workers. The jobs are supposed to be left for slaves imported through Bristol docks.
Or have I got my cue cards mixed up again?
People listen to Bucks Fizz these days?
Really?
And they do this non-ironically?
They hail a black cab.....
'So, in September.........'
Prick
Not like you haven’t made up poorly conceived characters on here before.
I have made friends with a very rich guy. It's not unknown. I've got one friend who is worth over a billion. Several friends are in the £100m-1bn range
I recommend making friends who are absurdly wealthy. They have nice houses around the world, and invite you to stay, and shit like that
I like @BlancheLivermore - he's one of the sanest posters on here. Dryly funny, and with a fresh take on stuff. A valuable commenter. I also really like his walking holiday travelogues. sorry if this is coming across as saccharine or schmaltzy
I was genuinely horrified to read of his car accident. I hope he's ok
(Personal anecdote: I teach, I have a paid-off mortgage, I'm in my early fifties. I'm not seriously thinking of retiring, but am starting to do the whole 'would it work if I stopped working... what would happen?' thing because it's blooming tempting. I'm certainly in the 'if this job isn't enjoyable, I won't do it because I don't have to' space. Very nice for me, but I'm not sure it's healthy for society.
And I don't know how you manage people like me- we can't collectively afford to do it with money.)
I’m not 100% pushing this line, but it’s a line you could take - a colourable argument as US lawyers like to say.
etc...
If the Government, the commissioners or the Trust do something that I really don't like then I can just walkaway.
Is there any way of identifying these people, so I can avoid having to engage them in conversation?
"Left Party" is calamitous. Left on the shelf, Left at the altar, Left way behind, Left at the party by all of his friends
It's a bad sign if they cannot even agree on a decent name. It's not hard
Though having the leaders already suggest names would somewhat undermine their efforts to mock the people who mocked them for not coming up with a name in the first place.
I think something more dynamic would be better though - why not Peace and Justice, the name of Corbyn's ego vehicle?
After a few minutes he name-dropped that it was an old obscure band called 'Dire Straits'.
Laydeez and Gennulmen
Lucy, Lady Houston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy,_Lady_Houston
Suffragette, feminist, bit of a tart, common cockney lass, chorus girl, "England's second richest woman", imperialist, Fascist sympathiser, possible husband-poisoner, friend of Winston Churchill and the King, newspaper magnate, opponent of Indian independence, aviation pioneer, "Saviour of the Spitfire", and so royally patriotic when the Abdication happened she stopped eating, and died
i currently have one person working for me who was born after Istanbul 2005/The greatest Ashes series ever.
Fuck me, youth to middle age isn't a marathon, it's a sprint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlGXDy5xFlw
The right has mostly avoided that pitfall, at least until the rise of Nige.
What was his tipple?
I did say 'might'.
I am lightheaded with surprise.
They essentially trained up on building the R, which meant that they could make a pitch to the board to produce a private venture V-12 to fill a perceived gap win the line up of engines. Which gave us the Merlin. The same team (pretty much) then pitched the Griffon to the Royal Navy.
I said her life story is jaw-dropping. And it is
I love all the little details, eg
"In 1932, she offered to give £200,000 (equivalent to £15 million in 2023) to strengthen the British Armed Forces. The National Government refused. She hung a huge electric sign, "DOWN WITH MACDONALD THE TRAITOR", in the rigging of Liberty and sailed round Great Britain.[11]"
https://sunyjefferson.academicworks.com/donors/samaritan-medical-center
Minds blown.
I'm a bit rusty on the classics.
I sense an essay coming on
It was my daughter today who got me into her lifestory. As we walked around Nunhead Cemetery
That's my daughter who is reading The Master and Margarita
"proud father of daughters with excellent taste"