As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
1. Why was the Sikh guy shouting at the Eastern Europeans?
2. Were the latter Roma?
I don't know why the Sikh guy was shouting. They appeared from an entrance whilst they were in the midst of what initially appeared to be an animated discussion. The contents of their discussion only became apparent when they started shouting loudly. As to the ethnicity of the EEs, the best I can do is "Eastern European" from snatches of overheard dialogue. They were scruffily dressed in nondescript charity-shop mufti: woolly hat, scruffy jackets/coats, blue jeans. I couldn't pick any of them from a lineup.
I might have to watch Newsnight just to see the sadness in the eyes of all the lefty Newsnight presenters trying to spin today as anything but a mega omnishambles without breaking down in tears at what the Labour party has become.
I think most people will have been watching Ant and Dec meet Prince Charles on ITV and will probably stay on ITV for the news after so Newsnight may have below average ratings anyway tonight
So Evan could end up talking to just me then...
Will be hacks talking to political junkies I expect
Once again, Corbyn does not care about the reshuffle beyond the extent to which it helps him engineer the far left's attempts to takeover all Labour levers. Reaction to events from the PLP, the media and/or voters are of no consequnce - what matters is the membership. As long as members stick with him that is all that matters. Corbyn has no interest in Labour gaining power. He is focused solely on taking over Labour.
The worst of it is, he's not even very good at a Trotskyite takeover, as we now see from this non-reshuffle which, while changing nothing, completely takes the pressure off the Tories at a potentially iffy moment.
He's a Charity Shop Chairman Mao. Just useless.
Yes, he is totally inept. But as long as NickP and the useful idiots play along it is not a problem for Corbyn. The only audience that matters to him is the membership.
Even to her fans, surely Abbot would be unsuited to that role? Sounds like the sort of rumour designed to make whoever actually gets it look better by comparison.
@NanSloane: So, Newsnight is reshuffle (no news) Danczuk (ditto) and Goya. No actual issues (eg rail, floods, Syria, Saudi, doctors strike, etc) at all.
You can get a lot for your money in East Kilbride, it seems.
Is she hoovering up distress purchases? Is there this 'get the lawyer on side' scam going on here as well? Where are our Scottish experts when we need them. Another SNP to lose the whip?
As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
Whatever happened to the vending machines on tube platforms?
Wasn't tube. However, vendjng machines in general have become a f**k of a lot better over the past five years.
Is she hoovering up distress purchases? Is there this 'get the lawyer on side' scam going on here as well? Where are our Scottish experts when we need them. Another SNP to lose the whip?
She won't lose the whip until she announces Aamer Anwar is her lawyer...
As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
Whatever happened to the vending machines on tube platforms?
Wasn't tube. However, vendjng machines in general have become a f**k of a lot better over the past five years.
I see the Scottish Mail headline is 'No End to Floods Misery' Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
I see the Scottish Mail headline is 'No End to Floods Misery' Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
It did strike me as a rash claim by Dair at the time!
If you want to be transported back to late Victorian and Edwardian England - and the multiplicity od accents and dialects that you could have heard back then - this is for you:
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
1. Why was the Sikh guy shouting at the Eastern Europeans?
2. Were the latter Roma?
I don't know why the Sikh guy was shouting. They appeared from an entrance whilst they were in the midst of what initially appeared to be an animated discussion. The contents of their discussion only became apparent when they started shouting loudly. As to the ethnicity of the EEs, the best I can do is "Eastern European" from snatches of overheard dialogue. They were scruffily dressed in nondescript charity-shop mufti: woolly hat, scruffy jackets/coats, blue jeans. I couldn't pick any of them from a lineup.
I suspect they were arguing about Big Issue pitches, in that case, and that the Eastern Europeans were Roma.
As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
Bought a pack of four chocolate bars at a mini supermarket and eaten choccy all the way home.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was on Monday night preparing to bow to pressure and abandon his plans to sack Hilary Benn, as shadow foreign secretary, after being warned he faced mass-resignations.
Two senior Labour sources said that both Mr Benn and Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, were "safe" after Mr Corbyn spent more than six hours locked in meetings with his shadow cabinet.
Even to her fans, surely Abbot would be unsuited to that role? Sounds like the sort of rumour designed to make whoever actually gets it look better by comparison.
As the Duke of Wellington might have said, ''I do not know what she does to the enemy, but by God she frightens me'
If you want to be transported back to late Victorian and Edwardian England - and the multiplicity od accents and dialects that you could have heard back then - this is for you:
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
@BBCNewsnight: .@OwenJones84 "open-minded" about sacking Hilary Benn from the shadow cabinet #newsnight
Typical little weasel he is. He will make up his mind when he hears what FUBAR* decides to do just to ensure he comes down on the right side as his hero.
I'm not sure people sitting in the old armchair get why Jihadi Jeff and Jihadi Junior (and I want to point out that I coined the latter moniker on here last night and will attempt to sue the Sun for using it as a front page headline this morning.....) .
A few nights ago I said that fairly prominent British jihadi fighting for IS had been sending what they assumed were secure messages to devotees urging attacks at New Years. I pointed then, it wasn't as secure as they thought.
A few days later this fella with an English accent turns up in a video.
Cred building within the Jihadi fanbase and publicity because they know how obsessed people got with Jihadi John are just two motivations.
More significantly anyone who thinks there isn't another more direct objective related to something back home is not joining the dots.
Goodness, watching this Danczuk interview on Newsnight, can't help but feel he would've been better staying quiet....
I prefer younger women.
Half your age plus seven is the ideal, as Tolstoy said. Not sure I believe it.
The key to marital happiness is to choose a woman who is younger, poorer, and shorter.
I'm half way through Anna Karenina at the moment (there's a thought!), and that age gap is probably about that of Anna and her husband. Suffice to say, it's not worked out for him and I'm not holding my breath for her either.
I see from the previous thread that the usual suspects are itching for the press to try and pin someone's death on the doctors' strike. Patients will die, some of them unfortunately do despite the medics' best efforts, but it will not be because of the strike.
I see the Scottish Mail headline is 'No End to Floods Misery' Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
ITV news had a sense of humour tonight. The reporter despatched to Scotland to report on the floods was none other than Mr Dan River. Only one letter out Oops!
If you want to be transported back to late Victorian and Edwardian England - and the multiplicity od accents and dialects that you could have heard back then - this is for you:
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
As the fount of all wisdom in these challenging times, I wonder if you could help me with my moral conundrum. Today after a long train journey, I was on the platform in a large English town. There was an increasingly loud altercation wherein two white men with Eastern European accidents were being shouted at loudly by a brown Sikh Big Issue salesman, who harangued them repeatedly thus: "You Are Taking Money From English People. F*** Off Back To Your Own Country". The argument ended peacefully (if not pleasantly) as they caught separate trains. As a well-mannered soul, I was wondering what the ethical response should be. Should it be:
* a) defend the Eastern Europeans * b) defend the Sikh * c) go "f*** it" and get a confectionary bar from the vending machine.
I chose option "c", ate the bar (it was yummy) and proceeded home safely. But I am wondering. What should a less lazy person have done?
1. Why was the Sikh guy shouting at the Eastern Europeans?
2. Were the latter Roma?
I don't know why the Sikh guy was shouting. They appeared from an entrance whilst they were in the midst of what initially appeared to be an animated discussion. The contents of their discussion only became apparent when they started shouting loudly. As to the ethnicity of the EEs, the best I can do is "Eastern European" from snatches of overheard dialogue. They were scruffily dressed in nondescript charity-shop mufti: woolly hat, scruffy jackets/coats, blue jeans. I couldn't pick any of them from a lineup.
I suspect they were arguing about Big Issue pitches, in that case, and that the Eastern Europeans were Roma.
Plausible.
Either way I think you did the right thing in walking away and buying some chocolate. Life is too short, and chocolate helps.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was on Monday night preparing to bow to pressure and abandon his plans to sack Hilary Benn, as shadow foreign secretary, after being warned he faced mass-resignations.
Two senior Labour sources said that both Mr Benn and Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, were "safe" after Mr Corbyn spent more than six hours locked in meetings with his shadow cabinet.
@BBCNewsnight: .@OwenJones84 "open-minded" about sacking Hilary Benn from the shadow cabinet #newsnight
Typical little weasel he is. He will make up his mind when he hears what FUBAR* decides to do just to ensure he comes down on the right side as his hero.
*Corbyn.
Actually, for the first time, I thought Owen Jones showed real doubt, even a brief flash of anger or despair, vis a vis Corbyn tonight.
Whatever you think of Jones (and I rather like him: he's an excellent writer) he is smart and savvy. He knows the Corbyn leadership is fast becoming an ongoing Moldovian clusterf*ck.
I reckon we will see him slowly but consciously decouple from Corbyn over the next few months, or maybe years. He will try and quietly walk away, unnoticed, so his career isn't unduly damaged.
He writes well, style wise.
Content is generally guff. But I suppose one out of two is an improvement on many political commentators from all sides....
Balls - after booking quite reasonable train tickets, Virgin decide to have a bargainous sale that includes almost the same trains I'll be using....
Just got an Email tonight that Anglia trains having a sale 8th to 10th jan with tickets 5 quid a pop on their website . No further info but won't be peak times obviously and other restrictions will apply. Sitting on roof or something no doubt.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
I see the Scottish Mail headline is 'No End to Floods Misery' Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
It did strike me as a rash claim by Dair at the time!
I can only repeat my controversial claim. Its rain that causes floods.
With extended heavy rain flood defences are of dubious merit, since the water has to go somewhere. The only defence if there ever really is one is to spend truly vast sums channelling and canalling all our rivers from source to outfall. In particular the outfalls would need heavy engineering to ensure that all the masses of water surging down our heavily engineered rivers could easily 'flood' out to sea.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
He was named many months ago. Torsten Bell is the architect of the EdStone
@BBCNewsnight: .@OwenJones84 "open-minded" about sacking Hilary Benn from the shadow cabinet #newsnight
Typical little weasel he is. He will make up his mind when he hears what FUBAR* decides to do just to ensure he comes down on the right side as his hero.
*Corbyn.
Actually, for the first time, I thought Owen Jones showed real doubt, even a brief flash of anger or despair, vis a vis Corbyn tonight.
Whatever you think of Jones (and I rather like him: he's an excellent writer) he is smart and savvy. He knows the Corbyn leadership is fast becoming an ongoing Moldovian clusterf*ck.
I reckon we will see him slowly but consciously decouple from Corbyn over the next few months, or maybe years. He will try and quietly walk away, unnoticed, so his career isn't unduly damaged.
I would not be surprised like I said a weasel. He decoupled from Caracas pretty quickly as well so he has form. It's the damage he does on the way we should be concerned with.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was on Monday night preparing to bow to pressure and abandon his plans to sack Hilary Benn, as shadow foreign secretary, after being warned he faced mass-resignations.
Two senior Labour sources said that both Mr Benn and Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, were "safe" after Mr Corbyn spent more than six hours locked in meetings with his shadow cabinet.
What, you mean that the Shadow Cabinet, which hitherto has shown excessive divergence from the dear leader, has once again rebelled against its own culling? Who'd have thought it.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
Ed should be pretty happy too.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
Unnamed? I'd read it was some adviser named Torsten Bell. Not sure if he's confirmed that.
Edit: Ha! An old story mocking the connection:
Ed Balls' former policy chief Karim Palant was on hand.
And to complete Newsnight Labour-fest, Harperson in the back of stretched limo...
Do the Tories still exist?
Yes, they are running the country with a majority in Parliament and a healthy poll lead. Now is a time that you temporary lock away the big and small guns. There's no point risking shooting yourself in the foot when all your enemy is busy playing Russian Roulette just for the kicks.
This Labour women piece is incredibly patronising.
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
The best bit was the discussion that pointed out that despite 8(?) female candidates standing for leader/deputy only one had won. The inescapable conclusion is that the sexist part of the Labour party was the selectorate rather than the elite!
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
He was named many months ago. Torsten Bell is the architect of the EdStone
I wasn't aware anyone had been named, and did he actually admit it?
This Labour women piece is incredibly patronising.
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
The best bit was the discussion that pointed out that despite 8(?) female candidates standing for leader/deputy only one had won. The inescapable conclusion is that the sexist part of the Labour party was the selectorate rather than the elite!
And on that bombshell...
Or the women were crap? *dons flame retardant suit*
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
He was named many months ago. Torsten Bell is the architect of the EdStone
I wasn't aware anyone had been named, and did he actually admit it?
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was on Monday night preparing to bow to pressure and abandon his plans to sack Hilary Benn, as shadow foreign secretary, after being warned he faced mass-resignations.
Two senior Labour sources said that both Mr Benn and Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, were "safe" after Mr Corbyn spent more than six hours locked in meetings with his shadow cabinet.
The Telegraph list Maria Eagle as current shadow defence secretary but facing the sack and show a picture of a 'Maria Eagle shadow transport secretary' complaining about the railways. Its all a bit Ant and Dec at the Telegraph.
BTW - according to the Guardian there is a Damian McBridge who is an expert on Labour reshuffles
And to complete Newsnight Labour-fest, Harperson in the back of stretched limo...
Do the Tories still exist?
Yes, they are running the country with a majority in Parliament and a healthy poll lead. Now is a time that you temporary lock away the big and small guns. There's no point risking shooting yourself in the foot when all your enemy is busy playing Russian Roulette just for the kicks.
It is incredible, there are 3-4 stories that have broken today that aren't exactly great for the government and all Newsnight talk about for 45 mins is internal Labour politics.
No wonder nobody watches the program anymore. I am none the wiser about the British nutcase in Syria, or the rail fares or the floods or the doctors strike.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
And not just Ed, essentially everything to do with Labour has got worse. Even the membership numbers are bad news as barely any of the new members share the views of the parliamentary party.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
And not just Ed, essentially everything to do with Labour has got worse. Even the membership numbers are bad news as barely any of the new members share the views of the parliamentary party.
IDK, the Syria vote, supposedly pretty controversial as issues within Labour go, showed a comfortable majority support the leadership.
This Labour women piece is incredibly patronising.
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
The best bit was the discussion that pointed out that despite 8(?) female candidates standing for leader/deputy only one had won. The inescapable conclusion is that the sexist part of the Labour party was the selectorate rather than the elite!
And on that bombshell...
Or the women were crap? *dons flame retardant suit*
If being crap was a bar to being elected by Labour then we wouldn't have had Miliband, Prescott, Corbyn or Watson. Being crap is not a hindrance to high political office in the Labour party, indeed the evidence is to the contrary!
The conclusion has to be that the Labour selectorate does not like the females for some other reason.
Cat Smith - what a weak thinker. Utterly pointless.
Both utterly useless and boring. Platitudes or piffle. Jess Philips is much more interesting. A potential Labour PM, in about 2030.
Philips is just a rent-a-gob with a brummie accent. She is a good self-publicist - but her views are poorly formed and quite often very offensive.
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Which of her views are offensive do you think?
I find her views as to the nature of equality offensive. She is on record as laughing at legitimate concerns surrounding men's mental and health issues. Equality for her only applies to women - men don't count.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
Cat Smith - what a weak thinker. Utterly pointless.
Both utterly useless and boring. Platitudes or piffle. Jess Philips is much more interesting. A potential Labour PM, in about 2030.
Philips is just a rent-a-gob with a brummie accent. She is a good self-publicist - but her views are poorly formed and quite often very offensive.
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Which of her views are offensive do you think?
I find her views as to the nature of equality offensive. She is on record as laughing at legitimate concerns surrounding men's mental and health issues. Equality for her only applies to women - men don't count.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
Cat Smith - what a weak thinker. Utterly pointless.
Both utterly useless and boring. Platitudes or piffle. Jess Philips is much more interesting. A potential Labour PM, in about 2030.
Philips is just a rent-a-gob with a brummie accent. She is a good self-publicist - but her views are poorly formed and quite often very offensive.
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Which of her views are offensive do you think?
I find her views as to the nature of equality offensive. She is on record as laughing at legitimate concerns surrounding men's mental and health issues. Equality for her only applies to women - men don't count.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
So far as I can see it doesn't bear that construction at all.
No. I am judging her on her behaviour during the committee sitting about back bench business when she laughed at the idea that these things deserved any parliamentary time. She laughed.
That is offensive. The rise in suicide rates among young men is a serious not laughing issue.
I see the Scottish Mail headline is 'No End to Floods Misery' Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
It did strike me as a rash claim by Dair at the time!
I can only repeat my controversial claim. Its rain that causes floods.
With extended heavy rain flood defences are of dubious merit, since the water has to go somewhere. The only defence if there ever really is one is to spend truly vast sums channelling and canalling all our rivers from source to outfall. In particular the outfalls would need heavy engineering to ensure that all the masses of water surging down our heavily engineered rivers could easily 'flood' out to sea.
Funny how we survived for hundreds of years simply by managing the rivers as they should be managed and by not building on flood plains.
And to complete Newsnight Labour-fest, Harperson in the back of stretched limo...
Do the Tories still exist?
Yes, they are running the country with a majority in Parliament and a healthy poll lead. Now is a time that you temporary lock away the big and small guns. There's no point risking shooting yourself in the foot when all your enemy is busy playing Russian Roulette just for the kicks.
It is incredible, there are 3-4 stories that have broken today that aren't exactly great for the government and all Newsnight talk about for 45 mins is internal Labour politics.
No wonder nobody watches the program anymore. I am none the wiser about the British nutcase in Syria, or the rail fares or the floods or the doctors strike.
The interview with the Iranian guy was quite good. I liked his point that the dispute with Saudi was not a Shia-Sunni split but rather a Wahabbi vs the rest split.
The Chinese crash does look like the story that has been missed. Very bad PMI figures. If the Chinese are really in recession (and cooking the published figures) then we could have a very bumpy ride economically this year.
And to complete Newsnight Labour-fest, Harperson in the back of stretched limo...
Do the Tories still exist?
Yes, they are running the country with a majority in Parliament and a healthy poll lead. Now is a time that you temporary lock away the big and small guns. There's no point risking shooting yourself in the foot when all your enemy is busy playing Russian Roulette just for the kicks.
It is incredible, there are 3-4 stories that have broken today that aren't exactly great for the government and all Newsnight talk about for 45 mins is internal Labour politics.
No wonder nobody watches the program anymore. I am none the wiser about the British nutcase in Syria, or the rail fares or the floods or the doctors strike.
The interview with the Iranian guy was quite good. I liked his point that the dispute with Saudi was not a Shia-Sunni split but rather a Wahabbi vs the rest split.
The Chinese crash does look like the story that has been missed. Very bad PMI figures. If the Chinese are really in recession (and cooking the published figures) then we could have a very bumpy ride economically this year.
The PMI data for China was weak this morning. But so was the US PMI data.
Quite incredibly, the country in the world with the strongest PMIs (55.7, a five year high) is... Italy.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
Ed should be pretty happy too.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
Nonsense. Corbyn's election is the exclamation point on Ed Miliband's disastrous tenure, for it was he that (a) indulged the left of the party, contra the wiser counsel of Ed Balls, and crucially (b) changed the voting system to the ludicrous one they have now.
Even though he had some decent analysis about e.g. market failure and inequality (the Tories are busy nicking that now) Ed Miliband is the worst Labour Party leader in history. Jeremy Corbyn is merely a symptom of his ineptitude.
Cat Smith - what a weak thinker. Utterly pointless.
Both utterly useless and boring. Platitudes or piffle. Jess Philips is much more interesting. A potential Labour PM, in about 2030.
Philips is just a rent-a-gob with a brummie accent. She is a good self-publicist - but her views are poorly formed and quite often very offensive.
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Which of her views are offensive do you think?
I find her views as to the nature of equality offensive. She is on record as laughing at legitimate concerns surrounding men's mental and health issues. Equality for her only applies to women - men don't count.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
So far as I can see it doesn't bear that construction at all.
No. I am judging her on her behaviour during the committee sitting about back bench business when she laughed at the idea that these things deserved any parliamentary time. She laughed.
That is offensive. The rise in suicide rates among young men is a serious not laughing issue.
That's what the article is about. As I said, I don't think she said what you are saying she said. In fact she went out of her way to say that she thought men's mental health issues were a serious matter. What she found funny - and I do too - is the idea that the voice of men is not heard in Parliament and that we need a special day in order to raise our issues.
Cat Smith - what a weak thinker. Utterly pointless.
Both utterly useless and boring. Platitudes or piffle. Jess Philips is much more interesting. A potential Labour PM, in about 2030.
Philips is just a rent-a-gob with a brummie accent. She is a good self-publicist - but her views are poorly formed and quite often very offensive.
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Which of her views are offensive do you think?
I find her views as to the nature of equality offensive. She is on record as laughing at legitimate concerns surrounding men's mental and health issues. Equality for her only applies to women - men don't count.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
So far as I can see it doesn't bear that construction at all.
No. I am judging her on her behaviour during the committee sitting about back bench business when she laughed at the idea that these things deserved any parliamentary time. She laughed.
That is offensive. The rise in suicide rates among young men is a serious not laughing issue.
That's what the article is about. As I said, I don't think she said what you are saying she said. In fact she went out of her way to say that she thought men's mental health issues were a serious matter. What she found funny - and I do too - is the idea that the voice of men is not heard in Parliament and that we need a special day in order to raise our issues.
Have you actually watched that exchange?
She was dismissive and rude.
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
Ed should be pretty happy too.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
Nonsense. Corbyn's election is the exclamation point on Ed Miliband's disastrous tenure, for it was he that (a) indulged the left of the party, contra the wiser counsel of Ed Balls, and crucially (b) changed the voting system to the ludicrous one they have now.
Again, rewriting history. It was the Blairites who were lobbying for the change to the election system, because of their dubious assumption that David Miliband would've won the 2010 contest under such a system.
One person who must be enjoying the current Labour Party intrigues is the unnamed genius responsible for the Ed Stone. He probably thought he'd never live it down, but now it looks like relatively small beer.
Ed should be pretty happy too.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
Nonsense. Corbyn's election is the exclamation point on Ed Miliband's disastrous tenure, for it was he that (a) indulged the left of the party, contra the wiser counsel of Ed Balls, and crucially (b) changed the voting system to the ludicrous one they have now.
Again, rewriting history. It was the Blairites who were lobbying for the change to the election system, because of their dubious assumption that David Miliband would've won the 2010 contest under such a system.
I'm not re-writing history, I'm using hindsight. That's how we usually judge leaders, for better or worse. The unions were pretty happy with the proposed changes as they recognised that the crucial change was removing the electoral college from MPs - which has proved disastrous.
And to complete Newsnight Labour-fest, Harperson in the back of stretched limo...
Do the Tories still exist?
Yes, they are running the country with a majority in Parliament and a healthy poll lead. Now is a time that you temporary lock away the big and small guns. There's no point risking shooting yourself in the foot when all your enemy is busy playing Russian Roulette just for the kicks.
It is incredible, there are 3-4 stories that have broken today that aren't exactly great for the government and all Newsnight talk about for 45 mins is internal Labour politics.
No wonder nobody watches the program anymore. I am none the wiser about the British nutcase in Syria, or the rail fares or the floods or the doctors strike.
The interview with the Iranian guy was quite good. I liked his point that the dispute with Saudi was not a Shia-Sunni split but rather a Wahabbi vs the rest split.
The Chinese crash does look like the story that has been missed. Very bad PMI figures. If the Chinese are really in recession (and cooking the published figures) then we could have a very bumpy ride economically this year.
The PMI data for China was weak this morning. But so was the US PMI data.
Quite incredibly, the country in the world with the strongest PMIs (55.7, a five year high) is... Italy.
Indeed. The Eurozone figures were generally pretty good. China and the US going sluggish, along with emerging markets, yet the EZ being bouyant would make for an interesting year.
Corbyn's "genius" is that, since he became leader, most opinion polls have put both the Tories and UKIP up in the polls compared to the general election. Today's YouGov poll had those two parties on a combined 56% compared to 51% at the election.
That's what the article is about. As I said, I don't think she said what you are saying she said. In fact she went out of her way to say that she thought men's mental health issues were a serious matter. What she found funny - and I do too - is the idea that the voice of men is not heard in Parliament and that we need a special day in order to raise our issues.
I think she misplayed that issue. Nonetheless she is exactly the kind of no-nonsense, white, non Oxbridge, plain speaking "ordinary" woman who could take a post-Corbyn labour to a huge landslide victory in 2025 or 2030. But, oof, its a long way away.
I agree she didn't handle it well and probably knows that. For one thing the "laughed at mentally ill men" thing will never entirely vanish.
But otherwise I think she could really connect with people and could just be the anti-Corbyn. There has to be a antidote to this joyless self-hating version of the left if they are ever to recover.
If you want to be transported back to late Victorian and Edwardian England - and the multiplicity od accents and dialects that you could have heard back then - this is for you:
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
If men's issues are being ignored in Parliament then it's men, overwhelmingly, who are doing the ignoring. They can stop that at any moment and put those issues to the very top of the agenda.
Corbyn's "genius" is that, since he became leader, most opinion polls have put both the Tories and UKIP up in the polls compared to the general election. Today's YouGov poll had those two parties on a combined 56% compared to 51% at the election.
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
If men's issues are being ignored in Parliament then it's men, overwhelmingly, who are doing the ignoring. They can stop that at any moment and put those issues to the very top of the agenda.
Isn't that what someone tried to do, and got slapped down for doing it?
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
If men's issues are being ignored in Parliament then it's men, overwhelmingly, who are doing the ignoring. They can stop that at any moment and put those issues to the very top of the agenda.
Isn't that what someone tried to do, and got slapped down for doing it?
And there is an ongoing reluctance to discuss male health issues openly. That has to be challenged.
If so-called proponents of equality laugh at these issues, what chance is there of ever getting discussed?
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
If men's issues are being ignored in Parliament then it's men, overwhelmingly, who are doing the ignoring. They can stop that at any moment and put those issues to the very top of the agenda.
Isn't that what someone tried to do, and got slapped down for doing it?
And there is an ongoing reluctance to discuss male health issues openly. That has to be challenged.
If so-called proponents of equality laugh at these issues, what chance is there of ever getting discussed?
I entirely agree about male health issues but it's something we men have plenty of time and opportunity to address, and we should.
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
If men's issues are being ignored in Parliament then it's men, overwhelmingly, who are doing the ignoring. They can stop that at any moment and put those issues to the very top of the agenda.
Isn't that what someone tried to do, and got slapped down for doing it?
And there is an ongoing reluctance to discuss male health issues openly. That has to be challenged.
If so-called proponents of equality laugh at these issues, what chance is there of ever getting discussed?
I entirely agree about male health issues but it's something we men have plenty of time and opportunity to address, and we should.
No - we as a society need to address them. Men and women. Just as we should talk about domestic violence as it affects all victims.
Equality works both ways - and we should not view it as an issue that just affects one sector of society.
This Labour women piece is incredibly patronising.
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
The best bit was the discussion that pointed out that despite 8(?) female candidates standing for leader/deputy only one had won. The inescapable conclusion is that the sexist part of the Labour party was the selectorate rather than the elite!
And on that bombshell...
Or the women were crap? *dons flame retardant suit*
If being crap was a bar to being elected by Labour then we wouldn't have had Miliband, Prescott, Corbyn or Watson. Being crap is not a hindrance to high political office in the Labour party, indeed the evidence is to the contrary!
The conclusion has to be that the Labour selectorate does not like the females for some other reason.
Indeed. When they changed the Shadow cabinet election rules to require MPs to vote for 4 women Jo Richardson was heard saying loudly that she looked forward to the day when there were as many crap women as crap men in the Shadow Cabinet. If she'd lived until tomorrow she might have seen that day.
This Labour women piece is incredibly patronising.
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
The best bit was the discussion that pointed out that despite 8(?) female candidates standing for leader/deputy only one had won. The inescapable conclusion is that the sexist part of the Labour party was the selectorate rather than the elite!
And on that bombshell...
Or the women were crap? *dons flame retardant suit*
If being crap was a bar to being elected by Labour then we wouldn't have had Miliband, Prescott, Corbyn or Watson. Being crap is not a hindrance to high political office in the Labour party, indeed the evidence is to the contrary!
The conclusion has to be that the Labour selectorate does not like the females for some other reason.
Indeed. When they changed the Shadow cabinet election rules to require MPs to vote for 4 women Jo Richardson was heard saying loudly that she looked forward to the day when there were as many crap women as crap men in the Shadow Cabinet. If she'd lived until tomorrow she might have seen that day.
There is already a majority of women in the SC - admittedly a good number of them in made-up non-jobs. And very very few SC members (male or female) would ever get employed in senior management roles in the real world. So I would say Jo Richardson's test has been met.
If you want to be transported back to late Victorian and Edwardian England - and the multiplicity od accents and dialects that you could have heard back then - this is for you:
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
Thanks for the link. Fascinating stuff.
One of the ones that's vanished most completely is the traditional Essex accent (and even dialect, though the vocabulary wasn't as varied as, say, Yorkshire dialect), which was pretty much a mild version of stereotypical Suffolk/Norfolk. There's some good examples on there. It's all gone very estuarine now, even in the north of the county.
A lot of my family are of Yorkshire agricultural stock, and the older rural generation (now long dead) had a quite an astonishing dialect, rich with its own vocabulary, grammar and turns of phrase, that at times seemed to transmute into some ancestral Anglo-Saxon-Nordic language. Obviously the Yorkshire accent (or rather, a whole family of accents) is still going strong, but the rural dialect was really something quite different. And lost quite quickly as well - my grandfather abandoned a life of smallholder-farming, to become a town-dwelling haulier. His accent was very strong, enough to easily identify which Riding he was from (and if you had an ear for it, it was clear which part) but it was positively urbane compared to his brothers who stayed on the land. It would be hard to imagine they grew up under the same roof.
Once again, Corbyn does not care about the reshuffle beyond the extent to which it helps him engineer the far left's attempts to takeover all Labour levers. Reaction to events from the PLP, the media and/or voters are of no consequnce - what matters is the membership. As long as members stick with him that is all that matters. Corbyn has no interest in Labour gaining power. He is focused solely on taking over Labour.
The worst of it is, he's not even very good at a Trotskyite takeover, as we now see from this non-reshuffle which, while changing nothing, completely takes the pressure off the Tories at a potentially iffy moment.
Comments
Jezza has turned the once all conquering Labour Party into a performance art troupe, and a crappy one at that
A triumph...
Where are our Scottish experts when we need them.
Another SNP to lose the whip?
@DPMcBride: It'll shortly be announced that Team Corbyn allowed Shia LaBeouf to manage this reshuffle as his latest venture into performance art.
Suspect we might be looking back at this as the good old days.
Funny - I distinctly remember being told by Dair that the unique way Scotland manages its waterways (unlike the idiot English) meant no floods in Scotland.
http://sounds.bl.uk/Accents-and-dialects/Survey-of-English-dialects
It is a treasure trove.
My favourite? The bloke from Hackney in the Middlesex section. It's how my grandad used to talk and it's almost totally gone today. The ones from Warwickshire, on the other hand, are recognisable. The Durhams, Northumberlands and Yorkshires are barely comprehensible.
Do the Tories still exist?
*Corbyn.
A few nights ago I said that fairly prominent British jihadi fighting for IS had been sending what they assumed were secure messages to devotees urging attacks at New Years. I pointed then, it wasn't as secure as they thought.
A few days later this fella with an English accent turns up in a video.
Cred building within the Jihadi fanbase and publicity because they know how obsessed people got with Jihadi John are just two motivations.
More significantly anyone who thinks there isn't another more direct objective related to something back home is not joining the dots.
There is a point to this other than noise.
Only one letter out
Oops!
Facile in terms of the argument and the presentation.
And utterly patronising to argue that women need protecting in the way they are suggesting.
That was today.
Content is generally guff. But I suppose one out of two is an improvement on many political commentators from all sides....
Might be handy for some in that area?
She is better suited to sit alongside Portillo on a Thursday evening than holding high office.
Its rain that causes floods.
With extended heavy rain flood defences are of dubious merit, since the water has to go somewhere.
The only defence if there ever really is one is to spend truly vast sums channelling and canalling all our rivers from source to outfall. In particular the outfalls would need heavy engineering to ensure that all the masses of water surging down our heavily engineered rivers could easily 'flood' out to sea.
What, you mean that the Shadow Cabinet, which hitherto has shown excessive divergence from the dear leader, has once again rebelled against its own culling? Who'd have thought it.
Once upon a time his legacy was losing a winnable election. Now, he looks like a superstar
Edit: Ha! An old story mocking the connection:
Ed Balls' former policy chief Karim Palant was on hand.
He noted that Bell was "a rock" who was behind "some of the most heavyweight ideas" of the last five years...
http://www.totalpolitics.com/blog/451106/edstone-architect-torsten-bell-carves-out-new-job.thtml
And on that bombshell...
*dons flame retardant suit*
http://www.totalpolitics.com/blog/452131/edstone-architect-torsten-bell-lots-of-ideas-in-politics-come-and-go.thtml
The Telegraph list Maria Eagle as current shadow defence secretary but facing the sack and show a picture of a 'Maria Eagle shadow transport secretary' complaining about the railways. Its all a bit Ant and Dec at the Telegraph.
BTW - according to the Guardian there is a Damian McBridge who is an expert on Labour reshuffles
No wonder nobody watches the program anymore. I am none the wiser about the British nutcase in Syria, or the rail fares or the floods or the doctors strike.
Good night
The conclusion has to be that the Labour selectorate does not like the females for some other reason.
I find that offensive. Equality means tackling all issues with the seriousness they deserve - not dismissing them because they only affect men.
So far as I can see it doesn't bear that construction at all.
That is offensive. The rise in suicide rates among young men is a serious not laughing issue.
The Chinese crash does look like the story that has been missed. Very bad PMI figures. If the Chinese are really in recession (and cooking the published figures) then we could have a very bumpy ride economically this year.
Quite incredibly, the country in the world with the strongest PMIs (55.7, a five year high) is... Italy.
Even though he had some decent analysis about e.g. market failure and inequality (the Tories are busy nicking that now) Ed Miliband is the worst Labour Party leader in history. Jeremy Corbyn is merely a symptom of his ineptitude.
@BuzzFeedNews: .@WhiteHouse Fact Sheet: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer https://t.co/YtVmumAFYt
She was dismissive and rude.
And the concerns about male victims of domestic violence and other issues are overlooked in Parliament. Just because men form the majority of parliamentarians doesn't mean that these issues get explored appropriately. It is perfectly clear that they don't.
It is like the new Women's Equality Party only campaigning for female victims of domestic abuse. It represents the view that only women are entitled to equality.
Real issues are being ignored - and her attitude is a big part of the problem that stops them from being given a fair hearing.
And while I agree Ed caused Jez, nobody blames Sir Alex Ferguson for Davy Moyes...
But otherwise I think she could really connect with people and could just be the anti-Corbyn. There has to be a antidote to this joyless self-hating version of the left if they are ever to recover.
If so-called proponents of equality laugh at these issues, what chance is there of ever getting discussed?
Equality works both ways - and we should not view it as an issue that just affects one sector of society.
A lot of my family are of Yorkshire agricultural stock, and the older rural generation (now long dead) had a quite an astonishing dialect, rich with its own vocabulary, grammar and turns of phrase, that at times seemed to transmute into some ancestral Anglo-Saxon-Nordic language. Obviously the Yorkshire accent (or rather, a whole family of accents) is still going strong, but the rural dialect was really something quite different. And lost quite quickly as well - my grandfather abandoned a life of smallholder-farming, to become a town-dwelling haulier. His accent was very strong, enough to easily identify which Riding he was from (and if you had an ear for it, it was clear which part) but it was positively urbane compared to his brothers who stayed on the land. It would be hard to imagine they grew up under the same roof.
http://www.cpgb-ml.org/index.php?secName=leaflets&subName=display&leafletId=89
too many syllables. May I humbly suggest "Matalan Mao"?