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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is Ruth Davidson the new Alec Douglas-Home?

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  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Alistair said:

    Anorak said:

    Alistair said:

    Anazina said:

    It has never been clear to me what Tory principles Davidson holds dear. She always strikes me as a liberal social democrat, not a conservative.

    Her not inconsiderable trick is to manage to triangulate between Tories in general, right wing fruitcakes, loonies & closet racists (to the point of having them as elected members), and dewy eyed, progressive media types in London. I'm not sure that trick can be sustained while having to string together some coherent policies or bearing the responsibilities of government.
    She can, at least, hopefully work out what are the Twitter accounts of her political opponents, and which are spoof ones.

    It's quite a useful trick for politicians to have. Or people who comment on politics.

    (And yes, I've done the same in the past...)
    On what planet would anyone possibly think that was Ruth Davidson's twitter account, and that she'd be highlighting her own tendency to duck difficult questions? That's the fecking point you tumshie!
    Yeah, you got it wrong.
    Do you reallllly think that? Divvie was pointing out the much commented on tenancy for Davidson to disappear from the media when any tough questions are being asked.
    Yes, I do think he got it wrong. Besides, I'm unsure it is 'much commented on' aside by some silly Conservative-hating people north of the border.

    He got it wrong.
    FWIW I'm pretty sure Divvie knew it was a fake, but was being somewhat impish in posting it without mentioning the fact.
    It's not like the subtle Nicola Sturgeon fake account that Carlotta keeps being fooled by.
    https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgoen/status/842273003421458432
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    That'll probably be too late for her. Party leaders - particularly of the big parties - get very few opportunities (if any) to become leader, and if they miss that precious moment when the stars align, then they're out. By the time Brexit is over, there might well be someone better positioned, both in terms of parliament and support.

    There is a significant chance she will have mucked something up by then as well, lost the drive, or some other factor. Politics post-Brexit might be very different as well.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    DavidL said:

    HYUFD said:

    Alistair said:

    What's the Scottish sub sample.

    This site should report naught but the Scottish subsample.
    SNP 34, Con 27, Lab 24, LD 8, UKIP 3, Greens 3
    SNP down 3% on the 2017 general election on that subsample
    You have to remember that their little green helpers will probably only stand in a token seat or 2 at a GE.
    What about Ruth's little Kipper helpers? Yougov subsamples aside, are they now completely assimilated into the racist fruitcake wing of the SCons?
    That's a red herring.

    I'll get my coat...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    Fecking hell, England's slips have just caught one.

    If you want to see a really embarrassingly one sided match, proceedings have just finished at the Oval.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    Jennings can bowl?

    Worth a try. Certainly can't bat. Or catch.
    Sounds a bit like the Adam Ant song.
    England are getting put to the sword at the moment (and if that doesn't cause a wicket to fall I give up).
    Can I claim that? It appears that Curran is not willing to give up his fight against India easily.
  • So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
  • StereotomyStereotomy Posts: 4,092
    Terrible answer. Assumes the 100ft Kanye would only be as wide as a regular Kanye.
  • Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981
    He thinks weight scales proportionately to height. It doesn't, it scales with volume.
  • Bairstow would have caught that.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,725

    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    That'll probably be too late for her. Party leaders - particularly of the big parties - get very few opportunities (if any) to become leader, and if they miss that precious moment when the stars align, then they're out. By the time Brexit is over, there might well be someone better positioned, both in terms of parliament and support.

    There is a significant chance she will have mucked something up by then as well, lost the drive, or some other factor. Politics post-Brexit might be very different as well.
    All too true. If only Boris weren't so oblivious.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,662
    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169
    Ishmael_Z said:

    He thinks weight scales proportionately to height. It doesn't, it scales with volume.
    Indeed. Something half the size is an eighth of the weight, assuming it’s a 3D shape of the same material.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,725

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But do all the little Kanyes have the patience to hang back and wait for the inevitable?
  • DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    Great headlines (loosely connected to politics) of our time:

    Surgeon punched doctor in head in row over 'whether Laura Kuenssberg is attractive enough to be on BBC'

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/surgeon-punched-doctor-head-row-whether-laura-kuenssberg-attractive/

    Don't read the report. It is all rather squalid.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    Is that why the documentary was only about the attack of the 50 foot woman?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169
    Mr Dancer, you can probably add Ericsson to your list of engine penalties. He destroyed his car with a DRS failure at 220mph in P2. Leclerc’s car has the same problem but he didn’t crash.
  • Great headlines (loosely connected to politics) of our time:

    Surgeon punched doctor in head in row over 'whether Laura Kuenssberg is attractive enough to be on BBC'

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/surgeon-punched-doctor-head-row-whether-laura-kuenssberg-attractive/

    Don't read the report. It is all rather squalid.

    I read that as Sturgeon
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,662
    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    IanB2 said:

    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    That'll probably be too late for her. Party leaders - particularly of the big parties - get very few opportunities (if any) to become leader, and if they miss that precious moment when the stars align, then they're out. By the time Brexit is over, there might well be someone better positioned, both in terms of parliament and support.

    There is a significant chance she will have mucked something up by then as well, lost the drive, or some other factor. Politics post-Brexit might be very different as well.
    All too true. If only Boris weren't so oblivious.
    Boris faces another problem: if people know you want the job, then you become the target of others within the party who want the job, or want to stop you getting it. This has not worked out to his advantage before.

    If you want to become leader, be prominent, be friendly with other MPs in your party, and do not obviously cherish the job.
  • StereotomyStereotomy Posts: 4,092

    Great headlines (loosely connected to politics) of our time:

    Surgeon punched doctor in head in row over 'whether Laura Kuenssberg is attractive enough to be on BBC'

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/surgeon-punched-doctor-head-row-whether-laura-kuenssberg-attractive/

    Don't read the report. It is all rather squalid.

    I read that as Sturgeon
    Me too. That would have been a much more exciting story
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    Great headlines (loosely connected to politics) of our time:

    Surgeon punched doctor in head in row over 'whether Laura Kuenssberg is attractive enough to be on BBC'

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/surgeon-punched-doctor-head-row-whether-laura-kuenssberg-attractive/

    Don't read the report. It is all rather squalid.

    I read that as Sturgeon
    That really would have been fishy.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169
    edited August 2018

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    https://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    Fecking hell, England's slips have just caught one.

    I'm blaming you for that drop.

    Not that Root could catch a cold right now, unfortunately.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656
    IanB2 said:

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But do all the little Kanyes have the patience to hang back and wait for the inevitable?
    They wouldn't need patience; they'd just need to avoid dying.

    As you say, Giant Kanye, if scaled up proportionately (about 17:1) would weigh about 400 tons. Not only would that be far too much for the human bone structure, ligaments etc, it's almost certainly far too much for *any* possible design of land animal - certainly, any design that involves only two legs.

    I'd also imagine that a 100ft tall person would have severe problems with blood circulation.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
  • Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414

    Great headlines (loosely connected to politics) of our time:

    Surgeon punched doctor in head in row over 'whether Laura Kuenssberg is attractive enough to be on BBC'

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/surgeon-punched-doctor-head-row-whether-laura-kuenssberg-attractive/

    Don't read the report. It is all rather squalid.

    It's an uncomfortable reminder that all doctors used to be med students...
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656
    Sandpit said:

    Ishmael_Z said:

    He thinks weight scales proportionately to height. It doesn't, it scales with volume.
    Indeed. Something half the size is an eighth of the weight, assuming it’s a 3D shape of the same material.
    This is why small children bounce when they fall over (sort of). Not only are their bones more supple anyway but they weigh something like an eighth the amount of someone twice their size (not quite true as not a proportional mini-me, but pretty close). Further, because they only have half as far to fall, you have a quartic relationship.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    Mentioning SCons and local government, that's brave. Still it's been positively weeks since a SCon Councillor has been unmasked as running an anonymous bigoted abuse twitter account so things are on the up.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,939

    CD13 said:

    I think Frank would win a by-election. I think Frank knows this, and I suspect the constituency body who pick their Labour candidate know this too.

    If they de-select Frank, he will probably go ahead with a by-election and they will lose the seat, and that is the reality they face.

    Basically, he's called their bluff. He holds the ace, and they have an idealistic two of clubs.

    There's also risk versus reward to be weighed up. They probably really want to get rid of him, but they might lose the seat. It'll also keep the story in the news for longer, and might even generate some more sympathy for him amongst others in Labour - especially when the more stringent Crobynites go over the top, as they will.

    It'll be interesting to see what happens.
    Corbynites are agitating for Galloway to run if FF calls a by election
    That would be George Galloway, one of the prominent figures in the Brexit campaign on the Leave side?

    Frank might endorse him.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,207

    IanB2 said:

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But do all the little Kanyes have the patience to hang back and wait for the inevitable?
    They wouldn't need patience; they'd just need to avoid dying.

    As you say, Giant Kanye, if scaled up proportionately (about 17:1) would weigh about 400 tons. Not only would that be far too much for the human bone structure, ligaments etc, it's almost certainly far too much for *any* possible design of land animal - certainly, any design that involves only two legs.

    I'd also imagine that a 100ft tall person would have severe problems with blood circulation.
    Giant Kanye West and erectile disfunction. Discuss. Use both sides of the paper.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169
    edited August 2018

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    Indeed so. As Martin Brundle said commentating, the spectacular looking accidents aren’t the most dangerous ones, as the kinetic energy is dissipated over a comparatively long period of time. The main risk is of debris hitting the driver, the wheel teathers did their job to keep the biggest flying bits attached to the car.

    Can’t see much bar the steering wheel making it out of that crash though, the rest of the car is scrap.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    Alistair said:

    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    Mentioning SCons and local government, that's brave. Still it's been positively weeks since a SCon Councillor has been unmasked as running an anonymous bigoted abuse twitter account so things are on the up.
    True, the SNP have massively upped the stakes on party scandals, the SCons are far behind.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216

    rather upbeat press conference in Brussels

    It was:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dQGqoTtCqI

    Looks like M. Barnier's "ticking clock" is concentrating minds on both sides of the table....
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    Indeed so. As Martin Brundle said commentating, the spectacular looking accidents aren’t the most dangerous ones, as the kinetic energy is dissipated over a comparatively long period of time. The main risk is of debris hitting the driver, the wheel teathers did their job to keep the biggest flying bits attached to the car.

    Can’t see much bar the steering wheel making it out of that crash though, the rest of the car is scrap.
    To quote Q, 'there wasn't much left but the steering wheel. I'm fairly sure I said "bring it back in one piece," not "bring back one piece."'
  • JohnRussellJohnRussell Posts: 297
    edited August 2018

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
  • Frank Field considering standing down as an MP
  • Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
  • Frank Field considering standing down as an MP

    Sure TM will ennoble him if he does
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    edited August 2018

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand., which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerate any dissenting voices?
    Thatcher initially supported Muzarewa, because Mugabe had Marxist links. However, Carrington and the wider Foreign Office persuaded her (probably correctly) that there was no realistic way of stopping Mugabe taking power and it would look bad if they tried. So she abandoned her support. It was I think probably not something she felt very strongly about anyway. Once Zimbabwe ceased to be a colony, it wasn't our problem and it is difficult to argue it was a vital British interest (South Africa with its mineral wealth was a different matter).
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654

    Alistair said:

    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    Mentioning SCons and local government, that's brave. Still it's been positively weeks since a SCon Councillor has been unmasked as running an anonymous bigoted abuse twitter account so things are on the up.
    True, the SNP have massively upped the stakes on party scandals, the SCons are far behind.
    It's just not a fair competition. Who could possibly be as embarrassing as Salmond?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,732

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,217

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But equally, Tiny Kanyes would have brains to small to support cognition.

    My money is on Tinie Tempah.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
    Without it he'd have had a different sort of halo!
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169

    Frank Field considering standing down as an MP

    A by-election now could well bring out a full-on civil war in the Labour Party.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,217
    We should require more MPs to take up sky diving.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654
    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But equally, Tiny Kanyes would have brains to small to support cognition.

    My money is on Tinie Tempah.
    And the larger Kanye? How do you explain that?
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,662
    An idle musing that's utterly OT: been keeping my eye on some games out soon. Divinity Original Sin 2 (yes, silly title) came out today. The price drop on Amazon from yesterday to today is £7. Just seems a little odd to me. I wonder if that's indicative of preorders not meeting expectations.

    Anyway, think waiting for games a bit is usually a good idea. Not only does the price decline (this'll happen more rapidly when the PS5 is announced, of course) but the early patchwork can be done to fix some holes in the game.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654
    RobD said:

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
    No, so far as I can see the whole point of independence is so the local politicians can blame the former colonial power for everything that goes wrong for the next 75-100 years (longer in Ireland's case, natch).
  • RobD said:

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
    Well the Rhodesians considered themselves independent long before 1980. I think they would have liked the colonial power to stop meddling in the 60s!
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,676
    RobD said:

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
    We would have remained a bit pregnant with the oversight of Zimbabwe.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    Sandpit said:

    Frank Field considering standing down as an MP

    A by-election now could well bring out a full-on civil war in the Labour Party.
    This is the sort of problem I had in mind when I said it was bad news for Labour that this had become the main silly season story.

    If Field quits and there is a by-election during the Conference season, Labour's opponents will just run with every statement Corbyn has made on the Jews. More likely to be effective than in a general election, because with no government at stake issues will matter much less.

    It shouldn't make a difference to the result, but it would be ferrets in a sack - especially as conference this year is in Liverpool!
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,662
    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,217
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But equally, Tiny Kanyes would have brains to small to support cognition.

    My money is on Tinie Tempah.
    And the larger Kanye? How do you explain that?
    There is no explaining Kanye.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    DavidL said:

    RobD said:

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
    No, so far as I can see the whole point of independence is so the local politicians can blame the former colonial power for everything that goes wrong for the next 75-100 years (longer in Ireland's case, natch).
    For the EU we'll probably still be blaming them in 2316 if Trump hasn't blown up the world first.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    Indeed so. As Martin Brundle said commentating, the spectacular looking accidents aren’t the most dangerous ones, as the kinetic energy is dissipated over a comparatively long period of time. The main risk is of debris hitting the driver, the wheel teathers did their job to keep the biggest flying bits attached to the car.

    Can’t see much bar the steering wheel making it out of that crash though, the rest of the car is scrap.
    Its hard to tell from that angle, but it looks as though there might have been a marshal who was even luckier ...

    If you want a sharp crash, then Blundell's IndyCar crash was something like 122G:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hes5ZxPx0i0

    His seatbelts were five inches longer afterwards.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Stereotomy, I was thinking that the problem was that bones can only support creatures of a given height, which is why dinosaurs (on land) never got any bigger than brachiosaurus or diplodocus. A Kanye of that height would surely collapse under its own weight, the legs unable to bear the burden of the body.

    But equally, Tiny Kanyes would have brains to small to support cognition.

    My money is on Tinie Tempah.
    And the larger Kanye? How do you explain that?
    The fight was on the Moon.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    Pujara looking set for a very easy century. Effortless.
  • An idle musing that's utterly OT: been keeping my eye on some games out soon. Divinity Original Sin 2 (yes, silly title) came out today. The price drop on Amazon from yesterday to today is £7. Just seems a little odd to me. I wonder if that's indicative of preorders not meeting expectations.

    Anyway, think waiting for games a bit is usually a good idea. Not only does the price decline (this'll happen more rapidly when the PS5 is announced, of course) but the early patchwork can be done to fix some holes in the game.

    I have been repeatedly asked* when the new Spiderman game comes out.

    *Like 300 times a day.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,217

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    The clear implication was that they are 1/1000th of full size.

    Exist, sure - but full human level cognition in an organism of that size would require a far more efficient brain structure. Perhaps if he had bird brain...
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654
    ydoethur said:

    DavidL said:

    RobD said:

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.

    To my mind, the fate of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has many echoes in modern UK politics, not least Brexit and the Corbynite takeover of the Labour Party. I asked the question earlier, though no one replied, when have rebels that take over ever tolerated any dissenting voices?
    Isn't the whole point of independence that the colonial power stop meddling?
    No, so far as I can see the whole point of independence is so the local politicians can blame the former colonial power for everything that goes wrong for the next 75-100 years (longer in Ireland's case, natch).
    For the EU we'll probably still be blaming them in 2316 if Trump hasn't blown up the world first.
    I think that there are differences of view as to whether or not they are truly a colonial power but why not? It's got to be better than taking responsibility for your own actions doesn't it?
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,471
    Labour is so broken these days. Isn't Corbyn from Shropshire and was parachuted into Islington?
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,471
    Nigelb said:

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    The clear implication was that they are 1/1000th of full size.

    Exist, sure - but full human level cognition in an organism of that size would require a far more efficient brain structure. Perhaps if he had bird brain...
    Kanye West is who we are talking about here.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216

    So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.
    Abel Muzorewa had worked with Ian Smith in forming an "internal settlement' which was condemned by the UN and ignored by ZANU & ZAPU who carried on fighting. Lancaster House was called to end the fighting. The subsequent elections were won by ZANU and that was the end of British involvement. Once a former colony is independent its not up to us to say how things are run 'we do not ask that you govern us well, we ask that you do not govern us at all.'
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    The 1000 Kanyes would clearly lose. Kanye West is not a social animal and they would not co-operate with each other.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    These include my daughter's cat which gets quite intimidated by the weird looking cat on the other side of the glass. I think the current sized Kanye is at least 1 step up from that.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139

    An idle musing that's utterly OT: been keeping my eye on some games out soon. Divinity Original Sin 2 (yes, silly title) came out today. The price drop on Amazon from yesterday to today is £7. Just seems a little odd to me. I wonder if that's indicative of preorders not meeting expectations.

    Anyway, think waiting for games a bit is usually a good idea. Not only does the price decline (this'll happen more rapidly when the PS5 is announced, of course) but the early patchwork can be done to fix some holes in the game.

    I have been repeatedly asked* when the new Spiderman game comes out.

    *Like 300 times a day.
    When's the new Spiderman game out?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,217
    Jonathan said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    The clear implication was that they are 1/1000th of full size.

    Exist, sure - but full human level cognition in an organism of that size would require a far more efficient brain structure. Perhaps if he had bird brain...
    Kanye West is who we are talking about here.
    Do not disparage the bird brain:
    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bird-brains-have-as-many-neurons-as-some-primates/
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,169

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    Indeed so. As Martin Brundle said commentating, the spectacular looking accidents aren’t the most dangerous ones, as the kinetic energy is dissipated over a comparatively long period of time. The main risk is of debris hitting the driver, the wheel teathers did their job to keep the biggest flying bits attached to the car.

    Can’t see much bar the steering wheel making it out of that crash though, the rest of the car is scrap.
    Its hard to tell from that angle, but it looks as though there might have been a marshal who was even luckier ...

    If you want a sharp crash, then Blundell's IndyCar crash was something like 122G:

    ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hes5ZxPx0i0

    His seatbelts were five inches longer afterwards.
    Yes, that’s the way people get killed in motorsport, spearing into a concrete wall at high speed. See Dale Earnheart Sr’s fatal crash in NASCAR for a good example of why they now wear the HANS device to stop the head and neck moving forward in that type of accident.

    Re the marshal, he’s about 15’ back from the barrier so he’s safer than he looks from that angle. Still a silly place to be though.
  • John_MJohn_M Posts: 7,503
    Scott_P said:
    Jeremy Corbyn's conscience should just fuck off and join the Tories.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,283

    DavidL said:

    HYUFD said:

    Alistair said:

    What's the Scottish sub sample.

    This site should report naught but the Scottish subsample.
    SNP 34, Con 27, Lab 24, LD 8, UKIP 3, Greens 3
    SNP down 3% on the 2017 general election on that subsample
    You have to remember that their little green helpers will probably only stand in a token seat or 2 at a GE.
    What about Ruth's little Kipper helpers? Yougov subsamples aside, are they now completely assimilated into the racist fruitcake wing of the SCons?
    Anyone that supports the SNP should look at it's pretty disgusting historical of fascist sympathy record before it calls anyone racists. As I have often said, the clue is in the name
  • kingbongokingbongo Posts: 393
    Jonathan said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    The clear implication was that they are 1/1000th of full size.

    Exist, sure - but full human level cognition in an organism of that size would require a far more efficient brain structure. Perhaps if he had bird brain...
    Kanye West is who we are talking about here.
    self-made multi millionaire in a fantastically competitive field but yeah let’s all all humble-brag about our A levels in Home Economics to sooth our fragile egos - I got shit A levels and a DPhil in complex systems but that doesn’t mean I feel smarter than Kanye
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    John_M said:

    Scott_P said:
    Jeremy Corbyn's conscience should just fuck off and join the Tories.
    Good grief, no. Marxist mass murderers not welcome in the Tories.

    I make no comment on other forms of mass murderers...
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Jonathan said:

    Isn't Corbyn from Shropshire and was parachuted into Islington?
    Doncaster born Ed Miliband replaced Peckham maid Harriet Harman who succeeded Gordon Brown - who had actually been brought up in Kirkcaldy from age 3. Tony Blair of course was a Sedgefield lad through & through.....
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,207
    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
    Without it he'd have had a different sort of halo!
    Interesting that there was so much harrumphing initially about the halo being fitted - for aesthetic reasons even - but it now seems to have saved two lives already this season....
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,662
    Mr. B, ah, I was going by the example answer which I think said they were half-sized.

    I agree, reducing a human to a thousandth their usual size would have negative implications for intelligence, though I'd still expect them to be able to function as a living animal.

    Mr. Eagles, I very much enjoyed Spiderman 2, for the PS2 (I think). Probably won't be picking up the new game, though.

    Mr. L, dogs are around that cusp of intelligence. Some recognise their reflections, others don't.
  • So let's accept Thatcher helped free Nelson Mandela... she was far more responsible for enabling Robert Mugabe, is that 2-0 or 1-1 in terms of wisdom vs idiocy?
    What would you have done in Zimbabwe? Continued white minority rule?
    From my reading of it, there was a black candidate, Bishop Muzarewa, that would have allowed evolution towards a moderate black government, and that would have been for the best, but Thatcher and Lord Carrington insisted on Mugabe and Nkomo being allowed to stand, which has led to the worst.
    Abel Muzorewa had worked with Ian Smith in forming an "internal settlement' which was condemned by the UN and ignored by ZANU & ZAPU who carried on fighting. Lancaster House was called to end the fighting. The subsequent elections were won by ZANU and that was the end of British involvement. Once a former colony is independent its not up to us to say how things are run 'we do not ask that you govern us well, we ask that you do not govern us at all.'
    I think that it was a LOT more complicated than that. It's not as though Rhodesia was really a British Colony the day before Mugabe took over.

    Anyway, my point was that Thatcher was responsible for Mugabe being allowed to take over, although she was only finishing Harold Wilson's work, so she has to bear some responsibility for the damage he has done. It was clear that Mugabe and friends were Communist sponsored Marxist terrorists that would rip the country to shreds. Ian Smith's Project Fear turned out to be Project Reality.
  • An idle musing that's utterly OT: been keeping my eye on some games out soon. Divinity Original Sin 2 (yes, silly title) came out today. The price drop on Amazon from yesterday to today is £7. Just seems a little odd to me. I wonder if that's indicative of preorders not meeting expectations.

    Anyway, think waiting for games a bit is usually a good idea. Not only does the price decline (this'll happen more rapidly when the PS5 is announced, of course) but the early patchwork can be done to fix some holes in the game.

    I have been repeatedly asked* when the new Spiderman game comes out.

    *Like 300 times a day.
    When's the new Spiderman game out?
    Next Friday.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656

    Mr. B, plenty of animals exist that are half the size of a human, or smaller.

    Plenty of *humans* exist that are half the size of kanye. But the definition of tiny Kanye is poor. For a like-for-like comparison, we should really be using the same 1:17 ratio, which shrinks Tiny Kanye from 2'8" right down to 4". While there are animals that small, the human body wouldn't be able to survive - apart from brain size, it'd cool too quickly.

    (The alternative is to make Giant Kanye double-sized i.e. 11'4", which might not necessarily be fatal giganticism - at least from physical factors.)
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,207

    Frank Field considering standing down as an MP

    If that means giving up his seat - bad news for Theresa May - likely to be the relacement will vote against her Brexit plans - a net swing of two.

    The whips are going to have to get even busier breaking pairing agreements.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
    Without it he'd have had a different sort of halo!
    Interesting that there was so much harrumphing initially about the halo being fitted - for aesthetic reasons even - but it now seems to have saved two lives already this season....
    Jackie Stewart's comments on it are worth reading:

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/131147/stewart-halo-critics-like-1960s-safety-backlash

    It is also perhaps worth remembering it would very possibly have saved Bianchi and Senna (as would the now standard wheel tethers in the latter case).
  • Scott_P said:
    The same kind of logic used by trump supporters.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,283

    Scott_P said:
    The same kind of logic used by trump supporters.
    There are spooky similarities between these two admirers/apologists of/for Vladimir Putin
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
    Without it he'd have had a different sort of halo!
    Interesting that there was so much harrumphing initially about the halo being fitted - for aesthetic reasons even - but it now seems to have saved two lives already this season....
    Jackie Stewart's comments on it are worth reading:

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/131147/stewart-halo-critics-like-1960s-safety-backlash

    It is also perhaps worth remembering it would very possibly have saved Bianchi and Senna (as would the now standard wheel tethers in the latter case).
    The FIA or one of the teams must have modelled a halo with Bianchi's crash; they'd have all the relevant data. It'd be interesting to know the results as his crash was vicious.
  • houndtanghoundtang Posts: 450
    What exactly is Frank Field's position in Labour? I never good work out if he was a principled left winger (anti-EU) or well on the right (welfare reform). I don't think he is exactly a Blairite, he seems perhaps to have more in common with the tradition of Peter Shore.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    John_M said:

    Jeremy Corbyn's conscience should just fuck off and join the Tories.

    :smiley:
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    From that research posted earlier:

    "Abuse received correlates reliably with attention received. However, within that, there is a tendency for the more prominent politicians to receive proportionally less abuse, and for those that engage with Twitter to receive more. Male MPs and Conservatives were the target of more abuse in the data studied."
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited August 2018
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Mr. L, clearly :D

    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that. Bit unlucky for Ericsson.

    Big shunt, but he walked away.
    h ttps://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/1035514811231219712
    Lucky man.
    He'll be glad of that Halo...
    Without it he'd have had a different sort of halo!
    Interesting that there was so much harrumphing initially about the halo being fitted - for aesthetic reasons even - but it now seems to have saved two lives already this season....
    Jackie Stewart's comments on it are worth reading:

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/131147/stewart-halo-critics-like-1960s-safety-backlash

    It is also perhaps worth remembering it would very possibly have saved Bianchi and Senna (as would the now standard wheel tethers in the latter case).
    Having seen* the footage of the Bianchi Crash, I'm not sure the halo would have saved him, it's a terrifyingly brutal impact. Doesn't mean the halo is a bad idea though.

    * wish i hadn't.
  • The Trump administration is planning to cut all remaining US funding for the main UN programme for Palestinian refugees, with potentially devastating impacts, and is lobbying other countries to follow suit.

    The threat emerged days after the US announced it was withdrawing $200mfrom its main development agency, USAid, for programmes based largely in Gaza where they help tens of thousands of people.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited August 2018
    Wicket. This might actually be a competitive test.

    Ha. 29-ball duck. A record?

    [Edit: joint record for India. Our own Jimmy managed 55 balls, and Geoff Allott managed 77(!) for the Kiwis.]
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    edited August 2018
    Anorak said:

    Wicket. This might actually be a competitive test.

    Ha. 29-ball duck. A record?

    Peter Such batted over an hour for a duck at Old Trafford in 1999. That was the second longest duck at the time.

    Edit - turns out it was quickly surpassed. Pant had a way to go to catch up with the winner, Geoff Alott of New Zealand:

    https://m.sportskeeda.com/cricket/most-number-balls-faced-for-duck-test
  • Anorak said:

    Wicket. This might actually be a competitive test.

    Ha. 29-ball duck. A record?

    Not even in the top 10.

    Record is 77

    https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/most-number-balls-faced-for-duck-test
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,751
    DavidL said:

    Alistair said:

    DavidL said:

    On topic I can see a time when Ruth ends up leading the Conservatives but it won't be until after Brexit is over because of her position on that. She is personable, witty and an excellent organiser. Whether she can actually run a public institution is an unknown because she has never had to.

    She does benefit considerably from being a big fish in a small pond up here. Nicola is a skilled and dogged politician but other than her the competition is very modest bordering on embarrassing. She would find Westminster a lot more testing but she is young enough and clever enough to learn.

    I think that there is an argument that she has taken the Scottish Tories as far as she can (much further than most of them ever dreamed was possible). Davidson for FM looks a pretty much unbridgeable stretch and my guess is the Tories will be playing defense rather than offense at the next GE. There is still ground to recover in local government but that is about it.

    Mentioning SCons and local government, that's brave. Still it's been positively weeks since a SCon Councillor has been unmasked as running an anonymous bigoted abuse twitter account so things are on the up.
    True, the SNP have massively upped the stakes on party scandals, the SCons are far behind.
    It's just not a fair competition. Who could possibly be as embarrassing as Salmond?
    Units of embarrassment would need to be worked out.

    eg

    Cabinet minister wanking on work computer + cabinet minister groping journos + minister who resigned after texting dick pics + minister who resigned after sending thousands of s&m texts = one former FM accused of sexual harassment

    MSP suspended & expelled for inappropriate behaviour = 20 plus racist, misogynist, far right, homophobic, bigoted councillors still in in place

    MP who'd resigned as a minister over previous sexting found to have sexted a 19 year old job candidate = one MP who stood down from her party after being accused of (groundless) financial irregularities

    Of course some filters would have applied for suspended, resigned, stood down, expelled from party, sent to diversity training etc. Any word how many Tory elected 'members' have stood down or been suspended from their party due to their shenanigans?
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited August 2018

    Anorak said:

    Wicket. This might actually be a competitive test.

    Ha. 29-ball duck. A record?

    Not even in the top 10.

    Record is 77

    https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/most-number-balls-faced-for-duck-test
    Indeed. Cricinfo posted a similar table a millisecond after my comment, which I've now edited! I see ydoethur also has the data.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,654

    The Trump administration is planning to cut all remaining US funding for the main UN programme for Palestinian refugees, with potentially devastating impacts, and is lobbying other countries to follow suit.

    The threat emerged days after the US announced it was withdrawing $200mfrom its main development agency, USAid, for programmes based largely in Gaza where they help tens of thousands of people.

    Whilst it is not obvious why the US is and has been spending so many of its tax dollars on people who insist that they hate them this will be both devastating and destabilising unless someone picks up the slack and the Palestinians seem to have relatively few friends in the Arab world.
This discussion has been closed.