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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The Strange Rebirth of Liberal Unionism

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  • Options
    BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    Nobody is saying that he has to be called Alexander Johnson though are they, so not sure what point you're making here Blue. Or perhaps you prefer Bluest?
    I actually prefer to go by my middle name to make myself seem more down-to-earth: Bluer!
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,281
    edited July 2020


    People are free to call him what they like, but if you call him Boris you're simply signalling that you've been groomed by a political predator and your views can be discounted appropriately.

    Now then, now then, how's about that!

    Boris fixed the yawning gulf between the elites and the forgotten & left behind for me. At least he said he's going to..
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,176
    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
  • Options
    eekeek Posts: 25,028

    eek said:



    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/

    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Its been a disaster for our kids, and as usual the kids who most needed the support won't have got it. And yet the solution is not to rip up the rules and send them all back. The guidelines talk about keeping kids separate on school buses - doesn't say how of course. And that they keep apart in the canteens - doesn't say how of course. etc etc
    But it's only a disaster for those people who haven't paid money to avoid the problem -see BigG for examples.

  • Options
    StereotomyStereotomy Posts: 4,092

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    I agree (the level of discussion on this site quibbling about the semantics was absurd), but you're letting off Starkey too lightly. He wasn't making the argument that slavery isn't genocide because it wasn't a deliberate attempt to kill off a group, his actual argument was completely incoherent
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Well you are our Carly Simon on Johnson jibe and long may this continue. "Jeremy" never became a brand outside his group of hardcore followers. "Boris", sad to say, has gone not just national but global. I have (foreign) people write to me from overseas who call him this. This genie will take some putting back in its box - but let's try and do it.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    I was referring to your preference for using Johnson because it's slang for penis.
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791
    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    That has the recipe for even greater chaos written all over it. Arriving at the pub on Saturday, only to find it closed, will raise frustration. Onto the next to find it open, but not allowing "the boys" in due to social distancing rules, well they'll just go home a little disappointed, won't they?
    No no. Apparently 70% of people say they aren't ready to go to the pub yet, so the 30% determined to get shitfaced with the boys and make a nuisance of themselves and spread the pox will behave. Obviously.
    Genuine question

    Would you seek an extension to lockdown and see even more devastation to jobs and peoples health, and how would you open our economy and when
    Well BigG. the defenders of the policy are saying, no one is going to the pub anyway, so it will be safe. So in that case, what is the point. It is just a grand gesture.

    We can't open schools, but we can open pubs. I am not sure we have our priorities right.
    Schools are open and have been all along

    However, just how long do you think we can keep our economy closed and how many millions of jobs are you willing to lose in the process
    Schools are not open - only in very limited situations (special needs, key workers and some years occasionally - for my children it's 2 hours a week per topic, for years 7-9 there is virtually nothing).

    Many teachers, especially in primary schools have been working longer hours over the past few weeks. I part because they have to chase up individual children on their iPads etc.
    Teachers are doing their best (and as you say probably working longer hours) but that isn't the same as schools being open - which is what BigG was implying - that statement is simply not true and it's a great hassle for a lot of people, not just children and teachers but also parents who are having to entertain children, teach them and work at the same time.
    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition
    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    I do not disagree but my sons school is taking children from the state sector during this crisis and the questioned posed is why are state schools not using more online tuition
    It'll vary from place to place, but a lot of schools serve families where there simply isn't enough tech at home to support zoom lessons. Smartphones, yes. Multiple laptops with big enough screens to do online lessons, no.

    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/
    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Actually all the laptops at my sons school are the same and on a contract lease with new ones every 3 years
    That won't be cheap - where would a typical school find the £360-700 a year the lease is costing the private school..

    Congratulations you've found a solution to a problem, shame the solution is going to add a £xbn to the education bill...
    Perhaps some of the head teachers in the state sector could agree to a pay cut - particularly those on over £100k per year? That is what most leaders in private companies have had to do. Will it happen? Nope, of course not. We are all in this together, except for the public sector!
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    Scott_xP said:

    Products from Japan or South Korea would be stamped “Made in Britain”, under Boris Johnson’s plan to save the domestic car industry after Brexit.

    The proposal is an attempt to prevent punishing tariffs driving away the likes of Nissan and Toyota, but will sound “ridiculous” to voters promised huge benefits from leaving the EU, one trade expert said.

    It also means the UK is effectively asking the EU for the benefits of a customs union, a new analysis says – despite the prime minister insisting the UK is leaving the trading arrangement.


    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/car-industry-boris-johnson-made-in-britain-japan-south-korea-brexit-a9598466.html

    "I don't believe in gestures..."

    How are products made in Japan or South Korea if they're part of the domestic car industry?

    Does domestic now mean Japan or South Korea?
    It's another badly written article.

    The question is at what content level* a product is "made in country X".

    *And how do you measure content - weight, value (whose valuation) etc etc??
    Indeed its a nonsense article that was immediately obviously illogical right from the off.

    We are seeking no more or less than cars already designated as Made In Britain continue to be designated as Made in Britain. Gee what a shocker! I'm sure Brexiteers will be outraged at that betrayal . . . or not.
  • Options
    Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,393
    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    That has the recipe for even greater chaos written all over it. Arriving at the pub on Saturday, only to find it closed, will raise frustration. Onto the next to find it open, but not allowing "the boys" in due to social distancing rules, well they'll just go home a little disappointed, won't they?
    No no. Apparently 70% of people say they aren't ready to go to the pub yet, so the 30% determined to get shitfaced with the boys and make a nuisance of themselves and spread the pox will behave. Obviously.
    Genuine question

    Would you seek an extension to lockdown and see even more devastation to jobs and peoples health, and how would you open our economy and when
    Well BigG. the defenders of the policy are saying, no one is going to the pub anyway, so it will be safe. So in that case, what is the point. It is just a grand gesture.

    We can't open schools, but we can open pubs. I am not sure we have our priorities right.
    Schools are open and have been all along

    However, just how long do you think we can keep our economy closed and how many millions of jobs are you willing to lose in the process
    Schools are not open - only in very limited situations (special needs, key workers and some years occasionally - for my children it's 2 hours a week per topic, for years 7-9 there is virtually nothing).

    Many teachers, especially in primary schools have been working longer hours over the past few weeks. I part because they have to chase up individual children on their iPads etc.
    Teachers are doing their best (and as you say probably working longer hours) but that isn't the same as schools being open - which is what BigG was implying - that statement is simply not true and it's a great hassle for a lot of people, not just children and teachers but also parents who are having to entertain children, teach them and work at the same time.
    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition
    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    I do not disagree but my sons school is taking children from the state sector during this crisis and the questioned posed is why are state schools not using more online tuition
    It'll vary from place to place, but a lot of schools serve families where there simply isn't enough tech at home to support zoom lessons. Smartphones, yes. Multiple laptops with big enough screens to do online lessons, no.

    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/
    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Actually all the laptops at my sons school are the same and on a contract lease with new ones every 3 years
    That won't be cheap - where would a typical school find the £360-700 a year the lease is costing the private school..

    Congratulations you've found a solution to a problem, shame the solution is going to add a £xbn to the education bill...
    To be honest I have no doubt the cost will be added to the fees but in the state sector the billions in cost would be a fantastic way of investing in the future for our children
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942

    Sandpit said:

    eek said:

    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition

    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    Size of the private school, size of classes, number of teaching and support staff, availability of computers at student houses / school for loan etc etc etc.

    Why haven't state schools done more online tuition? On the laptops their students didn't have and the government finally started to supply a few weeks ago in limited numbers...
    It is fair to say our sons school has provided laptops to all their students and this is something HMG should fund to the state sector schools to develop wide scale on line tuition.
    Sadly it’s not that simple, as I’m sure your son would attest. There’s supply chain issues at the moment, thanks to all the disruption. Computers can’t simply be given to kids without an amount of configuration and management, which in many cases isn’t configured to work with computers based remotely.

    Give an unrestricted computer to a teenager, and you can pretty much guarantee it will be an unusable mess full of porn and viruses within a few days - alongside stories in the Daily Mail of outraged parents whose school didn’t lock down the computer properly.
    My son, as head of IT, has addressed all those issues and the new contract provides new laptops every three years to all staff and students fully configured
    Indeed, but the point is that these schemes require considerable investment in time, money and manpower. Private schools have these things in their budgets, whereas state schools don’t. Even if the money were made available, the hardware itself, the time and expertise to get it working, may not be within a reasonable timescale.
  • Options
    RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 27,358

    eek said:



    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/

    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Its been a disaster for our kids, and as usual the kids who most needed the support won't have got it. And yet the solution is not to rip up the rules and send them all back. The guidelines talk about keeping kids separate on school buses - doesn't say how of course. And that they keep apart in the canteens - doesn't say how of course. etc etc
    The tough answer is 'there isn't a way'. And thats going to have to be how it is, just no one wants to admit it.
    We could convert disused convention centres into overflow hospitals. We could convert empty offices and shops into overflow schools. We chose not to. And now the solution is send everyone in despite it not being safe to do so according to the government's own previous advice. Ah well, its only our children.
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    Nobody is saying that he has to be called Alexander Johnson though are they, so not sure what point you're making here Blue. Or perhaps you prefer Bluest?
    Perhaps we should rebrand him by one of his other names "de Pfeffel". It does sound a bit how he splutters when he speaks his back of a fag packet bullshit, so it could catch on. Perhaps not!
  • Options
    eekeek Posts: 25,028

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    That has the recipe for even greater chaos written all over it. Arriving at the pub on Saturday, only to find it closed, will raise frustration. Onto the next to find it open, but not allowing "the boys" in due to social distancing rules, well they'll just go home a little disappointed, won't they?
    No no. Apparently 70% of people say they aren't ready to go to the pub yet, so the 30% determined to get shitfaced with the boys and make a nuisance of themselves and spread the pox will behave. Obviously.
    Genuine question

    Would you seek an extension to lockdown and see even more devastation to jobs and peoples health, and how would you open our economy and when
    Well BigG. the defenders of the policy are saying, no one is going to the pub anyway, so it will be safe. So in that case, what is the point. It is just a grand gesture.

    We can't open schools, but we can open pubs. I am not sure we have our priorities right.
    Schools are open and have been all along

    However, just how long do you think we can keep our economy closed and how many millions of jobs are you willing to lose in the process
    Schools are not open - only in very limited situations (special needs, key workers and some years occasionally - for my children it's 2 hours a week per topic, for years 7-9 there is virtually nothing).

    Many teachers, especially in primary schools have been working longer hours over the past few weeks. I part because they have to chase up individual children on their iPads etc.
    Teachers are doing their best (and as you say probably working longer hours) but that isn't the same as schools being open - which is what BigG was implying - that statement is simply not true and it's a great hassle for a lot of people, not just children and teachers but also parents who are having to entertain children, teach them and work at the same time.
    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition
    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    I do not disagree but my sons school is taking children from the state sector during this crisis and the questioned posed is why are state schools not using more online tuition
    It'll vary from place to place, but a lot of schools serve families where there simply isn't enough tech at home to support zoom lessons. Smartphones, yes. Multiple laptops with big enough screens to do online lessons, no.

    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/
    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Actually all the laptops at my sons school are the same and on a contract lease with new ones every 3 years
    That won't be cheap - where would a typical school find the £360-700 a year the lease is costing the private school..

    Congratulations you've found a solution to a problem, shame the solution is going to add a £xbn to the education bill...
    To be honest I have no doubt the cost will be added to the fees but in the state sector the billions in cost would be a fantastic way of investing in the future for our children
    Nope, it's been tried..
  • Options
    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,977
    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    As I said, I think people who are trying to extend the use of the word genocide to slavery or the slave trade are just going to make themselves look foolish. Look at how all of the official BLM communication has backfired in the last couple of weeks.

    As for Starkey, yes, I think it's clear he's racist which is quite disappointing. It would be interesting to find out what is driving his prejudice and I'd love to sit down and pick his brains on why he feels the way he does, as a clearly very intelligent person I'd love to get his perspective.

    I'm sure it's already been said, but Grimes nodding along to Starkey's racism was the exact equivalent of Corbyn nodding along to anti-Semitism on Press TV. In both cases, we saw the man for what he was.

  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    Nobody is saying that he has to be called Alexander Johnson though are they, so not sure what point you're making here Blue. Or perhaps you prefer Bluest?
    Perhaps we should rebrand him by one of his other names "de Pfeffel". It does sound a bit how he splutters when he speaks his back of a fag packet bullshit, so it could catch on. Perhaps not!
    Actually, Fatty de Pfeffel does have a certain ring to it...
  • Options
    Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,393
    eek said:

    eek said:



    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/

    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Its been a disaster for our kids, and as usual the kids who most needed the support won't have got it. And yet the solution is not to rip up the rules and send them all back. The guidelines talk about keeping kids separate on school buses - doesn't say how of course. And that they keep apart in the canteens - doesn't say how of course. etc etc
    But it's only a disaster for those people who haven't paid money to avoid the problem -see BigG for examples.

    And to be honest it should not be this way

    State schools should have massive IT investment as well
  • Options
    StockyStocky Posts: 9,736

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    To Corbyn sycophants he was known as "the absolute boy".
  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,369



    "Boris" is the name of the act. Use of the first name is designed to disarm, render the subject more approachable and less threatening, less subject to normal scrutiny, standards or constraints. Not a politician, more like an entertainer. Someone you could have a drink with. Someone a bit naughty. Somebody who doesn't need to be well briefed because oh look he's saying something funny. In short, entirely in line with his whole, remarkably successful, political strategy.

    People are free to call him what they like, but if you call him Boris you're simply signalling that you've been groomed by a political predator and your views can be discounted appropriately.

    Your last paragraph is utter garbage
    I thought it was quite powerful, and it's changed my mind. I was in the "what's in a name" camp, but reading OLB's post has made me think again. Your uncharacteristically aggressive dismissal of what he's saying is I think mistaken.
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,941

    eek said:



    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/

    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Its been a disaster for our kids, and as usual the kids who most needed the support won't have got it. And yet the solution is not to rip up the rules and send them all back. The guidelines talk about keeping kids separate on school buses - doesn't say how of course. And that they keep apart in the canteens - doesn't say how of course. etc etc
    The tough answer is 'there isn't a way'. And thats going to have to be how it is, just no one wants to admit it.
    We could convert disused convention centres into overflow hospitals. We could convert empty offices and shops into overflow schools. We chose not to. And now the solution is send everyone in despite it not being safe to do so according to the government's own previous advice. Ah well, its only our children.
    And "only", also, the teachers and support staff. And the families - both children and staff. Children may not individually be high risk spreaders but that isn't true of the adults. This was discussed in the recently pbulished Scottish scientific advice group document, if the Graun report yesterday ios accurate.
  • Options
    StereotomyStereotomy Posts: 4,092
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    The reality is that this virus is a very long way from being beaten. Worldwide, we have gone from breaking 10m recorded cases last weekend to 11m yesterday. The number of new cases per day is accelerating. Given that it seems beyond us to quarantine arrivals further outbreaks are inevitable until we find a cure.

    So what do we do? Do we keep a tight lockdown (and quarantine) in the hope we can eliminate the virus locally like NZ? Or do we accept that in a country like the UK that way lies economic ruin and almost certainly no success in any event?

    We have no choice but to unwind the lockdown. We need our economy to start moving again. That includes pubs, restaurants and hairdressers. There is no magical solution or system that makes this safe. We really just have to accept that. The risk individually is very low but some will be unlucky and some of those will die. That's the way it is.

    Or we quarantine arrivals and continue most lockdown measures until we've got our shit together on test and trace, and our numbers low enough so that we can do that effectively.
    We've only had quarantine for a few weeks and we are already giving it up with the majority of countries that we actually go to or people come from (apart from the US). We have had months to set up an effective trace, test and isolate system. It hasn't been done so far as I can see. We are incurring public debt at the rate of £50bn a month. More businesses are collapsing every day, Café Rouge yesterday. How long are you prepared to wait?
    As I said in my last comment to Big G, it's not an either/or. If we lift lockdown unsafely and it leads to numbers surging and a big second wave, we'll end up with a longer, harder lockdown having to be reinposed than if we'd waited longer to do it safely in the first place.

    If it takes our incompetent government longer than we'd like to put the measures in place for us to be able to safely lift lockdown, well, that's terrible, but it doesn't make lifting lockdown unsafely any less counterproductive.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942
    edited July 2020

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,281
    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    https://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,176
    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    I was referring to your preference for using Johnson because it's slang for penis.
    That's not why I use it, you are confusing me with another contributor. It's US slang and it's not a word I use in that context (I don't spend a lot of time thinking or talking about penises TBH). I call him Johnson because it's his name. The same reason I call all other politicians by their surnames.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403

    nichomar said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Boris and Starmer are the public recognisable names
    No they are not it’s in built positive Johnson bias, it should be consistent whatever you choose to call them.
    Boris is Boris and as much as some want to resile from that it will not happen

    He will always be Boris in the public's perception
    Some like you, see it as a term of appreciation and affection. Personally I see you referring to him as such as demeaning yourself and he. You do not know him (unless you wish to tell us otherwise). He is a joke, and you don't seem to realise that the more you call him "Boris" the more he sounds like the clown that many of us long ago realised he is.
    A joke who won a 80 seat majority to become PM and two mayoral elections in a Labour city. An incredibly succesful Joke?
    Common factor? Standing against an anti-semitic raging lefty.
  • Options
    Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,393
    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    That has the recipe for even greater chaos written all over it. Arriving at the pub on Saturday, only to find it closed, will raise frustration. Onto the next to find it open, but not allowing "the boys" in due to social distancing rules, well they'll just go home a little disappointed, won't they?
    No no. Apparently 70% of people say they aren't ready to go to the pub yet, so the 30% determined to get shitfaced with the boys and make a nuisance of themselves and spread the pox will behave. Obviously.
    Genuine question

    Would you seek an extension to lockdown and see even more devastation to jobs and peoples health, and how would you open our economy and when
    Well BigG. the defenders of the policy are saying, no one is going to the pub anyway, so it will be safe. So in that case, what is the point. It is just a grand gesture.

    We can't open schools, but we can open pubs. I am not sure we have our priorities right.
    Schools are open and have been all along

    However, just how long do you think we can keep our economy closed and how many millions of jobs are you willing to lose in the process
    Schools are not open - only in very limited situations (special needs, key workers and some years occasionally - for my children it's 2 hours a week per topic, for years 7-9 there is virtually nothing).

    Many teachers, especially in primary schools have been working longer hours over the past few weeks. I part because they have to chase up individual children on their iPads etc.
    Teachers are doing their best (and as you say probably working longer hours) but that isn't the same as schools being open - which is what BigG was implying - that statement is simply not true and it's a great hassle for a lot of people, not just children and teachers but also parents who are having to entertain children, teach them and work at the same time.
    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition
    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    I do not disagree but my sons school is taking children from the state sector during this crisis and the questioned posed is why are state schools not using more online tuition
    It'll vary from place to place, but a lot of schools serve families where there simply isn't enough tech at home to support zoom lessons. Smartphones, yes. Multiple laptops with big enough screens to do online lessons, no.

    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/
    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Actually all the laptops at my sons school are the same and on a contract lease with new ones every 3 years
    That won't be cheap - where would a typical school find the £360-700 a year the lease is costing the private school..

    Congratulations you've found a solution to a problem, shame the solution is going to add a £xbn to the education bill...
    To be honest I have no doubt the cost will be added to the fees but in the state sector the billions in cost would be a fantastic way of investing in the future for our children
    Nope, it's been tried..
    It is succeeding in the private sector why is it failing in the state sector
  • Options
    BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Ding-Ding-Ding! We have a winner!

    Indeed - some people will fight to the death to allow people to choose their pronouns, but when it comes to Boris, giving him the choice of proper nouns is a bridge too far...
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071

    Sandpit said:

    eek said:

    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition

    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    Size of the private school, size of classes, number of teaching and support staff, availability of computers at student houses / school for loan etc etc etc.

    Why haven't state schools done more online tuition? On the laptops their students didn't have and the government finally started to supply a few weeks ago in limited numbers...
    It is fair to say our sons school has provided laptops to all their students and this is something HMG should fund to the state sector schools to develop wide scale on line tuition.
    Sadly it’s not that simple, as I’m sure your son would attest. There’s supply chain issues at the moment, thanks to all the disruption. Computers can’t simply be given to kids without an amount of configuration and management, which in many cases isn’t configured to work with computers based remotely.

    Give an unrestricted computer to a teenager, and you can pretty much guarantee it will be an unusable mess full of porn and viruses within a few days - alongside stories in the Daily Mail of outraged parents whose school didn’t lock down the computer properly.
    My son, as head of IT, has addressed all those issues and the new contract provides new laptops every three years to all staff and students fully configured
    My grandson, head of IT at a state primary in a fairly disadvantaged area, has managed find enough funds to ensure that there's at least one iPad in each home from which the children at that school come, and which the children can use. Of course that doesn't cover all the children; I think the record is 6 from one family in a 4-11 school.
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791
    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    I was referring to your preference for using Johnson because it's slang for penis.
    That's not why I use it, you are confusing me with another contributor. It's US slang and it's not a word I use in that context (I don't spend a lot of time thinking or talking about penises TBH). I call him Johnson because it's his name. The same reason I call all other politicians by their surnames.
    Oops, my apologies for that - I should pay more attention.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    https://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    If the government hires more comms staff they get attacked for spending money on spin doctors instead of dealing with issues.

    If the government drops comms staff they get attacked for seeking "on messages".
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,281
    Stocky said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    To Corbyn sycophants he was known as "the absolute boy".
    I don't think any of those Corbyn sycophants ever ventured on here. Fawners over BJ otoh..
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,176
    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    I'm not furious, I'm just not taken in by it and reserve the right to take people who are less seriously.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071
    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    Need I say more?
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,281

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    https://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    If the government hires more comms staff they get attacked for spending money on spin doctors instead of dealing with issues.

    If the government drops comms staff they get attacked for seeking "on messages".
    Yep, how could I be so foolish, of course it's a cost cutting exercise.
    My mistake.
  • Options
    RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 27,358
    eek said:

    eek said:



    The government set up a laptop scheme, but it's taking a long time to get going and is probably insufficient. Some more details here:

    https://schoolsweek.co.uk/third-of-pupils-arent-engaging-with-schoolwork-and-4-more-home-learning-findings/

    Also a lot of equipment just isn't available at the moment, if I was to order my usual laptop for new staff members I've currently got a 5 week wait.
    Its been a disaster for our kids, and as usual the kids who most needed the support won't have got it. And yet the solution is not to rip up the rules and send them all back. The guidelines talk about keeping kids separate on school buses - doesn't say how of course. And that they keep apart in the canteens - doesn't say how of course. etc etc
    But it's only a disaster for those people who haven't paid money to avoid the problem -see BigG for examples.

    My kids are lucky - I get paid £lots and have computers. Pulled an old Chromebook out of the loft, quick powerwash and it was set up for one of mine to do their work on. A Chromebook is ideal for educational use - can't be bricked, connects straight to the cloud learning platforms being used, cheap, robust, simple.

    Bet the private school spent £lots on something fancy dan that needs an expensive IT support contract to manage / fix them
  • Options
    RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 27,358

    I don't think any of those Corbyn sycophants ever ventured on here. Fawners over BJ otoh..

    Whatever happened to The_Jezziah...?
  • Options
    BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    What if one believes that Boris Johnson is Father Christmas and he will bring us Brexit for Christmas, but only if we've been good? :lol:
  • Options
    Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,393

    Sandpit said:

    eek said:

    My sons school is in the private sector and has been educating it's students on line and at the same time educating pupils in the emergency sector

    It does raise the questions why state schools have not done more on line tuition

    So you are looking at your private school where all parents can easily provide online access and assume that everyone is in the same position...

    Everything looks rosy when you have money and live in a large house with a large garden on the edge of a small (fairly wealth) town. The rest of the world isn't like that a lot of locals to you could testify.

    Size of the private school, size of classes, number of teaching and support staff, availability of computers at student houses / school for loan etc etc etc.

    Why haven't state schools done more online tuition? On the laptops their students didn't have and the government finally started to supply a few weeks ago in limited numbers...
    It is fair to say our sons school has provided laptops to all their students and this is something HMG should fund to the state sector schools to develop wide scale on line tuition.
    Sadly it’s not that simple, as I’m sure your son would attest. There’s supply chain issues at the moment, thanks to all the disruption. Computers can’t simply be given to kids without an amount of configuration and management, which in many cases isn’t configured to work with computers based remotely.

    Give an unrestricted computer to a teenager, and you can pretty much guarantee it will be an unusable mess full of porn and viruses within a few days - alongside stories in the Daily Mail of outraged parents whose school didn’t lock down the computer properly.
    My son, as head of IT, has addressed all those issues and the new contract provides new laptops every three years to all staff and students fully configured
    My grandson, head of IT at a state primary in a fairly disadvantaged area, has managed find enough funds to ensure that there's at least one iPad in each home from which the children at that school come, and which the children can use. Of course that doesn't cover all the children; I think the record is 6 from one family in a 4-11 school.
    It is the way forward and my sons school caters for children from prep to 18
  • Options
    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 28,016
    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Interestingly Callaghan wasn't a James.
    He was a Leonard.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361
    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    What if one believes that Boris Johnson is Father Christmas and he will bring us Brexit for Christmas, but only if we've been good? :lol:
    GCHQ are setting up a national naughty or nice register?
  • Options
    StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 14,583

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    What if one believes that Boris Johnson is Father Christmas and he will bring us Brexit for Christmas, but only if we've been good? :lol:
    What if Boris only gets Brexit for Christmas if he's been good? Could be in for a long wait... :lol:
  • Options
    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,631

    I don't think any of those Corbyn sycophants ever ventured on here. Fawners over BJ otoh..

    Whatever happened to The_Jezziah...?
    Contract probably finished after the 2019 election.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    What if one believes that Boris Johnson is Father Christmas and he will bring us Brexit for Christmas, but only if we've been good? :lol:
    That's a bit like the Tooth Fairy bringing a chocolate penny.
  • Options
    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,977
    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791
    TOPPING said:

    nichomar said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Boris and Starmer are the public recognisable names
    No they are not it’s in built positive Johnson bias, it should be consistent whatever you choose to call them.
    Boris is Boris and as much as some want to resile from that it will not happen

    He will always be Boris in the public's perception
    Some like you, see it as a term of appreciation and affection. Personally I see you referring to him as such as demeaning yourself and he. You do not know him (unless you wish to tell us otherwise). He is a joke, and you don't seem to realise that the more you call him "Boris" the more he sounds like the clown that many of us long ago realised he is.
    A joke who won a 80 seat majority to become PM and two mayoral elections in a Labour city. An incredibly succesful Joke?
    Common factor? Standing against an anti-semitic raging lefty.
    You do have to hand it to Johnson that he has done quite well in elections, even though it was against very poor opponents. The amusing (or possibly alarming) thing is that his apologists and sheep-like supporters seem to miss the point: Winning an election is good if you then go on to govern well! The reality is that Johnson is shit! He is a lightweight with no leadership or managerial skills. Having a clown as Mayor of London is one thing, but having him as head of government is quite another. Gradually people will realise the obese emperor has no clothes!
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071
    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361
    dixiedean said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James. Although you can forgive Brown I think...he is many things but not a sex machine I wager.
    You say this but to me that was one of the things he exuded. Virility.
  • Options
    StockyStocky Posts: 9,736

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
    If Corbyn was "the absolute boy" maybe Johnson is "the absolute bellend"?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
    More playground politics.
  • Options
    eekeek Posts: 25,028
    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
  • Options
    Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 2,771

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Not childish or stupid enough to believe in a) Father Christmas, b) Brexit, c) Boris Johnson. How about you? I bet you go for all three?
    What if one believes that Boris Johnson is Father Christmas and he will bring us Brexit for Christmas, but only if we've been good? :lol:
    Credit where credit is due.....that is quite good.
    You keep believing in it while you enjoy it. I hope when the truth is revealed when you grow up it is not too painful for you 😂
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,728
    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    A friend of mine uses 'Doris'
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    If it was going the other way, with televised briefings being abolished and anonymous "lobby" briefings introduced instead then the same people attacking this would be livid at the reduced scrutiny.
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
    That name causes a very unpleasant image though. Pass the mind bleach
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
    I've got a very, very unusual first name. Apparently some relations argued with my father and said 'give him a second name which people will use'. But I don't like it and most of the time my first name has been useful.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071
    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
    More playground politics.
    True. Humour an old man!
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
    I've got a very, very unusual first name. Apparently some relations argued with my father and said 'give him a second name which people will use'. But I don't like it and most of the time my first name has been useful.
    Intrigued.

    Is your username any kind of clue?
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361
    Carnyx said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Perhaps also relevantly to PB [edit], it is also arguably a courtesy on a site such as PB with a range of political affiliations, not to use a nickname that is abusive in some way (whether negatively or positively to the other side). And sensible too if one wants to be taken more seriously.
    Yep. If we went majority "Johnson" you would hear no more "Muscles" from me.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942
    .
    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403
    As for BoJo's nomenclature? Nor really fussed tbh.
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,941
    Sandpit said:

    .

    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
    Is igt not however also an act of centralization in No. 10? (Not sure if this is actually so.)
  • Options
    StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 14,583
    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    I know what you mean, however...

    Boris has always been (in a British context) a silly name for a silly man for silly times. It's just struck me that it's also a rather Russian-sounding name, which might be awkward in the years to come.

    But now he's up against Sir Keir. Keir isn't a silly name. But by definition, Starmer's first name is out there. But it's attached to a knighthood. Service, chivalry. All the stuff that everyone knows that Mr Johnson doesn't have.

    Interesting to see how this plays out.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,990
    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
    Is igt not however also an act of centralization in No. 10? (Not sure if this is actually so.)
    Yeah I think you are right, they want to reduce the number of PR people in other departments.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361
    Stocky said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    To Corbyn sycophants he was known as "the absolute boy".
    That was an embarrassment. I never used that in any way that was not either pisstake or needle.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071
    TOPPING said:

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
    I've got a very, very unusual first name. Apparently some relations argued with my father and said 'give him a second name which people will use'. But I don't like it and most of the time my first name has been useful.
    Intrigued.

    Is your username any kind of clue?
    Only in the more arcane regions of a cruciverbalist's mind
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    Cant I stick with the Fat Fornicator. Or, for economy 'FF"?
    That name causes a very unpleasant image though. Pass the mind bleach
    It reminds me of the story I heard of a woman who said that having Nicholas Soames make love to you was like being having a wardrobe with a key in the door fall on you.
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,176

    kinabalu said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    Remember 'Not Flash, Just Gordon'?

    It's not Boris' fault that he can actually do branding...
    It's not his fault at all. He's built a best-selling brand and hats off to him for it.

    All I'm seeking to do is tip off those who are not his supporters but are buying into the brand - by promulgating its "Boris" labeling - that this is what they are doing.

    For these people the switch from "Boris" to "Johnson" might feel awkward at first - a little forced - but as with many good habits perseverance will pay off and once it's established they will feel better in themselves and will never look back.

    And if enough do it, it will cost Bor ... Johnson big time. In fact it could all but kill him off imo. That's the prize.

    BTW, I am pursuing this initiative in flesh & blood life too, not just on here. If somebody in my presence calls him "Boris", I ask them if they are a supporter of his or the Cons. If the answer to this is "No", then I tip them off. Not tick them off, please note, I tip them off (as above).
    Agreed. I have always preferred calling him "Johnson", particularly as it is a colloquialism in the US for penis. It is so obsequious when followers of an individual they don't know refer to their idol by their first name.

    Exactly the same as the unthinking moronic lefties who refer to Corbyn as "Jeremy" or even Jezza. He is Corbyn - an extremely thick ex-leader of the Labour Party who allowed Johnson, a lazy and incompetent narcissist to become PM.
    Just how childish are you?
    Use of "Jeremy" was always a useful flag for unthinking Corbyn sycophant when in conversation with other Labour party members. The "Boris" thing is more absurd because it's so obviously a deliberate piece of branding and yet people won't see it.
    It’s a good piece of branding and you’re absolutely furious about it.
    It's not a matter of being furious. It's a matter of recognizing the issue and acting on it. Not if you're a supporter of his. If you're a supporter, all is fine and dandy. "Boris" away to your heart's content. But non supporters should try and make the switch. Drop the "Boris", go with "Johnson".

    So on here (top of my head and missing loads) -

    @Mexicanpete
    @kle4
    @TOPPING
    @Richard_Nabavi
    @OldKingCole
    @Stuartinromford
    @Cyclefree

    etc etc
    A friend of mine uses 'Doris'
    Very unfair on actual Dorises.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403

    TOPPING said:

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
    I've got a very, very unusual first name. Apparently some relations argued with my father and said 'give him a second name which people will use'. But I don't like it and most of the time my first name has been useful.
    Intrigued.

    Is your username any kind of clue?
    Only in the more arcane regions of a cruciverbalist's mind
    I am worse than useless at crosswords.

    And yes of course I bloody well googled it.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942
    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
    Is igt not however also an act of centralization in No. 10? (Not sure if this is actually so.)
    That’s how it’s been portrayed by those opposing the proposals. I’d question why the government needs over 4,000 PR people in the first place (at a cost of what, a couple of hundred million a year?), and also the very cosy revolving door between people in media and government jobs.
  • Options
    StockyStocky Posts: 9,736
    I enjoyed Stodge`s header. I think he could be right - and I cling to the hope that there is more to Johnson than meets the eye. I`m delighted that Cummings, a liberal and such a formidible intellectual force, is at at the heart of it and suspect that Stodge may agree. I know I`ll be shot for saying so.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Sandpit said:

    No cheating, now!

    What were the given first names of:

    Keir Hardie
    Ramsay MacDonald
    Harold Wilson
    Gordon Brown

    that they all dropped to create a more appealing persona?

    The idea that Boris is some unique exploiter of the technique while other politicians, especially Labour ones, are just plain unvarnished articles sounds awfully like - what's the word? - gaslighting... :wink:

    James, James, James and James.

    It’s rather amusing to watch people get completely wound up by names used for certain people - when in any other situation they’d say that we should absolutely call them whatever name they want us to use!
    Might be all sorts of reasons for using a second name rather than a first; some families give the first-born son the father's name, then realise it causes confusion, for example.
    Thinking back (way back) to my mates in grammar school, about half of them were known by their middle names, even as teenagers. As I have a single forename this was never an option for me. When I confronted my parents about this my dad said "the vicar wanted an extra half-crown for a middle name".
    I've got a very, very unusual first name. Apparently some relations argued with my father and said 'give him a second name which people will use'. But I don't like it and most of the time my first name has been useful.
    Intrigued.

    Is your username any kind of clue?
    Only in the more arcane regions of a cruciverbalist's mind
    I am worse than useless at crosswords.

    And yes of course I bloody well googled it.
    LOL!! TBH so did I!
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,005

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    I saw a brief clip of Starkey being interviewed in which he said something (the accusation of getting rid of black people?) didn't work because there are so many "damn blacks" here.

    "Damn blacks" is all I heard from it. He sounds like he is using the James O'Brien technique of saying something controversial then wriggling out of it on a technicality or pretending to be amazed anyone would take umbrage at it. Basically trying to be too clever by half
  • Options
    StockyStocky Posts: 9,736
    TOPPING said:

    As for BoJo's nomenclature? Nor really fussed tbh.

    I think OnlyLivingBoy goes too far, but I do agree that that "Boris" is problematic, even if only mildly. From an electoral advantage point of view, I mean. Fair playing field and all that. So it`s Johnson and Starmer for me. Always has been.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    isam said:

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    I saw a brief clip of Starkey being interviewed in which he said something (the accusation of getting rid of black people?) didn't work because there are so many "damn blacks" here.

    "Damn blacks" is all I heard from it. He sounds like he is using the James O'Brien technique of saying something controversial then wriggling out of it on a technicality or pretending to be amazed anyone would take umbrage at it. Basically trying to be too clever by half
    Indeed. If he hadn't used the word damn that sentence would have come across very differently.

    Words matter and adding that extraneous word transforms the sentence. "Damn blacks" is all anyone hears now from it.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,005
    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361

    kinabalu said:

    Yorkcity said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    MaxPB said:

    So at a stroke we have 30k fewer cases. I wonder how much damage has been done to the UK because of this unnecessary double counting. If we'd been reporting these accurate figures for the last month would the UK still be seen as a leper colony like Leicester?

    The key stat for me has always been the number of people admitted to hospital as I have always been unsure of the accuracy of the Covid test. For information there is now not a single Covid patient in any of Hampshire hospitals. So thats a County with a population of 2.1 million with no Covid inpatients.
    Fantastic news! Does that mean we can all follow Boris' earlier advice and spend our way out of recession, down the pub? I have read that as a government invitation to get absolutely s***faced on Saturday, I suspect I am not alone.
    Johnson has just been on radio saying that it is not a licence to get s***faced.

    Perhaps he should have thought of that before deciding to open pubs on a Saturday. Criminal levels of stupidity.
    The criminal stupidity is if the public abuse the situation.

    In the recent poll 59% would blame the public if we have to go into lockdown again

    Oh come on. They KNOW people will get shitfaced. They WANT people to get shitfaced. Its our patriotic duty to get shitfaced. JRM has bought a yard glass for shitfacery purposes. Mrs Gove wants to get back to a normal where shitfaced people have a good old fashioned British fight.

    Shitfaced people spend money in the economy. Shitfaced people get merry and forget their troubles. The entire reason for 4th of July is to have a big party to show how normal things are. The idea that its the fault of the public for running out of their cage when you open the cage is absurd. And Shagger knows it. He's taking you for a fool mate.
    Most pubs are not opening tomorrow
    And most pub-goers are not going to the pub tomorrow.
    For goodness sake! The 70% staying at home are not the ones we need worry about.

    If it's going to make so little difference economically, which is your defence of the policy, why are we taking the risk?
    Yeah, let's just keep everything shut forever until there is zero risk.
    That is a failed argument, on your own terms.

    You have said it is safe because hardly anyone will go out, which defeats the economic argument. I am saying those desperate to get to drinking establishments are the very people common sense tells us would those that would be best advised to stay away. A and E will be buzzing on Saturday, so I suppose some economic activity will be generated
    Of course there is a balance, but the incidence of the virus is so low that the rewards likely outweigh the risk. If you required that the hospitality sector remain shut until there was no risk, it would probably be another year before they were open.
    Yes it is a balance of risk, and yes we need to return to normal as best we can. However, the wizard wheeze gesture of opening the pubs on (American) Independence Day, which falls, this year on a Saturday is foolhardy in the extreme.
    Why? If people want to go there are more hours in the day for them to do it. Otherwise it'd be a mad rush starting at 5pm.
    Let's see how A and E copes on Saturday. Let's hope you are right and I am wrong.
    They are probably better prepared than ever. No one is doing anything so admissions are way down!
    Let's assume that is correct. It is still a poor justification for encouraging idiots to get rat-arsed.
    Nobody is encouraging idiots but we just have to start opening our economy.

    I would expect Starmer to be following a similar path to Boris but Boris has an army of remainers and the left who dislike him with a passion and that dislike takes away rational argument
    Starmer , Boris.
    Why the difference in using surnames ?
    Because some people are known by their forename, some by the surname. Get over it.
    A bit more to it than that. "Boris" is a brand - and a very powerful one.
    An increasingly tarnished one. It will eventually become synonymous with being lazy and ineffectual. Parents in future will say to their teenagers " come on Boris get out of bed and do something useful"
    I can actually see that happening.

    "Oh FFS, get a grip. Are you planning to be a complete and utter Boris all your life?"
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942
    isam said:

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    I saw a brief clip of Starkey being interviewed in which he said something (the accusation of getting rid of black people?) didn't work because there are so many "damn blacks" here.

    "Damn blacks" is all I heard from it. He sounds like he is using the James O'Brien technique of saying something controversial then wriggling out of it on a technicality or pretending to be amazed anyone would take umbrage at it. Basically trying to be too clever by half
    I’m sure someone of Starkey’s intelligence will look back at that tape, and agree it came across as more than a little racist - at a time when racism has been in the news, and other people have been choosing their words very carefully to avoid unnecessary offence.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Stocky said:

    TOPPING said:

    As for BoJo's nomenclature? Nor really fussed tbh.

    I think OnlyLivingBoy goes too far, but I do agree that that "Boris" is problematic, even if only mildly. From an electoral advantage point of view, I mean. Fair playing field and all that. So it`s Johnson and Starmer for me. Always has been.
    I don't see why using a forename is problematic at all.

    "Call me Tony" started this before Boris was an MP and when I was a child. Then we had "Dave" decades later.

    I couldn't give less of a s**t if people say Boris or Johnson and the more people whinge about it the more tempted I am to just write Boris.
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,941
    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
    Is igt not however also an act of centralization in No. 10? (Not sure if this is actually so.)
    That’s how it’s been portrayed by those opposing the proposals. I’d question why the government needs over 4,000 PR people in the first place (at a cost of what, a couple of hundred million a year?), and also the very cosy revolving door between people in media and government jobs.
    I'm still puzzled about the practicalities, thinking about it. The reduction from 4000 to 20 is massive even allowing for some overstaffing - and a lot of inquiries and media contacts will be basic level stuff such as "Wing Commander Biggles gets his DSC" which can be done more easily at dept level than by some completely differtent dept and yet don't reflectr on gmt policy. Are they going to keep media contact people on in the depts under a different name?
  • Options
    nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483



    "Boris" is the name of the act. Use of the first name is designed to disarm, render the subject more approachable and less threatening, less subject to normal scrutiny, standards or constraints. Not a politician, more like an entertainer. Someone you could have a drink with. Someone a bit naughty. Somebody who doesn't need to be well briefed because oh look he's saying something funny. In short, entirely in line with his whole, remarkably successful, political strategy.

    People are free to call him what they like, but if you call him Boris you're simply signalling that you've been groomed by a political predator and your views can be discounted appropriately.

    Your last paragraph is utter garbage
    I thought it was quite powerful, and it's changed my mind. I was in the "what's in a name" camp, but reading OLB's post has made me think again. Your uncharacteristically aggressive dismissal of what he's saying is I think mistaken.
    Call him boris if you want but you then should call other politicians by their preferred given name with the surname in brackets if clarification needed. To use Boris and Stammer in the same sentence just shows bias.
  • Options
    Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 13,356
    Loved the article, Stodge. Regretably have no time today to do more than just record my thanks.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    eek said:

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    A level of on messaging that Blair and Campbell could only have fantasised about.

    ttps://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan/status/1278997675514507265?s=20

    The Lobby hacks are furious about “their” briefings being televised - Guido has been campaigning for televised briefings for years.

    As for the government having over 4,000 PR people to start with - what the...?

    Televised broefings means fewer interviews with ministers and the PM, especially. That's what this is all about. Johnson has been running away from scrutiny his entire political life. Once again today we saw why.

    Neither the PM nor ministers are/were interviewed at lobby briefings.
    +1 - this is just moving things from a paper based world into one more suitable for the modern era - with video available when you want to talk about the briefing.
    New media and independent media have been pushing for this for years.

    The Lobby system allows the government to favour allowing a small group of MSM journalists to translate their own words, with the inevitable favouritism that relationship engenders on both sides.

    After the woeful performance of the usual half-dozen Lobby hacks at the daily coronavirus briefings, it’s hardly a surprise that government are wanting to open things up.
    Is igt not however also an act of centralization in No. 10? (Not sure if this is actually so.)
    That’s how it’s been portrayed by those opposing the proposals. I’d question why the government needs over 4,000 PR people in the first place (at a cost of what, a couple of hundred million a year?), and also the very cosy revolving door between people in media and government jobs.
    I'm still puzzled about the practicalities, thinking about it. The reduction from 4000 to 20 is massive even allowing for some overstaffing - and a lot of inquiries and media contacts will be basic level stuff such as "Wing Commander Biggles gets his DSC" which can be done more easily at dept level than by some completely differtent dept and yet don't reflectr on gmt policy. Are they going to keep media contact people on in the depts under a different name?
    Is it a reduction from 4,000 to 20?

    Just because the headline number is being reduced by 4,000 doesn't mean that 4,000 was the entirety of the number. Its entirely possible its being reduced from 8,000 to 4,020 for instance.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,005
    nichomar said:



    "Boris" is the name of the act. Use of the first name is designed to disarm, render the subject more approachable and less threatening, less subject to normal scrutiny, standards or constraints. Not a politician, more like an entertainer. Someone you could have a drink with. Someone a bit naughty. Somebody who doesn't need to be well briefed because oh look he's saying something funny. In short, entirely in line with his whole, remarkably successful, political strategy.

    People are free to call him what they like, but if you call him Boris you're simply signalling that you've been groomed by a political predator and your views can be discounted appropriately.

    Your last paragraph is utter garbage
    I thought it was quite powerful, and it's changed my mind. I was in the "what's in a name" camp, but reading OLB's post has made me think again. Your uncharacteristically aggressive dismissal of what he's saying is I think mistaken.
    Call him boris if you want but you then should call other politicians by their preferred given name with the surname in brackets if clarification needed. To use Boris and Stammer in the same sentence just shows bias.
    People are allowed to be biased
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,728
    isam said:

    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act

    So when he sees the Queen he quotes from the Paul Simon song:

    ".. and Betty when you call me you can call me Al"
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,361
    isam said:

    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act

    A slightly different angle. That "Boris" is a shield to hide behind. And perhaps it is. Perhaps it is that as well as being the most successful personal political brand we've seen here for many a year. Interesting from Hitchens.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,005
    Sandpit said:

    isam said:

    MaxPB said:



    But we do actually class what happened in Rwanda as genocide. People trying to extend that definition to slavery are cheapening the term and by extension making it a less serious charge both historically and for the future should it happen again.

    It's like those animal rights weirdos trying to call people eating meat a Holocaust for animals. It isn't, all it does is make them look crazy.

    I agree in principle but Starkey making these sort of points feels like cold semantics in the face of horror, like saying to a gang victim who says he was tortured, "Well, that's not exactly torture in the correct meaning of the word, it's more like repeated grievous bodily harm".. Preserving the precise meaning of language is important, but if genocide is used as a generic word for "causing terrible suffering and death for millions of people of a particular race" I think we get the idea, and it's unhelpfully academic to quibble "but they weren't actually trying to wipe them out".
    I saw a brief clip of Starkey being interviewed in which he said something (the accusation of getting rid of black people?) didn't work because there are so many "damn blacks" here.

    "Damn blacks" is all I heard from it. He sounds like he is using the James O'Brien technique of saying something controversial then wriggling out of it on a technicality or pretending to be amazed anyone would take umbrage at it. Basically trying to be too clever by half
    I’m sure someone of Starkey’s intelligence will look back at that tape, and agree it came across as more than a little racist - at a time when racism has been in the news, and other people have been choosing their words very carefully to avoid unnecessary offence.
    I think he was purposely saying it to draw attention to himself then explain why he "didn't mean it like that", but if so, that's nonsense. It is blatantly rude and disrespectful at best - would any person, let alone any black person, hear it and not think it a pejorative statement?
  • Options
    Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 13,356
    Stocky said:

    I enjoyed Stodge`s header. I think he could be right - and I cling to the hope that there is more to Johnson than meets the eye. I`m delighted that Cummings, a liberal and such a formidible intellectual force, is at at the heart of it and suspect that Stodge may agree. I know I`ll be shot for saying so.

    Why?

    It's an interesting thought and on a superior site like this there is no reason why it shouldn't be seriously considered, even if one does not agree.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,942
    edited July 2020

    isam said:

    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act

    So when he sees the Queen he quotes from the Paul Simon song:

    ".. and Betty when you call me you can call me Al"
    Damn you, I’m going to be whistling that song all day now!

    Also, one of the greatest pop videos of all time.
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA

  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,147

    isam said:

    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act

    So when he sees the Queen he quotes from the Paul Simon song:

    ".. and Betty when you call me you can call me Al"
    And then he recounts the tale: “She’s got diamonds on the soles of her shoes.”
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,071

    isam said:

    THE BORIS ACT
    by Peter Hitchens
    7 . 23 . 19

    "The name of Britain’s new prime minister isn’t actually “Boris.” “Boris” is a stage name, jokey and lighthearted. His close friends and family call him “Al”—short for Alexander, a rather weightier nomenclature—and this small fact about this interesting, likeable, but worrying person seems important. Why would a politician need a stage name?"

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/07/the-boris-act

    So when he sees the Queen he quotes from the Paul Simon song:

    ".. and Betty when you call me you can call me Al"
    To be fair, isn't 'Boris' one of his names, which he decided to use, rather than Al when at school?
This discussion has been closed.