If he really wanted to attack the government he would focus on the way that the travel industry managed to keep our borders open and unchecked for the best part of 18 months. It is a gaping sore in government policy that has caused both a terrible loss of life and massive economic damage as it forced us into ever more extreme lockdowns to offset some peoples' skiing trips.
Just bizarre.
It would not surprise me if we were to hear that Dom was pro hotel quarantine, early lockdown, vaccine procurement, mask-wearing and anti emergency hospital discharge to care homes, Dido Harding, shaking hands in early 2020, etc.
The only thing that would surprise me is if he admitted to any mistakes himself. It will be a canonical example of aftertiming.
he was following a decision process written about by a mechanical engineer in the 1970s that everyone else was, in his narrative, too stupid to understand.
Have Dom and @Chris ever been seen in the same room together?
If he really wanted to attack the government he would focus on the way that the travel industry managed to keep our borders open and unchecked for the best part of 18 months. It is a gaping sore in government policy that has caused both a terrible loss of life and massive economic damage as it forced us into ever more extreme lockdowns to offset some peoples' skiing trips.
Just bizarre.
It would not surprise me if we were to hear that Dom was pro hotel quarantine, early lockdown, vaccine procurement, mask-wearing and anti emergency hospital discharge to care homes, Dido Harding, shaking hands in early 2020, etc.
The only thing that would surprise me is if he admitted to any mistakes himself. It will be a canonical example of aftertiming.
It won’t be that simple. He will, as you say, have been on the right side of every decision all along, but it will be because he was following a decision process written about by a mechanical engineer in the 1970s that everyone else was, in his narrative, too stupid to understand.
More seriously I think he’s about to miscalculate and attack both the civil service and the top of the Tory party concurrently. That’s overreach, given all the papers they will have access to that will thoroughly embarrass him.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
And of course Saint Nicola wasn't exactly top of the attendance leaderboard either.
More seriously I think he’s about to miscalculate and attack both the civil service and the top of the Tory party concurrently. That’s overreach, given all the papers they will have access to that will thoroughly embarrass him.
Perhaps true, although the top of the Tory party will then be invited to explain why they clutched him to their bosom so tightly, why they prostituted themselves in support of him after Barnard Castle
If he really wanted to attack the government he would focus on the way that the travel industry managed to keep our borders open and unchecked for the best part of 18 months. It is a gaping sore in government policy that has caused both a terrible loss of life and massive economic damage as it forced us into ever more extreme lockdowns to offset some peoples' skiing trips.
Just bizarre.
It would not surprise me if we were to hear that Dom was pro hotel quarantine, early lockdown, vaccine procurement, mask-wearing and anti emergency hospital discharge to care homes, Dido Harding, shaking hands in early 2020, etc.
The only thing that would surprise me is if he admitted to any mistakes himself. It will be a canonical example of aftertiming.
It won’t be that simple. He will, as you say, have been on the right side of every decision all along, but it will be because he was following a decision process written about by a mechanical engineer in the 1970s that everyone else was, in his narrative, too stupid to understand.
More seriously I think he’s about to miscalculate and attack both the civil service and the top of the Tory party concurrently. That’s overreach, given all the papers they will have access to that will thoroughly embarrass him.
Good point. His personal march on Moscow.
Yup. It’s not like he has mates in the opposition either. They will find some of his allegations useful but they still hate him and wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. He can’t even hide amongst Farage’s mob because he’s alienated them too.
More seriously I think he’s about to miscalculate and attack both the civil service and the top of the Tory party concurrently. That’s overreach, given all the papers they will have access to that will thoroughly embarrass him.
Perhaps true, although the top of the Tory party will then be invited to explain why they clutched him to their bosom so tightly, why they prostituted themselves in support of him after Barnard Castle
And they will decline to answer, and it won’t matter. All they need to do is make him look untrustworthy enough now, that the allegations die quickly. I think the media will also help, because they clearly hate him too.
And they will decline to answer, and it won’t matter. All they need to do is make him look untrustworthy enough now, that the allegations die quickly. I think the media will also help, because they clearly hate him too.
Perhaps also true, although Dom doesn't strike me as the sort of guy to quit even if he doesn't win this round.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
And of course Saint Nicola wasn't exactly top of the attendance leaderboard either.
Hang on: she had the important task of trying to fit up the former leader of her party, so allowances need to be made.
And they will decline to answer, and it won’t matter. All they need to do is make him look untrustworthy enough now, that the allegations die quickly. I think the media will also help, because they clearly hate him too.
Perhaps also true, although Dom doesn't strike me as the sort of guy to quit even if he doesn't win this round.
You’re right, but I think he’s also the sort to bide his time and enjoy his revenge at the appropriate temperature.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
Scandal - in early stages of a pandemic, PM leaves meetings in hands of Ministers, civil servants and scientists. Fails to politicize and weaponize the pandemic. Scandal. Stop the press!
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
Personally I wouldn't be devastated if he gives Boris a good kick in the goolies - it's not like Her Majesty's opposition is doing an amazing job, so someone needs to keep the (very) big boys honest.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
I relax by doing things that are hard work. A change is as good as a rest. I can believe the PM enjoys writing. He just happens to get paid for it too. Remember that he probably doesn’t get to do much of it now.
I can’t believe I’ve found myself in the position of defending the PM! I just don’t think there’s a story here.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
He's one of the few politicians who might be willing to step away from power while still on a high.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
Some people play video games to relax. Some post on PB. Some presumably write hack books about Shakespeare.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
Yes, I would think he wants to win in 2024 and be gone by 2029, electorally undefeated.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
The more interesting question is what happens to the Little England party then.
Again the comparison with Trump is the template.
The Republicans should have ditched the loser in January. They didn't.
When BoZo falls, will the Conservative and Unionist party renounce all things BoZo, or will the Little Englanders continue to carry the torch to oblivion?
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
I relax by doing things that are hard work. A change is as good as a rest. I can believe the PM enjoys writing. He just happens to get paid for it too. Remember that he probably doesn’t get to do much of it now.
I can’t believe I’ve found myself in the position of defending the PM! I just don’t think there’s a story here.
I agree in part, but it is the final preparation for publication that is like pulling teeth - all the checking, checking and checking again in particular, and also the polishing and editing.
Also - it's one thing to do something as a hobby. It's another to do something as a paid contract. Both by their nature and by the optics. He has time to spare to edit a book for publication? Who is he, Marcus Aurelius?
Edit: perhaps more to the point, who is he, Winston Churtchill? Even Churchill (AIUI) did his books when out of power.
My guess is that it'll be a damp squib. If he had a silver bullet, he'd already have fired it.
I think the main problem for Dom is that most of what he's accusing the government of is already in the price. Most people accept (wrongly in my view) that we should have locked down earlier last March, but also see that it was a very difficult decision, and, as ever, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition didn't bother to oppose much at the time, so can't claim they'd have done any better.
His revelations will outrage only the professionally outraged.
Yeah I don't see what could possibly come out that is, in advance of the enquiry, a slam dunk OMG moment.
Something on care homes perhaps as I believe that is the exposed flank for the govt (it's certainly not the timing of lockdown) but other than that can't see it because as you say so much of it, and of Boris is in the price.
KO blow seems unlikely but perhaps Cummings can score a few points with backbenchers for when the gilt wears off Boris's gingerbread, although I expect Boris to have retired at the top rather than wait to be pushed.
The initial care homes advice/recommendations were from Public Health England.
The govt did follow the advice but it was advice from PHE all the same.
And that advice seems to have been based upon models that indicated we needed tens of thousands of hospital beds right now or the NHS would be overwhelmed. The same advice that resulted in Nightingales. That advice proved to be wrong but had it been right it is entirely possible that we might be talking about that as a bold step that saved the lives of thousands rather than a disaster.
Such is the choices that have to be made in a pandemic.
The British really don't understand the value of failure.
Chesham and Amersham is going to be fascinating IMO. I don't think it'll be a boring by-election in the slightest. Because it'll tell us whether the Tories really are losing support in their old-fashioned home countries suburban constituencies, or whether that's just a myth the media find attractive at the moment.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
A legacy of Brexit + leaving at a time of his choosing after 2? elections victories + retaining Scotland + getting EU into line over NI, and never really losing any big battles would be a worthy one.
@iainmartin1 Whole thing is an essay crisis of Boris Johnson proportions. Contracted to write the thing way back in, what, 2015? Then, what with one thing or another, life got a bit too busy, deadlines got missed, all the cashola long spent... https://twitter.com/PeterMannionMP/status/1396828676931608582
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
The more interesting question is what happens to the Little England party then.
Again the comparison with Trump is the template.
The Republicans should have ditched the loser in January. They didn't.
When BoZo falls, will the Conservative and Unionist party renounce all things BoZo, or will the Little Englanders continue to carry the torch to oblivion?
The Tory Party will do what it always does, be lost in opposition for a few years then completely reinvent itself and rise from the ashes. Boris-ism, even more than any other “ism” is easy to ditch because there’s no coherent philosophy there anyway.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
Yes, I would think he wants to win in 2024 and be gone by 2029, electorally undefeated.
That reminds me of a quote...
Many of those who plan to repent at the 11th hour, die at ten thirty.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Being totally cynical, "utter nonsense" sounds pretty synonymous to "pyramid of piffle" to me.
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
Doesn't matter, electorally or in the judgement halls of PB.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
Does Boris appreciate this or is it in his mind to step off (the burning boat?) before that time.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
Yes, I would think he wants to win in 2024 and be gone by 2029, electorally undefeated.
That reminds me of a quote...
Many of those who plan to repent at the 11th hour, die at ten thirty.
Bang in the middle of the eleventh hour. But had they repented by then?
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe and has suspended Belarus' national airline Belavia's operating permit.https://twitter.com/ZoraSuleman/status/1396836949432934406
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
The Tory Party will do what it always does, be lost in opposition for a few years then completely reinvent itself and rise from the ashes. Boris-ism, even more than any other “ism” is easy to ditch because there’s no coherent philosophy there anyway.
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Did you listen to the interview? Richard Sharp sounded pretty convincing to me.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Yes, my theory is that irony tends to be ironic. So when he loses his voters, it’ll be because he’s done something that’s objectively the right thing to do, but just happens to be super-unpopular. Being a statesman will be what kills him.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Indeed. This is starting to remind me of the time, between Peter Mandlebrots 127th and 128th resignations from government, when all of the Conservative Party was united in the belief that *this time* the Blair Bubble would implode and they'd be back in government before lunch.
@iainmartin1 Whole thing is an essay crisis of Boris Johnson proportions. Contracted to write the thing way back in, what, 2015? Then, what with one thing or another, life got a bit too busy, deadlines got missed, all the cashola long spent... https://twitter.com/PeterMannionMP/status/1396828676931608582
Apparently Boris's novel, written in the 2000s, contains nonsensical sentences in the final pages as Boris rushed to get it out the door.
The slight risk to the government, and BJ. is that Cummings ego is so huge that really doesn't seem to give a fuck about anything apart from his personal integrity (i.e. he's being true to himself, whatever anybody else thinks). He can't be bought, and I assume he would have refused to sign an NDA when he left government. His 50-odd very public tweets are worth a read. No smoking gun, but not far off.
So I'm not sure that it really what people, on here or elsewhere, think of him. He really doesn't give a toss.
He many not give a fuck about anything else, but does anyone give a fuck about him? He's burnt his bridges and made himself a laughing stock and punchline.
It's true that all the people on here who really, REALLY gave a fuck about Dom and would have died in a ditch for him last spring don't give a fuck now.
And Vice Versa.
Not afaic. Pointing and sniggering at a bunch of people who defended a lying **** defending another lying **** a year ago now picking and choosing which lying **** to believe because the two lying ****s have fallen out is satisfyingly consistent and confirmatory from my point of view.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Indeed. This is starting to remind me of the time, between Peter Mandlebrots 127th and 128th resignations from government, when all of the Conservative Party was united in the belief that *this time* the Blair Bubble would implode and they'd be back in government before lunch.
Yes, there were so many manufactured scandals, right up to the question of “will or won’t Blair be questioned under caution over cash for honours”. All came to nothing.
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
Chesham and Amersham is going to be fascinating IMO. I don't think it'll be a boring by-election in the slightest. Because it'll tell us whether the Tories really are losing support in their old-fashioned home countries suburban constituencies, or whether that's just a myth the media find attractive at the moment.
I think they are losing support, but mainly to no-show or protest vote. That in itself is dangerous enough in a number of places though.
As I posted before, I reckon the tories just as likely now to win Rotherham (target number 40-odd) as Bedford (target number 1).
If there was an election tomorrow I would deffo be on the lib dems in Bedford.
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
I relax by doing things that are hard work. A change is as good as a rest. I can believe the PM enjoys writing. He just happens to get paid for it too. Remember that he probably doesn’t get to do much of it now.
I can’t believe I’ve found myself in the position of defending the PM! I just don’t think there’s a story here.
I agree in part, but it is the final preparation for publication that is like pulling teeth - all the checking, checking and checking again in particular, and also the polishing and editing.
Also - it's one thing to do something as a hobby. It's another to do something as a paid contract. Both by their nature and by the optics. He has time to spare to edit a book for publication? Who is he, Marcus Aurelius?
Edit: perhaps more to the point, who is he, Winston Churtchill? Even Churchill (AIUI) did his books when out of power.
Absolutely... And the problem for those who see "Boris" as a Great Man is that he doesn't actually do anything, not himself. He gets everybody else to carry him.
Pointing and sniggering at a bunch of people who defended a lying **** defending another lying **** a year ago now picking and choosing which lying **** to believe because the two lying ****s have fallen out is satisfyingly consistent and confirmatory from my point of view.
The slight risk to the government, and BJ. is that Cummings ego is so huge that really doesn't seem to give a fuck about anything apart from his personal integrity (i.e. he's being true to himself, whatever anybody else thinks). He can't be bought, and I assume he would have refused to sign an NDA when he left government. His 50-odd very public tweets are worth a read. No smoking gun, but not far off.
So I'm not sure that it really what people, on here or elsewhere, think of him. He really doesn't give a toss.
He many not give a fuck about anything else, but does anyone give a fuck about him? He's burnt his bridges and made himself a laughing stock and punchline.
It's true that all the people on here who really, REALLY gave a fuck about Dom and would have died in a ditch for him last spring don't give a fuck now.
And Vice Versa.
Not afaic. Pointing and sniggering at a bunch of people who defended a lying **** defending another lying **** a year ago now picking and choosing which lying **** to believe because the two lying ****s have fallen out is satisfyingly consistent and confirmatory from my point of view.
Can you please explain the death by drugs stats for Scotland vs everywhere else?
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
Moonlighting in another paid job - which is hard work - rather than resting?
Some people play video games to relax. Some post on PB. Some presumably write hack books about Shakespeare.
I wouldn't think his publisher minds the delay tbh. A book by ex-PM Johnson will sell much better than a book by ex-Mayor Johnson. They'll be happy with their investment, and want to publish the book when Johnson is free to promote it.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Indeed. This is starting to remind me of the time, between Peter Mandlebrots 127th and 128th resignations from government, when all of the Conservative Party was united in the belief that *this time* the Blair Bubble would implode and they'd be back in government before lunch.
Yes, there were so many manufactured scandals, right up to the question of “will or won’t Blair be questioned under caution over cash for honours”. All came to nothing.
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
To be fair "cash for honours" was a genuine thing. Blair was let off on the ground that it wasn't in the pubic interest to prosecute the government happened to get caught. Because they all did it.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Indeed. This is starting to remind me of the time, between Peter Mandlebrots 127th and 128th resignations from government, when all of the Conservative Party was united in the belief that *this time* the Blair Bubble would implode and they'd be back in government before lunch.
Arguably its economics that makes big cyclical moves in government. 1979, 1997, 2010. Winter of Discontent. EMS crisis. 2008 crash.
Boris's actions since May 06 suggest he may actually grasp this. Inflation, debt, taxes, unemployment etc are what really threaten him.
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Did you listen to the interview? Richard Sharp sounded pretty convincing to me.
He is. But its the permafrost level of management which needs to change and that is very much harder than it seems. Believe me - I have been through this. The man at the top talks about culture change. They mean it too. But getting all the people all the way down to understand what it means and to change what they have been doing and get their teams to do it day in day out is bloody hard work. It takes years. It takes relentless pressure from the top and from outside. It takes buy in at all levels and it takes courage.
A good interview and a few memos are not enough. Culture change is hard. The hardest part is admitting that you need to do it. The fact that so many are saying that it's all a long time ago and that the managers who covered it up have gone is a sign to me that the people there now don't really get it. They are still in "it's not me guv, I'm one of the good guys" mode, which is a very common human reaction. But the wrong one - even good guys can get stuff wrong. That complacency is one of the problems.
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
it really is though.
Hence BoZo
Sadly it is not. Now it may do at some point in the future, but I think we might have to accept that a significant minority (enough to win General Elections) are quite content to have a lying clown as PM so long as he says the right things and occasionally does the right thing.
I see it as the modern day equivalent of Bread and Circuses.
"Mystery speeding objects detected underwater by US submarines ahead of Pentagon UFO report
"Photos were said to have been leaked from an official investigation into unidentified flying objects which was readying evidence for Congress due in June.
"Mr Rogan told Fox News: "Relevant to this video, an area we will learn more about is the interaction between US Navy submarines, nuclear ballistic submarines and attack submarines, picking up sonar contact of things moving at hundreds of knots under the water.
"Anchor Tucker Carlson responded: "Hundreds of knots under water? I don't think people can even digest that."
"Mr Rogan told him: "That is what I have heard from very good sources and that the US Navy has the data."
""Whether this being is worldly or otherworldly, we don't know.
""It's just part of a much larger series of events we are going to be learning about.""
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
You missed the ones like about where he supposed secretly flew to Italy...he didn't really have a phone call with Biden....etc etc etc
The problem the media have is so many have driven so mad by Boris and Brexit, everything is a mega scandal, and they fail to check the facts so the stories don't hold up e.g. the Italy trips, the CCJ, or blow things out of proportion and ultimately it lets him off on other things, because of the constant noise of nonsense.
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Did you listen to the interview? Richard Sharp sounded pretty convincing to me.
He is. But its the permafrost level of management which needs to change and that is very much harder than it seems. Believe me - I have been through this. The man at the top talks about culture change. They mean it too. But getting all the people all the way down to understand what it means and to change what they have been doing and get their teams to do it day in day out is bloody hard work. It takes years. It takes relentless pressure from the top and from outside. It takes buy in at all levels and it takes courage.
A good interview and a few memos are not enough. Culture change is hard. The hardest part is admitting that you need to do it. The fact that so many are saying that it's all a long time ago and that the managers who covered it up have gone is a sign to me that the people there now don't really get it. They are still in "it's not me guv, I'm one of the good guys" mode, which is a very common human reaction. But the wrong one - even good guys can get stuff wrong. That complacency is one of the problems.
The BBC seems absolutely stuffed with people convinced that they are one of the good guys.
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Did you listen to the interview? Richard Sharp sounded pretty convincing to me.
He is. But its the permafrost level of management which needs to change and that is very much harder than it seems. Believe me - I have been through this. The man at the top talks about culture change. They mean it too. But getting all the people all the way down to understand what it means and to change what they have been doing and get their teams to do it day in day out is bloody hard work. It takes years. It takes relentless pressure from the top and from outside. It takes buy in at all levels and it takes courage.
A good interview and a few memos are not enough. Culture change is hard. The hardest part is admitting that you need to do it. The fact that so many are saying that it's all a long time ago and that the managers who covered it up have gone is a sign to me that the people there now don't really get it. They are still in "it's not me guv, I'm one of the good guys" mode, which is a very common human reaction. But the wrong one - even good guys can get stuff wrong. That complacency is one of the problems.
No. Change is impossible from within because the BBC, as with every other common purpose dominated institution, believes it is right.
The crimes and the cover ups don't matter because the corporation, just like the labour party, has the Correct Beliefs. The Correct Values. Critics can be resisted and then dismissed. That is because they have the Wrong Beliefs.
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
The more interesting question is what happens to the Little England party then.
Again the comparison with Trump is the template.
The Republicans should have ditched the loser in January. They didn't.
When BoZo falls, will the Conservative and Unionist party renounce all things BoZo, or will the Little Englanders continue to carry the torch to oblivion?
"the comparison with Trump is the template" Reagan is a better comparison.
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
it really is though.
Hence BoZo
The problem you have is to assume that the narrative will not change to support your fevered daily tweets that Brexit will be reversed and Boris will be consigned to a defeated and humiliated ex PM
You are a perfect example of someone who does not adopt to change, adapt to that change, and improve on that change
I know you are often compared to Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who spent 29 years in the jungle after refusing to surrender to the allies, and I would just say that as time passes the agenda will change dramatically while you still fight old battles
I expect when Boris does go it will be quick and at the hands of his party, but he will be replaced by someone who does not look backwards and nostalgically at the days of our former membership of the EU
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
it really is though.
Hence BoZo
Sadly it is not. Now it may do at some point in the future, but I think we might have to accept that a significant minority (enough to win General Elections) are quite content to have a lying clown as PM so long as he says the right things and occasionally does the right thing.
I see it as the modern day equivalent of Bread and Circuses.
Boris's negative qualities will only cut through when there is an attractive alternative. Which takes us back to recent threads about 'why people don't like the Labour Party/Keir Starmer' or occasionally 'why people don't like the Lib Dems'.
Just as in the early years of the century no-one cared too much about Tony Blair's various 'soft' issues - the lies, the cash for honours, the personal enrichment - when the only obvious beneficiary was a Conservative Party which voters didn't have much time for and felt didn't actually like them much.
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
..... and UFOs are a front page story on the Washington Post, with remarks like this from a former Director of the CIA
Brennan suggests the videios reveal "some type of phenomenon that is the result of something that we don’t yet understand and that could involve some type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life.”
I mean, WTAFFFFFF
Whatever your opinion of this story, something truly remarkable is happening in Washington DC
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
Pointing and sniggering at a bunch of people who defended a lying **** defending another lying **** a year ago now picking and choosing which lying **** to believe because the two lying ****s have fallen out is satisfyingly consistent and confirmatory from my point of view.
*cough*Eck and Nicola*cough*
Nats really do have a self awareness problem. Alex Salmond, their ex leader, and architect of everything that is hate filled and divisive about Scottish Nationalism (that they regard as success) is described as a bully and sex pest by his own QC. Nicola, his one time protege, of course, never knew he was a sex pest. Of course she didn't!
Alex Salmond makes the other fat lying little toad (the one is occupying No10) look like a paragon of virtue.
"Washington is swirling with chatter — among top senators, Pentagon insiders, and even former CIA directors — about UFOs. What was once a ticket to the political loony bin has leaped off Hollywood screens and out of science-fiction novels and into the national conversation. There are even new government abbreviations.
"For some Navy pilots, UFO sightings were an ordinary event: ‘Every day for at least a couple years’ “This used to be a career-ending kind of thing,” said John Podesta, who generally kept his interest in UFOs to himself when he was President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. “You didn’t want to get caught talking about it because you’d be accused of walking out of an ‘X-Files’ episode.”
"But now there isn’t just talk."
Washington Post, there, sounding very much like The Fortean Times
All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
The more interesting question is what happens to the Little England party then.
Again the comparison with Trump is the template.
The Republicans should have ditched the loser in January. They didn't.
When BoZo falls, will the Conservative and Unionist party renounce all things BoZo, or will the Little Englanders continue to carry the torch to oblivion?
"the comparison with Trump is the template" Reagan is a better comparison.
Don't be ridiculous. Only slightly less absurd than comparing the fat little liar with Churchill. He is Trump, and at one time clearly liked the comparison. And his fanbois are just like Trump's fanbois.
Chesham and Amersham is going to be fascinating IMO. I don't think it'll be a boring by-election in the slightest. Because it'll tell us whether the Tories really are losing support in their old-fashioned home countries suburban constituencies, or whether that's just a myth the media find attractive at the moment.
I think they are losing support, but mainly to no-show or protest vote. That in itself is dangerous enough in a number of places though.
As I posted before, I reckon the tories just as likely now to win Rotherham (target number 40-odd) as Bedford (target number 1).
If there was an election tomorrow I would deffo be on the lib dems in Bedford.
Anyone who thought the wallpaper story would damage Boris needs to get their political antennae recalibrated.
Anyone who thinks it doesn't matter that he lies like a flatfish needs to get their moral compass recalibrated.
It is not even only about moral compasses. It is a massive national security risk to casually allow our leaders to accept bundles of cash from persons unknown for reasons unknown.
The people who claim to be in favour of law and order and security and rightly said Labour under Corbyn would be a national security risk but couldn't care less about Johnson creating a security risk are blatant partisan hypocrites.
Also, I think certain people need to give up on the idea that this next thing will be the final nail in the coffin for Boris. First it was wallpaper, then it was who bought his shopping, then it was that he had a CCJ, then it was "people of talent", then it was "bodies piled high" and so on.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Yes, my theory is that irony tends to be ironic. So when he loses his voters, it’ll be because he’s done something that’s objectively the right thing to do, but just happens to be super-unpopular. Being a statesman will be what kills him.
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
Looks like the media have shot their load again.....onto the next scandal.
UPDATE: On the Amazon listing, the publishers say this is a mistake and they have not scheduled the book to be released “in the foreseeable future”:
“After the success of Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor, which was published in 2014, Hodder & Stoughton contracted him to write a book about Shakespeare, originally planning to tie in with the Shakespeare anniversary in 2016. When Boris Johnson became Foreign Secretary we agreed that we would delay publication until a more suitable time, and we have not scheduled the book to be released in the foreseeable future
Say what you like about Brexit, but London has responded before Brussels to the detention of an EU plane operated by an EU airline flying between two EU capitals.
UK orders British airlines to avoid flying over Belarus and suspends operating permit of Belarus' national airline
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
LOL. Reminds me of the NotW headlines on consecutive days: "747 Seen on Surface of Moon!" "747 Disappears from Moon!"
Sunday Sport? NotW was a serious newspaper. By coincidence, I've just been leafing through the 7/3/04 edition which "exposes" a jockey on the front page, footballers and rape allegations inside, Blair/Caplin, a column from William Hague, and so on.
This was tweeted a few minutes ago by one of the US pilots who has reported a spectacular sighting
(1/6) As viewed from the Situation Awareness page, the GIMBAL object appeared to be ‘behind’ a wedge formation of 4-6 objects that were flying in a straight-line path for a period of time. From the appearance of their radar tracks, they appeared similar to my eye as the
@uncertainvector · 8m Replying to @uncertainvector (2/6) ‘cube in a sphere’ objects we’d see regularly. I say this as their Target Aspect indicator seemed a bit jittery- as if the radar had difficulty determining which way the vehicle was pointing even though they were proceeding in a straight line. Ryan Graves @uncertainvector · 8m (3/6) Eventually, the wedge formation began a turn. The vehicles turned similar to an aircraft, where they had a radius of turn. This is in contrast to the GIMBAL object which reversed its direction with no turn. The turn of the wedge formation, if I remember correctly, was Ryan Graves @uncertainvector · 8m (4/6) not a ‘clean’ formation turn. The vehicles seemed to break formation to a certain extent but reposition to their original formation as they rolled out on the opposite heading. The GIMBAL object was stationary (as seen in the video) as the turn was executed. Once the wedge Ryan Graves @uncertainvector · 8m (5/6) formation completed the turn and was flowing in the opposite direction, the GIMBAL object rotated as seen in the video. After the video was cut, the GIMBAL began to flow behind the wedge formation. Ryan Graves @uncertainvector · 9m (6/6) For the record, after seeing 100s of aircraft and countless other air and ground based objects through the FLIR, I have never seen anything like GIMBAL. I think it's clear the Aircrew in the video feel the same way.
Looks like the media have shot their load again.....
UPDATE: On the Amazon listing, the publishers say this is a mistake and they have not scheduled the book to be released “in the foreseeable future”:
“After the success of Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor, which was published in 2014, Hodder & Stoughton contracted him to write a book about Shakespeare, originally planning to tie in with the Shakespeare anniversary in 2016. When Boris Johnson became Foreign Secretary we agreed that we would delay publication until a more suitable time, and we have not scheduled the book to be released in the foreseeable future
Oh well Scott another waste of a dozen feverish posts. Never mind.
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
And if you believe anything by Tucker Carlson then more fool you. He makes Comedy Dave look like the height of probity.
And the Washington Post. New York Times, CNN, New Yorker, NBC, ABC, Time, and CBS?
Show me anyone credible on the NYT or CNN etc credibly saying "UFOs are real and extraterrestial" please.
As opposed to people saying rather mundane things like "this needs to be examined" or "this is unknown", or reporting that people are talking about UFOs (which is true, people are talking about it but that doesn't make it real).
I don’t really understand the criticism here. Are PMs not allowed any down time ever? Not sure I want someone minding our nuclear arsenal if they never get any time off. If he missed crucial meetings to write it, that’s wrong. Otherwise, so what?
I think that's the allegation - that Boris was bunking off vital Covid meetings to write it.
It’ll be a pretty high bar to prove that was true early on. There’s so much stuff going on all the time that MIGHT take off, that the PM can’t possibly engage with all of it. That’s what other ministers are for. I can well believe that early on he didn’t attend all the Covid meetings, and that’s not really a scandal.
Indeed. That was Hancock's job.
When Boris doesn’t attend 5 it’s “bunking off” When Nicola doesn’t attend 6 it’s “delegating”
Switch on WATO. Banging on about the BBC. Switch off.
- We're joined in the studio by the BBC's BBC correspondent. What's the latest? - Tight lips at the BBC today, Sarah. The BBC is yet to comment on that bombshell BBC Newsnight report. - Can the BBC really stay silent on this? - I'm hearing rumours that BBC Today is in negotiations with the BBC to secure an interview. - Be sure to stay tuned to the BBC for any developments.
The BBC's own travails are much much less important than Putin's allies hijacking planes.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
Did you listen to the interview? Richard Sharp sounded pretty convincing to me.
He is. But its the permafrost level of management which needs to change and that is very much harder than it seems. Believe me - I have been through this. The man at the top talks about culture change. They mean it too. But getting all the people all the way down to understand what it means and to change what they have been doing and get their teams to do it day in day out is bloody hard work. It takes years. It takes relentless pressure from the top and from outside. It takes buy in at all levels and it takes courage.
A good interview and a few memos are not enough. Culture change is hard. The hardest part is admitting that you need to do it. The fact that so many are saying that it's all a long time ago and that the managers who covered it up have gone is a sign to me that the people there now don't really get it. They are still in "it's not me guv, I'm one of the good guys" mode, which is a very common human reaction. But the wrong one - even good guys can get stuff wrong. That complacency is one of the problems.
One of the fascinating things is to watch how companies/organisations can steam steadily into an iceberg and sink, with plenty of foreknowledge and warning.
It is always down to an internal system where acknowledging the reality is not an option.
Say what you like about Brexit, but London has responded before Brussels to the detention of an EU plane operated by an EU airline flying between two EU capitals.
UK orders British airlines to avoid flying over Belarus and suspends operating permit of Belarus' national airline
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
And if you believe anything by Tucker Carlson then more fool you. He makes Comedy Dave look like the height of probity.
And the Washington Post. New York Times, CNN, New Yorker, NBC, ABC, Time, and CBS?
Show me anyone credible on the NYT or CNN etc credibly saying "UFOs are real and extraterrestial" please.
As opposed to people saying rather mundane things like "this needs to be examined" or "this is unknown", or reporting that people are talking about UFOs (which is true, people are talking about it but that doesn't make it real).
It's the FACT they are talking about it. DUHHHH
"The quality of the authenticated UFO/UAP video is lousy. Do not imagine that this low quality video is the major data trove that has us discussing the unimaginable.
The truly major data in support of UFOs that we have as of today is simply the change in the official narrative."
"We should marvel at what the Pentagon has achieved here:
A) We have now been *rapidly* habituated to the possibility of regular visits from aliens.
It’s not our top story.
C) All the public evidence so far is low quality, and hence still technically deniable & retractable".
"I’d guess that we’re at some point soon going to be confronted by stunningly clear reconstructions of incidents with crystal clear video, and that we have a collective freakout ahead where we’ll look back and marvel how they dribbled low quality video out to control our reaction."
Eric Weinstein is a bit eccentric, he is also incredibly smart
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
They have obviously been around us for some time. Just looking. Why do you suppose they haven't made contact/destroyed a continent or two/asked to be taken to our leaders?
Looks like the media have shot their load again.....
UPDATE: On the Amazon listing, the publishers say this is a mistake and they have not scheduled the book to be released “in the foreseeable future”:
“After the success of Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor, which was published in 2014, Hodder & Stoughton contracted him to write a book about Shakespeare, originally planning to tie in with the Shakespeare anniversary in 2016. When Boris Johnson became Foreign Secretary we agreed that we would delay publication until a more suitable time, and we have not scheduled the book to be released in the foreseeable future
Oh well Scott another waste of a dozen feverish posts. Never mind.
Was "the Churchill Factor' a success? I thought it was generally regarded as suitable as a doorstop or something like that.
Comments
And we know from past experience that when BoJo says "pyramid of piffle", he means "true, but I don't want to admit it".
(Teacher voice) That's the trouble with developing a reputation for lying, Johnson. People stop trusting you.
I won't repost.
Or, to put it another way, Boris will be able to charm and persuade and to manipulate the truth. Until one day, he won't.
My gut is that Boris will be longer lived than most, but that the charm will start to fade some time shortly after the 2024 election.
What a legacy. Might be his thinking.
If full reopening on June 21 is delayed, on the other hand .......
I can’t believe I’ve found myself in the position of defending the PM! I just don’t think there’s a story here.
BUT. That requires consummate timing.
Again the comparison with Trump is the template.
The Republicans should have ditched the loser in January. They didn't.
When BoZo falls, will the Conservative and Unionist party renounce all things BoZo, or will the Little Englanders continue to carry the torch to oblivion?
Also - it's one thing to do something as a hobby. It's another to do something as a paid contract. Both by their nature and by the optics. He has time to spare to edit a book for publication? Who is he, Marcus Aurelius?
Edit: perhaps more to the point, who is he, Winston Churtchill? Even Churchill (AIUI) did his books when out of power.
https://twitter.com/PeterMannionMP/status/1396828676931608582
Many of those who plan to repent at the 11th hour, die at ten thirty.
The desperation of some to see Boris fall is leading them to poor judgement over how serious specific situations actually are. This latest one with Dom will be just like the rest and the same people will start ramping the next guardian story.
Obviously.
The difficulty is that what has been revealed about BBC culture and governance - not just 25 years ago - but much more recently is pretty awful. And it shows a news gathering organisation for which we all pay which cannot gather news, cannot investigate properly, cannot admit to mistakes, cannot manage, cannot comply with even the most basic standards of integrity, good employment and hiring practice. That is not something to be ignored. It does need to be covered and addressed. But by whom and how.
If the BBC does not cover it, who will? And if the BBC does not cover it, it will be accused of ignoring its own wrongdoing.
that was the dregs at the time.
So far, it has given us
Fuck Northern Ireland
Fuck fishermen
Fuck farmers.
It's going to be hard to repent some of those
Pointing and sniggering at a bunch of people who defended a lying **** defending another lying **** a year ago now picking and choosing which lying **** to believe because the two lying ****s have fallen out is satisfyingly consistent and confirmatory from my point of view.
Following the forced diversion of a @Ryanair aircraft to Minsk yesterday, I’ve instructed @UK_CAA to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe. I have also suspended Belavia’s operating permit.
https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1396835052168810499
Turns out “if we just wait long enough, the public will see through them and then it’ll be our turn again” isn’t really a winning strategy.
As I posted before, I reckon the tories just as likely now to win Rotherham (target number 40-odd) as Bedford (target number 1).
If there was an election tomorrow I would deffo be on the lib dems in Bedford.
Hence BoZo
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15051575/prince-harry-bike-claims-charles/
Boris's actions since May 06 suggest he may actually grasp this. Inflation, debt, taxes, unemployment etc are what really threaten him.
A good interview and a few memos are not enough. Culture change is hard. The hardest part is admitting that you need to do it. The fact that so many are saying that it's all a long time ago and that the managers who covered it up have gone is a sign to me that the people there now don't really get it. They are still in "it's not me guv, I'm one of the good guys" mode, which is a very common human reaction. But the wrong one - even good guys can get stuff wrong. That complacency is one of the problems.
I see it as the modern day equivalent of Bread and Circuses.
"Mystery speeding objects detected underwater by US submarines ahead of Pentagon UFO report
"Photos were said to have been leaked from an official investigation into unidentified flying objects which was readying evidence for Congress due in June.
"Mr Rogan told Fox News: "Relevant to this video, an area we will learn more about is the interaction between US Navy submarines, nuclear ballistic submarines and attack submarines, picking up sonar contact of things moving at hundreds of knots under the water.
"Anchor Tucker Carlson responded: "Hundreds of knots under water? I don't think people can even digest that."
"Mr Rogan told him: "That is what I have heard from very good sources and that the US Navy has the data."
""Whether this being is worldly or otherworldly, we don't know.
""It's just part of a much larger series of events we are going to be learning about.""
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/mystery-speeding-objects-detected-underwater-24173342
The problem the media have is so many have driven so mad by Boris and Brexit, everything is a mega scandal, and they fail to check the facts so the stories don't hold up e.g. the Italy trips, the CCJ, or blow things out of proportion and ultimately it lets him off on other things, because of the constant noise of nonsense.
月面の上空の飛行物体が地球からの拡大レンズで見えるということは、実物は相当に巨大な
宇宙戦艦の可能性もある❗
The fact that a flying object over the moon can be seen with a magnifying lens from the earth may mean that the real thing is a fairly huge space battleship.❗
https://twitter.com/EA_souken/status/1396787654889402370?s=20
The crimes and the cover ups don't matter because the corporation, just like the labour party, has the Correct Beliefs. The Correct Values. Critics can be resisted and then dismissed. That is because they have the Wrong Beliefs.
Reagan is a better comparison.
You are a perfect example of someone who does not adopt to change, adapt to that change, and improve on that change
I know you are often compared to Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who spent 29 years in the jungle after refusing to surrender to the allies, and I would just say that as time passes the agenda will change dramatically while you still fight old battles
I expect when Boris does go it will be quick and at the hands of his party, but he will be replaced by someone who does not look backwards and nostalgically at the days of our former membership of the EU
Just as in the early years of the century no-one cared too much about Tony Blair's various 'soft' issues - the lies, the cash for honours, the personal enrichment - when the only obvious beneficiary was a Conservative Party which voters didn't have much time for and felt didn't actually like them much.
Brennan suggests the videios reveal "some type of phenomenon that is the result of something that we don’t yet understand and that could involve some type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life.”
I mean, WTAFFFFFF
Whatever your opinion of this story, something truly remarkable is happening in Washington DC
https://twitter.com/HighPeaks77/status/1396791445114212354?s=20
https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1396611504187793410?s=20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4XFUc6175k
And if you believe anything by Tucker Carlson then more fool you. He makes Comedy Dave look like the height of probity.
Alex Salmond makes the other fat lying little toad (the one is occupying No10) look like a paragon of virtue.
"For some Navy pilots, UFO sightings were an ordinary event: ‘Every day for at least a couple years’
“This used to be a career-ending kind of thing,” said John Podesta, who generally kept his interest in UFOs to himself when he was President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. “You didn’t want to get caught talking about it because you’d be accused of walking out of an ‘X-Files’ episode.”
"But now there isn’t just talk."
Washington Post, there, sounding very much like The Fortean Times
The people who claim to be in favour of law and order and security and rightly said Labour under Corbyn would be a national security risk but couldn't care less about Johnson creating a security risk are blatant partisan hypocrites.
UPDATE: On the Amazon listing, the publishers say this is a mistake and they have not scheduled the book to be released “in the foreseeable future”:
“After the success of Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor, which was published in 2014, Hodder & Stoughton contracted him to write a book about Shakespeare, originally planning to tie in with the Shakespeare anniversary in 2016. When Boris Johnson became Foreign Secretary we agreed that we would delay publication until a more suitable time, and we have not scheduled the book to be released in the foreseeable future
Say what you like about Brexit, but London has responded before Brussels to the detention of an EU plane operated by an EU airline flying between two EU capitals.
UK orders British airlines to avoid flying over Belarus and suspends operating permit of Belarus' national airline
https://twitter.com/HenryJFoy/status/1396839168995647497?s=20
(1/6) As viewed from the Situation Awareness page, the GIMBAL object appeared to be ‘behind’ a wedge formation of 4-6 objects that were flying in a straight-line path for a period of time. From the appearance of their radar tracks, they appeared similar to my eye as the
@uncertainvector
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@uncertainvector
(2/6) ‘cube in a sphere’ objects we’d see regularly. I say this as their Target Aspect indicator seemed a bit jittery- as if the radar had difficulty determining which way the vehicle was pointing even though they were proceeding in a straight line.
Ryan Graves
@uncertainvector
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(3/6) Eventually, the wedge formation began a turn. The vehicles turned similar to an aircraft, where they had a radius of turn. This is in contrast to the GIMBAL object which reversed its direction with no turn. The turn of the wedge formation, if I remember correctly, was
Ryan Graves
@uncertainvector
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(4/6) not a ‘clean’ formation turn. The vehicles seemed to break formation to a certain extent but reposition to their original formation as they rolled out on the opposite heading. The GIMBAL object was stationary (as seen in the video) as the turn was executed. Once the wedge
Ryan Graves
@uncertainvector
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(5/6) formation completed the turn and was flowing in the opposite direction, the GIMBAL object rotated as seen in the video. After the video was cut, the GIMBAL began to flow behind the wedge formation.
Ryan Graves
@uncertainvector
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(6/6) For the record, after seeing 100s of aircraft and countless other air and ground based objects through the FLIR, I have never seen anything like GIMBAL. I think it's clear the Aircrew in the video feel the same way.
As opposed to people saying rather mundane things like "this needs to be examined" or "this is unknown", or reporting that people are talking about UFOs (which is true, people are talking about it but that doesn't make it real).
When Nicola doesn’t attend 6 it’s “delegating”
It is always down to an internal system where acknowledging the reality is not an option.
"The quality of the authenticated UFO/UAP video is lousy. Do not imagine that this low quality video is the major data trove that has us discussing the unimaginable.
The truly major data in support of UFOs that we have as of today is simply the change in the official narrative."
https://twitter.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1396597345257545728?s=20
"We should marvel at what the Pentagon has achieved here:
A) We have now been *rapidly* habituated to the possibility of regular visits from aliens.
C) All the public evidence so far is low quality, and hence still technically deniable & retractable".
"I’d guess that we’re at some point soon going to be confronted by stunningly clear reconstructions of incidents with crystal clear video, and that we have a collective freakout ahead where we’ll look back and marvel how they dribbled low quality video out to control our reaction."
Eric Weinstein is a bit eccentric, he is also incredibly smart
They have obviously been around us for some time. Just looking. Why do you suppose they haven't made contact/destroyed a continent or two/asked to be taken to our leaders?
What is the case and what you predict will be the case is politics (and betting!). What should be the case is philosophy.