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Let us talk about the man who wanted to castrate Michael Gove – politicalbetting.com

24

Comments

  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,135

    MattW said:

    On the cats'n'dogs, Wallace took the only position possible for any non-deranged politician - people before pooches.

    I wonder how Pen wotsit's reputation will survive.

    All that rhetoric about 'plane will be filled with people where for places our staff don't take', getting into bed with Dominic Dyer, all that trolling from supporters and the rest.

    Pen will be fine. He's a Military Hero, and he's saving pets. In the court of British public opinion, that makes him doubly immune.

    (For avoidance of doubt, this is a bad thing.)
    He gives great media. I predict a TV career if he's so inclined.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,723
    edited August 2021
    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,161
    edited August 2021

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    Don't Morrisons have their own owned uk suppliers for things like fish? I seem to recall old Sir Ken Morrison was keen on controlling the supply chain.

    All there to be asset stripped no doubt by the new owners.
    They do - and they manufacturer most of their baked goods like Hot Cross Buns and Donuts (hence the low price). Had they been bought by one of the predatory bids then undoubtedly this would all have been flogged off. Their new owners? Doubt it - they're investing for the long haul and the vertical supply chain is what makes Mozzas unique.
    I've been after these for a couple of years, but they need to be eaten even more quickly than most fish and I am some way from the coast. M sometimes have frozen razor clams for sale online, which I have not seen elsewhere.

    I doubt whether Morrisons own trawlers, but I can imagine them having their own reps at fish markets on the coast, and perhaps long-term deals.

    They have yet to stock horse, though - which should be the next step.

    Chatting to the fishmonger, and the people on the delicatessen counter, there are some shortages but much improved from a month ago.

    The "Christmas Specialities" comment from Morrisons was interesting. Round here they do carp for Christmas for the Eastern European community, and have a number of niche products - but I guess they are all the same on that, as aiui all big supermarkets now have niches range such as 'within 30 miles' or similar.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,525
    I'm supposedly being interviewed about the Pen Farthing issue on LBC around 11.20.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Hold your horses, it’s probably photoshopped
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Subway sign fact check

    ‘No alarms and no surprises’ @Scott_P

    https://twitter.com/wallaceme/status/1418642023750541323?s=21
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,135
    Scott_xP said:

    He says “all the emails” like it’s irritating spam. The flippancy and joviality with which he refers to the plight of abandoned, desperate UK citizens is contemptible. These are human beings Prime Minister, in case you’ve forgotten.
    https://twitter.com/heidiallen75/status/1431522683225841664

    Going viral this one and rightly so. Just nails the vacuity of the man, no script or actors required.

    "Amazing, amazing" ... yep it sure is. It's amazing.
  • MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    What was the rest of the store like? Big, big gaps in Knottingley Morrison’s yesterday, all through the store.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,161
    edited August 2021

    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
    Example: an annual or six-monthly checkup HbA1c test for a diabetic. It won't be an immediate matter of life and deat, and eg one six-monthly test could be missed without undue risk for many people.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,822
    kinabalu said:

    Scott_xP said:

    He says “all the emails” like it’s irritating spam. The flippancy and joviality with which he refers to the plight of abandoned, desperate UK citizens is contemptible. These are human beings Prime Minister, in case you’ve forgotten.
    https://twitter.com/heidiallen75/status/1431522683225841664

    Going viral this one and rightly so. Just nails the vacuity of the man, no script or actors required.

    "Amazing, amazing" ... yep it sure is. It's amazing.
    It is very David Brent, however what should he have said or done in that scenario? I wouldn't really know what to say either. So then what is the purpose of the whole visit?

    Motivate the staff? They looked like they hated it.
    Good PR opportunity? Surely not?
    Help the PM and FS understand what is happening?

    Is this a sensible use of both the PM and FS time in the first place?
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385
    isam said:

    Subway sign fact check

    ‘No alarms and no surprises’ @Scott_P

    https://twitter.com/wallaceme/status/1418642023750541323?s=21

    ‘Sandwich artist’
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Awful bread, poor sandwiches. I much prefer local delis that are not part of chains.

    The sign is not factual either.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,161

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
    Example: an annual or six-monthly checkup HbA1c test for a diabetic. It won't be an immediate matter of life and deat, and eg one six-monthly test could be missed without undue risk for many people.
    There's a good reason why such tests are required reasonably frequently. I have a six-monthly PSA level test, and, thankfully it's always shown minimal levels. But I really don't want to miss one and be told after a further six months that the levels have risen markedly.
    Yes they could be safely missed for many, but for the ones that missed, could be life-changing, if not life-threatening.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662

    On Topic

    Should have been Gove's father that was castrated.

    Wouldn't have helped. Gove was adopted.
    OMG fancy that. Pretty sure he still had a biological father though.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385
    MattW said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
    Scott is just an attention seeking troll. Most of his posts he spends time and energy on are rightly ignored. If you feed him and give him attention, like a little toddler, he simply demands more.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    edited August 2021
    Taz said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Awful bread, poor sandwiches. I much prefer local delis that are not part of chains.

    The sign is not factual either.
    Sandwich artist - lol

    My understanding was that the salad at subway is tasteless, because it is frozen and then defrosted in the store. The sandwiches are ok if you avoid their sauce completely. But I would go for the pre packed sandwiches in the supermarket instead, which are half the price, and have improved vastly over the last decade or so.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Brexit is certainly partly responsible for shortages, but it's far from the whole story

    https://capx.co/will-supply-shortages-choke-the-economic-recovery/

    It’s a global issue, the whole supply chain is under tremendous pressure and won’t survive unscathed

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-24/u-s-food-suppliers-are-having-trouble-keeping-shelves-stocked
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    The political judgement about Pen Farthing and his pets was the right one, assuming that is that they actually get out of the country. It is a good news story that overshadows everything else going on in Afghanistan. It can just be used to bury the news that the military operation was an abysmal failure, if not a total catastrophe.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,161

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    What was the rest of the store like? Big, big gaps in Knottingley Morrison’s yesterday, all through the store.
    Two comments required there:

    1 - I was there at 7:30pm on a Friday evening, so that is probably exactly the low point before restocking for the Saturday morning.

    2 - Expected lows in fresh fruit and veg eg bagged salads, a bit gappy in some delicatessen / bakery / fishmonger products but still plenty of choice, etc. On longer term products, I noticed a few where there are probably issues - there was only one packet of Grape Nuts, for example.

    So some cases due to supply chain imo, and some 1-3x restocked daily cycle products low as to be expected for the time, and some where not having gaps at that time would be inefficient.
  • jayfdeejayfdee Posts: 618

    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
    Example: an annual or six-monthly checkup HbA1c test for a diabetic. It won't be an immediate matter of life and deat, and eg one six-monthly test could be missed without undue risk for many people.
    There's a good reason why such tests are required reasonably frequently. I have a six-monthly PSA level test, and, thankfully it's always shown minimal levels. But I really don't want to miss one and be told after a further six months that the levels have risen markedly.
    Yes they could be safely missed for many, but for the ones that missed, could be life-changing, if not life-threatening.
    Just had my PSA test, but had to fight for it. The local GP would not do it even though Mrs Dee was a Phlebotomist there once and new how to work the system. I had to travel miles to a hospital outpatients.
    Yes for me it is a very important test as I am in the early stages of recovery from prostate problems.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,310

    This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

    I'm basing it on this piece by Tim Shipman last weekend.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dominic-raab-stayed-on-holiday-for-two-days-after-he-was-called-back-pxhb58rb6

    As I noted last weekend.

    As has been pointed out the list of things Dominic Raab has failed to see coming includes ‘1. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan; 2. The importance of the Good Friday Agreement and its fragility post Brexit; 3. The importance of the UK’s proximity to Calais re imports/exports of goods‘, things he was specifically warned about.

    If that doesn't scream incompetent then I don't know what does.
    More relevant is the fact that the French appear to have started their evacuation in mid-May. When did the British evacuation plan start?

    moonshine said:

    Reported that with the drawbridge now coming up, there are 150 British citizens and 500 US citizens still in the country, not to mention of course Afghans with the right of asylum who now cannot leave.

    I would say the political fate of not just Biden but also Johnson will rest heavily on whose hands those poor people fall into. If it’s the Taliban, and a back room deal can be struck to get them out, fantastic. If it’s ISIS/AQ then it could get pretty grim.

    A question is how many of those people wanted to leave - there will be some who would not for whatever reason.

    I'd still like to know what the limiting factor(s) in getting people out of Kabul was. Was it airlift capacity? Airfield capacity? Documentation/bureaucracy?
    I have responded to you on the previous thread to avoid cluttering this one up.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    In the US they’re trying to encourage more women to become truck drivers because of a shortage.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-20/women-are-entering-a-trucking-industry-that-s-not-built-for-them
    Bad enough for a male driver to have to find a reasonably clean and infection free toilet. It would put me off even more if I were female.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    jayfdee said:

    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
    Example: an annual or six-monthly checkup HbA1c test for a diabetic. It won't be an immediate matter of life and deat, and eg one six-monthly test could be missed without undue risk for many people.
    There's a good reason why such tests are required reasonably frequently. I have a six-monthly PSA level test, and, thankfully it's always shown minimal levels. But I really don't want to miss one and be told after a further six months that the levels have risen markedly.
    Yes they could be safely missed for many, but for the ones that missed, could be life-changing, if not life-threatening.
    Just had my PSA test, but had to fight for it. The local GP would not do it even though Mrs Dee was a Phlebotomist there once and new how to work the system. I had to travel miles to a hospital outpatients.
    Yes for me it is a very important test as I am in the early stages of recovery from prostate problems.
    Yes; that information/reassurance is vital, especially at this stage. I've got the dates when my tests are due marked in MY diary, and I ring up the surgery and tell them when it's due. Think I've had one 'discussion' since last Spring's lockdown.

    Best of; I had radiotherapy and it became quite club-like, meeting the same men day after day, week after week.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,961
    Jeezo, I suspect those wee canisters of grated foot callouses labelled Parmesan would be a revelation to these people let alone the flaked variety. Is that the same Tugendhat family as the current chief Afghanistan emoter?

    https://twitter.com/rcolvile/status/1431221914056396800?s=21
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,716
    The Right-Wingers Who Admire the Taliban

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/opinion/alt-right-taliban.html

    "The tragic journey of the last two decades began with the loudest voices on the right braying for war with Islamism and ended with a right-wing vanguard envying it."
  • Pulpstar said:

    Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

    I'm going off the books.

    The show was much more graphic.
    Its there in the books, its just implicit rather than explicit.

    Ramsay pulled his hand free and slapped her face. "I was told that you'd know how to please a man. Was that a lie?"

    "N-no, my lord. I was t-trained."

    Ramsay rose, the firelight shining on his face. "Reek, get over here. Get her ready for me."

    For a moment he did not understand. "I... do you mean... m'lord, I have no... I..."

    "With your mouth," Lord Ramsay said.


    There's other references too that he is "not a man" anymore etc
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 12,497
    Taz said:

    MattW said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
    Scott is just an attention seeking troll. Most of his posts he spends time and energy on are rightly ignored. If you feed him and give him attention, like a little toddler, he simply demands more.
    On the other hand following Brexit you can now find sandwiches in Stoke that can answer questions, which is a plus.

  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    edited August 2021

    Pulpstar said:

    Point of fact, Theon wasn't just castrated..

    I'm going off the books.

    The show was much more graphic.
    Its there in the books, its just implicit rather than explicit.

    Ramsay pulled his hand free and slapped her face. "I was told that you'd know how to please a man. Was that a lie?"

    "N-no, my lord. I was t-trained."

    Ramsay rose, the firelight shining on his face. "Reek, get over here. Get her ready for me."

    For a moment he did not understand. "I... do you mean... m'lord, I have no... I..."

    "With your mouth," Lord Ramsay said.


    There's other references too that he is "not a man" anymore etc
    I'm not sure whether the cross-currents set up by knowledge of Captain Ramsay, the patriotic* Tory MP, reflect worse on the GoT chap or the other way round.

    Edit: just for clarity, that * is ironic.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    [Translated] To deepen this comparison between France and England, here is the breakdown by age group with the most recent data.

    While France has vaccinated more in total, it has targeted the elderly less than England

    We might be tempted to talk about a policy of numbers




    https://twitter.com/flodebarre/status/1431553309014437889?s=20
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    algarkirk said:

    Taz said:

    MattW said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
    Scott is just an attention seeking troll. Most of his posts he spends time and energy on are rightly ignored. If you feed him and give him attention, like a little toddler, he simply demands more.
    On the other hand following Brexit you can now find sandwiches in Stoke that can answer questions, which is a plus.

    In the dogging zones of an evening?
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 12,497
    edited August 2021
    At 30, the Normal People author is already the most talked-about novelist of her generation. As she readies her third novel, she’s bracing for more (unwanted) attention

    Greatly enjoyed this drivel from the Grauniad about a terrible novelist where a lengthy and tedious article accompanied by photos of the lady in question, in one of which she is holding an albatross, tells us how little she wants our attention. Do even Guardian readers fall for this farrago of self publicising nonsense?


    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/28/sally-rooney-hell-of-fame-normal-people
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,708
    Cyclefree said:

    This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

    I'm basing it on this piece by Tim Shipman last weekend.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dominic-raab-stayed-on-holiday-for-two-days-after-he-was-called-back-pxhb58rb6

    As I noted last weekend.

    As has been pointed out the list of things Dominic Raab has failed to see coming includes ‘1. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan; 2. The importance of the Good Friday Agreement and its fragility post Brexit; 3. The importance of the UK’s proximity to Calais re imports/exports of goods‘, things he was specifically warned about.

    If that doesn't scream incompetent then I don't know what does.
    More relevant is the fact that the French appear to have started their evacuation in mid-May. When did the British evacuation plan start?

    moonshine said:

    Reported that with the drawbridge now coming up, there are 150 British citizens and 500 US citizens still in the country, not to mention of course Afghans with the right of asylum who now cannot leave.

    I would say the political fate of not just Biden but also Johnson will rest heavily on whose hands those poor people fall into. If it’s the Taliban, and a back room deal can be struck to get them out, fantastic. If it’s ISIS/AQ then it could get pretty grim.

    A question is how many of those people wanted to leave - there will be some who would not for whatever reason.

    I'd still like to know what the limiting factor(s) in getting people out of Kabul was. Was it airlift capacity? Airfield capacity? Documentation/bureaucracy?
    I have responded to you on the previous thread to avoid cluttering this one up.
    Maybe edit to clarify that you responded on some other culture war thing not this interesting question, save people a click
  • This thread says more about the author's prejudice than anything else. He has no evidence,none that Raab was incompetent.

    Whether he was incompetent as Foreign Secretary I don't know.

    But he was certainly incompetent politically.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,961
    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    In cricket news Pujara is out. 217-3 now. India need another 135 to make England bat again.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541
    Taz said:

    MattW said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
    Scott is just an attention seeking troll. Most of his posts he spends time and energy on are rightly ignored. If you feed him and give him attention, like a little toddler, he simply demands more.
    I share Scott’s views on the current government wholeheartedly and, albeit a little less wholeheartedly, on Brexit. What drives me mad about him is that his posts are the sort of counterproductive moaning that gives us a bad name. What do we do now? Who’s our leader? Complaining never won an election. TBF it’s not just him there’s an entire pity party industry of this kind on FBPE Twitter.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    edited August 2021
    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    He'll possibly end up with his menagerie not too far from here. Hope no-one comes round with a collecting tin!
    Staff yes......
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,822

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Can't we use some of the £350m to buy some more each week?
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,525
    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Yes, though I gather that the staff were refused exit by the Taliban and Farthing consulted his colleagues on what to do - they said you can get out with the animals at least, so go for it.

    Had a low-key interview about it on LBC just now - they asked about the people vs animals thing but I argued that he'd tried get both out so it would be a win-win, and we shouldn't sit in Britain second-guessing the dilemmas that people are facing at the airport.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541

    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Yes, though I gather that the staff were refused exit by the Taliban and Farthing consulted his colleagues on what to do - they said you can get out with the animals at least, so go for it.

    Had a low-key interview about it on LBC just now - they asked about the people vs animals thing but I argued that he'd tried get both out so it would be a win-win, and we shouldn't sit in Britain second-guessing the dilemmas that people are facing at the airport.
    Fair.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385
    DougSeal said:

    Taz said:

    MattW said:

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    Well thats bollocks.....unsurprising considering the bollocks you post. Just reaffirms that I will not buy from Subway.
    Yes, in this context it is bullshit.

    Here's one for the museum: @Scott_xP factchecked by Dave Keating, who broadcast that photo as proof of the 'Brexit diasaster' on 12 January 2021.

    Though Scott's excuse may be "but .. but .. but I never put a date on it".


    https://twitter.com/davekeating/status/1348966259958931458?lang=en
    Scott is just an attention seeking troll. Most of his posts he spends time and energy on are rightly ignored. If you feed him and give him attention, like a little toddler, he simply demands more.
    I share Scott’s views on the current government wholeheartedly and, albeit a little less wholeheartedly, on Brexit. What drives me mad about him is that his posts are the sort of counterproductive moaning that gives us a bad name. What do we do now? Who’s our leader? Complaining never won an election. TBF it’s not just him there’s an entire pity party industry of this kind on FBPE Twitter.
    I think many of us share the disdain for the govt. I voted labour in 2019. I agree with you, it is counterproductive and people like him and FBPE twitter would be better served directing their anger in a fruitful manner.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541
    This is a good point although TBF they did have their own vaccine in development until that unfortunate HIV test thing…

    @GZRSparadise
    Australia hid from the virus, waited for someone else to make a vaccine, then said they didn’t want it. Let’s see how that works out for them.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,961
    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Still seems a lot of fog about. On that report PF seems to have been faced with the only other choice of sending the animals back to the shelter or letting them loose while boarding the charter as the sole passenger.

    I suppose for true hero status Farthing should have stayed on and tried to front it out, but I don’t really have a clue what the situation in Kabul is. Would the presence of an ex RM commando have made things worse for his staff? Dunno.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,039
    edited August 2021

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    There is an international shortage of these bottles

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58324108
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Yes, though I gather that the staff were refused exit by the Taliban and Farthing consulted his colleagues on what to do - they said you can get out with the animals at least, so go for it.

    Had a low-key interview about it on LBC just now - they asked about the people vs animals thing but I argued that he'd tried get both out so it would be a win-win, and we shouldn't sit in Britain second-guessing the dilemmas that people are facing at the airport.
    There is no dilemma, though, and no moral question. This is a touchstone of sanity.

    It is also about how the country is governed. Wallace doesn't have to respond to randomers on twitter. His time was being wasted by 10 Downing Street. The one thing worse than Boris making decisions, is him making some of them and Carrie Antoinette others.

    And his staff couldn't really have said anything else, could they?
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-afghanistan-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Still seems a lot of fog about. On that report PF seems to have been faced with the only other choice of sending the animals back to the shelter or letting them loose while boarding the charter as the sole passenger.

    I suppose for true hero status Farthing should have stayed on and tried to front it out, but I don’t really have a clue what the situation in Kabul is. Would the presence of an ex RM commando have made things worse for his staff? Dunno.
    All a bit Scott of the Antarctic. Heroism doesn't count for much when it's in the face of an almighty clusterfuck you have engineered for purely selfish purposes.
  • India now 239 for 5
  • Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Yes, I was having a pint the other day with my mate and his missus, she’s a phlebotomist and was saying the same thing - no sample bottles anywhere.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
    Especially in the field of products that have pharma and medical applications. The US govt operation warp speed has taken a lot of Product usually used for other medical applications.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Are ‘Brown people’ not ’POC’? Seen it used a few times here, I know it’s meant to be a kind of mocking impression of the uncaring right’s attitude to Asians/Muslims but I thought it would stick in the craw of progressives to use it.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,821
    edited August 2021

    Scott_xP said:

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    https://twitter.com/whoviankim/status/1431379185377947649
    In the US they’re trying to encourage more women to become truck drivers because of a shortage.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-20/women-are-entering-a-trucking-industry-that-s-not-built-for-them
    Just goes to show that Clara from Pigeon Street was ahead of her time!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeZU1rZuOVs
  • India now 239 for 5

    Never in doubt....
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Yes, I was having a pint the other day with my mate and his missus, she’s a phlebotomist and was saying the same thing - no sample bottles anywhere.
    Looking at Mr T's post immediately after yours, looks like there are several factors which have all arrived simultaneously.
  • Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
    The problem with trying to blame Brexit for most issues is it really does damage the credibility of the argument

    There is a world wide shortage of blood bottles due to raw material issues
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,921
    edited August 2021
    New Lucidtalk NI Assembly poll has new DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson failing to stop the party's decline.

    The UUP, TUV and SDLP are all up and the DUP and Alliance are down.

    The UUP and TUV push the DUP into 3rd place of the Unionist parties as it continues to lose moderates to the UUP and hardliners to the TUV.

    Full figures and changes since last poll in brackets

    SF 25% (no change)
    UUP 16% (+2%)
    TUV 14% (+3%)
    DUP 13% (-3%)
    Alliance 13% (-3%)
    SDLP 13% (+1%)
    https://twitter.com/SuzyJourno/status/1431500657303949312?s=20
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    There is an international shortage of these bottles

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58324108
    The FBPE die hard anti brexit Brigade are an embarrassment. Every bad bit of news is down to brexit in their books yet it rarely stands up,to scrutiny.

    I voted remain, I would,do again tomorrow but these idiots make being a remainer tough
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    As Pen Farthing escapes Afghanistan with 150 cats and dogs, there are British people still there.

    This is Ben Slater, former bodyguard to ambassadors, who has spent 2 weeks helping evacuate people.

    Now he thinks he might not get out himself.


    https://twitter.com/Tony_Diver/status/1431571010772475905?s=20
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431

    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
    The problem with trying to blame Brexit for most issues is it really does damage the credibility of the argument

    There is a world wide shortage of blood bottles due to raw material issues
    True. These aren't 'blood bottles' as used by transfusion services but small hard plastic tubes.
  • 239 for 6
  • The Right-Wingers Who Admire the Taliban

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/opinion/alt-right-taliban.html

    "The tragic journey of the last two decades began with the loudest voices on the right braying for war with Islamism and ended with a right-wing vanguard envying it."

    Anti-woke admiring the Anti-woke? Can't be!
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    "Privately, there is a lot of anger from Whitehall about the Farthing evac, while Afghan refugees remain.

    One official told me: “This is the first British government explicitly committed to idea of non-white people as equivalent to animals since the abolition of slavery." "

    https://twitter.com/Tony_Diver/status/1431572086594678786
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    edited August 2021
    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    There is an international shortage of these bottles

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58324108
    The FBPE die hard anti brexit Brigade are an embarrassment. Every bad bit of news is down to brexit in their books yet it rarely stands up,to scrutiny.

    I voted remain, I would,do again tomorrow but these idiots make being a remainer tough
    Yeah, I know. Agree. Was trying to be light-hearted/sarcastic about it, but doing so rarely comes over well on this sort of printed page!


    Better news, Pant is out. 6 down now.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,716

    As Pen Farthing escapes Afghanistan with 150 cats and dogs, there are British people still there.

    This is Ben Slater, former bodyguard to ambassadors, who has spent 2 weeks helping evacuate people.

    Now he thinks he might not get out himself.


    https://twitter.com/Tony_Diver/status/1431571010772475905?s=20


    Tony Diver
    @Tony_Diver
    ·
    7m
    🚨 Privately, there is a lot of anger from Whitehall about the Farthing evac, while Afghan refugees remain.

    One official told me: “This is the first British government explicitly committed to idea of non-white people as equivalent to animals since the abolition of slavery."
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
    The problem with trying to blame Brexit for most issues is it really does damage the credibility of the argument

    There is a world wide shortage of blood bottles due to raw material issues
    True. These aren't 'blood bottles' as used by transfusion services but small hard plastic tubes.
    Global supply of Plastics for,Pharma usage was heavily Impacted by the white out in Texas at the start of the war with suppliers declaring force majeure on any ranges. I wonder of these are affected. The plastic these are made from will be validated, approved, regulated and it’s sources limited.

    Ironically for those who say we need to stop drilling for oil these bottles will be made as a by product of oil.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,921
    edited August 2021
    IshmaelZ said:


    "Privately, there is a lot of anger from Whitehall about the Farthing evac, while Afghan refugees remain.

    One official told me: “This is the first British government explicitly committed to idea of non-white people as equivalent to animals since the abolition of slavery." "

    https://twitter.com/Tony_Diver/status/1431572086594678786

    Glad the animals are out anyway, just have to get as many more refugees as we can out before 31st but any further deaths of civilians allies at Taliban or IS hands are on Biden for ordering the withdrawal and most troops out before civilians, not Pen Farthing
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431
    Taz said:

    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Brexit. No way. I’m calling bollocks on that without something substantive to validate that claim as a lot of the shortfall for,that sort of product is generally covid related
    Came up on my FB page from a anti-Brexit group. Should, on reflection, have used Allegedly, rather than Apparently, because although I'm prepared that anything going wrong is due to Brexit, shortage of labour etc due to Covid isn't an unreasonable probability.
    The problem with trying to blame Brexit for most issues is it really does damage the credibility of the argument

    There is a world wide shortage of blood bottles due to raw material issues
    True. These aren't 'blood bottles' as used by transfusion services but small hard plastic tubes.
    Global supply of Plastics for,Pharma usage was heavily Impacted by the white out in Texas at the start of the war with suppliers declaring force majeure on any ranges. I wonder of these are affected. The plastic these are made from will be validated, approved, regulated and it’s sources limited.

    Ironically for those who say we need to stop drilling for oil these bottles will be made as a by product of oil.
    Sounds reasonable.

    And you are, of course right. Oil isn't only used to run cars and planes.
  • NHS England has confirmed that vaccines for under-16s will be delivered in a 'school based programme' if approved by JCVI: https://t.co/g0lEt4lsfw

    Reminder of @theipaper front page from 17th June... https://t.co/qxPt8EyC8L
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,708
    IshmaelZ said:
    It's what the report says, apparently he got it a few days ago and he's making the comments on the same night they bombed some brown people which the media like so the timing isn't particularly media-distracting.
    https://changingtimes.media/2021/08/28/us-intelligence-community-says-sars-cov-2-was-not-developed-as-a-biological-weapon/

    Text of the report here:
    https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1431343601968103424
  • Dodgy hawkeye....
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,557

    India now 239 for 5

    6 now. Great performance by England.
  • 254 for 7
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677
    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    There is an international shortage of these bottles

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58324108
    The FBPE die hard anti brexit Brigade are an embarrassment. Every bad bit of news is down to brexit in their books yet it rarely stands up,to scrutiny.

    I voted remain, I would,do again tomorrow but these idiots make being a remainer tough
    It doesn't matter if it stands up to scrutiny or not. We're in post-truth politics now as exemplified by that fat fucking filthy piece of shit Johnson.

    There are no 'remainers' any longer as remain or even rejoin isn't an option. Brexit has split the country into two factions like World of Warcraft. We are not going to reconcile and suddenly pull together for the greater good by pretending Brexit is a great idea being brilliantly executed.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385
    Dura_Ace said:

    Taz said:

    Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    There is an international shortage of these bottles

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58324108
    The FBPE die hard anti brexit Brigade are an embarrassment. Every bad bit of news is down to brexit in their books yet it rarely stands up,to scrutiny.

    I voted remain, I would,do again tomorrow but these idiots make being a remainer tough
    It doesn't matter if it stands up to scrutiny or not. We're in post-truth politics now as exemplified by that fat fucking filthy piece of shit Johnson.

    There are no 'remainers' any longer as remain or even rejoin isn't an option. Brexit has split the country into two factions like World of Warcraft. We are not going to reconcile and suddenly pull together for the greater good by pretending Brexit is a great idea being brilliantly executed.
    Have a day off mate.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Some dispute whether this is accurate:

    The results are in: Should the Scottish Green Party support the political cooperation agreement? Yes 89.2 % No 9.8% ...

    https://twitter.com/bellacaledonia/status/1431575707340222465?s=20
  • https://twitter.com/SuzyJourno/status/1431509498997485570

    They traditionally backed the Tories but is that still the case?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,961
    IshmaelZ said:

    Carnyx said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Not sure it is even that benign. Being reported that the dogs and mogs got out - but not the staff.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483216/pen-farthing-escapes-kabul-pets-quenche-latest-taliban-ben-wallace-MoD
    Still seems a lot of fog about. On that report PF seems to have been faced with the only other choice of sending the animals back to the shelter or letting them loose while boarding the charter as the sole passenger.

    I suppose for true hero status Farthing should have stayed on and tried to front it out, but I don’t really have a clue what the situation in Kabul is. Would the presence of an ex RM commando have made things worse for his staff? Dunno.
    All a bit Scott of the Antarctic. Heroism doesn't count for much when it's in the face of an almighty clusterfuck you have engineered for purely selfish purposes.
    I think you’re underestimating the force of people being carried along by the consequences of their bad decisions and being pushed into ever harder choices. Even with benefit of hindsight and the available facts I can’t really say what I would have done at any given point of this farrago, aside from stating with 100% certainty that whatever paths my life had taken, I would not have ended up running an animal sanctuary in Kabul.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,822
    isam said:

    Must confess to being taken aback by the level of opprobrium being levelled at Pen Farthing. I can see the whole humans v animals is certainly a moral question, but are Farthing’s actions (still somewhat lost in the fog of war afaIcs) more than a hill of beans compared to the decades of misery, much of it involving governments we voted for, that have taken place in Afghanistan? They seem pretty insignificant even in the scale of the current clusterfuck.

    Still, I guess moving from years of indifference to the fate of brown people to brown people are more important than cats suggests a degree of moral growth.

    Are ‘Brown people’ not ’POC’? Seen it used a few times here, I know it’s meant to be a kind of mocking impression of the uncaring right’s attitude to Asians/Muslims but I thought it would stick in the craw of progressives to use it.
    It has been used a lot this morning, not a fan of either the phrase, or the implication that the "uncaring right" are using it, if they haven't been. Plenty to criticise them for without inventing stuff.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431

    https://twitter.com/SuzyJourno/status/1431509498997485570

    They traditionally backed the Tories but is that still the case?

    Well, Johnson's doing his best to ensure that is NOT the case. Not only did he grossly mislead them but he's declared himself Catholic!
  • Back to the blood tests. Apparently the reason for the 'ban' is a shortage of suitable sample containers due to...... wait for it ..... Brexit.

    I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

    Yes, I was having a pint the other day with my mate and his missus, she’s a phlebotomist and was saying the same thing - no sample bottles anywhere.
    Looking at Mr T's post immediately after yours, looks like there are several factors which have all arrived simultaneously.
    Worldwide semiconductor shortage and disruption as well:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58230388

    The problem of specialised manufacturing relying on globalised supply chains which have minimal spare capacity.

    A bit of disruption together with an increase in demand ...
  • I know Scott linked to this upthread, but it's well worth a watch - only 44 seconds of Boris and Dom at their finest. It's a brilliant pastiche of The Thick of It. The highlight is when Boris says 'Amazing!' in reference to the fact that people trying to get out of Afghanistan are still hanging around even after the terrorist attack. Government as satire.

    https://twitter.com/Zero_4/status/1431372211068227590

    I cannot believe this is real, that's genuinely amazing.

    It won't shift a single vote of course but I am comforted more and more every day that I made the right decision in not voting for this arsehole
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    UK troops en-route home:

    Inbound to the UK. Great touch from the crew.

    https://twitter.com/Si_II_1978/status/1431563900265369609?s=20
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,164
    jayfdee said:

    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    On supermarkets, yesterday I obtained fresh Razor Clams from my closest big Morrisons in Mansfield. They also seem to have a more varied selection of fish than seen previously when I have been there.

    Never seen before, and very welcome.

    There appears to a shortage of hot cross buns at Waitrose, none of my favourite orange flavoured ones nor the Apple flavoured ones.

    I've not noticed any shortages in either Waitrose on the IoW. This though is perhaps more consequential:

    GPs ordered to halt all non-urgent blood tests across England until September

    Incredible that you can read a whole article about this potentially life-threatening situation without a single mention of the word Brexit
    https://t.co/O9bgwU1pFo

    https://twitter.com/GreenPartyMolly/status/1431213618004176900?s=19
    I find the concept of a 'non-urgent' blood test difficult. Not impossible, but delaying everything b*****s up the system further down the line. Had a really odd experience of that some years ago.
    Example: an annual or six-monthly checkup HbA1c test for a diabetic. It won't be an immediate matter of life and deat, and eg one six-monthly test could be missed without undue risk for many people.
    There's a good reason why such tests are required reasonably frequently. I have a six-monthly PSA level test, and, thankfully it's always shown minimal levels. But I really don't want to miss one and be told after a further six months that the levels have risen markedly.
    Yes they could be safely missed for many, but for the ones that missed, could be life-changing, if not life-threatening.
    Just had my PSA test, but had to fight for it. The local GP would not do it even though Mrs Dee was a Phlebotomist there once and new how to work the system. I had to travel miles to a hospital outpatients.
    Yes for me it is a very important test as I am in the early stages of recovery from prostate problems.
    It does seem that some in the NHS system are using Covid as the excuse to do SFA. Here in Spain - beyond telephone/internet consultations for prescription renewals, etc most routine things are being done in my area. Just had my 6month PSA done yesterday morning with result e-mailed in the afternoon. Straight onto the app for the routine Appt with my specialist - which will be in person in 10 days time.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,921
    edited August 2021

    https://twitter.com/SuzyJourno/status/1431509498997485570

    They traditionally backed the Tories but is that still the case?

    Not only backed them, in 2010 the UUP and Tories stood joint candidates in Northern Ireland.

    The UUP are the Tories' sister party in NI, just as the SDLP are Labour's sister party and the Alliance are the LDs sister party so the swing from DUP to UUP is not necessarily bad news for Boris.

    I would expect the DUP vote to hold up better for Westminster though which is FPTP unlike Stormont which has PR
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    I know Scott linked to this upthread, but it's well worth a watch - only 44 seconds of Boris and Dom at their finest. It's a brilliant pastiche of The Thick of It. The highlight is when Boris says 'Amazing!' in reference to the fact that people trying to get out of Afghanistan are still hanging around even after the terrorist attack. Government as satire.

    https://twitter.com/Zero_4/status/1431372211068227590

    I cannot believe this is real, that's genuinely amazing.

    It won't shift a single vote of course but I am comforted more and more every day that I made the right decision in not voting for this arsehole
    It is.

    I don't think the lady in green will be rushing to vote him back in.
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 4,931
    Good afternoon everyone. If Ben Wallace wants to stir things up, he could publicly attack Carrie. As she is not in government (?) attacking her will not breach cabinet responsibility. It would also put Boris in a very difficult position. Does he sack Wallace and be seen to supporting Carrie and Farthing over British citizens in Afghanistan, or do nothing and risk Carrie’s wrath?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,557

    I know Scott linked to this upthread, but it's well worth a watch - only 44 seconds of Boris and Dom at their finest. It's a brilliant pastiche of The Thick of It. The highlight is when Boris says 'Amazing!' in reference to the fact that people trying to get out of Afghanistan are still hanging around even after the terrorist attack. Government as satire.

    https://twitter.com/Zero_4/status/1431372211068227590

    Is this one of those edited clips or is it 100% real? I can never tell.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,164
    HYUFD said:

    New Lucidtalk NI Assembly poll has new DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson failing to stop the party's decline.

    The UUP, TUV and SDLP are all up and the DUP and Alliance are down.

    The UUP and TUV push the DUP into 3rd place of the Unionist parties as it continues to lose moderates to the UUP and hardliners to the TUV.

    Full figures and changes since last poll in brackets

    SF 25% (no change)
    UUP 16% (+2%)
    TUV 14% (+3%)
    DUP 13% (-3%)
    Alliance 13% (-3%)
    SDLP 13% (+1%)
    https://twitter.com/SuzyJourno/status/1431500657303949312?s=20

    Unless the Unionists get their act together they're gonna do very badly next time round.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,161

    I'm supposedly being interviewed about the Pen Farthing issue on LBC around 11.20.

    This did not seem to happen, unless it was late.
  • I am comforted to see the DUP going backwards, what an awful organisation they are.

    If the next election is about decency Starmer will win - but I somehow doubt this will be what it is about
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Good afternoon everyone. If Ben Wallace wants to stir things up, he could publicly attack Carrie. As she is not in government (?) attacking her will not breach cabinet responsibility. It would also put Boris in a very difficult position. Does he sack Wallace and be seen to supporting Carrie and Farthing over British citizens in Afghanistan, or do nothing and risk Carrie’s wrath?

    He could brief Dom to brief against her.
  • IshmaelZ said:

    I know Scott linked to this upthread, but it's well worth a watch - only 44 seconds of Boris and Dom at their finest. It's a brilliant pastiche of The Thick of It. The highlight is when Boris says 'Amazing!' in reference to the fact that people trying to get out of Afghanistan are still hanging around even after the terrorist attack. Government as satire.

    https://twitter.com/Zero_4/status/1431372211068227590

    I cannot believe this is real, that's genuinely amazing.

    It won't shift a single vote of course but I am comforted more and more every day that I made the right decision in not voting for this arsehole
    It is.

    I don't think the lady in green will be rushing to vote him back in.
    Did she vote for him, how do we know that?

    Hope you are well too.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,716

    Agent P 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇬🇧
    @AgentP22 ·4h
    Ouch!

    Andrew Neil's excoriating review of Sturgeon's tawdry deal with the Greens.

    https://twitter.com/AgentP22/status/1431516570208153602


    Is this piece correct? Neil says Greens wont get any scottish government Cabinet seats in exchange for their agreement. Seems an odd deal.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,789
    F1: bit pushed for time but here's a quick rundown of the practice and look at qualifying.

    https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2021/08/belgium-pre-qualifying-2021.html
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