politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The one way for LAB to close down it’s antisemitism crisis is

FrancisUrquhart said:

kle4 said:

tlg86 said:

SouthamObserver said:

houndtang said:

Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.

40% of the country are not bad, no more than the 40% voting Tory can all be bad.

I’m still waiting for my baby to eat after voting Tory for the first time last year....

Same here - shows the party doesn't keep its promises I suppose.

Sean_F said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Well, quite.

Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730

Oh yes. The review in The Times was hilarious.

Screaming "what is this plastic?" when sandwiches were produced covered in cellophane; hiring people to remove slugs by night from his garden; bringing his own lavatory seat when staying with other people; taking 43 pieces of luggage to a religious retreat. This is our future king.

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Eagly, incidentally, as I was enjoying my sandwiches it occurred to me your biography suggestion might have been serious (my first thought was that you were taking the piss). If so, I do apologise for calling you a scallywag.

If not, then you retain your scallywag status.

Mr. G, cheers, I'll give those a look.

Mr. Twelve, astute thinking on Charles. On the BBC as subscription: nice idea, but I'll believe that when I see it.

It was a serious suggestion, it is a riveting read.

another_richard said:

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

I mentioned last week that years ago my father and his colleagues met Prince Philip.

Absolutely loved him, said he was brilliant company, immediately put everyone at ease.

He's the antithesis of Prince Charles.

From a longstanding White House butler.

When reflecting on his fondest memory, Westray talks about a time in 1979 when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the White House. After dinner, Prince Philip went into the Red Room, next to the state dining room. Westray and his buddy were serving liquor. Westray says he was carrying the tray and glasses.

"The prince was in there by himself, which was odd, because everybody else had gone down to the other end of the building," Westray says. "I said, 'Your Majesty, would you care for a cordial?' He says, 'I'll take one if you let me serve it.' What do you do? I didn't do all that because I had the stuff in my hand. And he says, 'If you let me pour it, I'll have one with you.'

"... So he poured it, the one he wanted, and we took the same thing that he had. And we had our drink there together and had a little talk while we were there. He told us if we were ever over there in London to stop at Buckingham Palace and see him. Can you imagine the prince serving you? I enjoyed it. You know, we're not supposed to drink and carry on at that time. We're not guests. It was just the three of us in the room, so nobody knew what happened. And I drank my little cordial, we all drank, and had a little conversation. But that was one thing I'll never forget, having been served by royalty."

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99418917

FrancisUrquhart said:

Silicon Valley and billions are back and both still good.

My guilty pleasure, starring for one season Eddie izzard, the good wife, which now has a spin off the good fight. If you like suits, you will probably like this.

I go to Silicon Valley quite a bit. The series gets it brilliantly. Billions is fantastic, too. In the last series they filmed a scene in my favourite New York restaurant - Keanes. I believe it's one of the Trumpmeister's favourites as well. Anyone going to New York should check it out and make sure to go to the bar, too. That is straight out of Mad Men, my favourite US series of all time. Brideshead Revisited wins for the UK.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?

You are Justin124 and I claim my £5.

TheScreamingEagles said:

another_richard said:

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

I mentioned last week that years ago my father and his colleagues met Prince Philip.

Absolutely loved him, said he was brilliant company, immediately put everyone at ease.

He's the antithesis of Prince Charles.

From a longstanding White House butler.

When reflecting on his fondest memory, Westray talks about a time in 1979 when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the White House. After dinner, Prince Philip went into the Red Room, next to the state dining room. Westray and his buddy were serving liquor. Westray says he was carrying the tray and glasses.

"The prince was in there by himself, which was odd, because everybody else had gone down to the other end of the building," Westray says. "I said, 'Your Majesty, would you care for a cordial?' He says, 'I'll take one if you let me serve it.' What do you do? I didn't do all that because I had the stuff in my hand. And he says, 'If you let me pour it, I'll have one with you.'

"... So he poured it, the one he wanted, and we took the same thing that he had. And we had our drink there together and had a little talk while we were there. He told us if we were ever over there in London to stop at Buckingham Palace and see him. Can you imagine the prince serving you? I enjoyed it. You know, we're not supposed to drink and carry on at that time. We're not guests. It was just the three of us in the room, so nobody knew what happened. And I drank my little cordial, we all drank, and had a little conversation. But that was one thing I'll never forget, having been served by royalty."

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99418917

I've never understood the antipathy towards Prince Philip - he's always seemed like a bloke representative of his upbringing and time.

Whereas Charles has always had an aura of otherworldly weirdness about him.

CarlottaVance said:

Mortimer said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Shows to binge watch

Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!

Its excellent! Brings Weimar Germany vividly to life - and stunning production values - lets hope they go beyond two series.

We agree on something.

Apart from all the other good stuff, I like the way they kept away from the Nazis until the end of series 2.

another_richard said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

another_richard said:

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

I mentioned last week that years ago my father and his colleagues met Prince Philip.

Absolutely loved him, said he was brilliant company, immediately put everyone at ease.

He's the antithesis of Prince Charles.

From a longstanding White House butler.

When reflecting on his fondest memory, Westray talks about a time in 1979 when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the White House. After dinner, Prince Philip went into the Red Room, next to the state dining room. Westray and his buddy were serving liquor. Westray says he was carrying the tray and glasses.

"The prince was in there by himself, which was odd, because everybody else had gone down to the other end of the building," Westray says. "I said, 'Your Majesty, would you care for a cordial?' He says, 'I'll take one if you let me serve it.' What do you do? I didn't do all that because I had the stuff in my hand. And he says, 'If you let me pour it, I'll have one with you.'

"... So he poured it, the one he wanted, and we took the same thing that he had. And we had our drink there together and had a little talk while we were there. He told us if we were ever over there in London to stop at Buckingham Palace and see him. Can you imagine the prince serving you? I enjoyed it. You know, we're not supposed to drink and carry on at that time. We're not guests. It was just the three of us in the room, so nobody knew what happened. And I drank my little cordial, we all drank, and had a little conversation. But that was one thing I'll never forget, having been served by royalty."

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99418917

I've never understood the antipathy towards Prince Philip - he's always seemed like a bloke representative of his upbringing and time.

Whereas Charles has always had an aura of otherworldly weirdness about him.

I've always thought people were reasonably happy with Philip - as you say, a man of his time particularly when it comes to blunt comments, but generally liked as charismatic.

DavidL said:

malcolmg said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Well, quite.

Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

MD , my favourite ever book is Kidnapped and its follow up Catriona. From history types , The Civil War: A Narrative By Shelby Foote , a Trilogy is brilliant and Wellington: The Iron Duke by Richard Holmes is also excellent.
A very personal one is Mountain and flood: The history of the 52nd (Lowland) Division, 1939-1946 by George Blake. My father fought in this division as member of the 4/5th Royal Scots Fusiliers. They spent 2 years doing mountain training but never got to fight in the mountains.

I absolutely adored Kidnapped as a child. We went on a family holiday and my late Dad used to read us a chapter every night. I could not wait to get to bed! This generation has so much more with the internet and social media but they miss a lot too. I look back on those times with great fondness.

For sure David, I used to read books constantly , far superior to any of the stuff they have nowadays, fired the imagination. I still read Kidnapped every so many years. I have always promised myself a first edition , so will indulge myself this year. Treasure Island was another one that was great as a child.

SandyRentool said:

Eddie Izzard's appointment to the NEC will give an opportunity for those posting anti-semitic messages online to post transphobic messages instead.

Real progress.

Izzard is an utter joke.

makes sense for Labour to promote him

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?

Corbyn will never be PM.

Oh, you meant Charles?

Here's a thought.

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn.

It's not a particularly good thought, is it? But thanks for sharing.

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?

Corbyn will never be PM.

Oh, you meant Charles?

Here's a thought.

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn.

It's not a particularly good thought, is it? But thanks for sharing.

If I wanted to be utterly pessimistic I could have said

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn overseeing a bad Brexit and the break up of the United Kingdom.

Pardew gone.... little late in the day.

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?

Corbyn will never be PM.

Oh, you meant Charles?

Here's a thought.

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn.

It's not a particularly good thought, is it? But thanks for sharing.

If I wanted to be utterly pessimistic I could have said

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn overseeing a bad Brexit and the break up of the United Kingdom.

Pretty confident 3 out of 4 of those is not going to happen.

Removing Corbyn as Labour leader is not going to remove the elephant in the room that few will discuss and that is the degree of anti-Semitism among the British Islamic community.
The establishment are clearly more concerned about being called `islamaphobic` than addressing it and the politicians will be aware of how many more consistituencies are influenced by the Islamic vote than the Jewish vote
Jewish students are being bullied at Univerisities.The students bullying them will be going on to influential positions in public institions.The establishment will turn a blind eye.
The BBC has become a propaganda media outlet for Islam.
Wonder what % of British Jewish will be looking to emigrate from Britain in the near future?

SouthamObserver said:

tlg86 said:

SouthamObserver said:

houndtang said:

Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.

In which case we're still buggered as they are nearly half the country. But I am a bit more generous than you. I think a lot of voters see a Tory party led by incompetents who have no interest in anything except personal advancement, who merrily dogwhistle to get the votes of racists, xenophobes and bigots, who are nostalgic for a time that has gone and will never come again and who have no idea how to tackle the country's problems. They choose to vote against such a party.

In that case - why would those people not vote for the Lib Dems? Or the Greens?
The Lib Dems lost seats to Labour last time as well.

To me it's obvious - the people voting Labour don't believe Corbyn is anti-semitic or that he supports murderous regimes.

The alternative is that 40% of the country likes anti-semitism and murderous dictatorships.

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

TheScreamingEagles said:

Scrapheap_as_was said:

28 years of hurt ends and my phone dies when I'm away from home...

HOORAR!!

Burnley to finish above Arsenal and Chelsea???

Profitable day, would have been even more profitable if the referee had sent off a Spurs, two at least deserved red cards.

Given the referee performances this weekend, especially from Andre Marriner and Neil Swarbrick, is anyone else shocked that for the first time in 80 years no Englishman will be a referee at the world cup?

Any football referee would look good compared to that interfering prat that was in the ring on Saturday night.

Morris_Dancer said:

Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

The motion has not yet been carried.

The test is if it is approved.

You know how many times I watched election night 2015...... I think a certain R5L match commentary from yesterday may break my PB.

David_Evershed said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

The motion has not yet been carried.

The test is if it is approved.

There's also the second motion, less focused on Debbonaire, but still more worried about the party being damaged than any actual substance of accusation.

Nigelb said:

kle4 said:

Nigelb said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

Looking for lost souls perhaps?

Is Hebraically actually a word?

My OED says it is a word, an adverb.

Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

"The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."

Just what is 'the global left' ?
FWIW, I might loosely describe myself as a 'progressive' (I'd certainly vote Democrat in the US), and I have only contempt for both men.

I'd vote democrat too, but I don't really know what progressive means, or if it means the same thing on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a party called the progressive Conservatives in Canada for crying out loud.

My general impression is that progressive is a euphemisn for 'good' since you might conservatives here being relatively liberal in the usa, so people on left or right over here should be wary if assuming the left or right over there are their brethren.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

David Reich's Who We Are And How We Go Here ought to appeal to your interest in very old history, Mr.D.
It's also excellent.

I like that those are separate points. It matches your interests. Also, it happens to be good.

Theuniondivvie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Mortimer said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Shows to binge watch

Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!

Its excellent! Brings Weimar Germany vividly to life - and stunning production values - lets hope they go beyond two series.

We agree on something.

Apart from all the other good stuff, I like the way they kept away from the Nazis until the end of series 2.

Yes - it would be very easy to lay on 'foresight' with a trowel - but its making the point that Weimar was chaotic and violent from both Left and Right

I wonder how deeply buried next week's Observer retraction clarification will be buried?

https://order-order.com/2018/04/02/yesterdays-cadwalladr-claims-untrue-too/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Scrapheap_as_was said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

If they are quick Mark Hughes might be available in a few days and that might allow him to claim a unique hat-trick!!!!

I reckon Sparky might be in a shout for the Spurs job this summer as Poch does one and goes to Chelsea/PSG/Real.

Anyone else think Poch is overrated.

Never won a trophy, and heck even Juande Ramos won a trophy as Spurs manager.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Anyone else think Poch is overrated.

Never won a trophy, and heck even Juande Ramos won a trophy as Spurs manager.

He's turned them into a team that has come pretty close to winning the league, and regular champions league contenders, without, as far as I know, too much money. He's seems good, be interesting to see what would happen if he has a few more years.

Rexel56 said:

Good Girls Revolt on Prime also a nostalgic look back at office life; in this case a 1970s New York magazine publisher... trigger warning though, it’s theme is sex discrimination - sobering thought that one is old enough to remember smoke filled meeting rooms, typewriters and having ones own secretary who took shorthand and made tea...

I loved that series

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

Shows the state of Premier league in that he constantly gets new jobs , despite being consistently proven to be unable to manage anything. He just goes from club to club.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Eagles, my main concrete concern is the rumoured desire of Charles to change Defender of the Faith to Defender of Faith, which is utterly idiotic and unnecessary.

Indeed you are right.

Both titles are absurd and should be dropped entirely.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

about time.

ydoethur said:

David_Evershed said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

The motion has not yet been carried.

The test is if it is approved.

The mere fact it has been proposed means the motion has now hit the fan...

If Debbonaire gets censured for attending a march against antisemitism, that might just be what’s required for the PLP to think seriously about their options.

Corbyn, of course, will continue to insist that it’s nothing to do with him and that PLPs are free to act as they see fit.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Scrapheap_as_was said:

28 years of hurt ends and my phone dies when I'm away from home...

HOORAR!!

Burnley to finish above Arsenal and Chelsea???

Profitable day, would have been even more profitable if the referee had sent off a Spurs, two at least deserved red cards.

Given the referee performances this weekend, especially from Andre Marriner and Neil Swarbrick, is anyone else shocked that for the first time in 80 years no Englishman will be a referee at the world cup?

That's not the reason why we haven't got a ref at the World Cup. It's because FIFA is a prizes for everyone type of organisation. Here's the list of refs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_officials

How many of those have experience of using VAR?

Floater said:

malcolmg said:

Floater said:

SandyRentool said:

Eddie Izzard's appointment to the NEC will give an opportunity for those posting anti-semitic messages online to post transphobic messages instead.

Real progress.

Izzard is an utter joke.

makes sense for Labour to promote him

It just highlights the estate labour is in , if someone had made it up for a TV Series people would have thought it crap. Just imagine Izzard as a cabinet minister.

It does indeed Malc

Hope you are keeping well.

Floater , yes thanks, I am very well and hope you are too. Weather not so hot , grey and very windy but at least cosy inside and enjoying the holiday weekend.

rottenborough said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alan Pardew leaves West Brom

about time.

Strange appointment. Tony Pulis's powers of levitation were much underestimated but even he could not take the strain forever.

SouthamObserver said:

If your priority is to prevent a Tory government Labour is your only choice in almost all of England and much of Wales. I don’t believe Corbyn is anti-Semitic. It’s more that he has never repudiated the anti-Semites he has actively campaigned with for decades and now that he is in charge they are swarming into the Labour party, emboldened and gunning for power. Most voters don’t see this because, quite understandably, they are not paying attention. Enough do, though, to ensure Labour will never win with him as leader.

I would have agreed with you on Corbyn's anti-semitism or lack thereof until recently even after he lied about his work with Paul Eisen. After all, he is not very intelligent and he is quite capable of making mistakes through naivety as much as malice.

That defence comes to pieces over his comment on that mural. He clearly, deliberately supported the right of an anti-Semite to freedom of expression (which is allowed)on the basis that the Jews went round suppressing it (which is clearly prejudiced bollocks).

He has a problem. It may not be serious, or even deliberate - it may be like Johnson's reflexive and unthinking racism in his journalism - but it's there. And that means he cannot with any moral authority criticise anyone else with racist views, including the very large number crawling it if the woodwork in Labour.

The thread header is right - he has to go if Labour are to deal with the problem. But if he won't go for lying over his links to the Iranian government, or his support for the IRA or Hamas, or his wilful blindness to child sexual abuse in Islington, he won't go over this.

kle4 said:

Nigelb said:

kle4 said:

Nigelb said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

Looking for lost souls perhaps?

Is Hebraically actually a word?

My OED says it is a word, an adverb.

Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

"The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."

Just what is 'the global left' ?
FWIW, I might loosely describe myself as a 'progressive' (I'd certainly vote Democrat in the US), and I have only contempt for both men.

I'd vote democrat too, but I don't really know what progressive means, or if it means the same thing on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a party called the progressive Conservatives in Canada for crying out loud.

My general impression is that progressive is a euphemisn for 'good' since you might conservatives here being relatively liberal in the usa, so people on left or right over here should be wary if assuming the left or right over there are their brethren.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

David Reich's Who We Are And How We Go Here ought to appeal to your interest in very old history, Mr.D.
It's also excellent.

I like that those are separate points. It matches your interests. Also, it happens to be good.

Something a lot of recommendations fail to get....

Mr. B, a sound suggestion. When I got Contamine's and Allmand's book on the Hundred Years War, I saved a significant sum going second hand (it may astound you to learn that that Contamine rather over-estimated the value of heavy cavalry against archers. Not the first time a Frenchman has made such a mistake).

Mr. Doethur, you could always hire an enormo-haddock. They're always ready to thrash someone around the head and neck.

Mr. B, that reminds me of the end of Blackadder III.

Dying prince: "I hope men say of me that I did duty by my country."
Blackadder: "I think that's rather unlikely, sir. Perhaps you'd better hope for something a bit more realistic."
Dying prince: "Such as?"
Blackadder: "You hope that men will think of you as a bit of a thicky?"

another_richard said:

Sean_F said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Well, quite.

Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730

Oh yes. The review in The Times was hilarious.

Screaming "what is this plastic?" when sandwiches were produced covered in cellophane; hiring people to remove slugs by night from his garden; bringing his own lavatory seat when staying with other people; taking 43 pieces of luggage to a religious retreat. This is our future king.

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

Why would you weed like that? Most do it on their hands and knees with a small basket.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Anyone else think Poch is overrated.

Never won a trophy, and heck even Juande Ramos won a trophy as Spurs manager.

Don't panic, we're not above Liverpool.


Yet.

TheScreamingEagles said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?

Corbyn will never be PM.

Oh, you meant Charles?

Here's a thought.

In a few years we might be living under King Charles III and Prime Minister Corbyn.

George VII

another_richard said:

Charles has always had an aura of otherworldly weirdness about him.

I love you too, @another_richard

SandyRentool said:

David_Evershed said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

The motion has not yet been carried.

The test is if it is approved.

For the motion to reach CLP it must have been approved at Branch. Now there may only have been 4 people at the branch meeting where it was approved, but this gives an indication of where Bristol activists are coming from.

Mostly Clifton in my experience.

The people of Bradley Stoke and Fishponds are too poor to afford Corbyn's policies, and the ones in St George's don't vote.

Charles said:

another_richard said:

Sean_F said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Well, quite.

Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730

Oh yes. The review in The Times was hilarious.

Screaming "what is this plastic?" when sandwiches were produced covered in cellophane; hiring people to remove slugs by night from his garden; bringing his own lavatory seat when staying with other people; taking 43 pieces of luggage to a religious retreat. This is our future king.

Do any other members of the Royal Family behave in such a manner ?

I think my favourite was 'four gardeners who “lie flat, nose down on a trailer” to hand pluck weeds, because of the prince’s hatred of pesticides'.

Why would you weed like that? Most do it on their hands and knees with a small basket.

Perhaps the proles are not permitted to walk on Charles's lawn.

Scrapheap_as_was said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Anyone else think Poch is overrated.

Never won a trophy, and heck even Juande Ramos won a trophy as Spurs manager.

Don't panic, we're not above Liverpool.


Yet.

ICYMI last night.

Check out the replies under this thread.

https://twitter.com/chrisapplegate/status/980494516103901184

My two faves

https://twitter.com/_dogden/status/980505295947526144
https://twitter.com/Ianiesta8/status/980513611222343682

ydoethur said:

SouthamObserver said:

If your priority is to prevent a Tory government Labour is your only choice in almost all of England and much of Wales. I don’t believe Corbyn is anti-Semitic. It’s more that he has never repudiated the anti-Semites he has actively campaigned with for decades and now that he is in charge they are swarming into the Labour party, emboldened and gunning for power. Most voters don’t see this because, quite understandably, they are not paying attention. Enough do, though, to ensure Labour will never win with him as leader.

I would have agreed with you on Corbyn's anti-semitism or lack thereof until recently even after he lied about his work with Paul Eisen. After all, he is not very intelligent and he is quite capable of making mistakes through naivety as much as malice.

That defence comes to pieces over his comment on that mural. He clearly, deliberately supported the right of an anti-Semite to freedom of expression (which is allowed)on the basis that the Jews went round suppressing it (which is clearly prejudiced bollocks).

He has a problem. It may not be serious, or even deliberate - it may be like Johnson's reflexive and unthinking racism in his journalism - but it's there. And that means he cannot with any moral authority criticise anyone else with racist views, including the very large number crawling it if the woodwork in Labour.

The thread header is right - he has to go if Labour are to deal with the problem. But if he won't go for lying over his links to the Iranian government, or his support for the IRA or Hamas, or his wilful blindness to child sexual abuse in Islington, he won't go over this.

It's right that he totally is the problem - whether or not it's wilful blindness or not - his past, and the excuses he's given for it sets an example as to what's acceptable that these racists are following - and what they can dismiss as a smear when called on it. It's the biggest disgrace in Labour's history, but God knows how it's brought to an end.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Eagles, this is nice*:
https://twitter.com/jnickelson15/status/980508790306074624

Edited extra bit: ahem. *not very

A relative of mine swears they know that chap, and that he lives not 5 minutes from me.