Hopefully we'll see a new PM before 2022 is done...
No chance. They’re doubling down on Johnson.
Great for your party and mine. Appalling for our countries.
There is a lot of bad news to come.
And it makes sense to let Boris own as much of the blame for it as possible.
2022 as the year of Boris the Chump?
It is feasible, but I suspect that wiser Tory heads will absolutely dread the vicious civil war which will ensue when the Reign of the Clown is over.
It is starting to look like a Lose-Lose situation for Tory strategists. There are vanishingly few good options left.
My advice, which will of course be comprehensively dismissed, is ditch Johnson immediately and install Truss. It’s a huge gamble, but the only trump card I can see in their extraordinarily poor hand.
Hello everyone, hope you had a festive midnight. Astonishingly quiet here in Godalming - literally 4 fireworks and that was it. not so much elsewhere, I gather.
Meeks on good form - not especially long, just lucid:
"First, while the government is arguing that the current deal is unacceptable, they are literally telling the public that Brexit is not good enough. Having told the public that, any failure to gain substantial improvements will simply confirm that in the public’s mind. The Conservatives are finding out that you can type this shit but you sure can’t say it.
Secondly, a central driver of Brexit, fixing immigration, is conspicuously falling apart. [...] Right now the government is failing and is palpably out of ideas as to what to do. The best it has come up with, setting up detention centres in places like Albania, has been officially denied in every country so far mentioned."
I see that The Times, according to the summary of the BBC site is reporting on the prospect of considerably increased immigration from India, if only on a shortish term basis. Something which slightly surprises me, but is, I think, to her credit, Priti Patel is said to be against it.
Hopefully we'll see a new PM before 2022 is done...
No chance. They’re doubling down on Johnson.
Great for your party and mine. Appalling for our countries.
There is a lot of bad news to come.
And it makes sense to let Boris own as much of the blame for it as possible.
2022 as the year of Boris the Chump?
It is feasible, but I suspect that wiser Tory heads will absolutely dread the vicious civil war which will ensue when the Reign of the Clown is over.
It is starting to look like a Lose-Lose situation for Tory strategists. There are vanishingly few good options left.
My advice, which will of course be comprehensively dismissed, is ditch Johnson immediately and install Truss. It’s a huge gamble, but the only trump card I can see in their extraordinarily poor hand.
Problem is you can't install anyone without it going to a membership vote and the Tory membership will vote for the insaner option.
Heck if JRM got into the last 2 I suspect he would win, equally so would Steve Baker were he to make the final 2.
The Tory members voted for the saner option every time other than IDS.
Ignoring the fact TSE has returned the current Tory membership seems to currently consist of the loonier side of their previous membership.
You only have to see the list of current versus former Tory party members here to see the issue. After all the resignations the remaining Tory party members on PB were HYUFD and BigG.
Hopefully we'll see a new PM before 2022 is done...
No chance. They’re doubling down on Johnson.
Great for your party and mine. Appalling for our countries.
There is a lot of bad news to come.
And it makes sense to let Boris own as much of the blame for it as possible.
2022 as the year of Boris the Chump?
It is feasible, but I suspect that wiser Tory heads will absolutely dread the vicious civil war which will ensue when the Reign of the Clown is over.
It is starting to look like a Lose-Lose situation for Tory strategists. There are vanishingly few good options left.
My advice, which will of course be comprehensively dismissed, is ditch Johnson immediately and install Truss. It’s a huge gamble, but the only trump card I can see in their extraordinarily poor hand.
Problem is you can't install anyone without it going to a membership vote and the Tory membership will vote for the insaner option.
Heck if JRM got into the last 2 I suspect he would win, equally so would Steve Baker were he to make the final 2.
The Tory members voted for the saner option every time other than IDS.
😂
That’s if they get a vote. We discovered in 2016 it’s possible that they don’t.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
And Thailand I think. Unless monk service is being counted!
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
Happy New Year. A final tip for 2021. Don't watch the New Year in on BBC1. It's really really bad. The days of the licence fee are numbered I fear.
They've gone full woke!
It was full crap. First thing I'd watched on BBC in a long time and it was utterly awful. Don't mind woke if it's good quality, but it just was dire.
Switched to Jools Holland on BBC2 and this is much, much better. No idea why that crap was on "one" and this is on the second channel.
Hilarious moment when Ed Sheeran casually mentioned that Ipswich were "currently losing to Barrow", thus giving away that this was filmed on 15 December.
Whenever I've been at home on NYE I've watched JH.. Sometimes good, sometimes bad Having discovered that it's prerecorded I feel cheated. It's a fraud they count down to the New Year on a clock. Maybe I'm naive but for me it feels fraudulent!
Of course, our top musical talent have nowhere better to be on NYE.
Hopefully we'll see a new PM before 2022 is done...
No chance. They’re doubling down on Johnson.
Great for your party and mine. Appalling for our countries.
There is a lot of bad news to come.
And it makes sense to let Boris own as much of the blame for it as possible.
2022 as the year of Boris the Chump?
It is feasible, but I suspect that wiser Tory heads will absolutely dread the vicious civil war which will ensue when the Reign of the Clown is over.
It is starting to look like a Lose-Lose situation for Tory strategists. There are vanishingly few good options left.
My advice, which will of course be comprehensively dismissed, is ditch Johnson immediately and install Truss. It’s a huge gamble, but the only trump card I can see in their extraordinarily poor hand.
Given a Truss led Tories trails Starmer Labour by 16% with Opinium it is obvious why non Tories like you want her as leader. You may as well keep Boris from a Tory perspective if the only alternative is Truss
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Hopefully we'll see a new PM before 2022 is done...
No chance. They’re doubling down on Johnson.
Great for your party and mine. Appalling for our countries.
There is a lot of bad news to come.
And it makes sense to let Boris own as much of the blame for it as possible.
2022 as the year of Boris the Chump?
It is feasible, but I suspect that wiser Tory heads will absolutely dread the vicious civil war which will ensue when the Reign of the Clown is over.
It is starting to look like a Lose-Lose situation for Tory strategists. There are vanishingly few good options left.
My advice, which will of course be comprehensively dismissed, is ditch Johnson immediately and install Truss. It’s a huge gamble, but the only trump card I can see in their extraordinarily poor hand.
Given a Truss led Tories trails Starmer Labour by 16% with Opinium it is obvious why non Tories like you want her as leader. You may as well keep Boris from a Tory perspective if the only alternative is Truss
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
I wasn't watching, but I see several people here were annoyed. What did they do that bothered you?
Happy New Year. A final tip for 2021. Don't watch the New Year in on BBC1. It's really really bad. The days of the licence fee are numbered I fear.
They've gone full woke!
It was full crap. First thing I'd watched on BBC in a long time and it was utterly awful. Don't mind woke if it's good quality, but it just was dire.
Switched to Jools Holland on BBC2 and this is much, much better. No idea why that crap was on "one" and this is on the second channel.
Hilarious moment when Ed Sheeran casually mentioned that Ipswich were "currently losing to Barrow", thus giving away that this was filmed on 15 December.
Whenever I've been at home on NYE I've watched JH.. Sometimes good, sometimes bad Having discovered that it's prerecorded I feel cheated. It's a fraud they count down to the New Year on a clock. Maybe I'm naive but for me it feels fraudulent!
Of course, our top musical talent have nowhere better to be on NYE.
Wasn't this a Steptoe subplot? Whether Christmas Night With the Stars was live.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
I thought Cromwell fought a war to ensure that the Monarch was bound by rules?
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Some of Blair's Cabinet papers have just been released. Maybe one of those cleared up a Royal "misunderstanding".
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
Either way, it was about time. I guess the ex Tory leaders were starting to stack up. Blair and Gordon were blocking Sir David and Dame Theresa.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Blair has got a knighthood at the same time and the monarch would be wary of giving any honour the Leader of the Opposition outright opposed
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
Yes, I too thought where are 2022's answer to Kenneth McKellar and Moira Anderson when the nation needs them?
The spectacle was a bizarre train wreck for anyone over 25.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
Not that I care about such things, but isn't the Garter a Royal perogative rather than one subject to government recommendation?
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
More likely Blair himself, perhaps, especially given he did not want to go to the House of Lords. It is unlikely Gordon Brown would have objected. It will be interesting to see if this KG opens the floodgates for Blair's successors, Brown, Cameron and May.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
I thought Cromwell fought a war to ensure that the Monarch was bound by rules?
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
Yes, I too thought where are 2022's answer to Kenneth McKellar and Moira Anderson when the nation needs them?
The spectacle was a bizarre train wreck for anyone over 25.
Graham Norton was below par too compared to usual beforehand and pretty crude.
Did not even watch BBC1 after that watched Joel's Holland's Hootenanny on BBC2, switched over for the fireworks then switched back again.
With the Vienna New Year's Day concert on BBC2 this morning too if you only watch BBC2 over New Year you will be fine
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
The Order of Merit is also a personal honour, I think?
Albeit at a much lower level than the Garter!
I am assuming before too long Brown will now be awarded the Thistle. The first we will know about this is when Her Majesty invites a committee to sit on it.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
Yes, I too thought where are 2022's answer to Kenneth McKellar and Moira Anderson when the nation needs them?
The spectacle was a bizarre train wreck for anyone over 25.
The middle aged were supposed to be watching Holland on 2 as usual
I see some of the woke stuff triggered some people but, ignoring that, I thought that the London display was incredible. It is astonishing how drone technology is developing and that was one of the better use of drones for a display that I have ever seen.
In Scotland, we had a much smaller and more traditional display over Stirling castle since Edinburgh was completely cancelled to keep people off the streets. Its really sad when you think how much money and effort has been invested in making Edinburgh the home of NY.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Didn’t have you down as a Cromwellian. That See U Next Tuesday invaded, raped and pillaged my country. Used my school as a barracks.
Tony Benn was a big fan. Another Tuesday chap.
There's a town locally which, at the time, had a major Puritan clergyman, John Owen, as Vicar. Owen, of course went on to much greater things in the Commonwealth and indeed afterwards. Time has, as we know moved on, and a historian who lives locally three or four years ago sorted out a talk on Owen. However, the vicar at the time was Anglo-Catholic, insisted on being called 'Father' and so on, and rebuffed him My historian friend was rather hurt.
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
The Florentine Ghibelline/Guelph conflict is one of those late medieval/early modern phenomena which contemporary minds struggle to see the point of. Probably about power and money. It usually is
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
I wasn't watching, but I see several people here were annoyed. What did they do that bothered you?
It just seemed out of place at midnight to be talking about Marcus Rashford and free school meals.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
My biggest fear for this New Year is not Covid (which is success of a sort, I suppose) but a financial meltdown in China. I think that this is getting nearer to more likely than not and we will not escape the consequences. During Covid we have seen what disruptions to supply lines are caused by stutters in China. They are now absolutely central to our economic system, particularly in production.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
I thought Cromwell fought a war to ensure that the Monarch was bound by rules?
Motivations in the civil wars were pretty convoluted and not always consistent, and Cromwell can typify that. Religious factors were also key. It's important to note that there were very few actual republicans (among the top figures at the least) right up to the point when the actions taken meant they had little choice but to create a republic.
My interpretation is that many people of the time passionately believed things which were, unhelpfully, somewhat contradictory (Cromwell kept calling parliaments, but like any ruler found them frustrating, and was against 'perpetual parliaments'). Like now in fact.
There's an amusing debate in the parliament around the time after they tried James Nayler where they get a letter from Cromwell and are unsure if it is meant to be a rebuke about their actions and powers or not, with one George Downing (future turncoat and developer of Downing Street) stating "The Instrument of Government is but new, and our jurisdiction is but new too. It is dangerous either for him to question our power, or for us to question his, in matters that are for the public safety: we must both wink"
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Blair has got a knighthood at the same time and the monarch would be wary of giving any honour the Leader of the Opposition outright opposed
It isn't two separate things, a knighthood and a garterdom as it were, the garter necessarily implies the knighthood.
My biggest fear for this New Year is not Covid (which is success of a sort, I suppose) but a financial meltdown in China. I think that this is getting nearer to more likely than not and we will not escape the consequences. During Covid we have seen what disruptions to supply lines are caused by stutters in China. They are now absolutely central to our economic system, particularly in production.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
Or we all might get lucky and he go the way of Hua Guofeng.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Didn’t have you down as a Cromwellian. That See U Next Tuesday invaded, raped and pillaged my country. Used my school as a barracks.
Tony Benn was a big fan. Another Tuesday chap.
I am broadly a pacifist, so do not support violence, but Cromwell is an intriguing character, with his politics as interesting as his military skills.
The wars were complex, and initially the Scots Covernantors were on the side of the English Parliament, before changing sides, as did Monck in the end. Civil wars are almost all very uncivil.
Western Scotland has beaten the warmest-ever-New-Year's-Day temperature record, set in Cornwall in 1916, of 15.6 C, reaching 15.7 C already
It was incredibly mild when we were out and about last night, didn't really need a coat. I remember a New Year party in the village hall about 16 years ago when we had to cut our way through well over a foot of snow to get there.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Blair has got a knighthood at the same time and the monarch would be wary of giving any honour the Leader of the Opposition outright opposed
It is the same honour: the KG is Knight of the Garter. (eta Scooped by @IshmaelZ).
My biggest fear for this New Year is not Covid (which is success of a sort, I suppose) but a financial meltdown in China. I think that this is getting nearer to more likely than not and we will not escape the consequences. During Covid we have seen what disruptions to supply lines are caused by stutters in China. They are now absolutely central to our economic system, particularly in production.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
I saw a report (can’t remember where now) that there have been some very dodgy goings on at the Chinese company that prints their bank notes, with a suggestion that they were printing a lot of notes twice and passing the second copies on the friends and family. That sort of rumour is not going to do much for confidence in their financial system.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
This is the description of the Swedish setup. Seems about right.
Sweden Mandatory Military Service: Yes Details: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, after which they become reserves until age 47. However, only a portion of those who register are selected for service 2021 Population: 10,160,169
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
The connection between Brexit and the BBC's Hogmanay coverage seems a tenuous one. Like all sensible people I was watching the Hootenanay in any case, having travelled to England's second city to see in the new year with friends. I do love a bit of Ed Sheeran and enjoyed his duet with the lovely South London local Joy Crookes.
Impressed with 2022 meteorologically so far - a gorgeous morning here in downtown East London. The crescendo of fireworks (I don't remember NYE fireworks in my youth - perhaps the Romans didn't encourage them) peaked at 11.58 on my watch and was over by 12.02 after which as @NickPalmer observed from Godalming, it got very quiet very quick which was nice.
In terms of political betting, I backed the LDs to win in both Chesham & Amersham and Shropshire North though in the latter I missed some of the extraordinary trading opportunities on the night of the count.
On to more mundane (or should that be Saturdane) predictions and some decent horse racing this afternoon at Cheltenham and other venues.
A strong card at Prestbury Park and only two tempt me - GET A TONIC in the first and unimaginatively L'HOMME PRESSE in the Dipper.
A couple at Musselburgh - as most on here seem to enjoy the finer things in life why not try BOLLINGERANDKRUG in the second and CHRISTOPHER WOOD in the fourth.
One other - TERRESITA in the last at Fakenham.
Now, if backing those five losers doesn't put a damper on your New Year optimism, I'm not sure what will.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
Surprised that the baroness has time for this what with her stated aim of reforming the HoL (though that enterprise seems stalled, not to say non existent). Davidson seems to be pinning an awful lot on the blokey appeal of Doug Beattie.
My biggest fear for this New Year is not Covid (which is success of a sort, I suppose) but a financial meltdown in China. I think that this is getting nearer to more likely than not and we will not escape the consequences. During Covid we have seen what disruptions to supply lines are caused by stutters in China. They are now absolutely central to our economic system, particularly in production.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
Certainly China will have a recession sooner or later. Such is the nature of capitalism, but predictions of the economic collapse of China are as perennial as the collapse of the EU,.
Xi is economically further left in terms of approach, even with overtones of Maoism at times in condemnation of entrepreneurs and in favour of redistribution. Managing a capatilist downturn that way would certainly send shockwaves, but I think the battles would be internal rather than external.
Economically, I think we have stagflation on the cards this year. I don't find the optimistic growth forecasts credible in the financial aftermath of the pandemic, and I think we will see further aftershocks for some time. The world has changed and we will live differently.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
More likely Blair himself, perhaps, especially given he did not want to go to the House of Lords. It is unlikely Gordon Brown would have objected. It will be interesting to see if this KG opens the floodgates for Blair's successors, Brown, Cameron and May.
...and former PM Johnson. Is 2023's New Year's honours announcement soon enough for that? The Birthday honours would be optimal..
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
Sweden does have National Service, doesn't it? Reintroduced after about 2 decades off?
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
True conspiracy theorists rarely need anything as crude as “fuel”.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
I wasn't watching, but I see several people here were annoyed. What did they do that bothered you?
It just seemed out of place at midnight to be talking about Marcus Rashford and free school meals.
Oh well, doesn't seem a big deal then. Maybe Brexit was mentioned too? They have to cover something that appealed to all sides.
Impressed with 2022 meteorologically so far - a gorgeous morning here in downtown East London. The crescendo of fireworks (I don't remember NYE fireworks in my youth - perhaps the Romans didn't encourage them) peaked at 11.58 on my watch and was over by 12.02 after which as @NickPalmer observed from Godalming, it got very quiet very quick which was nice.
In terms of political betting, I backed the LDs to win in both Chesham & Amersham and Shropshire North though in the latter I missed some of the extraordinary trading opportunities on the night of the count.
On to more mundane (or should that be Saturdane) predictions and some decent horse racing this afternoon at Cheltenham and other venues.
A strong card at Prestbury Park and only two tempt me - GET A TONIC in the first and unimaginatively L'HOMME PRESSE in the Dipper.
A couple at Musselburgh - as most on here seem to enjoy the finer things in life why not try BOLLINGERANDKRUG in the second and CHRISTOPHER WOOD in the fourth.
One other - TERRESITA in the last at Fakenham.
Now, if backing those five losers doesn't put a damper on your New Year optimism, I'm not sure what will.
I keep nearly backing L'Homme Presse for the Turners but he'd be up against Bob Olinger. Similarly for I Am Maximus who goes in the first.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
There have been vacancies for years.
And Brown is Scottish, and they have their own order.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
I wasn't watching, but I see several people here were annoyed. What did they do that bothered you?
It just seemed out of place at midnight to be talking about Marcus Rashford and free school meals.
Oh well, doesn't seem a big deal then. Maybe Brexit was mentioned too? They have to cover something that appealed to all sides.
It was mostly an advert by the London Tourist board, so songs from the show (the show being Mama Mia for some reason) and plugging the Women’s Football competition due to be held here in the summer.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There are no votes in PR as demonstrated by the referendum that created Cummings.
Untrue. The message from the Tory camp was clear. If you want any form of real PR, vote against AV - with the implication that the Tories would do something to bring in proper PR.
As usual, they were just saying whatever it took to defend the indefensible FPTP.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
The connection between Brexit and the BBC's Hogmanay coverage seems a tenuous one. Like all sensible people I was watching the Hootenanay in any case, having travelled to England's second city to see in the new year with friends. I do love a bit of Ed Sheeran and enjoyed his duet with the lovely South London local Joy Crookes.
Covid rather than Brexit perhaps? The London fireworks were only confirmed a few days ago so perhaps the BBC had to plan the programme on a Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark basis.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There are no votes in PR as demonstrated by the referendum that created Cummings.
Untrue. The message from the Tory camp was clear. If you want any form of real PR, vote against AV - with the implication that the Tories would do something to bring in proper PR.
As usual, they were just saying whatever it took to defend the indefensible FPTP.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
I would imagine that the Palace held off appointing Blair because of all the controversy over Iraq, and so long as he didn't get the gong it would've been problematic to pass him over and admit any of his successors.
Brown would presumably be admitted to the Order of the Thistle instead?
AIUI the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order are those within the personal gift of the monarch.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
Sweden does have National Service, doesn't it? Reintroduced after about 2 decades off?
Has France abolished National Service? I vaguely recall Michel Roux Jr discussing his two years cooking for the President. Bashing spuds rather than squares.
I have little truck with those suffering woke derangement syndrome, but I really do wonder what BBC1 thought they were doing with their NYE coverage… it would be genuinely interesting to hear their thinking and to understand why they think the content should be aimed at such a tiny share of their paying “customers”… one can understand why people feel their traditions are deliberately ignored and, when given the chance, vote for the likes of Brexit.
I wasn't watching, but I see several people here were annoyed. What did they do that bothered you?
It just seemed out of place at midnight to be talking about Marcus Rashford and free school meals.
Oh well, doesn't seem a big deal then. Maybe Brexit was mentioned too? They have to cover something that appealed to all sides.
It’s NYE FFS! If ever there was a time for leaving politics at the door it’s then!
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
I would imagine that the Palace held off appointing Blair because of all the controversy over Iraq, and so long as he didn't get the gong it would've been problematic to pass him over and admit any of his successors.
Brown would presumably be admitted to the Order of the Thistle instead?
AIUI the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order are those within the personal gift of the monarch.
Thought it was more to do with the palace's spiteful resentment of his much more in-tune with the public mood response to the death of Diana?
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
You're right; it is interesting. And Beattie sounds about right, from memories I have of socialising with Northern Irish colleagues 30 or so years ago. It's but one of the tragedies of Brexit that it's reopened the issues in Northern Ireland, which were, or appeared to be, slowly evolving into culture discussions, rather than having such rabble rousing fringes around flags and aggressive nationalism.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
No, my point was at a more abstract level than that.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
No, my point was at a more abstract level than that.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
I would imagine that the Palace held off appointing Blair because of all the controversy over Iraq, and so long as he didn't get the gong it would've been problematic to pass him over and admit any of his successors.
Brown would presumably be admitted to the Order of the Thistle instead?
AIUI the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order are those within the personal gift of the monarch.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
I would imagine that the Palace held off appointing Blair because of all the controversy over Iraq, and so long as he didn't get the gong it would've been problematic to pass him over and admit any of his successors.
Brown would presumably be admitted to the Order of the Thistle instead?
AIUI the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order are those within the personal gift of the monarch.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
No, my point was at a more abstract level than that.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
So what you're saying is, we should disbelieve them on principle?
That's the very definition of a conspiracy theory...
For the final time and then I am going to leave it - I am not saying it was impossible Epstein was murdered, and the fact his guards have been effectively exonerated will lead to many more suggestions that he was. I am saying it doesn't fit the available evidence very well, and not as well as the official story of a suicide. Therefore, those who say otherwise are putting forward the idea there was a vast conspiracy to murder him, which is called 'a conspiracy theory.'
Anyway, I have some shopping to do. Have a good morning.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevelyan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
Sweden does have National Service, doesn't it? Reintroduced after about 2 decades off?
Has France abolished National Service? I vaguely recall Michel Roux Jr discussing his two years cooking for the President. Bashing spuds rather than squares.
Conscription was formally abolished in the late 90s, so No to Mandatory Military Service. I do have mates who completed it.
However, you're meant to sign up for service, should the need arise, and Macron has recently introduced something that sounds more like the DofE.
I think most of the central & western European nations that don't have conscription/mandatory national service only got rid of it relatively recently.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
Sweden does have National Service, doesn't it? Reintroduced after about 2 decades off?
Has France abolished National Service? I vaguely recall Michel Roux Jr discussing his two years cooking for the President. Bashing spuds rather than squares.
Abolished 20 years ago, after some confusion (Wiki claims) sending professional soldiers to the Gulf War from an army with too many mixed units.
Mons Macron has reintroduced a voluntary 4 week sort of skills course, which is due to become compulsory.
Service national universel
This compulsory service lasts for a month and can be performed in both civil and military facilities. The aim of this civil conscription service is to convey French values, to strengthen social cohesion and to promote social engagement. As is emphasized, it is not a matter of reintroducing conscription.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
No, my point was at a more abstract level than that.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
So what you're saying is, we should disbelieve them on principle?
That's the very definition of a conspiracy theory...
For the final time and then I am going to leave it - I am not saying it was impossible Epstein was murdered, and the fact his guards have been effectively exonerated will lead to many more suggestions that he was. I am saying it doesn't fit the available evidence very well, and not as well as the official story of a suicide. Therefore, those who say otherwise are putting forward the idea there was a vast conspiracy to murder him, which is called 'a conspiracy theory.'
Anyway, I have some shopping to do. Have a good morning.
No vast conspiracy required. You need to bribe two prison guards and one prosecutor.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevalayan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
See my post on the matter an hour ago. Not sure how increased Indian immigration, even if only 'temporary' will be received by the likes of the Express.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevalayan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
See my post on the matter an hour ago. Not sure how increased Indian immigration, even if only 'temporary' will be received by the likes of the Express.
Indeed, nor Tory members. Likely outcome a boost for Patel at the expense of Truss
My biggest fear for this New Year is not Covid (which is success of a sort, I suppose) but a financial meltdown in China. I think that this is getting nearer to more likely than not and we will not escape the consequences. During Covid we have seen what disruptions to supply lines are caused by stutters in China. They are now absolutely central to our economic system, particularly in production.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
Certainly China will have a recession sooner or later. Such is the nature of capitalism, but predictions of the economic collapse of China are as perennial as the collapse of the EU,.
Xi is economically further left in terms of approach, even with overtones of Maoism at times in condemnation of entrepreneurs and in favour of redistribution. Managing a capatilist downturn that way would certainly send shockwaves, but I think the battles would be internal rather than external.
Economically, I think we have stagflation on the cards this year. I don't find the optimistic growth forecasts credible in the financial aftermath of the pandemic, and I think we will see further aftershocks for some time. The world has changed and we will live differently.
I reckon 2 or 3 of Evergrande, Kasia, Fantasia and Modern Land will go bust this year. The knock on effects of this on a system built on ever increasing demand supplied by ever rising house prices will be immense. China is now so big that it is pretty much inconceivable that the rest of the world can take up the slack in that demand, indeed they are more likely to impose further tariffs under allegations of "dumping".
If this happens we will have a fairly severe recession here, not stagflation with more disruption to international trade than was caused by Covid.
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
You're right; it is interesting. And Beattie sounds about right, from memories I have of socialising with Northern Irish colleagues 30 or so years ago. It's but one of the tragedies of Brexit that it's reopened the issues in Northern Ireland, which were, or appeared to be, slowly evolving into culture discussions, rather than having such rabble rousing fringes around flags and aggressive nationalism.
She seems to be conceding that SF may well win next time around, and I take her article as a pitch for a more sensible, moderate unionism that she sees as the best (possibly only) chance of the unionist side recovering its leading position, as against the unionists doing an HY and doubling down on the extremist nuttiness and staying in second place for ever.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevalayan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
See my post on the matter an hour ago. Not sure how increased Indian immigration, even if only 'temporary' will be received by the likes of the Express.
Times have changed. I think if the control is in place then I'm not at all sure that much of the general public notices or cares about the quantity, so long as the quality is right.
Just because the boat people problem is so toxic it doesn't necessarily follow that more arrivals from India would be.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There are no votes in PR as demonstrated by the referendum that created Cummings.
Untrue. The message from the Tory camp was clear. If you want any form of real PR, vote against AV - with the implication that the Tories would do something to bring in proper PR.
As usual, they were just saying whatever it took to defend the indefensible FPTP.
I don’t remember that: citation needed I think.
Dunno about the official Conservative campaign, but there were people saying it.
One of the problems with binary votes. If "Too much" and "Not enough" can be persuaded to unite as "No", it can outvote a compromise that everyone would tolerate as a second choice.
Worked to defeat AV, and one of the dynamics of 2016 was the alliance of those who saw the EU as too globalising and those who saw it as too protectionist.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevalayan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
See my post on the matter an hour ago. Not sure how increased Indian immigration, even if only 'temporary' will be received by the likes of the Express.
Indeed, nor Tory members. Likely outcome a boost for Patel at the expense of Truss
Patel v Truss, now that would be a members' contest worth watching (if in despair)
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
You're right; it is interesting. And Beattie sounds about right, from memories I have of socialising with Northern Irish colleagues 30 or so years ago. It's but one of the tragedies of Brexit that it's reopened the issues in Northern Ireland, which were, or appeared to be, slowly evolving into culture discussions, rather than having such rabble rousing fringes around flags and aggressive nationalism.
Without a bit of a bump NI would stay for ever in its present position. This is the one solution that is entirely untenable, so the current turbulence is better than stasis. A two independent states for one island solution is sensible; a single state for one island is sensible; a single islands of the North Atlantic state is sensible.
What is not sensible is a remnant of imperialism being allowed to fester while one island has two different relations to the EU and dramatically different defence policies with regard to NATO.
Priti Patel leads Cabinet opposition to plans by Anne Marie-Trevalayan and Liz Truss to ease immigration rules for Indian migrants to the UK in a effort to get a trade deal with India
See my post on the matter an hour ago. Not sure how increased Indian immigration, even if only 'temporary' will be received by the likes of the Express.
Times have changed. I think if the control is in place then I'm not at all sure that much of the general public notices or cares about the quantity, so long as the quality is right.
Just because the boat people problem is so toxic it doesn't necessarily follow that more arrivals from India would be.
Yes, as I've said before, most people (Red Wall and all) are not that bothered about immigration per se (though some are), they just object to disoderly, uncontrolled immigration, and indeed to anything chaotic on any subject. The sense that Johnson is all over the place (a Chaotic Neutral, as we say in AD&D) has damaged him more than any disapproval of his policies.
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
You're right; it is interesting. And Beattie sounds about right, from memories I have of socialising with Northern Irish colleagues 30 or so years ago. It's but one of the tragedies of Brexit that it's reopened the issues in Northern Ireland, which were, or appeared to be, slowly evolving into culture discussions, rather than having such rabble rousing fringes around flags and aggressive nationalism.
She seems to be conceding that SF may well win next time around, and I take her article as a pitch for a more sensible, moderate unionism that she sees as the best (possibly only) chance of the unionist side recovering its leading position, as against the unionists doing an HY and doubling down on the extremist nuttiness and staying in second place for ever.
It is actually only removing the NI sea border and invoking Art 16 that would see the DUP regain enough votes lost to the harder line TUV to regain first place from SF. SF is actually polling below its 2017 voteshare, it only leads due to DUP votes lost to TUV.
Otherwise Stormont is PR anyway so the combined Unionist vote of DUP, TUV and UUP would still likely have more seats than the combined Nationalist vote of SF and SDLP
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
My predictions for the New Year? Haven't a clue. Anything could happen and probably will.
Is there a market for that? Btw I see one of your fellow Leicester quacks got CBE'd overnight.
Yes, it is being used, as per the first link.
Who got the CBE? Shamefully it seems that I have been overlooked again. Perhaps supporting historical regicide went against me 🤔
Cromwell didn't want to abolish monarchs, he just wanted the monarch to be him and then his eldest son, so I don't think he is a terribly good standard bearer for your cause. Fannying about with regal looking coats of arms rather underlines the point.
He refused the Crown when offered.
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
There has always been a suggestion that he was however also nervous about being bound by the laws that came with it, which as Charles I found the hard way, were much more restrictive than is generally supposed.
Taking the plums and leaving the duff. And bloody hell he pushed it, creating peerages and being called His Highness etc
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Er...if you quote it correctly you will find it says 'footage shows nobody entered the area on the night in question.' Which is altogether different.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
There were multiple cameras. The situation seems to be that there was a working camera covering the entrance to the area generally, and a non working camera more specifically targeted at Epstein s cell.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Aaaargh! I am saying the guards being let off is fuel for conspiracy theorists. That is the point you are missing!
We are not disagreeing but you are framing it perversely. If A is murdered and B is seen fleeing the scene with a murder weapon, would you say That looks like evidence of Bs guilt or would you say Aha! That will fuel a million conspiracy theories about B's guilt?
That's an utterly ludicrous parallel. Are you saying we have evidence of somebody else being at the scene? Because if not, I really don't know what point you're making.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
No, my point was at a more abstract level than that.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
So what you're saying is, we should disbelieve them on principle?
That's the very definition of a conspiracy theory...
For the final time and then I am going to leave it - I am not saying it was impossible Epstein was murdered, and the fact his guards have been effectively exonerated will lead to many more suggestions that he was. I am saying it doesn't fit the available evidence very well, and not as well as the official story of a suicide. Therefore, those who say otherwise are putting forward the idea there was a vast conspiracy to murder him, which is called 'a conspiracy theory.'
Anyway, I have some shopping to do. Have a good morning.
you have to remember many russians regarded the gulags as a conspiracy theory...
Comments
Something which slightly surprises me, but is, I think, to her credit, Priti Patel is said to be against it.
You only have to see the list of current versus former Tory party members here to see the issue. After all the resignations the remaining Tory party members on PB were HYUFD and BigG.
That’s if they get a vote. We discovered in 2016 it’s possible that they don’t.
He is a great guy who has done a lot of pioneering work on diabetes.
Trigger warning: also was on iSAGE, left in May 2021.
https://twitter.com/OpiniumResearch/status/1475566541273980929?s=20
Sure, he had his faults, but who doesn't?
Annual Vienna New Year's Day concert starting soon on BBC2
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Tony Benn was a big fan. Another Tuesday chap.
The spectacle was a bizarre train wreck for anyone over 25.
https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1476947002613137411?s=21
Did not even watch BBC1 after that watched Joel's Holland's Hootenanny on BBC2, switched over for the fireworks then switched back again.
With the Vienna New Year's Day concert on BBC2 this morning too if you only watch BBC2 over New Year you will be fine
Albeit at a much lower level than the Garter!
I am assuming before too long Brown will now be awarded the Thistle. The first we will know about this is when Her Majesty invites a committee to sit on it.
I see some of the woke stuff triggered some people but, ignoring that, I thought that the London display was incredible. It is astonishing how drone technology is developing and that was one of the better use of drones for a display that I have ever seen.
In Scotland, we had a much smaller and more traditional display over Stirling castle since Edinburgh was completely cancelled to keep people off the streets. Its really sad when you think how much money and effort has been invested in making Edinburgh the home of NY.
On Epstein, the source you link says cctv shows nobody entering "the area" on the night in question. Perfectly consistent with the cctv outside the cell being on the blink (which wiki says it was, cba to look at its sources) and therefore with anyone already in the area to get up to mischief
The trial of these jokers was the one shot we had at a forensic examination of Epsteins end. Seems extraordinary to pass it up. It would be really interesting to know from a ny attorney whether a plea bargain is what you'd expect in a case like this.
Anyway as @Leon pointed out last night "conspiracy theory" is now shorthand for "I choose not to believe that," the lab leak theory being a case in point. People do commit crimes or make mistakes and go to great lengths to cover them up. Conspiracy theories are that nasa faked the moon landings or that the vaccine is Microsoft nanochips.
And look at Donald Crowhurst. If that had been fiction it would probably have been interpreted as a satire on the moon landing hoax theory. It happened though.
Time has, as we know moved on, and a historian who lives locally three or four years ago sorted out a talk on Owen. However, the vicar at the time was Anglo-Catholic, insisted on being called 'Father' and so on, and rebuffed him My historian friend was rather hurt.
https://unherd.com/2021/12/what-hope-for-the-united-kingdom/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3&mc_cid=8ba3615655&mc_eid=836634e34b
Northern Ireland is probably less than six months away from having its first ever nationalist First Minister. And if the Scottish example is anything to go by, a Sinn Fein victory would give the party a platform to campaign relentlessly to end the UK, just as the SNP have done.
The fight for the future of the UK is about to enter a new phase.
There were, earlier, claims the camera was not working. So far, they have been contradicted by official reports.
Of course, the officials could be lying. But, then again, so could those who claim the officials are lying.
Anyway, I would point out that you are still missing the point. One last try. There are innumerable conspiracy theories around Epstein's death. The fact his guards, whose negligence enabled his death, have now in effect been told not to be so silly again and let off will certainly add fuel to that fire and there will be more of them flying around than ever.
Now, feel free to disagree with that statement, but I'm happy it's a prediction that will be accurate.
I also think we need to worry about how Xi will respond to such a crisis. A distracting war is not off the table by any means.
My interpretation is that many people of the time passionately believed things which were, unhelpfully, somewhat contradictory (Cromwell kept calling parliaments, but like any ruler found them frustrating, and was against 'perpetual parliaments'). Like now in fact.
There's an amusing debate in the parliament around the time after they tried James Nayler where they get a letter from Cromwell and are unsure if it is meant to be a rebuke about their actions and powers or not, with one George Downing (future turncoat and developer of Downing Street) stating "The Instrument of Government is but new, and our jurisdiction is but new too. It is dangerous either for him to question our power, or for us to question his, in matters that are for the public safety: we must both wink"
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/burton-diaries/vol1/pp244-258#fnn7
It's my favourite period of history. So twisty.
The wars were complex, and initially the Scots Covernantors were on the side of the English Parliament, before changing sides, as did Monck in the end. Civil wars are almost all very uncivil.
Edit: here is an official denial of the story
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1243072.shtml?id=11
Sweden
Mandatory Military Service: Yes
Details: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, after which they become reserves until age 47. However, only a portion of those who register are selected for service
2021 Population: 10,160,169
This is how the Swedish Govt describes it - compulsory service to make up the recruitment shortfall:
https://www.government.se/articles/2017/03/re-activation-of-enrolment-and-the-conscription/
And prison sentences for dropping out:
https://www.thelocal.se/20190404/sweden-hands-out-first-jail-terms-for-draft-evasion/
Impressed with 2022 meteorologically so far - a gorgeous morning here in downtown East London. The crescendo of fireworks (I don't remember NYE fireworks in my youth - perhaps the Romans didn't encourage them) peaked at 11.58 on my watch and was over by 12.02 after which as @NickPalmer observed from Godalming, it got very quiet very quick which was nice.
In terms of political betting, I backed the LDs to win in both Chesham & Amersham and Shropshire North though in the latter I missed some of the extraordinary trading opportunities on the night of the count.
On to more mundane (or should that be Saturdane) predictions and some decent horse racing this afternoon at Cheltenham and other venues.
A strong card at Prestbury Park and only two tempt me - GET A TONIC in the first and unimaginatively L'HOMME PRESSE in the Dipper.
A couple at Musselburgh - as most on here seem to enjoy the finer things in life why not try BOLLINGERANDKRUG in the second and CHRISTOPHER WOOD in the fourth.
One other - TERRESITA in the last at Fakenham.
Now, if backing those five losers doesn't put a damper on your New Year optimism, I'm not sure what will.
I am not missing the point. You are, in that you are perversely framing what most of us would just call "evidence" as "fuel for conspiracy theorists." That may be right but it is a secondary side effect, unless you have independent reason to be certain that there is no question about Epstein's end. You don't.
Somewhat bleary eyed this morning.
Xi is economically further left in terms of approach, even with overtones of Maoism at times in condemnation of entrepreneurs and in favour of redistribution. Managing a capatilist downturn that way would certainly send shockwaves, but I think the battles would be internal rather than external.
Economically, I think we have stagflation on the cards this year. I don't find the optimistic growth forecasts credible in the financial aftermath of the pandemic, and I think we will see further aftershocks for some time. The world has changed and we will live differently.
And Brown is Scottish, and they have their own order.
As usual, they were just saying whatever it took to defend the indefensible FPTP.
Look, this isn't getting us far. You're missing the point entirely, and you also seem to be interested in internet theories not in official statements. Shall we just agree to disagree and leave it there?
Brown would presumably be admitted to the Order of the Thistle instead?
AIUI the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order are those within the personal gift of the monarch.
It's but one of the tragedies of Brexit that it's reopened the issues in Northern Ireland, which were, or appeared to be, slowly evolving into culture discussions, rather than having such rabble rousing fringes around flags and aggressive nationalism.
If we are attributing a high probability of veracity to "official statements" then 2022 turns out to be 1984.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120715052444/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/1574027/Tony-Blair-spurns-honour-system.html (Hat tips to Wikipedia and the wayback machine.)
That's the very definition of a conspiracy theory...
For the final time and then I am going to leave it - I am not saying it was impossible Epstein was murdered, and the fact his guards have been effectively exonerated will lead to many more suggestions that he was. I am saying it doesn't fit the available evidence very well, and not as well as the official story of a suicide. Therefore, those who say otherwise are putting forward the idea there was a vast conspiracy to murder him, which is called 'a conspiracy theory.'
Anyway, I have some shopping to do. Have a good morning.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-plans-visa-deal-to-tempt-india-into-trade-talks-qxb2sthls
However, you're meant to sign up for service, should the need arise, and Macron has recently introduced something that sounds more like the DofE.
I think most of the central & western European nations that don't have conscription/mandatory national service only got rid of it relatively recently.
Mons Macron has reintroduced a voluntary 4 week sort of skills course, which is due to become compulsory.
Service national universel
This compulsory service lasts for a month and can be performed in both civil and military facilities. The aim of this civil conscription service is to convey French values, to strengthen social cohesion and to promote social engagement. As is emphasized, it is not a matter of reintroducing conscription.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_national_universel
If this happens we will have a fairly severe recession here, not stagflation with more disruption to international trade than was caused by Covid.
Just because the boat people problem is so toxic it doesn't necessarily follow that more arrivals from India would be.
One of the problems with binary votes. If "Too much" and "Not enough" can be persuaded to unite as "No", it can outvote a compromise that everyone would tolerate as a second choice.
Worked to defeat AV, and one of the dynamics of 2016 was the alliance of those who saw the EU as too globalising and those who saw it as too protectionist.
What is not sensible is a remnant of imperialism being allowed to fester while one island has two different relations to the EU and dramatically different defence policies with regard to NATO.
Otherwise Stormont is PR anyway so the combined Unionist vote of DUP, TUV and UUP would still likely have more seats than the combined Nationalist vote of SF and SDLP