Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Foxy as Britain was a net payer into EU funds regional aid as you put it was simply the EU giving Britain some of the funds it had already paid them back
The Good News is that now we have left the EU we have largely stopped this kind of communism. Instead of the inefficiency of paying money to Brussels who then distribute it to the areas we left poor, we simply don't pay the money to Brussels, and don't pay it to the regions either.
Huzzah!
So much you neglect to mention such as those eu funds had to be matched like for like and were generally spent on shite no one in the regions wanted or benefitted that much from...take cornwal where I come from....we got the eden project....a lot of money went to london architects, german manufacturers...what did cornish people actually get a few min wage jobs and even more traffic chaos.
Quite right. People voted for less money. Fewer roads. A reduction in jobs.
Reflecting on the almost stabbing earlier. Was really impressed with potential stabee. When the girlfriend got between them and gave him the space to get up, he could have done some serious damage. He was eight inches taller, about six stone heavier, twice as fit and 100 times more sober. But he didn't. Just kept repeating. "It wasn't me. I didn't do that. You've got the wrong blerk mate. Go home before you regret it." Even as stabby bloke threatened him, his family and his mates. Not sure I could have been that cool in the circumstances.
Why does that impress you...to my mind kick the fucker into the middle of next week and one less idiot in the world. You know stabby guy is going to do it again and next time may well kill someone.
Fuck it: why bother with courts or justice, you just get your boot in.
The guy was trying to stab him in this case. I have no problem if he defends himself and an idiot happens to end up bleeding out. Its not like he was not guilty
That's not what you said.
If someone is attacked and defends themselves, then one should have a very wide degree of latitude. But that's not what you said.
You specifically said "kick the fucker into the middle of next week and one less idiot in the world". You argued for killing the guy, whether it was needed to defend oneself or not.
Don't try and weasel word your way out of your original statement.
Generally speaking, to defend yourself against someone with a knife, you need to render them incapable of using it. Which means enough force to kill.
Reflecting on the almost stabbing earlier. Was really impressed with potential stabee. When the girlfriend got between them and gave him the space to get up, he could have done some serious damage. He was eight inches taller, about six stone heavier, twice as fit and 100 times more sober. But he didn't. Just kept repeating. "It wasn't me. I didn't do that. You've got the wrong blerk mate. Go home before you regret it." Even as stabby bloke threatened him, his family and his mates. Not sure I could have been that cool in the circumstances.
Yes, that is impressive. Attempting to halt the cycle of violence in an overheated situation shows real character. Quite what happens next is the unknown.
Twitter is full of libellous comments at the moment regarding a certain topic. The company doesn't seem to give a damn about the laws of any country apart from the US.
BigG. posted that yesterday. I think the rule for PB Tories is this: The guiltier the Opposition the less guilty Boris Johnson.
As I said last night. The BBC's hope of a two year sentence rather than a caution if guilty is ambitious. I also said a cover up would be worse than the offence. BigG. assured me Alun Michael is a decent operator.
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Benzos like valium are widely used as 'street drugs'. Massive issue.
Foxy as Britain was a net payer into EU funds regional aid as you put it was simply the EU giving Britain some of the funds it had already paid them back
The Good News is that now we have left the EU we have largely stopped this kind of communism. Instead of the inefficiency of paying money to Brussels who then distribute it to the areas we left poor, we simply don't pay the money to Brussels, and don't pay it to the regions either.
Huzzah!
So much you neglect to mention such as those eu funds had to be matched like for like and were generally spent on shite no one in the regions wanted or benefitted that much from...take cornwal where I come from....we got the eden project....a lot of money went to london architects, german manufacturers...what did cornish people actually get a few min wage jobs and even more traffic chaos.
I'm sorry to get all technical, but there were hundreds of different types of EU "aid", and only some of them involved a requirement for matching funding from Central government. (And, of course - and this used to make me gag - you could usually get the requirement for matching removed if you were prepared to plaster your project with posters with the EU flag on.)
Even if funding didnt get matched doesnt change a lot of the projects did little to benefit locals. now if they had paid to extend the m5 past plymouth that would have been a plus. Instead they gave us the eden project which made and continues to make a lot of money little of which benefits cornwall as most of the construction money went elsewhere as does most of the profit it makes
Surely a massive tourist draw though? It may have cost a lot, but if I remember correctly they had a lot of china clay pits to deal with anyway, which would have cost money. Tourist development does improve the local economy alot.
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Yes, it is a fairly common drug of abuse, particularly used by alcoholics.
Many prescription drugs are abused by re-sale, and that is a big factor in the US opiod crisis. The scale of abuse of steroids in the UK is quite something too, with perhaps a million users.
Meanwhile, Boris and NutNut don’t look themselves on the Metro 🫣
Kenneth Branagh is astonishing. If you didn't tell me that wasn't Boris I'd never have guessed it wasn't.
Kenneth is indeed astonishing. A brilliant and versatile actor and his facial expression here is ace. However, I think it fair to point out that most of this resemblance has less to do with Kenneth Branagh and more to do with the makeup department.
I suppose it's very Boris though to claim credit for something he didn't do.
It's not just his facial expression. It's his posture, his voice, his frame, his walk - he is a superb character actor.
And it's not just for Boris that he's done this. He's done it in multiple roles - like Shackleton, Tim Collins in 10 days to war, and Hamlet. If you see KB on the cast list always go and see it.
The only one for which it didn't work was Poirot, which is weird because he's a fictional character, but he disappeared up his own obsession and gave him a ludicrous moustache.
With Poirot possibly an issue was the sheer definitive nature of David Suchets performance, leading to too much of a reinterpretation. Must not be Suchet.
There is no point for anyone on earth to ever try playing Poirot again.
Suchet totally mastered it. He was and is Poirot.
I love the Suchet Poirot, but the first Branagh Poirot was decent.
The second, on the other hand, was turgid.
I cringed through the first one and still haven't watched the second.
DWP to recruit more civil servants, give itself power of arrest, and wave goodbye to privacy
A new £600 million plan to fight benefit fraud and save the taxpayer £2 billion over the next three years is to be unveiled by the Government.
The plan will involve 2,000 trained specialists reviewing two million universal credit claims over the next five years.
DWP officers will also be bolstered with new powers, including to undertake arrests, execute warrants, conduct searches and seize evidence.
A new civil penalty to ensure those who commit fraud face “adequate” punishment has also been proposed, along with increased powers to require banks to securely share data on a larger scale.
It's Snooper Squad! Let's hope there aren't "spending implications".
Good morning everyone.
Would it not be more cost-effective to beef up HMRC's Fraud Squads? After all tax evasion costs us all far more than Benefit Fraud.
Ot am I being hopelessly naive?
2,000 new specialist officers at DWP?
I'm so old I remember when Johnson used a press release about getting rid of tens of thousands of civil servants in order to distract from some other story or other. It was a long time ago.
DWP to recruit more civil servants, give itself power of arrest, and wave goodbye to privacy
A new £600 million plan to fight benefit fraud and save the taxpayer £2 billion over the next three years is to be unveiled by the Government.
The plan will involve 2,000 trained specialists reviewing two million universal credit claims over the next five years.
DWP officers will also be bolstered with new powers, including to undertake arrests, execute warrants, conduct searches and seize evidence.
A new civil penalty to ensure those who commit fraud face “adequate” punishment has also been proposed, along with increased powers to require banks to securely share data on a larger scale.
We purport to be an advanced country with a sophisticated HMRC, a Treasury with immense experience, regulation of activity by company law, and accountants and auditors who are all regulated.
Is it not just obvious that if all this works even to a mediocre degree the amount of fraud in the Covid loan scheme should be no more than minimal?
And getting accountability from the fraudsters should not be all that hard?
Politically, I favour Mordaunt. Her situation Tory-leader-wise looks good at the moment. Someone is briefing against Truss, and if it's anything like as good as the Sunak takedown, she's a goner. Tugendhat is just a nobody, no idea why he's there. I can't see people going for Hunt, as it would be considered a backward step. That leaves Mordaunt against Wallace, which she will win.
I thought you were a Vlad man?
Excellent though that would be, the renovations required to No. 10 to accommodate the size of the furniture would be cost prohibitive.
We can do it! Princess Anne visited Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire earlier to unveil the 13m (43ft) table created from a black oak, found buried and preserved in a field in Norfolk, in 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61487686 edit
Foxy as Britain was a net payer into EU funds regional aid as you put it was simply the EU giving Britain some of the funds it had already paid them back
The Good News is that now we have left the EU we have largely stopped this kind of communism. Instead of the inefficiency of paying money to Brussels who then distribute it to the areas we left poor, we simply don't pay the money to Brussels, and don't pay it to the regions either.
Huzzah!
So much you neglect to mention such as those eu funds had to be matched like for like and were generally spent on shite no one in the regions wanted or benefitted that much from...take cornwal where I come from....we got the eden project....a lot of money went to london architects, german manufacturers...what did cornish people actually get a few min wage jobs and even more traffic chaos.
I'm sorry to get all technical, but there were hundreds of different types of EU "aid", and only some of them involved a requirement for matching funding from Central government. (And, of course - and this used to make me gag - you could usually get the requirement for matching removed if you were prepared to plaster your project with posters with the EU flag on.)
Even if funding didnt get matched doesnt change a lot of the projects did little to benefit locals. now if they had paid to extend the m5 past plymouth that would have been a plus. Instead they gave us the eden project which made and continues to make a lot of money little of which benefits cornwall as most of the construction money went elsewhere as does most of the profit it makes
Surely a massive tourist draw though? It may have cost a lot, but if I remember correctly they had a lot of china clay pits to deal with anyway, which would have cost money. Tourist development does improve the local economy alot.
A tourist and leisure economy has its own stresses, not least leading to incomers and second home owners displacing locals. Its getting a balance with other forms of economy that is a problem.
I think there are far better horticultural destinations than the Eden Project, but it has certainly been popular.
Twitter is full of libellous comments at the moment regarding a certain topic. The company doesn't seem to give a damn about the laws of any country apart from the US.
Yes but that is a wider problem. Why should Twitter be allowed to carry tweets that criticise the Special Military Operation in defiance of Russian law, or that praise Taiwan in defiance of Chinese law? Why does it not hand over details of Middle East pro-democracy activists so they can be properly tortured and killed re-educated? I agree with you; Twitter should not carry defamatory content but how do we stop that and that alone?
Politically, I favour Mordaunt. Her situation Tory-leader-wise looks good at the moment. Someone is briefing against Truss, and if it's anything like as good as the Sunak takedown, she's a goner. Tugendhat is just a nobody, no idea why he's there. I can't see people going for Hunt, as it would be considered a backward step. That leaves Mordaunt against Wallace, which she will win.
I thought you were a Vlad man?
Excellent though that would be, the renovations required to No. 10 to accommodate the size of the furniture would be cost prohibitive.
We can do it! Princess Anne visited Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire earlier to unveil the 13m (43ft) table created from a black oak, found buried and preserved in a field in Norfolk, in 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61487686 edit
I like Anne. She’s a real chip off the old block.
Tricky passing the marmalade or jogging to the butter knife.
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Yes, it is a fairly common drug of abuse, particularly used by alcoholics.
Many prescription drugs are abused by re-sale, and that is a big factor in the US opiod crisis. The scale of abuse of steroids in the UK is quite something too, with perhaps a million users.
One can't also "just ask a GP for a prescription" for Valium and co. NHS guidelines now incredibly strict on use. Seen as causing more problems than they solve. One might be ok if just want five tablets for a flight, but otherwise you are struggling unless you are already taking them and have for long time. Even then many GPs will feel under pressure to start a wean off.
Reflecting on the almost stabbing earlier. Was really impressed with potential stabee. When the girlfriend got between them and gave him the space to get up, he could have done some serious damage. He was eight inches taller, about six stone heavier, twice as fit and 100 times more sober. But he didn't. Just kept repeating. "It wasn't me. I didn't do that. You've got the wrong blerk mate. Go home before you regret it." Even as stabby bloke threatened him, his family and his mates. Not sure I could have been that cool in the circumstances.
Why does that impress you...to my mind kick the fucker into the middle of next week and one less idiot in the world. You know stabby guy is going to do it again and next time may well kill someone.
Fuck it: why bother with courts or justice, you just get your boot in.
The guy was trying to stab him in this case. I have no problem if he defends himself and an idiot happens to end up bleeding out. Its not like he was not guilty
That's not what you said.
If someone is attacked and defends themselves, then one should have a very wide degree of latitude. But that's not what you said.
You specifically said "kick the fucker into the middle of next week and one less idiot in the world". You argued for killing the guy, whether it was needed to defend oneself or not.
Don't try and weasel word your way out of your original statement.
Generally speaking, to defend yourself against someone with a knife, you need to render them incapable of using it. Which means enough force to kill.
The most effective way being to run away so you're out of range.
It's not like in the films. Even those with good self-defence skills can get it wrong/unlucky and the knife goes in just as easily to human flesh as a raw chicken. It only takes one strike and you'll bleed out before the ambulance arrives and can give you an infusion.
Politically, I favour Mordaunt. Her situation Tory-leader-wise looks good at the moment. Someone is briefing against Truss, and if it's anything like as good as the Sunak takedown, she's a goner. Tugendhat is just a nobody, no idea why he's there. I can't see people going for Hunt, as it would be considered a backward step. That leaves Mordaunt against Wallace, which she will win.
I thought you were a Vlad man?
Excellent though that would be, the renovations required to No. 10 to accommodate the size of the furniture would be cost prohibitive.
We can do it! Princess Anne visited Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire earlier to unveil the 13m (43ft) table created from a black oak, found buried and preserved in a field in Norfolk, in 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61487686 edit
Ben Kentish @BenKentish Iain Duncan Smith sticks the boot into Rishi Sunak. Asked by @AndrewMarr9 about the Chancellor’s claims that IT systems won’t let him ⬆️ benefits, IDS: “It’s not true. I don’t believe a word of it…This is what officials pass you when they think they don’t want to do something.”
Actually, I think Sunak was mainly referring to legacy welfare systems, but perhaps IDS is still correct about officials.
IDS claimed benefits for a period when out of work and I exphas a greater understanding of those who rely on them when in personal difficulties than the ex Goldman Sachs, son in law of a billionaire Rishi
Away with your IDS man of the people. He really isn't.
IDS literally ran the benefits system for several years as minister. So either he is lying or Sunak is lying or there is a massive misunderstanding.
He’s not saying Sunak is lying. He’s saying Sunak is a naive prat who believes his officials.
Before he came to power, there was a lot of talk about Boris Johnson’s weakness being his lack of friends in the party. Still his weakness, or a strength?
Still both.
In the short term, it strengthens him against minor attacks. Becuase he has no real friends, he doesn't have to let loyalty hold him back from doing what it takes to cement his position.
In the longer term, it means that his fall from grace will be spectacular. Because when the balance of pro and anti flips, there won't be much of a Praetorian Guard to protect him.
Most premierships are made from sheet metal- they get increasingly dented as time goes on. Johnson's is made of glass- many things bounce off it, but at some unpredictable point it will shatter and leave dangerous shards everywhere.
The unknown is when this will happen. And it could still be 10 days or 10 years.
Reflecting on the almost stabbing earlier. Was really impressed with potential stabee. When the girlfriend got between them and gave him the space to get up, he could have done some serious damage. He was eight inches taller, about six stone heavier, twice as fit and 100 times more sober. But he didn't. Just kept repeating. "It wasn't me. I didn't do that. You've got the wrong blerk mate. Go home before you regret it." Even as stabby bloke threatened him, his family and his mates. Not sure I could have been that cool in the circumstances.
Why does that impress you...to my mind kick the fucker into the middle of next week and one less idiot in the world. You know stabby guy is going to do it again and next time may well kill someone.
Ffs, this reminds me of the PB reaction to the Will Smith punch.
Because the guy would only need to get one stab in to kill you or permanently disable you, traumatising your girlfriend and friends as they attempt to stop the bleeding.
Lot of 'I'm a hard man I'd defend my bird' reactions on that one. Not in those words, but it amounted to the same thing of if you would be angry it's ok to get violent.
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
a) No idea. But if I had to make a WAG: it is massively wide, so there will not be many in the downstream parts of the river. It is narrower in the interior, but that area is also less populated. Also, as it has many tributaries, do you count those as well? I'd guess it's a trick question and say the nearest 100 is 0.
b) I did read about this, bur cannot remember. As 'mechanical failure' might be too obvious: did a ship sink nearby, blocking the channel, or some other weirdness?
In our village, previously in the greenbelt but removed in the local plan, building has been rampant. One site was covered in mature hardwood trees including oaks. They obviously needed removing but what happened next was shocking. They were chipped. Piles of chippings the size of houses. What a waste. I assume it was the most cost effective disposal, but really could they not be put to better use?
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Yes, it is a fairly common drug of abuse, particularly used by alcoholics.
Many prescription drugs are abused by re-sale, and that is a big factor in the US opiod crisis. The scale of abuse of steroids in the UK is quite something too, with perhaps a million users.
One can't also "just ask a GP for a prescription" for Valium and co. NHS guidelines now incredibly strict on use. Seen as causing more problems than they solve. One might be ok if just want five tablets for a flight, but otherwise you are struggling unless you are already taking them and have for long time. Even then many GPs will feel under pressure to start a wean off.
OK. I was on valium 40 years ago and it seems things have changed since those days when smack was public enemy number one. Remember those heroin chic anti-drugs posters? Valium was the housewife's friend, mother's little helper, as Mick sang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusADDs_3ps
Isn't the biggest danger to Johnson the no challenge for another 12 months rule? If they challenge and fail it has to be soon to have a secong go.
Of course the Tories will likely make gains in next year's local elections given how poorly they did in May 2019, 28% and losing over a 1000 Tory council seats.
So if no challenge after this year's local elections there may never be one
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
a) No idea. But if I had to make a WAG: it is massively wide, so there will not be many in the downstream parts of the river. It is narrower in the interior, but that area is also less populated. Also, as it has many tributaries, do you count those as well? I'd guess it's a trick question and say the nearest 100 is 0.
b) I did read about this, bur cannot remember. As 'mechanical failure' might be too obvious: did a ship sink nearby, blocking the channel, or some other weirdness?
a) Won't comment yet
b) You are on the right lines re weirdness, but you have to go to further extremes weirdness than you have gone and then further.
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Yes, it is a fairly common drug of abuse, particularly used by alcoholics.
Many prescription drugs are abused by re-sale, and that is a big factor in the US opiod crisis. The scale of abuse of steroids in the UK is quite something too, with perhaps a million users.
One can't also "just ask a GP for a prescription" for Valium and co. NHS guidelines now incredibly strict on use. Seen as causing more problems than they solve. One might be ok if just want five tablets for a flight, but otherwise you are struggling unless you are already taking them and have for long time. Even then many GPs will feel under pressure to start a wean off.
OK. I was on valium 40 years ago and it seems things have changed since those days when smack was public enemy number one. Remember those heroin chic anti-drugs posters? Valium was the housewife's friend, mother's little helper, as Mick sang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusADDs_3ps
I get prescribed Valium because I’m an epileptic and, in the morning, it can help reduce the chances of an attack. It’s remarkable how many people suddenly take an interest in my health when they realise I can get preclscribed…
BigG. posted that yesterday. I think the rule for PB Tories is this: The guiltier the Opposition the less guilty Boris Johnson.
As I said last night. The BBC's hope of a two year sentence rather than a caution if guilty is ambitious. I also said a cover up would be worse than the offence. BigG. assured me Alun Michael is a decent operator.
Good morning
I only posted it last night as it featured on BBC Wales.
I do know Alun Michael and I would be very surprised if he did not act professionally
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Benzos like valium are widely used as 'street drugs'. Massive issue.
Xanax is the benzo of choice. And for good reason. It’s blissful. But it is also horribly addictive and the withdrawal can actually kill you with seizures - only a few, super powerful drugs can do that
In light of the horrors uncovered at Bucharest and yesterday's trial of a Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine, this is very well worth listening to - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100rd.
Less about the ins and outs of the Nuremberg trial and more about the stories told by Sir Hartley Shawcross and the reactions of his son and other children and grandchildren of participants. Essential listening.
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
I can't think of the Gloucestershire one, but the Cam flows pretty much straight northwards. And after that, the Great Ouse goes north from Ely to King's Lynn?
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Benzos like valium are widely used as 'street drugs'. Massive issue.
Xanax is the benzo of choice. And for good reason. It’s blissful. But it is also horribly addictive and the withdrawal can actually kill you with seizures - only a few, super powerful drugs can do that
If @Foxy is around, why is the NHS allowing the prescription of Oxycodone or OxyContin? And, critically, are the controls around its use sufficiently strong to prevent the sort of opioid issues the US has had? Napp Pharmaceuticals, which markets it to the NHS, is part of the Mundipharma group of companies owned, I believe, by the Sackler family.
The interesting thing about the No.10/No.11 Windfall Tax row is we're again entering territory where a Rishi resignation could potentially re-set his political career. Though he's obviously passed up quite a few opportunities already... https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1527197415379443713
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Is that really true? What about the Ravensbourne that joins the Thames at Deptford after flowing north from Bromley? Surely there must be loads of rivers that flow South to North?
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Is that really true? What about the Ravensbourne that joins the Thames at Deptford after flowing north from Bromley? Surely there must be loads of rivers that flow South to North?
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Is that really true? What about the Ravensbourne that joins the Thames at Deptford after flowing north from Bromley? Surely there must be loads of rivers that flow South to North?
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
a) No idea. But if I had to make a WAG: it is massively wide, so there will not be many in the downstream parts of the river. It is narrower in the interior, but that area is also less populated. Also, as it has many tributaries, do you count those as well? I'd guess it's a trick question and say the nearest 100 is 0.
b) I did read about this, bur cannot remember. As 'mechanical failure' might be too obvious: did a ship sink nearby, blocking the channel, or some other weirdness?
a) Won't comment yet
b) You are on the right lines re weirdness, but you have to go to further extremes weirdness than you have gone and then further.
Ok think that is long enough and @Jossiasjessop great reply to a). There are no bridges that span the Amazon because where it is possible to span it (most of it) there are no two places on either side worth going to/from.
As far as b) is concerned, and this just makes me laugh. The Sean O'Casey swing bridge wasn't opened for large vessels between 2010 and 2014 because, wait for it:
They lost the remote control!
I just have this vision somewhere of someone trying to change channels on their TV wondering why it doesn't work and randomly opening the bridge (credit for joke to Paul Sinha)
The interesting thing about the No.10/No.11 Windfall Tax row is we're again entering territory where a Rishi resignation could potentially re-set his political career. Though he's obviously passed up quite a few opportunities already... https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1527197415379443713
I suspect quite a few conservative mps would be pleased to see him go
Hangin' and floggin' has got to be close to the top of the look! squirrel list by now.
I remember a young Tory making a speech advocating those things at the party conference in about 1995. Just tried to find a clip of it on YouTube but without success so far.
In light of the horrors uncovered at Bucharest and yesterday's trial of a Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine, this is very well worth listening to - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100rd.
Less about the ins and outs of the Nuremberg trial and more about the stories told by Sir Hartley Shawcross and the reactions of his son and other children and grandchildren of participants. Essential listening.
Yes, or at least prima facie grounds for reinvestigation. And good of Guido to share the normally-paywalled Times report for free. Who pays for that?
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
Damn' fools the pair of them! And Alun Michael 'brought his influence to bear' he's an even bigger idiot.
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Is that really true? What about the Ravensbourne that joins the Thames at Deptford after flowing north from Bromley? Surely there must be loads of rivers that flow South to North?
Off topic and just for fun, following the question about the longest river to flow into the Med the other week, two more silly river questions:
a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
Not sure about those two but wasn't "the longest river to flow into the Med" obvious, or am I missing a trick and in denial?
That must be the Nile, which is one of only two rivers in the world that flows from South to North. The other is in Gloucestershire.
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Is that really true? What about the Ravensbourne that joins the Thames at Deptford after flowing north from Bromley? Surely there must be loads of rivers that flow South to North?
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
There is never an excuse for stealing and breaking the law, we have universal credit, JSA, foodbanks etc for those out of work or on low wages.
I'd argue there are times when stealing and breaking the law are excusable. For instance:
*) When you firmly believe the law is morally wrong, and are willing to take the consequences (or do not care about them) of breaking the law. If you were gay in the 1960s, was it excusable to be in a gay relationship just because the law said it was not?
*) When the law is so arcane and ill-defined that even top lawyers are unsure whether they broke it (the Covid parties).
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
Apart from when you were Doxxing people there is nothing wrong with your posts.
Keep them up and do not let these men bullying you drive you away as you said before it would.
Does anyone know if that CHB person came back after he expressed disgust at the treatment of Heathener?
A question for all you Brits in Britain. How many of you are participating in Platinum Jubilee events? And how many of you are going to avoid them or even go abroad on holiday? I am curious to know!
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
You seem to have this strange view that anyone who may criticise you is of a right wing persuasion, are part of a nasty party and somehow in this instance refer to Patel
I am not a member of the conservative party, am most certainly not right wing, and have consistently condemned Patel
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
You seem to have this strange view that anyone who may criticise you is of a right wing persuasion, are part of a nasty party and somehow in this instance refer to Patel
I am not a member of the conservative party, am most certainly not right wing, and have consistently condemned Patel
Back off her. You are bullying her. It is deeply unpleasant.
Meanwhile, Boris and NutNut don’t look themselves on the Metro 🫣
Kenneth Branagh is astonishing. If you didn't tell me that wasn't Boris I'd never have guessed it wasn't.
Kenneth is indeed astonishing. A brilliant and versatile actor and his facial expression here is ace. However, I think it fair to point out that most of this resemblance has less to do with Kenneth Branagh and more to do with the makeup department.
I suppose it's very Boris though to claim credit for something he didn't do.
It's not just his facial expression. It's his posture, his voice, his frame, his walk - he is a superb character actor.
And it's not just for Boris that he's done this. He's done it in multiple roles - like Shackleton, Tim Collins in 10 days to war, and Hamlet. If you see KB on the cast list always go and see it.
The only one for which it didn't work was Poirot, which is weird because he's a fictional character, but he disappeared up his own obsession and gave him a ludicrous moustache.
With Poirot possibly an issue was the sheer definitive nature of David Suchets performance, leading to too much of a reinterpretation. Must not be Suchet.
Also leads to the issue of why bother? Suchet's performance across so many years, up to and including his character's death, is just unsurpassable. It will need a couple of decades before it is worth anyone else trying to interpret it. (Plus the supporting cast in the Poirot series comprised the finest actors of the time. )
And I say that as someone who is massively impressed by Ken Branagh. His Renaissance Shakespeare at the Birmingham Rep in the late 80s showcased a remarkable talent. I've never seen anyone own the stage like he did.
I like Branagh but when I saw him on stage at Chichester in "Coriolanus" in the 1990s, I was disappointed. I thought he underplayed the role.
On the subject of Poirot, Chichester currently is doing a stage production of "Murder on the Orient Express" with Henry Goodman in the role. My inititial reaction was: "Why bother?" so I'm giving it a miss.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
I don't agree with everything you say but I do think you get unwarranted stick on here. VPNgate, for example. It has more than a whiff of misogyny in my opinion.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
I don't agree with everything you say but I do think you get unwarranted stick on here. VPNgate, for example. It has more than a whiff of misogyny in my opinion.
Meanwhile, Boris and NutNut don’t look themselves on the Metro 🫣
Kenneth Branagh is astonishing. If you didn't tell me that wasn't Boris I'd never have guessed it wasn't.
Kenneth is indeed astonishing. A brilliant and versatile actor and his facial expression here is ace. However, I think it fair to point out that most of this resemblance has less to do with Kenneth Branagh and more to do with the makeup department.
I suppose it's very Boris though to claim credit for something he didn't do.
It's not just his facial expression. It's his posture, his voice, his frame, his walk - he is a superb character actor.
And it's not just for Boris that he's done this. He's done it in multiple roles - like Shackleton, Tim Collins in 10 days to war, and Hamlet. If you see KB on the cast list always go and see it.
The only one for which it didn't work was Poirot, which is weird because he's a fictional character, but he disappeared up his own obsession and gave him a ludicrous moustache.
With Poirot possibly an issue was the sheer definitive nature of David Suchets performance, leading to too much of a reinterpretation. Must not be Suchet.
Also leads to the issue of why bother? Suchet's performance across so many years, up to and including his character's death, is just unsurpassable. It will need a couple of decades before it is worth anyone else trying to interpret it. (Plus the supporting cast in the Poirot series comprised the finest actors of the time. )
And I say that as someone who is massively impressed by Ken Branagh. His Renaissance Shakespeare at the Birmingham Rep in the late 80s showcased a remarkable talent. I've never seen anyone own the stage like he did.
I like Branagh but when I saw him on stage at Chichester in "Coriolanus" in the 1990s, I was disappointed. I thought he underplayed the role.
We watched the recent Death on the Nile the other day and it was a strange film wasn't it? Curiously flat and lacking the sort of fizz and humour which carries Agatha Christie's tv and film adaptations.
Some of that, perhaps all of it, was due to the portrayal of Poirot himself?
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
I don't agree with everything you say but I do think you get unwarranted stick on here. VPNgate, for example. It has more than a whiff of misogyny in my opinion.
I salute your indefatigability!
To be fair, she also gives out unwarranted stick. I see little behaviour towards her that she does not give out herself.
In light of the horrors uncovered at Bucharest and yesterday's trial of a Russian soldier accused of war crimes in Ukraine, this is very well worth listening to - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100rd.
Less about the ins and outs of the Nuremberg trial and more about the stories told by Sir Hartley Shawcross and the reactions of his son and other children and grandchildren of participants. Essential listening.
Bucharest? Bucha rest in peace?
Sorry. I meant Bucha of course. Bloody autocorrect!
Meanwhile, Boris and NutNut don’t look themselves on the Metro 🫣
Kenneth Branagh is astonishing. If you didn't tell me that wasn't Boris I'd never have guessed it wasn't.
Kenneth is indeed astonishing. A brilliant and versatile actor and his facial expression here is ace. However, I think it fair to point out that most of this resemblance has less to do with Kenneth Branagh and more to do with the makeup department.
I suppose it's very Boris though to claim credit for something he didn't do.
It's not just his facial expression. It's his posture, his voice, his frame, his walk - he is a superb character actor.
And it's not just for Boris that he's done this. He's done it in multiple roles - like Shackleton, Tim Collins in 10 days to war, and Hamlet. If you see KB on the cast list always go and see it.
The only one for which it didn't work was Poirot, which is weird because he's a fictional character, but he disappeared up his own obsession and gave him a ludicrous moustache.
With Poirot possibly an issue was the sheer definitive nature of David Suchets performance, leading to too much of a reinterpretation. Must not be Suchet.
Also leads to the issue of why bother? Suchet's performance across so many years, up to and including his character's death, is just unsurpassable. It will need a couple of decades before it is worth anyone else trying to interpret it. (Plus the supporting cast in the Poirot series comprised the finest actors of the time. )
And I say that as someone who is massively impressed by Ken Branagh. His Renaissance Shakespeare at the Birmingham Rep in the late 80s showcased a remarkable talent. I've never seen anyone own the stage like he did.
I like Branagh but when I saw him on stage at Chichester in "Coriolanus" in the 1990s, I was disappointed. I thought he underplayed the role.
We watched the recent Death on the Nile the other day and it was a strange film wasn't it? Curiously flat and lacking the sort of fizz and humour which carries Agatha Christie's tv and film adaptations.
Some of that, perhaps all of it, was due to the portrayal of Poirot himself?
I very much liked his version of Murder on the Orient Express. Not seen Death on the Nile yet
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
I don't agree with everything you say but I do think you get unwarranted stick on here. VPNgate, for example. It has more than a whiff of misogyny in my opinion.
I salute your indefatigability!
To be fair, she also gives out unwarranted stick. I see little behaviour towards her that she does not give out herself.
About three months ago I realised that the only way for a female to exist on here, in my opinion, is to fight.
I think it's really sad but this is a mostly male and often aggressive bear pit of a place.
You might ask, why do I bother? Well it's because politics really interests me and I like betting on it, and offering betting tips on it.
I wish I could be a lot more gentle, which is what I'm like in real life, but I would be mowed down on here I'm afraid.
No need to reply to this please. It's a point of view. You may not agree with it but it won't change (in this instance) how I feel.
A question for all you Brits in Britain. How many of you are participating in Platinum Jubilee events? And how many of you are going to avoid them or even go abroad on holiday? I am curious to know!
I'm neither participating in nor avoiding them, I shall just do some stuff for 4 days. I suspect that will be the general approach.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
You seem to have this strange view that anyone who may criticise you is of a right wing persuasion, are part of a nasty party and somehow in this instance refer to Patel
I am not a member of the conservative party, am most certainly not right wing, and have consistently condemned Patel
Back off her. You are bullying her. It is deeply unpleasant.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
I try not to criticise other posters, especially your mild-mannered self, and urge the same policy on you. Almost none of us know each other personally and we could all be saints, axe murderers or rival incarnations of GPT-4 software. I think that the sharp criticisms sometimes adopted by posters as varied as Heathener and Josiah Jessop are in some ways less of a wind-up than a steady flow of little digs at the other side of an argument.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
I don't agree with everything you say but I do think you get unwarranted stick on here. VPNgate, for example. It has more than a whiff of misogyny in my opinion.
I salute your indefatigability!
To be fair, she also gives out unwarranted stick. I see little behaviour towards her that she does not give out herself.
About three months ago I realised that the only way for a female to exist on here, in my opinion, is to fight.
I think it's really sad but this is a mostly male and often aggressive bear pit of a place.
You might ask, why do I bother? Well it's because politics really interests me and I like betting on it, and offering betting tips on it.
I wish I could be a lot more gentle, which is what I'm like in real life, but I would be mowed down on here I'm afraid.
No need to reply to this please. It's a point of view. You may not agree with it but it won't change (in this instance) how I feel.
I'm replying because I want to.
If you don't want the place to be aggressive, then don't be aggressive yourself.
As for 'gentle in real life' : didn't you say you'd whack someone with your stick if they didn't wear a mask in a supermarket or somesuch?
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
I try not to criticise other posters, especially your mild-mannered self, and urge the same policy on you. Almost none of us know each other personally and we could all be saints, axe murderers or rival incarnations of GPT-4 software. I think that the sharp criticisms sometimes adopted by posters as varied as Heathener and Josiah Jessop are in some ways less of a wind-up than a steady flow of little digs at the other side of an argument.
We shouldn't laugh, but here's George W Bush speaking at a rally yesterday on Ukraine:
"The [problem] is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq"
He hastily corrected himself, but uncomfortably it's not altogether wrong. While we have a democratic system with ample space for open debate, in the end it generally comes down to the judgment of a couple of leaders, since the rest of us don't have all the available information. I'm not sure there's a good way to avoid that, since governments can't simply release all the information from every source and if they did we would barely be equipped to analyse it.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
That has absolutely nothing to do with my post
I would suggest it has a great deal to do with the constant theme of your posts
Big G lay off. I post left-of-centre and sometimes alternative views. You don't have to agree with them but of course they are going to 'seem' abrasive to someone of a right wing persuasion.
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
You do have very much a downer on the country at times and it can annoy others. There are huge challenges, but actually for a lot of people life isn't that bad and they don't recognise your version of the UK. You don't seem comfortable here anymore and thats sad, and you want to move away. I guess there are other reasons why you don't but don't expect everyone to agree with your state of the nation opinions.
A question for all you Brits in Britain. How many of you are participating in Platinum Jubilee events? And how many of you are going to avoid them or even go abroad on holiday? I am curious to know!
There's going to be a street party on our road which I think we are going to participate in. Although being in the heart of right-on SE London I think that references to the monarchy and Union Jack bunting will be minimal.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
I try not to criticise other posters, especially your mild-mannered self, and urge the same policy on you. Almost none of us know each other personally and we could all be saints, axe murderers or rival incarnations of GPT-4 software. I think that the sharp criticisms sometimes adopted by posters as varied as Heathener and Josiah Jessop are in some ways less of a wind-up than a steady flow of little digs at the other side of an argument.
I largely agree with you Nick but ultimately when we cast out eye around the world we really do not live in the country some want to paint us as
Yes we have many problems, and an unprecedented economic and war crisis but we have a lot to be grateful for and to be proud of
We shouldn't laugh, but here's George W Bush speaking at a rally yesterday on Ukraine:
"The [problem] is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq"
He hastily corrected himself, but uncomfortably it's not altogether wrong. While we have a democratic system with ample space for open debate, in the end it generally comes down to the judgment of a couple of leaders, since the rest of us don't have all the available information. I'm not sure there's a good way to avoid that, since governments can't simply release all the information from every source and if they did we would barely be equipped to analyse it.
The video is brilliant, I saw it captioned "world's worst Freudian slip," which I think is a good description.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
Heathener (or any of us) has no obligation to post in a way that is "conducive to a less confrontational society".
You say that but your own posts typically have a wonderful emollient quality and your views are so sensible that no reasonable person could disagree with them.
I do not wish to speculate about the MP being investigated for alleged sexual offences.
But am I the only one a touch troubled by the order to stay away from Parliament during the investigation?
If there is a concern about interference with witnesses or evidence, that is one thing. But in the absence of that, is this really acceptable? First, it risks identifying the person or putting others under unfair suspicion. Second, why should someone who has not even been charged be prevented from doing a key part of their job? A person is innocent until proven guilty. Keeping someone away even when not charged is implying that they are somehow in the wrong and when they do come back, assuming no charge, that will hang round them.
I realise there are other considerations. But lots of people remain free while investigations carry on and we do not expect them to stop working and be shunned by society.
I do worry that we are in danger of denuding the very precious idea of "innocence until proven guilty" of any real meaning and creating a whole new set of unfairnesses. It is precisely because sexual offence allegations are so serious that we should be wary of a "judgment first, trial later" approach.
A question for all you Brits in Britain. How many of you are participating in Platinum Jubilee events? And how many of you are going to avoid them or even go abroad on holiday? I am curious to know!
There's going to be a street party on our road which I think we are going to participate in. Although being in the heart of right-on SE London I think that references to the monarchy and Union Jack bunting will be minimal.
There's going to be a fete on our Recreation Ground, with a mixture of stalls.
I would gently suggest your posts are hardly conducive to a less confrontational society
I try not to criticise other posters, especially your mild-mannered self, and urge the same policy on you. Almost none of us know each other personally and we could all be saints, axe murderers or rival incarnations of GPT-4 software. I think that the sharp criticisms sometimes adopted by posters as varied as Heathener and Josiah Jessop are in some ways less of a wind-up than a steady flow of little digs at the other side of an argument.
I largely agree with you Nick but ultimately when we cast out eye around the world we really do not live in the country some want to paint us as
Yes we have many problems, and an unprecedented economic and war crisis but we have a lot to be grateful for and to be proud of
Nutella is evil. It is supposed to be chocolate and nuts, but contains precious little of either (15% cocoa, 13% nuts). It's mainly sugar and fat. It's hideous, foul-tasting and foul-smelling stuff.
Needless to say, both Mrs J and the little 'un disagree with me on this...
I'm not a fan either - it's not that I find it so unpleasant, but when I was little we had delicious, very cocoa-y chocolate spread. It all went because nutella style spread stormed the market.
A question for all you Brits in Britain. How many of you are participating in Platinum Jubilee events? And how many of you are going to avoid them or even go abroad on holiday? I am curious to know!
There's going to be a street party on our road which I think we are going to participate in. Although being in the heart of right-on SE London I think that references to the monarchy and Union Jack bunting will be minimal.
There's one on my sisters street, she offered to pick me up to attend. I raised my eyebrows. Family in jokes aside, Increasing social anxiety has made such things just more difficult than enjoyable. It's a shame and you end up hermitting rather than 'joining in with the fun' Interaction on pb tick Nice quiet chess match tick Interaction with people thundering about the place AAAAAAAAGH
Comments
It is possible I might have a few time-expired valium tablets lying around. Maybe I should send them to the House of Commons for distribution to nervous MPs. Does anyone take valium for nefarious purposes or is Doughty just a damn fool for not asking his GP for a prescription?
As I said last night. The BBC's hope of a two year sentence rather than a caution if guilty is ambitious. I also said a cover up would be worse than the offence. BigG. assured me Alun Michael is a decent operator.
Many prescription drugs are abused by re-sale, and that is a big factor in the US opiod crisis. The scale of abuse of steroids in the UK is quite something too, with perhaps a million users.
I'm so old I remember when Johnson used a press release about getting rid of tens of thousands of civil servants in order to distract from some other story or other. It was a long time ago.
Like last week.
Is it not just obvious that if all this works even to a mediocre degree the amount of fraud in the Covid loan scheme should be no more than minimal?
And getting accountability from the fraudsters should not be all that hard?
I think there are far better horticultural destinations than the Eden Project, but it has certainly been popular.
tortured and killedre-educated? I agree with you; Twitter should not carry defamatory content but how do we stop that and that alone?a) How many bridges span the Amazon (to the nearest 100)?
b) A swing bridge over the Liffey to let big boats through wasn't opened once between 2010 and 2014. Why?
It's not like in the films. Even those with good self-defence skills can get it wrong/unlucky and the knife goes in just as easily to human flesh as a raw chicken. It only takes one strike and you'll bleed out before the ambulance arrives and can give you an infusion.
Run away.
b) I did read about this, bur cannot remember. As 'mechanical failure' might be too obvious: did a ship sink nearby, blocking the channel, or some other weirdness?
People don’t want to hear it. Inflation is now the all-consuming issue and this Government needs to confront it or be damned forever.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/05/19/britain-drifting-towards-economic-oblivion/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusADDs_3ps
So if no challenge after this year's local elections there may never be one
b) You are on the right lines re weirdness, but you have to go to further extremes weirdness than you have gone and then further.
I only posted it last night as it featured on BBC Wales.
I do know Alun Michael and I would be very surprised if he did not act professionally
BBC News - Stephen Doughty: Police told to re-examine MP's diazepam case
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-61493206
I'll be impressed if any of you can name it.
Less about the ins and outs of the Nuremberg trial and more about the stories told by Sir Hartley Shawcross and the reactions of his son and other children and grandchildren of participants. Essential listening.
Just curious ...
https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1527197415379443713
The Daily Mail will go all hate-filled about this but what a tragic state this country is descending into.
https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-police-officers-should-use-discretion-over-desperate-shoplifters-says-chief-inspector-12616359
As far as b) is concerned, and this just makes me laugh. The Sean O'Casey swing bridge wasn't opened for large vessels between 2010 and 2014 because, wait for it:
They lost the remote control!
I just have this vision somewhere of someone trying to change channels on their TV wondering why it doesn't work and randomly opening the bridge (credit for joke to Paul Sinha)
https://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-apr-due-north-the-st-johns-river-is-one-of-many
The Witham in Lincolnshire flows South to North up to the Lincoln gap and then turns around and flows back south to reach the sea at the Wash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oQ_tbf6j2A
Is this a new even more alarming trend? That the Conservatives are getting so rattled that they now want to clamp down on free speech? On all views contrary to their increasingly Nasty Party? Certainly that would seem to be Priti Patel's wish.
*) When you firmly believe the law is morally wrong, and are willing to take the consequences (or do not care about them) of breaking the law. If you were gay in the 1960s, was it excusable to be in a gay relationship just because the law said it was not?
*) When the law is so arcane and ill-defined that even top lawyers are unsure whether they broke it (the Covid parties).
There's probably more.
Keep them up and do not let these men bullying you drive you away as you said before it would.
Does anyone know if that CHB person came back after he expressed disgust at the treatment of Heathener?
I am not a member of the conservative party, am most certainly not right wing, and have consistently condemned Patel
On the subject of Poirot, Chichester currently is doing a stage production of "Murder on the Orient Express" with Henry Goodman in the role. My inititial reaction was: "Why bother?" so I'm giving it a miss.
I salute your indefatigability!
xx
Some of that, perhaps all of it, was due to the portrayal of Poirot himself?
I think it's really sad but this is a mostly male and often aggressive bear pit of a place.
You might ask, why do I bother? Well it's because politics really interests me and I like betting on it, and offering betting tips on it.
I wish I could be a lot more gentle, which is what I'm like in real life, but I would be mowed down on here I'm afraid.
No need to reply to this please. It's a point of view. You may not agree with it but it won't change (in this instance) how I feel.
If you don't want the place to be aggressive, then don't be aggressive yourself.
As for 'gentle in real life' : didn't you say you'd whack someone with your stick if they didn't wear a mask in a supermarket or somesuch?
(fx: polishes his axe and looks for victims...)
"The [problem] is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq"
He hastily corrected himself, but uncomfortably it's not altogether wrong. While we have a democratic system with ample space for open debate, in the end it generally comes down to the judgment of a couple of leaders, since the rest of us don't have all the available information. I'm not sure there's a good way to avoid that, since governments can't simply release all the information from every source and if they did we would barely be equipped to analyse it.
Yes we have many problems, and an unprecedented economic and war crisis but we have a lot to be grateful for and to be proud of
Top tip for contacting government. Find out when the phone line opens.
But am I the only one a touch troubled by the order to stay away from Parliament during the investigation?
If there is a concern about interference with witnesses or evidence, that is one thing. But in the absence of that, is this really acceptable? First, it risks identifying the person or putting others under unfair suspicion. Second, why should someone who has not even been charged be prevented from doing a key part of their job? A person is innocent until proven guilty. Keeping someone away even when not charged is implying that they are somehow in the wrong and when they do come back, assuming no charge, that will hang round them.
I realise there are other considerations. But lots of people remain free while investigations carry on and we do not expect them to stop working and be shunned by society.
I do worry that we are in danger of denuding the very precious idea of "innocence until proven guilty" of any real meaning and creating a whole new set of unfairnesses. It is precisely because sexual offence allegations are so serious that we should be wary of a "judgment first, trial later" approach.
Or am I alone in worrying about this?
I raised my eyebrows.
Family in jokes aside, Increasing social anxiety has made such things just more difficult than enjoyable. It's a shame and you end up hermitting rather than 'joining in with the fun'
Interaction on pb tick
Nice quiet chess match tick
Interaction with people thundering about the place AAAAAAAAGH