Starbucks announced Monday that it was officially exiting Russia, with 130 stores run by a licensee there closing. The company has also halted the shipment of any Starbucks products.
The company said in a statement that nearly 2,000 employees in the country would be paid for six months and given help to “transition to new opportunities outside of Starbucks.”
In early March, the coffee chain condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announced that it was suspending all store operations in agreement with its licensing partner, which owns and operates all of the Starbucks outlets in the Russia.
Starbucks’ chief executive at the time, Kevin Johnson, said that the company would “continue to make decisions that are true to our mission and values and communicate with transparency.” He said earlier that any of the company’s royalties from business in Russia would be donated to relief efforts in Ukraine.
After initially pausing operations, like Starbucks, many companies — including, recently, McDonald’s and French carmaker Renault — have begun revising their plans to make a more definitive exit from Russia, such as by ending licensing and partnership agreements, and removing their brands from the country entirely.
Boris media fanboys after seeing that photo: “at its core this is not a question of law or morality, truth or probity. It’s so much more nuanced than that. For we must ask ourselves what it truly means to be human: to err and yes - to party.” https://twitter.com/KirstyStricklan/status/1528782914477084674/photo/1
Sky suggesting to Thangam Debbonaire that the cabinet office, the police and Sue Gray have all seen these photos and as the PM has not been fined for this event it would wise to wait for the context
She went on to question did he lie intentionally or unintentionally
I did not know you could lie unintentionally
You can say something untrue unintentionally. That wouldn't be a lie. Fair enough.
It's an awful stretch to make the words the PM has said in the Commons match these photos though. Unless the PM is really dumb.
Having said that, acting dumber than you can imagine is a standard resort of a schoolboy who has been caught out. ("I had borrowed that magazine to help with my anatomy homework", that sort of thing. Bloody hard work to deal with.)
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't know what "officially" means here, but it has nothing to do with any concept of English law. You seem to think you live in a police state, and to be blissfully happy about it.
Perhaps "lawful" or "not illegal" are more accurate terms than "legal", but I erred on the side of simplicity.
It means nothing of the sort. Lots of illegal things do not result in police charges but are still illegal. Some of the most common reasons:
Not reported Suspect not found Lack of sufficient evidence Not in the public interest Not a police priority The police committed the crime!
Taping off the radio. I did that a lot in my teens but I never got done for it or even got close to being done for it. Your number 5 - not a police priority. Also number 4 - not in the public interest. And number 1 too - never reported. Least I assume not. My dad could be a bit of a 'tough love' bastard sometimes but I don't think he'd have gone that far.
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
You did NOT answer the question. Instead, you devised your own question to fit answer you wanted.
We need an anlysis of the bottles on the table; it's interesting that of the 5 bottles of wine 4 have been emptied, but the yellow label white screw top has only had 2 glasses taken out of it. I have previously noticed a correlation between yellow labels and undrinkability in cheap white wine.
Also: with cork-closed bottles, do PBers strip the foil off or leave it on?
OFF.
Which I enjoy doing.
Agreed, I like how it rolls up if you go bottom to top with a sharp knife.
More foils than you think will come off with a firm twist rather than risking impaling yourself with a knife. Otherwise those foil cutters are quite useful.
But he *likes* to use a sharp knife. That's the point.
We need an anlysis of the bottles on the table; it's interesting that of the 5 bottles of wine 4 have been emptied, but the yellow label white screw top has only had 2 glasses taken out of it. I have previously noticed a correlation between yellow labels and undrinkability in cheap white wine.
Also: with cork-closed bottles, do PBers strip the foil off or leave it on?
OFF.
Which I enjoy doing.
Agreed, I like how it rolls up if you go bottom to top with a sharp knife.
More foils than you think will come off with a firm twist rather than risking impaling yourself with a knife. Otherwise those foil cutters are quite useful.
But he *likes* to use a sharp knife. That's the point.
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London is low rise compared to most US or Canadian cities, or Tokyo, or Beijing, or Hong Kong.
It is high rise relative to European peers.
IMO low-rise usually equates to nicer places to live, and high-rise the opposite. There are a few exceptions.
Different people value different things.
That's what makes the world great. On this board, most people prefer low rise, gardens, etc.
But I'm much more of an urban bod, and would rather be on the 32nd floor of a tower block in Manhattan or in the Barbican than in a three bedroom semi with a garden in Muswell Hill.
I am a huge fan of inner city living, however I want to own the flat in the tower block, rather than merely lease it. I want a say in how it's maintained, and I want managing agents and service charges to be regulated, with strong protections for residents to prevent over-charging for maintenence and service, with the right to change service providers enshrined in law.
Until then, I'm out. Give me a low rise and a garden I actually own, over a flat I "lease" yet am liable for unlimited charges.
Can somebody explain, why the Met has not issued him with another fine for that party
Because they investigated it and found he hadn't broken the rules.
One of the supposed reasons given was that they used photographic evidence as an evidence bar. Which appears as robust as a Simon Clarke explanation now.
They didn't investigate it. They covered it up. Fine a load of junior staff. Protect the PM and the senior Civil Servants. The establishment looks after its own.
Keir Starmer with alcohol - obviously legal, campaigning was legal, why are you even talking about this?
Boris Johnson with alcohol - outrageous, obviously a party, how dare that lying liar lie to Parliament
Bit weak Barty. johnson has been accused of lying to parl cos that's what he did. SKS hasn't and didn't.
Its all circular logic though.
Johnson has only lied to Parliament if you decide this is a party, and the only reason to decide this is a party as opposed to work (as it is for Starmer when he's photographed with colleagues, food and alcohol) is because Johnson is a liar.
That's no better than just saying he's lying because his lips are moving. If you accept that food & alcohol = work for Starmer, then why not for Boris, other than its Boris and you've already decided that Boris is a liar?
There's alcohol and alcohol, apart from anything. Working supper with beer or still wine just about credible, working supper with fizz and gin, not.
also what sort of party has half bottles of gin at it? Shirley these are aimed at the student and broke alcoholic markets?
That's surely just personal taste. My wife would drink gin or fizz, not beer. Does that make her a party animal?
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London has quite a few tall buildings but is generally low rise. I urge you to go overseas to see it yourself, or do some googling if you prefer.
Almost every residential area in the world is generally low rise. For very good reason, people prefer low rise by and large.
For the small minority who want high rise, good luck to them, they should be able to get it. For everyone else, they should be able to get what they want too.
Most New Yorkers live in Long Island not Manhattan for a reason.
Is it because Long Island is 1,401 square miles in size while Manhattan is 22 square miles?
(It is also worth remembering that 1.6 million people commute into Manhattan each day.)
Precisely my point. Long Island has the space so people have spread out to live there, as they'd rather use the space than go up into the sky as GW proposes.
Approximately as many people commute into Manhattan every day as the entire population of Manhattan (including children and pensioners) who live there. So it seems reasonable to believe that even most workers in Manhattan have chosen not to live there.
Surely "have chosen" need to be caveated by "cannot afford to"?
The price per square foot in Manhattan is off the charts - perhaps $2,500/square foot (and that's just for apartments; for brownstones it's probably going to be even higher), while in Queen's, prices are going to be dramatically less. And if you head out to Riverhead, I reckon you can get a place for no more than $300/square foot.
"Good" London is £2k per square foot now. And most of "Fairly Good" London has broken the £1k mark.
I'm deep in this atm as a prospective buyer. The market is very hot.
I would be very nervous about jumping into London residential right now, given the rapidly slowing economy. (And I speak as an owner!)
Yes, I'm thinking of pressing pause and revisiting at a later point. There's some silliness afoot. A 20% drop is imo likelier than a 10% rise from here.
Legal PB types - is it possible for someone to challenge the Met's decision that these events of which we now see photographic evidence were "necessary for work"?
See this fpt - "Worse for the Met. Didn't they realise that photos would come out and people will be asking how it is that these incidents are not breaches of the rules?
The PM will say that the Met has investigated and their decision should be respected. The Met meanwhile will say ..... well what?
Meanwhile I fully expect someone like that Jolyon character to try and judicially review the Met's decision not to fine.
So on it goes."
and my answer upthread.
Thanks. So it is possible to do a judicial review of a police FPN decision?
I don't know is the honest answer. There are two questions: who has the standing to make a claim. And what decision is being challenged - is it the finding of facts or the legal analysis? If the former, a court may not wish to interfere in a police investigation by saying that their factual findings were so wrong that they need to be told to do them again. Very hard to establish that in any case. If it's the legal analysis, who did that? The CPS? Police lawyers? Or some external counsel?
And if those notified of fines are unhappy they can refuse to pay and then the matter gets decided by a criminal court. So a court might say that it is not for them to interfere in that process.
The other issue - and I am sorry to keep banging on about it - is this: it is not an event which is or is not a breach of the rules but, depending on when you are talking about, whether individuals at an event - whether at work or elsewhere - had a reasonable excuse for being there. So the analysis must be done by reference to each person.
So I think someone might well try to judicially review but whether they would succeed or on what basis is another matter.
It would be so much better if there was an agreed chronology of all the events, names of attendees, reasons for being there, legal analysis and names of those fined and for what.
Instead we will get all sorts of uninformed comment until something more interesting happens or we all die of boredom.
In a sense none of this matters. However many FPNs he gets, the only mechanism for his removal, unless something novel occurs, is the body of Tory MPs. Boris won't resign. You can discuss JR till the cows come home. All it would do is give further excuse for delay.
Tory MPs will only act if 54 of them believe:
It serves their interest Boris will lose the MPs vote There is a better candidate who will replace him.
All three conditions are doubtful ATM.
Everyone who isn't Liz Truss is likely to be briefed against, in other words?
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't know what "officially" means here, but it has nothing to do with any concept of English law. You seem to think you live in a police state, and to be blissfully happy about it.
Perhaps "lawful" or "not illegal" are more accurate terms than "legal", but I erred on the side of simplicity.
It means nothing of the sort. Lots of illegal things do not result in police charges but are still illegal. Some of the most common reasons:
Not reported Suspect not found Lack of sufficient evidence Not in the public interest Not a police priority The police committed the crime!
Taping off the radio. I did that a lot in my teens but I never got done for it or even got close to being done for it. Your number 5 - not a police priority. Also number 4 - not in the public interest. And number 1 too - never reported. Least I assume not. My dad could be a bit of a 'tough love' bastard sometimes but I don't think he'd have gone that far.
If it was Reggatta de Blanc you taped, then very close to 6 as well!
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
Be like Captain Blackadder - send for Bob Massingberd!
"I remember Massingbird's most famous case: the Case of the Bloody Knife. A man was found next to a murdered body. He had the knife in his hand. 13 witnesses had seen him stab the victim. And when the police arrived, he said "I'm glad I killed the bastard." Massingbird not only got him off; he got him knighted in the New Year's Honours List. And the relatives of the victim had to pay to wash the blood out of his jacket!"
Can somebody explain, why the Met has not issued him with another fine for that party
Because they investigated it and found he hadn't broken the rules.
One of the supposed reasons given was that they used photographic evidence as an evidence bar. Which appears as robust as a Simon Clarke explanation now.
They didn't investigate it. They covered it up. Fine a load of junior staff. Protect the PM and the senior Civil Servants. The establishment looks after its own.
Keir Starmer with alcohol - obviously legal, campaigning was legal, why are you even talking about this?
Boris Johnson with alcohol - outrageous, obviously a party, how dare that lying liar lie to Parliament
Bit weak Barty. johnson has been accused of lying to parl cos that's what he did. SKS hasn't and didn't.
Yep. All this FPN bollocks has cluttered things up and helped out Johnson. The cops should never have got involved imo. This is a political 'hypocrisy and lying to parliament' scandal not a legal/criminal one. The offences in themselves are trivial.
The only thing needed was the (full) Gray report to have been published promptly and compared to his statements to the House. Slam dunk verdict ensues and pre Ukraine too. Maybe just maybe Tory MPs would have ditched him if it'd panned out that way.
Can somebody explain, why the Met has not issued him with another fine for that party
Because they investigated it and found he hadn't broken the rules.
One of the supposed reasons given was that they used photographic evidence as an evidence bar. Which appears as robust as a Simon Clarke explanation now.
They didn't investigate it. They covered it up. Fine a load of junior staff. Protect the PM and the senior Civil Servants. The establishment looks after its own.
Keir Starmer with alcohol - obviously legal, campaigning was legal, why are you even talking about this?
Boris Johnson with alcohol - outrageous, obviously a party, how dare that lying liar lie to Parliament
Bit weak Barty. johnson has been accused of lying to parl cos that's what he did. SKS hasn't and didn't.
Yep. All this FPN bollocks has cluttered things up and helped out Johnson. The cops should never have got involved imo. This is a political 'hypocrisy and lying to parliament' scandal not a legal/criminal one. The offences in themselves are trivial.
The only thing needed was the (full) Gray report to have been published promptly and compared to his statements to the House. Slam dunk verdict ensues and pre Ukraine too. Maybe just maybe Tory MPs would have ditched him if it'd panned out that way.
That precisely the opposite happened seems to be by design rather than accident.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London has quite a few tall buildings but is generally low rise. I urge you to go overseas to see it yourself, or do some googling if you prefer.
Almost every residential area in the world is generally low rise. For very good reason, people prefer low rise by and large.
For the small minority who want high rise, good luck to them, they should be able to get it. For everyone else, they should be able to get what they want too.
Most New Yorkers live in Long Island not Manhattan for a reason.
Is it because Long Island is 1,401 square miles in size while Manhattan is 22 square miles?
(It is also worth remembering that 1.6 million people commute into Manhattan each day.)
Precisely my point. Long Island has the space so people have spread out to live there, as they'd rather use the space than go up into the sky as GW proposes.
Approximately as many people commute into Manhattan every day as the entire population of Manhattan (including children and pensioners) who live there. So it seems reasonable to believe that even most workers in Manhattan have chosen not to live there.
Surely "have chosen" need to be caveated by "cannot afford to"?
The price per square foot in Manhattan is off the charts - perhaps $2,500/square foot (and that's just for apartments; for brownstones it's probably going to be even higher), while in Queen's, prices are going to be dramatically less. And if you head out to Riverhead, I reckon you can get a place for no more than $300/square foot.
"Good" London is £2k per square foot now. And most of "Fairly Good" London has broken the £1k mark.
I'm deep in this atm as a prospective buyer. The market is very hot.
I would be very nervous about jumping into London residential right now, given the rapidly slowing economy. (And I speak as an owner!)
Yes, I'm thinking of pressing pause and revisiting at a later point. There's some silliness afoot. A 20% drop is imo likelier than a 10% rise from here.
For future value, think about how it fits in with working from home.
For a 1 bed flat, I can see the ones that are 70sq m+ rising much faster than the <55 sq m ones. For a 2 bed flat, size again, does it have outdoor space For a house or maisonette, garden will make a bigger difference than before, is there a sensible place for an office.
Expect govt props to make asset owners richer at the expense of workers, yet again, before the next election. Whether that will be enough to hold off the impact of interest rate rises, who knows.
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't believe one would say "well, given the lack of a conviction, Bill's actions were officially legal". One might say "he's been found not guilty, and that should be the end of it", but unless one were high of rather strong hallucinogens, I don't think you would use the phrase "officially legal".
It depends what Bill's defence was. If it was self-defence, then yes, I think I would.
"I was quaffing wine in self defence."
Actually, given the tediousness of some in No10, he might just go with that...
You could equally have done a poll in 2010 where there was no UKIP or LD candidate in Labour v Tory seats and no Tory candidate in Labour v LD seats and found the Labour number of seats slashed.
The non Tory parties are all distinct parties with their own ideologies, not just various branches of an anti Tory faction
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
Can somebody explain, why the Met has not issued him with another fine for that party
Because they investigated it and found he hadn't broken the rules.
One of the supposed reasons given was that they used photographic evidence as an evidence bar. Which appears as robust as a Simon Clarke explanation now.
They didn't investigate it. They covered it up. Fine a load of junior staff. Protect the PM and the senior Civil Servants. The establishment looks after its own.
Keir Starmer with alcohol - obviously legal, campaigning was legal, why are you even talking about this?
Boris Johnson with alcohol - outrageous, obviously a party, how dare that lying liar lie to Parliament
Bit weak Barty. johnson has been accused of lying to parl cos that's what he did. SKS hasn't and didn't.
Its all circular logic though.
Johnson has only lied to Parliament if you decide this is a party, and the only reason to decide this is a party as opposed to work (as it is for Starmer when he's photographed with colleagues, food and alcohol) is because Johnson is a liar.
That's no better than just saying he's lying because his lips are moving. If you accept that food & alcohol = work for Starmer, then why not for Boris, other than its Boris and you've already decided that Boris is a liar?
There's alcohol and alcohol, apart from anything. Working supper with beer or still wine just about credible, working supper with fizz and gin, not.
also what sort of party has half bottles of gin at it? Shirley these are aimed at the student and broke alcoholic markets?
That's surely just personal taste. My wife would drink gin or fizz, not beer. Does that make her a party animal?
If she demanded or accepted either as part of a working supper it would mean that "eccentric" was a very polite description of her
This is the problem for the PM. These stories are going to run and run. The whiff of cover up has not helped his cause. It would have been better to have ten fines and for him to say he was drawing a line under it. Now he can't do that.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague. Then, as been reported on other occasions, people have got absolutely wankered.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start. My take has been from the get-go, that he has clearly been giving the nod and wink for people take opportunity to "relax" regardless of what the letter or the spirit of the rules were.
Of course not everyone would vote in line with such a pact discussed in the post. But many people would.
I think hypothetical backlash to a pact is hard to demonstrate. You didn't see Alliance benefitting from the sectarian pacts in Belfast Westminster elections in the last few years - I say Alliance because I assume Catholics won't vote DUP out of bloody-minded anger about a pact. These are pacts that have actually happened in the UK, and by and large they succeeded. They returned Belfast East to Unionists and Belfast South to Nationalists and pushed Belfast North into Republican control. That's 3 out of 4 constituencies determined by pacts.
The long-term issue is that it would mortally wound the Lib Dem and Green parties as independent going concerns, like it did the majority of the Liberal Party (twice!).
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London has quite a few tall buildings but is generally low rise. I urge you to go overseas to see it yourself, or do some googling if you prefer.
Almost every residential area in the world is generally low rise. For very good reason, people prefer low rise by and large.
For the small minority who want high rise, good luck to them, they should be able to get it. For everyone else, they should be able to get what they want too.
Most New Yorkers live in Long Island not Manhattan for a reason.
Is it because Long Island is 1,401 square miles in size while Manhattan is 22 square miles?
(It is also worth remembering that 1.6 million people commute into Manhattan each day.)
Precisely my point. Long Island has the space so people have spread out to live there, as they'd rather use the space than go up into the sky as GW proposes.
Approximately as many people commute into Manhattan every day as the entire population of Manhattan (including children and pensioners) who live there. So it seems reasonable to believe that even most workers in Manhattan have chosen not to live there.
Surely "have chosen" need to be caveated by "cannot afford to"?
The price per square foot in Manhattan is off the charts - perhaps $2,500/square foot (and that's just for apartments; for brownstones it's probably going to be even higher), while in Queen's, prices are going to be dramatically less. And if you head out to Riverhead, I reckon you can get a place for no more than $300/square foot.
"Good" London is £2k per square foot now. And most of "Fairly Good" London has broken the £1k mark.
I'm deep in this atm as a prospective buyer. The market is very hot.
I would be very nervous about jumping into London residential right now, given the rapidly slowing economy. (And I speak as an owner!)
Yes, I'm thinking of pressing pause and revisiting at a later point. There's some silliness afoot. A 20% drop is imo likelier than a 10% rise from here.
Can somebody explain, why the Met has not issued him with another fine for that party
Because the Met are incompetent.
Replace them with the Met Office, we might see a general improvement.
Hard to say weather we would or not.
Oh come on people, did you not see what I did there? I replaced "whether" with "weather" because we were talking about the Met Office. Genius. And not a single like.
Tough crowd PB, tough crowd.
Just bve grateful you weren't corpsing before the Ladybank Miners' Institute.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude. It is that simple.
Whether they were parties, what food or drink people had are unimportant.
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
You did NOT answer the question. Instead, you devised your own question to fit answer you wanted.
That's what I tend to do when the question totally misses the point I was making...
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London has quite a few tall buildings but is generally low rise. I urge you to go overseas to see it yourself, or do some googling if you prefer.
Almost every residential area in the world is generally low rise. For very good reason, people prefer low rise by and large.
For the small minority who want high rise, good luck to them, they should be able to get it. For everyone else, they should be able to get what they want too.
Most New Yorkers live in Long Island not Manhattan for a reason.
Is it because Long Island is 1,401 square miles in size while Manhattan is 22 square miles?
(It is also worth remembering that 1.6 million people commute into Manhattan each day.)
Precisely my point. Long Island has the space so people have spread out to live there, as they'd rather use the space than go up into the sky as GW proposes.
Approximately as many people commute into Manhattan every day as the entire population of Manhattan (including children and pensioners) who live there. So it seems reasonable to believe that even most workers in Manhattan have chosen not to live there.
Surely "have chosen" need to be caveated by "cannot afford to"?
The price per square foot in Manhattan is off the charts - perhaps $2,500/square foot (and that's just for apartments; for brownstones it's probably going to be even higher), while in Queen's, prices are going to be dramatically less. And if you head out to Riverhead, I reckon you can get a place for no more than $300/square foot.
"Good" London is £2k per square foot now. And most of "Fairly Good" London has broken the £1k mark.
I'm deep in this atm as a prospective buyer. The market is very hot.
I would be very nervous about jumping into London residential right now, given the rapidly slowing economy. (And I speak as an owner!)
Yes, I'm thinking of pressing pause and revisiting at a later point. There's some silliness afoot. A 20% drop is imo likelier than a 10% rise from here.
For future value, think about how it fits in with working from home.
For a 1 bed flat, I can see the ones that are 70sq m+ rising much faster than the
Fwiw a BTL landlord told me that the pandemic had seen commuter belt houses rise at the expense of inner-city flats. Anecdata caution applies.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
I have just written to my MP again would be a more elegant construction.
Big_G_WestDevon has fobbed me off twice with Wait for the Gray report, he's about to learn that he can run but he can't hide. Or run, by the look of him.
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't believe one would say "well, given the lack of a conviction, Bill's actions were officially legal". One might say "he's been found not guilty, and that should be the end of it", but unless one were high of rather strong hallucinogens, I don't think you would use the phrase "officially legal".
It depends what Bill's defence was. If it was self-defence, then yes, I think I would.
"I was quaffing wine in self defence."
Actually, given the tediousness of some in No10, he might just go with that...
Appalled at the illegal gathering I'd burst in upon whilst working late on the priorities of the British people, I wrested a glass of illicit cava from the hand of one of the revellers. Holding it aloft to prevent the miscreant from snatching it back, I remonstrated severely with the group, leaving them in no doubt of the grave nature of their actions, when the common, salt of the earth people of Britain were cowering under the jackboot of Covid. It was at this point that somebody seems to have snapped me with their camera phone, and frankly, any other interpretation of these events says more about the mucky cynicism of the British press than it does about me.
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't believe one would say "well, given the lack of a conviction, Bill's actions were officially legal". One might say "he's been found not guilty, and that should be the end of it", but unless one were high of rather strong hallucinogens, I don't think you would use the phrase "officially legal".
It depends what Bill's defence was. If it was self-defence, then yes, I think I would.
"I was quaffing wine in self defence."
Actually, given the tediousness of some in No10, he might just go with that...
Appalled at the illegal gathering I'd burst in upon whilst working late on the priorities of the British people, I wrested a glass of illicit cava from the hand of one of the revellers. Holding it aloft to prevent the miscreant from snatching it back, I remonstrated severely with the group, leaving them in no doubt of the grave nature of of their actions, when the common, salt of the earth people of Britain were cowering under the jackboot of Covid. It was at this point that somebody seems to have snapped me with their camera phone, and frankly, any other interpretation of these events says more about the mucky cynicism of the British press than it does about me.
4. London is low-rise compared to international norms.
"The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of a city in Europe. There are 33 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least 150 metres (492 ft),[1] with 57 in Moscow, 21 in the Paris Metropolitan Area, 17 in Frankfurt, 16 in Warsaw, 6 in Madrid, 5 each in Milan and Rotterdam, and 4 in Manchester."
London has quite a few tall buildings but is generally low rise. I urge you to go overseas to see it yourself, or do some googling if you prefer.
Almost every residential area in the world is generally low rise. For very good reason, people prefer low rise by and large.
For the small minority who want high rise, good luck to them, they should be able to get it. For everyone else, they should be able to get what they want too.
Most New Yorkers live in Long Island not Manhattan for a reason.
Is it because Long Island is 1,401 square miles in size while Manhattan is 22 square miles?
(It is also worth remembering that 1.6 million people commute into Manhattan each day.)
Precisely my point. Long Island has the space so people have spread out to live there, as they'd rather use the space than go up into the sky as GW proposes.
Approximately as many people commute into Manhattan every day as the entire population of Manhattan (including children and pensioners) who live there. So it seems reasonable to believe that even most workers in Manhattan have chosen not to live there.
Surely "have chosen" need to be caveated by "cannot afford to"?
The price per square foot in Manhattan is off the charts - perhaps $2,500/square foot (and that's just for apartments; for brownstones it's probably going to be even higher), while in Queen's, prices are going to be dramatically less. And if you head out to Riverhead, I reckon you can get a place for no more than $300/square foot.
"Good" London is £2k per square foot now. And most of "Fairly Good" London has broken the £1k mark.
I'm deep in this atm as a prospective buyer. The market is very hot.
I would be very nervous about jumping into London residential right now, given the rapidly slowing economy. (And I speak as an owner!)
Yes, I'm thinking of pressing pause and revisiting at a later point. There's some silliness afoot. A 20% drop is imo likelier than a 10% rise from here.
For future value, think about how it fits in with working from home.
For a 1 bed flat, I can see the ones that are 70sq m+ rising much faster than the
Except surely, surely, we've reached the point now where the notional jolliness of being able to think, "ooh, my house is worth a million pounds, hurray, I'm a millionaire, even though in practice I am no more able to afford a millionaire's lifestyle than I ever was, still, well done government you've made me notionally rich" is balanced out by thinking "Holy fuck, my children will never be able to afford a house and they'll be living with me until I die."
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
Looking at these two letters, if you didn't know anything about either person apart from their writing, you'd trust Daisy over Boris.
Why? They're for different audiences. Johnson's one seems well-written if targeted at kids; Daisy's is targeted at the police.
You alter the language for the audience.
(cue jokes...)
Tone completely wrong, it is a mad affectation to begin a letter "Dear Children." I'd have started "Dear Little Uns, you may have seen your mothers and siblings raped, tortured and murdered in the past couple of months, and I have suffered the even greater pain of waiting for Sue Gray to publish..."
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Even if all 30 people at the Labour curry got FPNs (and they won't), it would still be nowhere near Downing Street's tally
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
Re your last paragraph BBC have just come to the same conclusion
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
"received more fines" doesn't say much more than "most investigated", tbf. One rule for them, one for the rest of us.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
"received more fines" doesn't say much more than "most investigated", tbf. One rule for them, one for the rest of us.
Happy to accept it may or may not be the place with the most breaches as opposed to the most fines.
Does not change the fact that it is completely inconsistent with “all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
"received more fines" doesn't say much more than "most investigated", tbf. One rule for them, one for the rest of us.
Yeah, it does. It says they were caught bang to rights. That's actually a fairly important part of the justice system, I don't know how you got to this point in your life without realising this.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
"received more fines" doesn't say much more than "most investigated", tbf. One rule for them, one for the rest of us.
I have just written to my MP again would be a more elegant construction.
Big_G_WestDevon has fobbed me off twice with Wait for the Gray report, he's about to learn that he can run but he can't hide. Or run, by the look of him.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
Re your last paragraph BBC have just come to the same conclusion
BigG. You were outraged just three weeks ago of Starmer's egregious breach of the rules, and yet you agree this is a slam-dunk work event.
Reiceved more fines than anywhere else surely has to be false. What about Piers Corbyn weekly get togethers which always resulted in getting arrested. Or did they not fine them very much? There were 100s at those events.
I have just written to my MP again would be a more elegant construction.
Big_G_WestDevon has fobbed me off twice with Wait for the Gray report, he's about to learn that he can run but he can't hide. Or run, by the look of him.
Not sure I understand your reference to me !!!
My MP (for West Devon) is Geoffrey Cox, and so that's how I think of him.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Even if all 30 people at the Labour curry got FPNs (and they won't), it would still be nowhere near Downing Street's tally
But it would squash the careers of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
Are the number of fatal dog attacks increasing? Seems like a regular BBC News story.
I was out running a few days ago and got jumped at by someone's dog: "he's just friendly". Well I don't fucking know that, and now I'm covered in mud you knob.
Not a dog person so don't appreciate the attention at all.
Reiceved more fines than anywhere else surely has to be false. What about Piers Corbyn weekly get togethers which always resulted in getting arrested. Or did they not fine them very much? There were 100s at those events.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
Re your last paragraph BBC have just come to the same conclusion
BigG. You were outraged just three weeks ago of Starmer's egregious breach of the rules, and yet you agree this is a slam-dunk work event.
The BBC have suggested this was the reason, not me, and as I have said I believe Starmer will be cleared for very similar reasons
Have I menshed how nice Sivota is? It’s so wonderfully chilled. It’s like a sleeping cat, unconsciously purring in the sun. Curled around the marina
I may never come back to London. Fuck it
Do you really, truly, in your heart of hearts still like London? I get the blustering about it but deep down ... do you? My suspicion is that you don't?
So why not live abroad, or spend most of your time abroad? I've done it lots in my life and they have mostly been the most exhilarating times of my life, free as you suggest from all the crappy stresses of the UK, which are only getting worse.
I’m certainly getting to the stage where I can consider moving away. Having adored it all my life
Ideally of course I’d want both, the London flat and a little bolthole somewhere sunny
However I have kids yet to grow up. A few more years and we will see. I still have a ton of friends in London, which is great. I’d be loathe to lose them
Are the number of fatal dog attacks increasing? Seems like a regular BBC News story.
I was out running a few days ago and got jumped at by someone's dog: "he's just friendly". Well I don't fucking know that, and now I'm covered in mud you knob.
Not a dog person so don't appreciate the attention at all.
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
Re your last paragraph BBC have just come to the same conclusion
BigG. You were outraged just three weeks ago of Starmer's egregious breach of the rules, and yet you agree this is a slam-dunk work event.
The BBC have suggested this was the reason, not me, and as I have said I believe Starmer will be cleared for very similar reasons
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Lovely bit of whataboutery suggests you have no better defence.
No bitter defence? Thought it was a bottle of lager?
Are the number of fatal dog attacks increasing? Seems like a regular BBC News story.
I was out running a few days ago and got jumped at by someone's dog: "he's just friendly". Well I don't fucking know that, and now I'm covered in mud you knob.
Not a dog person so don't appreciate the attention at all.
Yes, and that increase has been on the news. For instance:-
Have I menshed how nice Sivota is? It’s so wonderfully chilled. It’s like a sleeping cat, unconsciously purring in the sun. Curled around the marina
I may never come back to London. Fuck it
Do you really, truly, in your heart of hearts still like London? I get the blustering about it but deep down ... do you? My suspicion is that you don't?
So why not live abroad, or spend most of your time abroad? I've done it lots in my life and they have mostly been the most exhilarating times of my life, free as you suggest from all the crappy stresses of the UK, which are only getting worse.
I’m certainly getting to the stage where I can consider moving away. Having adored it all my life
Ideally of course I’d want both, the London flat and a little bolthole somewhere sunny
However I have kids yet to grow up. A few more years and we will see. I still have a ton of friends in London, which is great. I’d be loathe to lose them
Loath, not loathe.
Don't do it. Whilst I'm a big advocate for rural life, it's not for someone like you. You'd get bored very quickly.
I do think the whole FPN thing is a red herring to the great white shark of hypocrisy and lying to parliament but I must admit to being fair flabbergasted by Johnson only getting the one when you see all the stuff he got up to.
Boris Johnson is doing it this way, because it allows him to look tough, without anything actually happening. Rather than going to Article 16, this means he can stick two fingers up at the EU, knowing that the Lords will amend the legislation to death, and that he can shrug his shoulders and say "Bloody Upper House". (And hopefully this means he can keep the Brexit was going into 2024.)
I see that BR is still trying to say "whats the difference between this and Starmer". Without wasting everyone's time as he will keep repeating the same guff and ignore everyone else, remember that the Starmer case is that campaigning events were legal in April 21. There was no similar legal allowance for leaving parties etc in November 20.
Putting things very bluntly, what will absolutely fuck him is the string of lies to Parliament. Not only did Allegra Stratton describe this kind of thing and get angrily fired for doing so, Bonzo told everyone he too was very upset.
As he told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”. Now a provable lie as here he is at the very same party. No "its only a cake" excuses here. He was there. At a party. Then said "I have been told there was no party".
Liar. Resign. (he won't, but now we have to watch "I'll say anything for money" Tory MPs soil themselves on TV trying to claim otherwise)
What we know is:
Boris has not been fined for attending any party
Anything that Boris attended that was a party was officially legal for him
And therefore, him saying there weren't any (illegal) parties is not a provable lie.
Utterly wrong, where on earth are you getting "officially legal for him" from? From plod's decision not to FPN?
Exactly. No FPN = officially legal.
Hang on: so if John is discovered shot, and the evidence suggest that Bill did it, but it's not enough to convict, then no murder took place?
If there's no conviction then, officially, Bill is not a murderer.
I don't believe one would say "well, given the lack of a conviction, Bill's actions were officially legal". One might say "he's been found not guilty, and that should be the end of it", but unless one were high of rather strong hallucinogens, I don't think you would use the phrase "officially legal".
It depends what Bill's defence was. If it was self-defence, then yes, I think I would.
"I was quaffing wine in self defence."
Actually, given the tediousness of some in No10, he might just go with that...
Appalled at the illegal gathering I'd burst in upon whilst working late on the priorities of the British people, I wrested a glass of illicit cava from the hand of one of the revellers. Holding it aloft to prevent the miscreant from snatching it back, I remonstrated severely with the group, leaving them in no doubt of the grave nature of their actions, when the common, salt of the earth people of Britain were cowering under the jackboot of Covid. It was at this point that somebody seems to have snapped me with their camera phone, and frankly, any other interpretation of these events says more about the mucky cynicism of the British press than it does about me.
I do think the whole FPN thing is a red herring to the great white shark of hypocrisy and lying to parliament but I must admit to being fair flabbergasted by Johnson only getting the one when you see all the stuff he got up to.
In order of likelihood I would have had:
Getting fined for parties other than cakegate, but not cakegate Cleared of cakegate and everything else Fined for cakegate and everything else What has actually happened
I do think the whole FPN thing is a red herring to the great white shark of hypocrisy and lying to parliament but I must admit to being fair flabbergasted by Johnson only getting the one when you see all the stuff he got up to.
It comes down to my belief the legislation had more holes in it than a colander and they even varied month by month
I expect clarification will be needed and of course this will all come up again in July when Durham Police reveal their decision on beergate
The obvious question would be what happened after Boris left. If I had to guess, it is what has happened repeatedly, Boris gives everybody the nod and the wink to let off a bit of steam, he leaves and then they get absolutely smashed.
The important word is "instigated"
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
He will claim (or has claimed to the police) what he instigated wasn't what he considers a "party". It was meeting to say goodbye to a colleague.
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start.
“all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude.
Starmer: "Hold my pint....."
Even if all 30 people at the Labour curry got FPNs (and they won't), it would still be nowhere near Downing Street's tally
But it would squash the careers of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
I do think the whole FPN thing is a red herring to the great white shark of hypocrisy and lying to parliament but I must admit to being fair flabbergasted by Johnson only getting the one when you see all the stuff he got up to.
Comments
https://twitter.com/PickardJE/status/1528782352989798402
Starbucks announced Monday that it was officially exiting Russia, with 130 stores run by a licensee there closing. The company has also halted the shipment of any Starbucks products.
The company said in a statement that nearly 2,000 employees in the country would be paid for six months and given help to “transition to new opportunities outside of Starbucks.”
In early March, the coffee chain condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announced that it was suspending all store operations in agreement with its licensing partner, which owns and operates all of the Starbucks outlets in the Russia.
Starbucks’ chief executive at the time, Kevin Johnson, said that the company would “continue to make decisions that are true to our mission and values and communicate with transparency.” He said earlier that any of the company’s royalties from business in Russia would be donated to relief efforts in Ukraine.
After initially pausing operations, like Starbucks, many companies — including, recently, McDonald’s and French carmaker Renault — have begun revising their plans to make a more definitive exit from Russia, such as by ending licensing and partnership agreements, and removing their brands from the country entirely.
https://twitter.com/publicbenjamin/status/1528780810228314113?s=21&t=mOhHCfItrJz8Br7eEpArRg
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1528650517152509952
It's an awful stretch to make the words the PM has said in the Commons match these photos though. Unless the PM is really dumb.
Having said that, acting dumber than you can imagine is a standard resort of a schoolboy who has been caught out. ("I had borrowed that magazine to help with my anatomy homework", that sort of thing. Bloody hard work to deal with.)
(nails for me)
Until then, I'm out. Give me a low rise and a garden I actually own, over a flat I "lease" yet am liable for unlimited charges.
ETA I took that last week on Tresco. There's some kinds of zero-immigrant policy I can really get behind.
https://twitter.com/sima_kotecha/status/1528785510499553284
"I remember Massingbird's most famous case: the Case of the Bloody Knife. A man was found next to a murdered body. He had the knife in his hand. 13 witnesses had seen him stab the victim. And when the police arrived, he said "I'm glad I killed the bastard." Massingbird not only got him off; he got him knighted in the New Year's Honours List. And the relatives of the victim had to pay to wash the blood out of his jacket!"
Stephen House has been appointed acting Head. From Police Scotland I believe.
Stood down after some controversies there - no doubt @DavidL can enlarge on those.
In the terms of the plod / fines, perhaps they judged that raising a glass to a colleague leaving and give a few mins speech was borderline, but there was dancing on the tables with your tie around your head until 2am and that was clear case for a FPN.
For a 1 bed flat, I can see the ones that are 70sq m+ rising much faster than the <55 sq m ones.
For a 2 bed flat, size again, does it have outdoor space
For a house or maisonette, garden will make a bigger difference than before, is there a sensible place for an office.
Expect govt props to make asset owners richer at the expense of workers, yet again, before the next election. Whether that will be enough to hold off the impact of interest rate rises, who knows.
Actually, given the tediousness of some in No10, he might just go with that...
The non Tory parties are all distinct parties with their own ideologies, not just various branches of an anti Tory faction
BoZo apparently didn't know about a party he fucking organised...
NEW: The UK will introduce its legislation to override parts of its #Brexit deal within three weeks
Story soon
https://twitter.com/kitty_donaldson/status/1528786872260075522
Should say I am not defending him, I have been clear what I think about has been going on from the start. My take has been from the get-go, that he has clearly been giving the nod and wink for people take opportunity to "relax" regardless of what the letter or the spirit of the rules were.
I think hypothetical backlash to a pact is hard to demonstrate. You didn't see Alliance benefitting from the sectarian pacts in Belfast Westminster elections in the last few years - I say Alliance because I assume Catholics won't vote DUP out of bloody-minded anger about a pact. These are pacts that have actually happened in the UK, and by and large they succeeded. They returned Belfast East to Unionists and Belfast South to Nationalists and pushed Belfast North into Republican control. That's 3 out of 4 constituencies determined by pacts.
The long-term issue is that it would mortally wound the Lib Dem and Green parties as independent going concerns, like it did the majority of the Liberal Party (twice!).
You alter the language for the audience.
(cue jokes...)
No, it was not, it received more fines than anywhere else in the country by an order of magnitude. It is that simple.
Whether they were parties, what food or drink people had are unimportant.
Legally, no, a ball that hits the wicket (or batsman or bat) can not be wide.
Don't really see how any Conservative can try and claim otherwise.
An almighty mess.
I've seen the Red Box!
It was clearly a work event.
Does not change the fact that it is completely inconsistent with “all guidance was followed completely in No 10.”
I was out running a few days ago and got jumped at by someone's dog: "he's just friendly". Well I don't fucking know that, and now I'm covered in mud you knob.
Not a dog person so don't appreciate the attention at all.
Ideally of course I’d want both, the London flat and a little bolthole somewhere sunny
However I have kids yet to grow up. A few more years and we will see. I still have a ton of friends in London, which is great. I’d be loathe to lose them
Bad News! It was used to transport booze because the suitcase was already full of bottles.
Dog bite injuries DOUBLE in 15 years with more than 10,000 people a year requiring hospital treatment after attack: RSPCA says 'impulse buys' during lockdown and animals from overseas puppy farms are fuelling epidemic
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10844577/Dog-bite-injuries-DOUBLE-15-years-10-000-people-year-needing-treatment-attack.html
Don't do it. Whilst I'm a big advocate for rural life, it's not for someone like you. You'd get bored very quickly.
Boris Johnson is doing it this way, because it allows him to look tough, without anything actually happening. Rather than going to Article 16, this means he can stick two fingers up at the EU, knowing that the Lords will amend the legislation to death, and that he can shrug his shoulders and say "Bloody Upper House". (And hopefully this means he can keep the Brexit was going into 2024.)
Well done Johnson
Getting fined for parties other than cakegate, but not cakegate
Cleared of cakegate and everything else
Fined for cakegate and everything else
What has actually happened
I expect clarification will be needed and of course this will all come up again in July when Durham Police reveal their decision on beergate
kormakarma for all.