“Around the age of 5, most children develop the "theory of mind", which means that, for the first time, they come to understand that other people have feelings, motivations and needs just as real as their own.
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
“Mosques in Minneapolis are preparing to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers after the community became the first large U.S city to allow it. apne.ws/7D26SCY”
Unnecessary, though. The call to prayer made sense in a world before watches, phones etc. In a secular society/community where Islam is a minority belief, broadcasting a call to prayer ain’t on, imo.
Should we ban church bells too, for the same reason?
Are church bells rung multiple times a day, every day, throughout the year, and then electronically amplified so you can hear them in every home?
No
Them darkies are nothing but trouble aren't they with their horrible foreign habits?
Is it possible to be on an extreme end of the autistic spectrum but in the opposite direction to what are usually called autistic people?
I’ve maybe heard Bill Clinton described as this. Pathologically sociable and charming, always needs to be surrounded by people, effortlessly good at making them relax and feel loved, superb at appearing chilled and comfortable, yet there is something missing, something clinically odd about it
I'm not much of a monarchist. In fact I'd vote for abolition tomorrow if there was a referendum, but the Jubilee has really thrown into stark relief how much the Queen is loved the world over. From Macron at the Arc d'Triumph to Obama's message on Instagram, there is no denying HMQ is something rare and special in a world leader. This jubilee feels something like a swansong, and I think we shall not see her like again.
It's much easier to be loved when you don't have to get involved in the messy business of making tough choices. If you're the one choosing between cutting services and putting people's taxes up, guaranteed half the country will hate you and the other half won't thank you.
In fact, it's often hard to know what the queen thinks about anything at all. She functions in the eyes of many people as a blank slate, onto which some people paint their own ideas.
Who else could possibly be as famous as her without really having to say much of interest? I can only think of two quotes from her. One basically "we've had a bad year" which was mostly memorable because annus anus hur hur. And the other "people should think carefully about their vote" or suchlike, which felt a lot like drawing back the curtain to reveal... another curtain.
Does anyone have anything else about her off the top of your heads?
That my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.
That said, I agree with you, but I think that's the point of Constitutional Monarchy. They get to be above the fray of every day politics. Regardless, I think the original point still stands and it doesn't matter why she is loved only that she is. Elizabeth II gets to be a unifying figure in a way that her successor will never be.
I was simply struck, and surprised, by the love that the world appears to have for her.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The promise was to CONTROL immigration. No more open borders. That has been delivered
“Mosques in Minneapolis are preparing to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers after the community became the first large U.S city to allow it. apne.ws/7D26SCY”
Unnecessary, though. The call to prayer made sense in a world before watches, phones etc. In a secular society/community where Islam is a minority belief, broadcasting a call to prayer ain’t on, imo.
Should we ban church bells too, for the same reason?
Are church bells rung multiple times a day, every day, throughout the year, and then electronically amplified so you can hear them in every home?
No
Them darkies are nothing but trouble aren't they with their horrible foreign habits?
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
You constantly use "autism" as a term of disparagement. It is very tiresome and demeans the site when some half wits chip in to agree with your proclamations.
You are not the expert on ASD that you claim. If you were you would stfu making your ludicrous pronouncements that this former PM, or that former PM is on the spectrum.
I have explained before why this pisses me off so much in earnest detail, but you still post your old bollocks.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Farage is waiting for an opportunity. Now Brexit is over he'll have no issue going for the Tories again, I would think.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
I think Boris is a psychopath
As someone who is ACTUALLY on the psychopathic spectrum, I object
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Farage is waiting for an opportunity. Now Brexit is over he'll have no issue going for the Tories again, I would think.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
EU immigration has fallen since Brexit, we await and see what impact Patel's Reanda policy has on channel boat crossings
In terms of the monarchy I did really like Diana and admit I did shed a tear the night she died in that car crash, I always got emotional when the tv networks kept repeating the footage of her running up and hugging William and Harry . In terms of the Queen I respect her service to the country and it will feel strange when she’s no longer with us .
I know Harry gets a lot of hate but I do wish people would have a bit more empathy . To lose your mother in that way and everything that went on afterwards would be very hard . William seems to have coped better but it can’t have been easy .
I'm not much of a monarchist. In fact I'd vote for abolition tomorrow if there was a referendum, but the Jubilee has really thrown into stark relief how much the Queen is loved the world over. From Macron at the Arc d'Triumph to Obama's message on Instagram, there is no denying HMQ is something rare and special in a world leader. This jubilee feels something like a swansong, and I think we shall not see her like again.
It's much easier to be loved when you don't have to get involved in the messy business of making tough choices. If you're the one choosing between cutting services and putting people's taxes up, guaranteed half the country will hate you and the other half won't thank you.
In fact, it's often hard to know what the queen thinks about anything at all. She functions in the eyes of many people as a blank slate, onto which some people paint their own ideas.
Who else could possibly be as famous as her without really having to say much of interest? I can only think of two quotes from her. One basically "we've had a bad year" which was mostly memorable because annus anus hur hur. And the other "people should think carefully about their vote" or suchlike, which felt a lot like drawing back the curtain to reveal... another curtain.
Does anyone have anything else about her off the top of your heads?
That my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.
That said, I agree with you, but I think that's the point of Constitutional Monarchy. They get to be above the fray of every day politics. Regardless, I think the original point still stands and it doesn't matter why she is loved only that she is. Elizabeth II gets to be a unifying figure in a way that her successor will never be.
I was simply struck, and surprised, by the love that the world appears to have for her.
Yes, it's a fascinating observation that worthy of consideration. The thing that got me thinking down this path was Leon earlier saying he saw her mouth "that sound!" when some Spitfires went by. Sadly the conversation went down the dull route of talking about planes, when his gushing reaction to that observation was far more interesting. I mentioned that she's got ears, trying to paint the utter banal normalcy of that comment. Anyone's gran could have said exactly that and I think that's almost the point. Look how normal she is! And someone else said of Charlotte: she was waving and making eye contact. MAKING EYE CONTACT! Wooaaaww!
And the truth I'm digging at is right here, we've reached it. The uncanniness of it all centres around the fact that these people are extraordinarily familiar to us, and then when we get a little glimpse of who they are, they can be in some ways exceedingly banal and normal. And our minds can't quite grasp it. They must be extraordinary because everyone knows them... but where does that extraordinariness live. Not their words. Not usually a special feat of physical or intellectual achievement. So it comes down to "dedicated service" (I never see an attempt to quantify the workload), or "look at the changes she's seen" (she's old).
As soon as you try to grasp the extraordinariness, it melts away into fairly vague platitudes. And then people get angry because the brain still can't grasp it (that "familiarity" trick is fucking hard wired into us, which is why attention is everything in politics) but they can't explain it. And you can see the shutters come down. Some people literally cannot even deal with conversations like this. Casino_Royale was at one point so furious with me earlier he had to address most his comments to Leon talking about me in the third person.
I really feel like today was a massive insight into the psychology of all this, and I'm starting this evening to probe my own reactions for that same "DOES NOT COMPUTE SHUT DOWN SHUT DOWN" reaction. I bet I'll uncover a mass of stuff my brain is poor at dealing with. A good day.
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
I think Boris is a psychopath
As someone who is ACTUALLY on the psychopathic spectrum, I object
Without me saying the same about you (although that's probably a pointless caveat now), you are the person on here who is most Boris-like.
I'm aware you'll absorb that as a compliment, and I'm aware that you're aware that I definitely don't mean it as such.
In terms of the monarchy I did really like Diana and admit I did shed a tear the night she died in that car crash, I always got emotional when the tv networks kept repeating the footage of her running up and hugging William and Harry . In terms of the Queen I respect her service to the country and it will feel strange when she’s no longer with us .
I know Harry gets a lot of hate but I do wish people would have a bit more empathy . To lose your mother in that way and everything that went on afterwards would be very hard . William seems to have coped better but it can’t have been easy .
Indeed, Diana was probably the saviour of the 21st century monarchy and however brutal the Queen was in forcing Charles to marry her she was absolutely right in terms of preserving the firm.
Do we really think the children of Charles and Camilla would have had the telegenic appeal and empathetic connection with the public William and Kate and their children have?
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
I think Boris is a psychopath
As someone who is ACTUALLY on the psychopathic spectrum, I object
In terms of the monarchy I did really like Diana and admit I did shed a tear the night she died in that car crash, I always got emotional when the tv networks kept repeating the footage of her running up and hugging William and Harry . In terms of the Queen I respect her service to the country and it will feel strange when she’s no longer with us .
I know Harry gets a lot of hate but I do wish people would have a bit more empathy . To lose your mother in that way and everything that went on afterwards would be very hard . William seems to have coped better but it can’t have been easy .
As regards Harry, I do respect his desire to protect his wife and children. I'm not sure that he's chosen the easiest way to do so, but I'm not him.
Why does Leon keep saying "autistic" (a) as an insult (b) to insult people who are likely not autistic.
Because I know autism well, and I am not using it as an insult, I am using it as the right descriptive term for certain awkward personality types in politics
To my mind, of recent British politicians, both Theresa May and Gordon Brown fit the description
Now, you may believe I am wrong, and that’s fine, you may believe “only doctors should use the word” or whatever, but please don’t mischaracterise my motives
I am on the autism spectrum and Gordon Brown definitely was. Theresa May wasn't. You can be awkward and detail focused without being ASD.
That’s interesting, can you elaborate? I think they both stimmed a little, for example.
Brown stimmed massively. He often couldn't get words out because his thoughts were racing ahead of his speech. He struggled to maintain eye contact even with his good eye. He froze went he couldn't process everything. He couldn't ad lib speaking, often leaning back on prepared talking points inappropriately. And the phone/printer throwing clearly suggests autism meltdowns. I don't think any of those are true for May.
May had that odd thing in the corner of her mouth, very similar to Brown. I think she also “froze” on several occasions.
But I’m not an expert, and you obviously have authority here.
Both of course were far superior to Boris who is certainly not autistic.
Yes, autistic people can surely make brilliant politicians, it’s not a guaranteed handicap. The focus on detail, work, logic, can all be assets, depends on the circs
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
I think Boris is a psychopath
As someone who is ACTUALLY on the psychopathic spectrum, I object
Many of the 20 items on that list seem rather Big Dog.
Some of them uncannily so...
Blair was probably also a psychopath to some degree but not as much as Boris. Often psychopaths get to the top and hold their positions in business as well as politics by combining charisma and perceived charm with ruthlessness and calculation
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The promise was to CONTROL immigration. No more open borders. That has been delivered
I think Leavers who voted on immigration were expecting the numbers to be cut . And no 10 have got away with the current numbers because the right wing press daren’t go near the issue for obvious reasons .
It's a start: "OPEC has agreed to pump more crude oil over the next two months as Russian production begins to drop because of Western sanctions.
The oil exporters' cartel said it would increase supply by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, 200,000 barrels per day more than scheduled under a supply agreement with other producers, including Russia, known as OPEC+." source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/energy/oil-prices-opec-russia/index.html
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The promise was to CONTROL immigration. No more open borders. That has been delivered
The whole point is we can now hold our leaders to account for the immigration policy, which we couldn't under the EU.
And I don't care about the quantity of immigration. I care about the quality of it. Half a million genuinely skilled professionals is great. Arranged brides and fence installers, not so much.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Farage is waiting for an opportunity. Now Brexit is over he'll have no issue going for the Tories again, I would think.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
EU immigration has fallen since Brexit, we await and see what impact Patel's Reanda policy has on channel boat crossings
Both of those policies are good, but the primary problem right now is low skilled legal migration through the family, student and "skilled" worker routes.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Farage is waiting for an opportunity. Now Brexit is over he'll have no issue going for the Tories again, I would think.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
EU immigration has fallen since Brexit, we await and see what impact Patel's Reanda policy has on channel boat crossings
Both of those policies are good, but the primary problem right now is low skilled legal migration through the family, student and "skilled" worker routes.
Students surely are skilled, or are by the time they finish their course. In the meantime, they are paying for one of the UK’s globally leading export of industries.
I think the suggestion that there is abuse to the student visa is overblown these days.
Why aren’t the right wing press moaning about current net migration .
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
The thing is, the numbers don’t lie. And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Farage is waiting for an opportunity. Now Brexit is over he'll have no issue going for the Tories again, I would think.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
EU immigration has fallen since Brexit, we await and see what impact Patel's Reanda policy has on channel boat crossings
Both of those policies are good, but the primary problem right now is low skilled legal migration through the family, student and "skilled" worker routes.
Students surely are skilled, or are by the time they finish their course. In the meantime, they are paying for one of the UK’s globally leading export of industries.
I think the suggestion that there is abuse to the student visa is overblown these days.
There are plenty of low end universities, but the real low skill stuff here is the non-degree level students, of which there are still a lot.
OT, good thread about the prosecution the DOJ is bringing against someone who worked for an NFT website and used inside information to buy NFTs that were about to be listed then sell them for a profit. They're charging him with wire fraud. https://twitter.com/jonwu_/status/1532383955235639298
IANAL but it feels like it might also apply to someone who use inside information to trade on a prediction market...
I'm not much of a monarchist. In fact I'd vote for abolition tomorrow if there was a referendum, but the Jubilee has really thrown into stark relief how much the Queen is loved the world over. From Macron at the Arc d'Triumph to Obama's message on Instagram, there is no denying HMQ is something rare and special in a world leader. This jubilee feels something like a swansong, and I think we shall not see her like again.
It's much easier to be loved when you don't have to get involved in the messy business of making tough choices. If you're the one choosing between cutting services and putting people's taxes up, guaranteed half the country will hate you and the other half won't thank you.
In fact, it's often hard to know what the queen thinks about anything at all. She functions in the eyes of many people as a blank slate, onto which some people paint their own ideas.
Who else could possibly be as famous as her without really having to say much of interest? I can only think of two quotes from her. One basically "we've had a bad year" which was mostly memorable because annus anus hur hur. And the other "people should think carefully about their vote" or suchlike, which felt a lot like drawing back the curtain to reveal... another curtain.
Does anyone have anything else about her off the top of your heads?
Is that not in itself remarkable though - that it's often hard to know what the queen thinks about anything at all? Not many people in the public eye achieve that. She has managed to carry out her job for 70 years without really creating any opposition to her personally. Usually, the longer a figure is around, the more people find areas of disagreement. Not her. Presumably she has opinions - but not for her the giddy thrill of retweets and likes. She is the only figure in public life without any apparent ego.
OT, good thread about the prosecution the DOJ is bringing against someone who worked for an NFT website and used inside information to buy NFTs that were about to be listed then sell them for a profit. They're charging him with wire fraud. https://twitter.com/jonwu_/status/1532383955235639298
IANAL but it feels like it might also apply to someone who use inside information to trade on a prediction market...
You mean someone who knows in advance of an embargoed poll showing the Tories would win a landslide under Nadine Dorries could back her on the next prime minister market? By analogy with the NFT case, an employee of the polling company would be guilty but a journalist with advanced sight of the poll would not.
But suppose one of the pb mods knew of a pb header to be published based on this poll, then they would be guilty.
What if we discard the poll and have someone write a header saying "I've backed Mad Nad at 200/1" then again this would seem to fall into the US DoJ outline.
Comments
Robin Ashenden" (£)
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-georgia-is-going-mad-for-ukraine
https://mobile.twitter.com/JonnElledge/status/1108470287484547073
“Around the age of 5, most children develop the "theory of mind", which means that, for the first time, they come to understand that other people have feelings, motivations and needs just as real as their own.
“Theresa May is 62.”
I agree that TMay had facial tics that, to me, looked quite ASD. Her grimacing as she ate those chips in St Austell, it was very much like Brown doing one of his terrible “smiling” vids, trying to fake normal human reactions
It’s also notable that no one has a problem with labelling Boris as a narcissist (which I think he is). That is also a personality “disorder”, if it is serious. Yet PB is fine with THAT term
So why is “autism” different? It is just another personality “disorder” (the word *disorder* itself is objectionable, personality TYPE is superior)
That’s obvious ! Having demonized EU nationals and pushed for Brexit they can’t talk about migration as then it’s clear that they lied to their readers .
There seems to be lots of revisionism going on amongst some Leavers in here. The Leave side won because of the toxic debate over immigration . The promise to cut immigration was a major factor which turns out to be yet another lie .
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I’ve maybe heard Bill Clinton described as this. Pathologically sociable and charming, always needs to be surrounded by people, effortlessly good at making them relax and feel loved, superb at appearing chilled and comfortable, yet there is something missing, something clinically odd about it
That said, I agree with you, but I think that's the point of Constitutional Monarchy. They get to be above the fray of every day politics. Regardless, I think the original point still stands and it doesn't matter why she is loved only that she is. Elizabeth II gets to be a unifying figure in a way that her successor will never be.
I was simply struck, and surprised, by the love that the world appears to have for her.
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You are not the expert on ASD that you claim. If you were you would stfu making your ludicrous pronouncements that this former PM, or that former PM is on the spectrum.
I have explained before why this pisses me off so much in earnest detail, but you still post your old bollocks.
And at some stage someone - maybe Farage, maybe someone else - is going to twig that the issue can be re-exhumed to open up some new front in the culture wars.
Nico is right as usual, immigration isn't being cut at all. I wonder if this is why the Red Wall is swinging back to Labour.
I know Harry gets a lot of hate but I do wish people would have a bit more empathy . To lose your mother in that way and everything that went on afterwards would be very hard . William seems to have coped better but it can’t have been easy .
The thing that got me thinking down this path was Leon earlier saying he saw her mouth "that sound!" when some Spitfires went by. Sadly the conversation went down the dull route of talking about planes, when his gushing reaction to that observation was far more interesting. I mentioned that she's got ears, trying to paint the utter banal normalcy of that comment. Anyone's gran could have said exactly that and I think that's almost the point. Look how normal she is!
And someone else said of Charlotte: she was waving and making eye contact. MAKING EYE CONTACT! Wooaaaww!
And the truth I'm digging at is right here, we've reached it. The uncanniness of it all centres around the fact that these people are extraordinarily familiar to us, and then when we get a little glimpse of who they are, they can be in some ways exceedingly banal and normal. And our minds can't quite grasp it. They must be extraordinary because everyone knows them... but where does that extraordinariness live. Not their words. Not usually a special feat of physical or intellectual achievement. So it comes down to "dedicated service" (I never see an attempt to quantify the workload), or "look at the changes she's seen" (she's old).
As soon as you try to grasp the extraordinariness, it melts away into fairly vague platitudes. And then people get angry because the brain still can't grasp it (that "familiarity" trick is fucking hard wired into us, which is why attention is everything in politics) but they can't explain it. And you can see the shutters come down. Some people literally cannot even deal with conversations like this. Casino_Royale was at one point so furious with me earlier he had to address most his comments to Leon talking about me in the third person.
I really feel like today was a massive insight into the psychology of all this, and I'm starting this evening to probe my own reactions for that same "DOES NOT COMPUTE SHUT DOWN SHUT DOWN" reaction. I bet I'll uncover a mass of stuff my brain is poor at dealing with. A good day.
I'm aware you'll absorb that as a compliment, and I'm aware that you're aware that I definitely don't mean it as such.
Do we really think the children of Charles and Camilla would have had the telegenic appeal and empathetic connection with the public William and Kate and their children have?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist
Many of the 20 items on that list seem rather Big Dog.
Some of them uncannily so...
"OPEC has agreed to pump more crude oil over the next two months as Russian production begins to drop because of Western sanctions.
The oil exporters' cartel said it would increase supply by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, 200,000 barrels per day more than scheduled under a supply agreement with other producers, including Russia, known as OPEC+."
source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/energy/oil-prices-opec-russia/index.html
And I don't care about the quantity of immigration. I care about the quality of it. Half a million genuinely skilled professionals is great. Arranged brides and fence installers, not so much.
I think the suggestion that there is abuse to the student visa is overblown these days.
https://twitter.com/jonwu_/status/1532383955235639298
IANAL but it feels like it might also apply to someone who use inside information to trade on a prediction market...
But suppose one of the pb mods knew of a pb header to be published based on this poll, then they would be guilty.
What if we discard the poll and have someone write a header saying "I've backed Mad Nad at 200/1" then again this would seem to fall into the US DoJ outline.
Tbh as a non-lawyer I cannot quite make sense of the DoJ's case that the employer (the polling company or pb in the examples above) is the victim. They do not seem to have lost anything.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-employee-nft-marketplace-charged-first-ever-digital-asset-insider-trading-scheme
This thread has undergone its own London Bridge