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5 days before becoming PM Brown faced a tough BBC grilling – politicalbetting.com

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  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,069
    ping said:

    Julian Knight MP, worked with Truss in the treasury, bigged her up before she aborted her bid in 2019. Early backer this time around. Will be hoping for a decent promotion at the heart of Truss’s government. One to watch.

    https://twitter.com/julianknight15/status/1564666655539707905

    “Ed Davey, Lib Dem Leader, proudly said that he "basically stopped the fracking industry in this country". With the energy price cap now rising to £3,549, people are genuinely struggling. This is another reminder why the Liberal Democrats can never be trusted in Gov't ever again. https://twitter.com/julianknight15/status/1564666655539707905/photo/1

    Note to Julian. The graphic is ridiculous. But I’m sure it pleases Liz. Which is the point.

    If Truss starts fracking it should be worth a few dozen further Tory losses at the GE. No one wants it near them.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down
  • DynamoDynamo Posts: 651
    edited August 2022
    ping said:

    I’ve dwelt on the Meghan/Windsor thingy for a while and come to a firm, devastating - and I believe, accurate conclusion.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62717696

    I mean, I basically don’t care about the Windsors or Meghan and Harry. But it’s still oddly fascinating.

    Anyway, my conclusion. The BBC have, whether they meant to or not, picked up the killer line in that cut interview.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    Says the headline.

    Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. In her own way, using her own distorted logic, she’s realised something deep, profound, and disturbing.

    A truth that any woman who has married a man with a more powerful, higher status,(usually older) brother eventually realises.

    She married the wrong prince.

    And it’s destroying her.

    That’s why she’s lashing out.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    That problem would not have happened had she married the correct prince. She’s destroying her relationship with Harry, with her logic. And he’s too dumb/infatuated to understand this. And the real story has flown over the heads of the media.

    "We upset royal dynamic just by existing" neither means nor implies "I wish I'd married the heir apparent's heir apparent instead of his brother".

    It may mean "they're a bunch of a*seholes who think everything about them is better than everything about everyone else, including the way they talk, the beauty of the flag that has rotational symmetry but not reflective symmetry [well okay, few of them probably even know what that means, let alone what's so ironic about it], and of course their skin colour."

    Royalists are treating Meghan like a kicking ball - she's a brash gold-digging USAn, and just get that terrible woman, playing the race card, the uncouth b*tch, etc.

    I wonder how long the monarchy has got. Five years?

    Whether its fall will mean the end of the road for the Tory party is an interesting question. They'll be hanging on to the doorframes with their fingernails. Goodness knows what will break, but logic suggests it won't be the trade unions.

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    edited August 2022

    Carnyx said:

    MISTY said:

    Support for Welsh independence is growing – people are fed up with being forgotten
    - As in Scotland, many people have looked at the United Kingdom and decided that it’s simply not working for them

    The idea of an independent Wales is no longer just a hobby-horse of bearded men in Carmarthenshire pubs on Six Nations rugby match days. Polls put support for independence at about 30%, (and skew more pro- the younger you go): not enough to signal anything imminent, but high enough for us to be certain something real is happening. After all, Scotland was polling similar numbers in 2007, and just seven years later David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were making “the vow” to the people of Scotland as they scrambled to keep the union together.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/30/support-welsh-independence-growing-scotland-uk

    Wales is not Scotland. You could not even hold a debate about whether it could survive as an independent country. It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements.

    It could not even begin to create the wealth it would need to support itself. Drakeford, an uninspiring Marxist apparatchik, does not even try. Its public services, already crumbling on the giant bung it gets from England every year, would simply collapse.

    And the North would declare UDI and join Lancashire and Cheshire

    It is not going to happen for many reasons including those you mention
    What is it about Unionists that they fantasise about partitioning perceived inferior states? Putin is inspired by British Nationalism’s Divide & Rule.

    I do not fantasise - you are with your desire for the UK to break up which will not happen
    You're the one who did, just like HYUFD and his Free Antrim or whatever it was.
    Actually it has been spoken about in some circles as the north suffer under Cardiff and of course travelling between north and the south takes hours with terrible rail links whereas Chester is only 30 - 45 minutes away

    Truth is neither will happen
    Can you actually get from Llandudno to Cardiff by rail without going via Chester? Is there a more direct service via Wrexham, for example?

    I know it can't be managed without going through Shrewsbury.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    What is it about Unionists that they fantasise about partitioning perceived inferior states?

    Says the Swede fantasising about partitioning a state that he certainly regards as inferior.
    It was Tony Blair and Puncher Prescott that tried (and failed) to partition England.

    Spoiler warning: Keir Starmer and Gordon Brown are going to make a second attempt.
    Does that mean I need to vote Conservative to save the Union?
  • DynamoDynamo Posts: 651
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    I fed in this prompt


    “A bunch of PB-ers cowering in a cupboard, staring in bewilderment at Stable Diffusion”


    You have been warned once already.
    I only posted this because others posted theirs, and they received no warning. So I plead innocence in this case. I was not trying to provoke, just illustrate

    However, you're the boss, so I will desist - until and unless the ban is lifted
    I wasn't on-line.

    I am now.

    Enough.
    Is the ban on all AI-produced images or just on horror-themed ones or ones that are likely to shock or upset?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    Dynamo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    I fed in this prompt


    “A bunch of PB-ers cowering in a cupboard, staring in bewilderment at Stable Diffusion”


    You have been warned once already.
    I only posted this because others posted theirs, and they received no warning. So I plead innocence in this case. I was not trying to provoke, just illustrate

    However, you're the boss, so I will desist - until and unless the ban is lifted
    I wasn't on-line.

    I am now.

    Enough.
    Is the ban on all AI-produced images or just on horror-themed ones or ones that are likely to shock or upset?
    It's a ban on all the really cool ones, ie the ones by me. So far
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Dynamo said:

    ping said:

    I’ve dwelt on the Meghan/Windsor thingy for a while and come to a firm, devastating - and I believe, accurate conclusion.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62717696

    I mean, I basically don’t care about the Windsors or Meghan and Harry. But it’s still oddly fascinating.

    Anyway, my conclusion. The BBC have, whether they meant to or not, picked up the killer line in that cut interview.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    Says the headline.

    Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. In her own way, using her own distorted logic, she’s realised something deep, profound, and disturbing.

    A truth that any woman who has married a man with a more powerful, higher status,(usually older) brother eventually realises.

    She married the wrong prince.

    And it’s destroying her.

    That’s why she’s lashing out.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    That problem would not have happened had she married the correct prince. She’s destroying her relationship with Harry, with her logic. And he’s too dumb/infatuated to understand this. And the real story has flown over the heads of the media.

    "We upset royal dynamic just by existing" neither means nor implies "I wish I'd married the heir apparent's heir apparent instead of his brother".
    The full quote was "we upset the dynamic of the hierarchy just by existing". Her real complaint is that her perceived higher celebrity status didn't change the hierarchy.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,771
    MISTY said:

    Support for Welsh independence is growing – people are fed up with being forgotten
    - As in Scotland, many people have looked at the United Kingdom and decided that it’s simply not working for them

    The idea of an independent Wales is no longer just a hobby-horse of bearded men in Carmarthenshire pubs on Six Nations rugby match days. Polls put support for independence at about 30%, (and skew more pro- the younger you go): not enough to signal anything imminent, but high enough for us to be certain something real is happening. After all, Scotland was polling similar numbers in 2007, and just seven years later David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were making “the vow” to the people of Scotland as they scrambled to keep the union together.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/30/support-welsh-independence-growing-scotland-uk

    Wales is not Scotland. You could not even hold a debate about whether it could survive as an independent country. It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements.

    It could not even begin to create the wealth it would need to support itself. Drakeford, an uninspiring Marxist apparatchik, does not even try. Its public services, already crumbling on the giant bung it gets from England every year, would simply collapse.

    "It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements."

    Those sound more like advantages than disadvantages.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 60,002
    edited August 2022
    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    MISTY said:

    Support for Welsh independence is growing – people are fed up with being forgotten
    - As in Scotland, many people have looked at the United Kingdom and decided that it’s simply not working for them

    The idea of an independent Wales is no longer just a hobby-horse of bearded men in Carmarthenshire pubs on Six Nations rugby match days. Polls put support for independence at about 30%, (and skew more pro- the younger you go): not enough to signal anything imminent, but high enough for us to be certain something real is happening. After all, Scotland was polling similar numbers in 2007, and just seven years later David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were making “the vow” to the people of Scotland as they scrambled to keep the union together.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/30/support-welsh-independence-growing-scotland-uk

    Wales is not Scotland. You could not even hold a debate about whether it could survive as an independent country. It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements.

    It could not even begin to create the wealth it would need to support itself. Drakeford, an uninspiring Marxist apparatchik, does not even try. Its public services, already crumbling on the giant bung it gets from England every year, would simply collapse.

    And the North would declare UDI and join Lancashire and Cheshire

    It is not going to happen for many reasons including those you mention
    What is it about Unionists that they fantasise about partitioning perceived inferior states? Putin is inspired by British Nationalism’s Divide & Rule.

    I do not fantasise - you are with your desire for the UK to break up which will not happen
    You're the one who did, just like HYUFD and his Free Antrim or whatever it was.
    Actually it has been spoken about in some circles as the north suffer under Cardiff and of course travelling between north and the south takes hours with terrible rail links whereas Chester is only 30 - 45 minutes away

    Truth is neither will happen
    Can you actually get from Llandudno to Cardiff without going via Chester? Is there a more direct service via Wrexham, for example

    I know it can't be managed without going through Shrewsbury.
    My daughter has to travel to Cardiff on occasions in her work and it is a nightmare through Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury, Hereford, and Newport taking between 4 - 5 hours one way (by rail)

    If she drives it takes her about 4 hours one way
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585
    ...
    Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Another one posted furtively. Leon, you tinker!
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540

    ping said:

    I’ve dwelt on the Meghan/Windsor thingy for a while and come to a firm, devastating - and I believe, accurate conclusion.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62717696

    I mean, I basically don’t care about the Windsors or Meghan and Harry. But it’s still oddly fascinating.

    Anyway, my conclusion. The BBC have, whether they meant to or not, picked up the killer line in that cut interview.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    Says the headline.

    Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. In her own way, using her own distorted logic, she’s realised something deep, profound, and disturbing.

    A truth that any woman who has married a man with a more powerful, higher status,(usually older) brother eventually realises.

    She married the wrong prince.

    And it’s destroying her.

    That’s why she’s lashing out.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    That problem would not have happened had she married the correct prince. She’s destroying her relationship with Harry, with her logic. And he’s too dumb/infatuated to understand this. And the real story has flown over the heads of the media.

    She seems to have imagined that the order of succession was determined by the level of media coverage, as if the Royal family were the Kardashians.

    It’s clear from the Bower biography that Meghan thought she was lining up a starring role and was confounded when she appeared below the title, destined to forever slip further down the credits as the Cambridge children grow.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,226
    “Arsenal winning the league” threw up picture after picture that would not like out of place in a 1930s Munich bierkellar. Cancel culture is coming fast for Leon’s new hobby…
  • Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Personally speaking I appreciate that

    Thank you
  • stodgestodge Posts: 12,743
    Just glancing at the latest Sifo poll in Sweden - the centre-left bloc still ahead 50.1 to 48.7.

    @StuartDickson and others have discussed this already - it does seem there's a lesson for traditional centre-right parties facing being outflanked by more populist groupings.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    edited August 2022

    ...

    Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Another one posted furtively. Leon, you tinker!
    That’s my new girlfriend, thankyou very much!

    She just wears quite a lot of make-up
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,047

    Dynamo said:

    ping said:

    I’ve dwelt on the Meghan/Windsor thingy for a while and come to a firm, devastating - and I believe, accurate conclusion.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62717696

    I mean, I basically don’t care about the Windsors or Meghan and Harry. But it’s still oddly fascinating.

    Anyway, my conclusion. The BBC have, whether they meant to or not, picked up the killer line in that cut interview.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    Says the headline.

    Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. In her own way, using her own distorted logic, she’s realised something deep, profound, and disturbing.

    A truth that any woman who has married a man with a more powerful, higher status,(usually older) brother eventually realises.

    She married the wrong prince.

    And it’s destroying her.

    That’s why she’s lashing out.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    That problem would not have happened had she married the correct prince. She’s destroying her relationship with Harry, with her logic. And he’s too dumb/infatuated to understand this. And the real story has flown over the heads of the media.

    "We upset royal dynamic just by existing" neither means nor implies "I wish I'd married the heir apparent's heir apparent instead of his brother".
    The full quote was "we upset the dynamic of the hierarchy just by existing". Her real complaint is that her perceived higher celebrity status didn't change the hierarchy.
    Yep. She's a minor Royal. In Royalty, status is conferred by birth or marriage. That's how it works and she doesn't like being insignificant.
  • DynamoDynamo Posts: 651

    Dynamo said:

    ping said:

    I’ve dwelt on the Meghan/Windsor thingy for a while and come to a firm, devastating - and I believe, accurate conclusion.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62717696

    I mean, I basically don’t care about the Windsors or Meghan and Harry. But it’s still oddly fascinating.

    Anyway, my conclusion. The BBC have, whether they meant to or not, picked up the killer line in that cut interview.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    Says the headline.

    Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. In her own way, using her own distorted logic, she’s realised something deep, profound, and disturbing.

    A truth that any woman who has married a man with a more powerful, higher status,(usually older) brother eventually realises.

    She married the wrong prince.

    And it’s destroying her.

    That’s why she’s lashing out.

    “We upset Royal dynamic just by existing”

    That problem would not have happened had she married the correct prince. She’s destroying her relationship with Harry, with her logic. And he’s too dumb/infatuated to understand this. And the real story has flown over the heads of the media.

    "We upset royal dynamic just by existing" neither means nor implies "I wish I'd married the heir apparent's heir apparent instead of his brother".
    The full quote was "we upset the dynamic of the hierarchy just by existing". Her real complaint is that her perceived higher celebrity status didn't change the hierarchy.
    Thanks - I see the point now. But I don't agree with it. More likely, she doesn't have a great familiarity with the meaning of the words "hierarchy" and "dynamic" and she was trying to say that their existence as a loving photogenic couple who did stuff that got them positive publicity even though they weren't considered to be in line to get their butts on the monarch and consort's thrones was considered by her childish father-in-law to be a slap in his face.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    HYUFD said:

    Truss should do the interview. However at least she will have got the Tory leadership and become PM after a genuine contest amongst Tory MPs and members.

    Brown's team just ensured he was nominated by Labour MPs unopposed. Despite the fact John McConnell for instance wanted to challenge him

    PMs being replaced during office should be decided by Cabinet or party MPs NOT members. Just a recipe for the kind of problem we are about see when Truss takes office.
    If party members alone had the decision Badenoch would now become PM not Truss. Parties are entitled to select PMs in government by the same amount as in opposition
  • I would be happy to lock away all the nightmare AI artwork in my string cupboard if it would help. Or the AI. Or Leon.
  • ydoethur said:

    Well now.

    A spy working for Canadian intelligence smuggled Shamima Begum and her two friends from Bethnal Green into Syria and Britain later conspired with Canada to cover up its role, an explosive new book has claimed.

    Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for both Islamic State and Canadian intelligence.

    An inquiry was demanded last night as it emerged that Canada knew about the teenagers’ fate but kept silent while the Metropolitan Police ran a frantic, international search for the trio.

    Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, the book claimed.

    The revelation reopens the debate over stripping Begum of her nationality, if an asset of western intelligence gave practical help in her journey to become a jihadist bride, even organising her bus tickets.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-was-smuggled-into-syria-by-western-spy-dqkkr8qlf

    WTF?

    What was in it for Canadian intelligence?
    Do we know who wrote this book?

    If it was written by Zarah Sultana and published by Verso, we treat its claims with reserve.

    If it was written by a professor of politics at Aberystwyth and published by Routledge...
    The alleged cover-up was detailed in The Secret History of the Five Eyes, by Richard Kerbaj, a former security correspondent of The Sunday Times. It is published on Thursday and is based on interviews with world leaders and more than 100 intelligence officials. Five Eyes is the intelligence-sharing alliance between Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249

    Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Personally speaking I appreciate that

    Thank you
    You’re welcome

    I genuinely have no desire to distress people. Generally. Apart from Scot Nats, of course

    And I am gratified that I tried to create a horrifying image with The Diffusion, and I clearly succeeded. I didn’t just show it here, I’ve been showing it to friends today and they all react the same way. “OMFG what the fuck is that? That’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen!”

    And yet if you look at the image, the horror nearly all comes from suggestion and association. There is virtually no gore in it, no dead bodies. It takes well worn horror tropes and makes something brilliantly new and weird.

    This machine will direct and produce the best horror movies ever. Truly terrifying films
  • Well now.

    A spy working for Canadian intelligence smuggled Shamima Begum and her two friends from Bethnal Green into Syria and Britain later conspired with Canada to cover up its role, an explosive new book has claimed.

    Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for both Islamic State and Canadian intelligence.

    An inquiry was demanded last night as it emerged that Canada knew about the teenagers’ fate but kept silent while the Metropolitan Police ran a frantic, international search for the trio.

    Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, the book claimed.

    The revelation reopens the debate over stripping Begum of her nationality, if an asset of western intelligence gave practical help in her journey to become a jihadist bride, even organising her bus tickets.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-was-smuggled-into-syria-by-western-spy-dqkkr8qlf

    Why did they do that? What was the thinking? Our own security services must have known what our Canadian colleagues were doing, so complicit, but why? What’s in it for them to help our kids out to that terrible place?

    And if it happened once, how many other instances?

    Colour me sceptical about these crazy claims, without a motive. 😤
    Presumably the motive was that the Canadian was also undercover in ISIS and it was wearing his ISIS hat that he moved Shemima and her pals across the border. If so, there is no need to suggest that Canadian or British intelligence agencies had any motivation to aid Shemima and co; it was ISIS that had the motive to get Shemima in; the Canadian motive was to infiltrate ISIS and Shemima was collateral damage.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,454

    ydoethur said:

    Well now.

    A spy working for Canadian intelligence smuggled Shamima Begum and her two friends from Bethnal Green into Syria and Britain later conspired with Canada to cover up its role, an explosive new book has claimed.

    Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for both Islamic State and Canadian intelligence.

    An inquiry was demanded last night as it emerged that Canada knew about the teenagers’ fate but kept silent while the Metropolitan Police ran a frantic, international search for the trio.

    Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, the book claimed.

    The revelation reopens the debate over stripping Begum of her nationality, if an asset of western intelligence gave practical help in her journey to become a jihadist bride, even organising her bus tickets.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-was-smuggled-into-syria-by-western-spy-dqkkr8qlf

    WTF?

    What was in it for Canadian intelligence?
    Do we know who wrote this book?

    If it was written by Zarah Sultana and published by Verso, we treat its claims with reserve.

    If it was written by a professor of politics at Aberystwyth and published by Routledge...
    The alleged cover-up was detailed in The Secret History of the Five Eyes, by Richard Kerbaj, a former security correspondent of The Sunday Times. It is published on Thursday and is based on interviews with world leaders and more than 100 intelligence officials. Five Eyes is the intelligence-sharing alliance between Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
    Shouldn't it really be ten eyes rather than five? Or is it five so they can turn a blind eye to stuff they don't want to see?
  • HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Truss should do the interview. However at least she will have got the Tory leadership and become PM after a genuine contest amongst Tory MPs and members.

    Brown's team just ensured he was nominated by Labour MPs unopposed. Despite the fact John McConnell for instance wanted to challenge him

    PMs being replaced during office should be decided by Cabinet or party MPs NOT members. Just a recipe for the kind of problem we are about see when Truss takes office.
    If party members alone had the decision Badenoch would now become PM not Truss. Parties are entitled to select PMs in government by the same amount as in opposition
    I would have thought that the idea of Badenoch as PM would be enough to kybosh any idea of party memberships choosing a party leader whilst in government.
  • Brown turned out to be the worst OM in living memory so not sure what point the author is trying to make.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,074
    And this is a typical evening view from my living-room.



    In times of trouble, this soothes my soul.
  • Harry and Meghan perform a useful role. They provide us with role models to ridicule and laugh at during these grim times.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040
    Leon said:

    ...

    Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Another one posted furtively. Leon, you tinker!
    That’s my new girlfriend, thankyou very much!

    She just wears quite a lot of make-up
    Did you type "Mrs Putin goes for a walk in the snow"?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Brown turned out to be the worst OM in living memory so not sure what point the author is trying to make.

    Do you have some sort of short term memory loss? So you don't remember Boris Johnson ?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    moonshine said:

    “Arsenal winning the league” threw up picture after picture that would not like out of place in a 1930s Munich bierkellar. Cancel culture is coming fast for Leon’s new hobby…

    I suspect you are right. It doesn’t take much for this amazing machine to produce dodgy images

    It is trained on all of visual art through history. Which often ignores the Woke mores of today

    If it’s based in America it will be cancelled. Or withdrawn and then handicapped

    This is another reason why Woke is a disaster: it means the cutting edge of AI moves away from the enfeebled west. The Chinese (or whoever) will do their own version. And away they go
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Harry and Meghan perform a useful role. They provide us with role models to ridicule and laugh at during these grim times.

    Why are you ridiculing them? Because Meghan is mixed race or because Harry is a ginger?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040
    Foxy said:

    ping said:

    Julian Knight MP, worked with Truss in the treasury, bigged her up before she aborted her bid in 2019. Early backer this time around. Will be hoping for a decent promotion at the heart of Truss’s government. One to watch.

    https://twitter.com/julianknight15/status/1564666655539707905

    “Ed Davey, Lib Dem Leader, proudly said that he "basically stopped the fracking industry in this country". With the energy price cap now rising to £3,549, people are genuinely struggling. This is another reminder why the Liberal Democrats can never be trusted in Gov't ever again. https://twitter.com/julianknight15/status/1564666655539707905/photo/1

    Note to Julian. The graphic is ridiculous. But I’m sure it pleases Liz. Which is the point.

    If Truss starts fracking it should be worth a few dozen further Tory losses at the GE. No one wants it near them.
    That's the kind of gloomster talk she doesn't want to hear anywhere near her.

    Believe in Britain!!!

  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,074

    Harry and Meghan perform a useful role. They provide us with role models to ridicule and laugh at during these grim times.

    They are inconsequential ex-royals whose opinions are worth no more or less than anyone else's. The celebrity lifestyle seems rather pointless to me but each to their own, I suppose. I do wonder whether Netflix or Spotify will actually either make - or pay - all the sums mentioned in the press.

    By contrast I was rather impressed to learn recently that the Duchess of Kent worked as a music teacher for 10 years or so after she retired from public life.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited August 2022
    Harry and Meghan could be a tremendous asset to the monarchy. They are able to reach audiences that the others can’t.

    I really want to defend Meghan, but it does seem as if she is a narcissistic fruitcake.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    So the founders/owners of Stable Diffusion - are one company, Stabiity AI. Based In London, and owned by one guy

    https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12295325/persons-with-significant-control

    So if there is any pressure to cancel it (surely there will) it will arrive in the UK
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited August 2022
    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport are, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Big up to Plaid Cymru, and the Welsh Assembly
    Big up to Millennium: we don't need no Wembley
    Keep your Big Apple
    We'll have a tangerine
    Bugger of Alicia, Shirley Bassey is our queen
    Round here we stick together
    Like birds of a feather
    Except we're not from Chigwell
    We're from the small Welsh town of Newport

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eijc2tGe-zM
  • A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport are, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    That is like saying most Scots live in Glasgow- Edinburgh and the rest do not matter

    It is a nonsense and the north has a huge tourism industry and Airbus manufacturing

    Mind you the NHS in North Wales is near collapse and talk of a tourism tax and 20mph speed limits is facing large scale opposition
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,772
    rcs1000 said:

    MISTY said:

    Support for Welsh independence is growing – people are fed up with being forgotten
    - As in Scotland, many people have looked at the United Kingdom and decided that it’s simply not working for them

    The idea of an independent Wales is no longer just a hobby-horse of bearded men in Carmarthenshire pubs on Six Nations rugby match days. Polls put support for independence at about 30%, (and skew more pro- the younger you go): not enough to signal anything imminent, but high enough for us to be certain something real is happening. After all, Scotland was polling similar numbers in 2007, and just seven years later David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were making “the vow” to the people of Scotland as they scrambled to keep the union together.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/30/support-welsh-independence-growing-scotland-uk

    Wales is not Scotland. You could not even hold a debate about whether it could survive as an independent country. It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements.

    It could not even begin to create the wealth it would need to support itself. Drakeford, an uninspiring Marxist apparatchik, does not even try. Its public services, already crumbling on the giant bung it gets from England every year, would simply collapse.

    "It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements."

    Those sound more like advantages than disadvantages.
    According to Wikipedia, Wales had a public spending deficit of about 17.5% of GDP, roughly one pound in every three spent.

    It has some existing economic strengths that could be built upon, but the current arrangements don't seem to have been particularly useful. Because Wales has a devolved government it is neglected by Westminster, but the devolved government has lacked either the means of the will to develop the economy.

    It's a shame, for example, that the Welsh government wasn't able to go ahead with the tidal lagoon project without Westminster's say-so.
  • RichardrRichardr Posts: 80
    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    They successfully sued the Daily Mail's owner, and have made successful complaints against several other UK media outlets. That is the cue for abuse from the tabloids at least.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    Good politics from Truss. When you're ahead don't give any opportunities for things to go wrong.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837
    Blooming heck, Everton are winning.
    Pickford has crocked Rodrigo now.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport are, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    That is like saying most Scots live in Glasgow- Edinburgh and the rest do not matter

    It is a nonsense and the north has a huge tourism industry and Airbus manufacturing

    Mind you the NHS in North Wales is near collapse and talk of a tourism tax and 20mph speed limits is facing large scale opposition
    Most English don't live in the SE.
    Whether we matter or not is a matter of opinion.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    One of the most striking videos of a Russian weapons dump being hit. The person filming it's windows get blown out from quite a distance.

    https://twitter.com/Lyla_lilas/status/1564681902660980736
  • stodgestodge Posts: 12,743
    Richardr said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    They successfully sued the Daily Mail's owner, and have made successful complaints against several other UK media outlets. That is the cue for abuse from the tabloids at least.
    Very true but the key point is they've not played the roles they were meant to play - i.e: the roles planned by the Establishment and the Firm.

    That's one thing but they've also not played the roles the monarchy-loving public expected them to play - whether you think many people have a romanticised nostalgic view of the Royal Family or not, the fact is Harry and Meghan have not conformed to the traditional family model in the way William and Kate have for example and which has been the pattern since Victoria and Albert.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,454
    Foxy said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    It is fairly simple. There are still plenty of people who don't like independent women with opinions, particularly when foreign to boot.

    If the Royals and Tabloids really were bothered by her "attention seeking" then they should ignore her. Instead it is the Two Minute Hate every month.

    I think Meghan and Harry are fairly well meaning celebs who don't really fir anymore in either tinsel town or stuffy heritage Britain. They will find their own place.
    Basically they are symbols of "woke". If you don't like woke you probably don't like Harry and Meghan. They hit a lot of the same triggers, if only one of them was transgender......
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Paging @Luckyguy1983

    @SebastianEPayne
    When Liz Truss met Antony Blinken for the first time last year, the meeting was not so diplomatic.

    Truss questioned the 'special relationship': “her attitude was ‘what have you done for me lately?'"


    https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1564223445478658051
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    ydoethur said:

    Well now.

    A spy working for Canadian intelligence smuggled Shamima Begum and her two friends from Bethnal Green into Syria and Britain later conspired with Canada to cover up its role, an explosive new book has claimed.

    Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for both Islamic State and Canadian intelligence.

    An inquiry was demanded last night as it emerged that Canada knew about the teenagers’ fate but kept silent while the Metropolitan Police ran a frantic, international search for the trio.

    Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, the book claimed.

    The revelation reopens the debate over stripping Begum of her nationality, if an asset of western intelligence gave practical help in her journey to become a jihadist bride, even organising her bus tickets.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-was-smuggled-into-syria-by-western-spy-dqkkr8qlf

    WTF?

    What was in it for Canadian intelligence?
    Do we know who wrote this book?

    If it was written by Zarah Sultana and published by Verso, we treat its claims with reserve.

    If it was written by a professor of politics at Aberystwyth and published by Routledge...
    The alleged cover-up was detailed in The Secret History of the Five Eyes, by Richard Kerbaj, a former security correspondent of The Sunday Times. It is published on Thursday and is based on interviews with world leaders and more than 100 intelligence officials. Five Eyes is the intelligence-sharing alliance between Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
    Well, he's not a fruitcake. There's a good chance his story's accurate in that case.

    Which would be profoundly embarrassing for everybody, including Shamima Begum.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    edited August 2022

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 4,534
    Andy_JS said:

    Good politics from Truss. When you're ahead don't give any opportunities for things to go wrong.

    What could go wrong . She’s miles ahead according to the polls and the membership have made up their minds . She could do a Sharon Stone during the interview whilst at the same time telling Robinson she’s going to abolish the Royal family and it won’t make a blind difference .

    I don’t think it’s good politics to look spineless and afraid of a BBC interview !
  • CatManCatMan Posts: 2,722
    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
  • CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    He's the second greatest Batman ever, after Adam West.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837
    edited August 2022

    Paging @Luckyguy1983

    @SebastianEPayne
    When Liz Truss met Antony Blinken for the first time last year, the meeting was not so diplomatic.

    Truss questioned the 'special relationship': “her attitude was ‘what have you done for me lately?'"


    https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1564223445478658051

    She began.
    "Used to be a time when you would pamper me
    Used to brag about it all the time
    Your friends seem to think that you're so peachy-keen
    But my friends say neglect is on your mind
    Who's right?"
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 4,746
    Foxy said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    It is fairly simple. There are still plenty of people who don't like independent women with opinions, particularly when foreign to boot.

    If the Royals and Tabloids really were bothered by her "attention seeking" then they should ignore her. Instead it is the Two Minute Hate every month.

    I think Meghan and Harry are fairly well meaning celebs who don't really fir anymore in either tinsel town or stuffy heritage Britain. They will find their own place.
    I think it is good that they have done what they have done, but I can't really understand why they didn't "part ways" with the monarchy on more amicable and favourable terms.
    It is rather curious that they have gone down the road of making vague, circumstantial 'concerns' about how they were treated which seem to be crafted in a way that maximises their publicity and annoys the monarchy and its supporters.
    It goes rather against the principle that, if you are not happy about something in a family, you try and sort it out in privately within the family, rather than descending in to some kind of bitter public spat which just demeans everyone.
    I think this is probably a universal conservative value that the Royal Family and a lot of its supporters uphold.
    So I just don't really think it is just a case of people 'not liking an independent woman with opinions', although she might try and present the situation that way.
    All the stuff they are doing, philanthropy, spotify podcasts; they could be doing anyway without this bitter acrimony with the Royal Family. It is totally pointless.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Truss should do the interview. However at least she will have got the Tory leadership and become PM after a genuine contest amongst Tory MPs and members.

    Brown's team just ensured he was nominated by Labour MPs unopposed. Despite the fact John McConnell for instance wanted to challenge him

    PMs being replaced during office should be decided by Cabinet or party MPs NOT members. Just a recipe for the kind of problem we are about see when Truss takes office.
    If party members alone had the decision Badenoch would now become PM not Truss. Parties are entitled to select PMs in government by the same amount as in opposition
    I would have thought that the idea of Badenoch as PM would be enough to kybosh any idea of party memberships choosing a party leader whilst in government.
    Up to the parties concerned. Labour and the LDs also give their party memberships a vote on their leader, both in opposition and in power if a change midterm under their current rules.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    edited August 2022

    Harry and Meghan could be a tremendous asset to the monarchy. They are able to reach audiences that the others can’t.

    I really want to defend Meghan, but it does seem as if she is a narcissistic fruitcake.

    They are not real people, but creations of the Editor of the Daily Mail as part of its lucrative economic model.

    The DM report "Meghan claims she is the spiritual heir of Gandhi, Jesus and Buddha".

    The DM readers go berserk on the comments page. Lots of ad space is sold.

    The DM report "Meghan claims she has built a Quantum Gravity detector and will win the Nobel Prize in Physics".

    The DM readers go berserk on the comments page. Lots of ad space is sold.

    The most insane DM readers rage in the comments "Stop reporting about this dreadful woman".

    Without realising that if they stopped clicking & commenting, then Meghan would softly and suddenly vanish away.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,880
    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    So could claim to be Welsh if he wanted?
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,074

    Foxy said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    It is fairly simple. There are still plenty of people who don't like independent women with opinions, particularly when foreign to boot.

    If the Royals and Tabloids really were bothered by her "attention seeking" then they should ignore her. Instead it is the Two Minute Hate every month.

    I think Meghan and Harry are fairly well meaning celebs who don't really fir anymore in either tinsel town or stuffy heritage Britain. They will find their own place.
    Basically they are symbols of "woke". If you don't like woke you probably don't like Harry and Meghan. They hit a lot of the same triggers, if only one of them was transgender......
    Hmm. They seem cut from the same hypocritical cloth as Charles and other royals. Lecturing the rest of us about green issues but consuming far in excess of their fair share. Private jets to get to polo matches etc. Houses with vast numbers of rooms and so on.

    If I had my way, no-one but the heir to the throne and their heir would get a royal title. All the rest can be plain Mr, Mrs, Ms or whatever and earn a living like the rest of us.

    Charles should strip everyone bar William and George of their titles. Mind you, he's a much greater embarrassment to my mind (even than Andrew) with all this taking of cash off dodgy Middle Eastern potentates. What on earth were he or his advisers thinking?

    The country is going to have a tough time over the next few years and the RF really need to scale matters down a bit. I've had it with people at the top - whether politicians, royals or celebrities - thinking they can live it up while the rest of us have to make sacrifices.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,047

    Paging @Luckyguy1983

    @SebastianEPayne
    When Liz Truss met Antony Blinken for the first time last year, the meeting was not so diplomatic.

    Truss questioned the 'special relationship': “her attitude was ‘what have you done for me lately?'"


    https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1564223445478658051

    Thanks for highlighting an interesting article. Let's hope Truss continues (at least in some ways) to put Britain's interests at the forefront when dealing with foreign powers.

  • CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    He's the second greatest Batman ever, after Adam West.
    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.
  • MightyAlexMightyAlex Posts: 1,410
    edited August 2022
    Quick question:

    Off to Paris for the weekend late September. Anyone got any restaurant/brasserie recommendations. Maxish 130 euros per person.

    I'd love small eatery somewhere quiet, very French, candles etc... Any ideas?
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,074

    Paging @Luckyguy1983

    @SebastianEPayne
    When Liz Truss met Antony Blinken for the first time last year, the meeting was not so diplomatic.

    Truss questioned the 'special relationship': “her attitude was ‘what have you done for me lately?'"


    https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1564223445478658051

    This may seem like a strange question but bear with me. How valued is British intelligence and British military help to the US really?

    British spies for the Russians from Fuchs onwards betrayed nuclear secrets and human contacts. British intelligence did not exactly cover itself in glory over Iraq. Nor the British army.

    So how valued are we? Or is this another case of the British bigging ourselves up in a way which is not really justified?
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,184

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    So could claim to be Welsh if he wanted?
    I would say being born in Wales he's Welsh, though could claim to be English if he wanted (through his ancestry).
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    He's the second greatest Batman ever, after Adam West.
    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.
    Did he Buster gut to excel?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,880
    Cookie said:

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    So could claim to be Welsh if he wanted?
    I would say being born in Wales he's Welsh, though could claim to be English if he wanted (through his ancestry).
    Arthur Wellesley would disagree.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,336
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Truss should do the interview. However at least she will have got the Tory leadership and become PM after a genuine contest amongst Tory MPs and members.

    Brown's team just ensured he was nominated by Labour MPs unopposed. Despite the fact John McConnell for instance wanted to challenge him

    PMs being replaced during office should be decided by Cabinet or party MPs NOT members. Just a recipe for the kind of problem we are about see when Truss takes office.
    If party members alone had the decision Badenoch would now become PM not Truss. Parties are entitled to select PMs in government by the same amount as in opposition
    I would have thought that the idea of Badenoch as PM would be enough to kybosh any idea of party memberships choosing a party leader whilst in government.
    Up to the parties concerned. Labour and the LDs also give their party memberships a vote on their leader, both in opposition and in power if a change midterm under their current rules.
    As a ld myself, I don't agree with membership voting for pm. In opposition that's ok because the subsequent winner is then confirmed by a GE.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,739
    edited August 2022

    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.

    Bosley:
    Bringing the Birdman back to Alcatraz, I guess.


    Saint:
    The who?


    Bosley:
    It’s a movie. Burt Lancaster.


    Sabina Wilson:
    Birdman. Michael Keaton.


    Bosley:
    No, Michael Keaton is Batman.


    Saint:
    No, Ben Affleck is Batman.


    Bosley:
    I mean, is he?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,739
    💥 Exc with @GeorgeWParker: Rishi Suank says it'd be "complacent and irresponsible” to ignore the risk of markets losing confidence in the British economy

    In FT interview, the ex-chancellor sid he "struggled to see" how Liz Truss' pledges would "add up"

    https://www.ft.com/content/dd35044a-c568-41bc-bcdf-adf659c485d6
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280

    Harry and Meghan could be a tremendous asset to the monarchy. They are able to reach audiences that the others can’t.

    I really want to defend Meghan, but it does seem as if she is a narcissistic fruitcake.

    They are not real people, but creations of the Editor of the Daily Mail as part of its lucrative economic model.

    The DM report "Meghan claims she is the spiritual heir of Gandhi, Jesus and Buddha".

    The DM readers go berserk on the comments page. Lots of ad space is sold.

    The DM report "Meghan claims she has built a Quantum Gravity detector and will win the Nobel Prize in Physics".

    The DM readers go berserk on the comments page. Lots of ad space is sold.

    The most insane DM readers rage in the comments "Stop reporting about this dreadful woman".

    Without realising that if they stopped clicking & commenting, then Meghan would softly and suddenly vanish away.
    The only problem is she is indeed a real person, not a creation of the Daily Mail.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837

    Cookie said:

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    So could claim to be Welsh if he wanted?
    I would say being born in Wales he's Welsh, though could claim to be English if he wanted (through his ancestry).
    Arthur Wellesley would disagree.
    So did Boris when the IRS took interest.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837
    edited August 2022
    Scott_xP said:

    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.

    Bosley:
    Bringing the Birdman back to Alcatraz, I guess.


    Saint:
    The who?


    Bosley:
    It’s a movie. Burt Lancaster.


    Sabina Wilson:
    Birdman. Michael Keaton.


    Bosley:
    No, Michael Keaton is Batman.


    Saint:
    No, Ben Affleck is Batman.


    Bosley:
    I mean, is he?
    Jesus was a fat man.
    Jesus was Batman.
    Oh no, that's Bruce Wayne.

    Shaun Ryder for poet laureate.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    He's the second greatest Batman ever, after Adam West.
    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.
    A friend of mine used to go out with Michael Keaton.

    One afternoon, they went to see Batman. Keaton had great fun freaking out the guy sat in front of him using his best Batman voice...

    "What do you think of it so far?"
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Source: https://twitter.com/HOnyshchenko/status/1564369574123954176
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,281
    edited August 2022
    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Indeed, a source would be useful.

    Mind you, if it is 10,000 it's still totally horrific, and no punishment would be severe enough for Putin.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Indeed, a source would be useful.

    Mind you, if it is 10,000 it's still totally horrific, and no punishment would be severe enough for Putin.
    Said to be sourced from local morgues.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 12,743

    HYUFD said:


    Up to the parties concerned. Labour and the LDs also give their party memberships a vote on their leader, both in opposition and in power if a change midterm under their current rules.

    As a ld myself, I don't agree with membership voting for pm. In opposition that's ok because the subsequent winner is then confirmed by a GE.
    Not a situation the LDs have ever faced or seem likely to face currently. The last example for the Liberals is Asquith being replaced by Lloyd George in 1916 but that was in the middle of a war.

    Labour went through it when Wilson retired in 1976 but the Conservatives have now replaced their last three leaders while in office, though before that Thatcher, MacMillan, Eden and Churchill were all replaced while Prime Minister.

    This is only the second time the Conservative membership has had a direct say in choosing the Prime Minister - Johnson was the last time. In all the previous examples, it was the MPs who decided (at least in the case of the successors to Cameron, Thatcher and from the Labour side, Wilson). The examples in the 50s and the 60s were more down to the infamous "magic circle".
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Source: https://twitter.com/HOnyshchenko/status/1564369574123954176
    Hmmm. One source. Every other estimate is one-third of that.

    Which is still a shockingly high casualty rate, and an appalling and almost unimaginable human tragedy, but not bizarrely out of line with what would be expected from the way the Russians attacked.

    Inflating the figures doesn't help. Look at the trouble it caused when Irving forged the figures for the numbers who died in Dresden, for example.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,281

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Source: https://twitter.com/HOnyshchenko/status/1564369574123954176
    She's quoting from here:

    https://www.5.ua/regiony/u-mariupoli-zadokumentovano-87-tysiach-zahyblykh-ale-tsyfra-ne-ostatochna-zmi-286225.html

  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574

    It's a pity that @RochdalePioneers got rid of his safe - otherwise he could have lent it to Liz to hide in!

    I have BETTER than that. A strong cupboard from floor to ceiling. With both an inch thick steel door and an inner steel mesh door. Perfect for installing manacles, right up her street.
    Her safe word is Chubb ?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    edited August 2022

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Indeed, a source would be useful.

    Mind you, if it is 10,000 it's still totally horrific, and no punishment would be severe enough for Putin.
    I find it hard to believe. It is numbing. Even if it's three times the real number, you have to read across all of Ukraine

    One of the most barbaric wars ever launched. And this is 2022. If Putin is ever caught he needs to be tried, convicted and executed like the leading Nazis

    And Russia must be a pariah state for a century. I do not know how Russia comes back from this, without being wiped off the map by vengeful enemies. That is the only reason Germany was "forgiven" after World War 2: because it was annihilated and millions of Germans died, or were raped. Revenge was taken. Ditto Japan: nuked
  • CatManCatMan Posts: 2,722

    CatMan said:

    ydoethur said:

    A north-south route for Wales seems like a good idea, but - ouch - the geography.

    In reality, most of the Welsh live in the greater Swansea - Cardiff - Newport area, and economic development efforts - sorely needed - should be concentrated there.

    Having said that, Wrexham is currently featuring on billboards in the Big Apple. Possibly the biggest thing to happen to Wales since Shirley Bassey.

    Christian Bale and Catherine Zeta Jones both winced at the snub.
    He's English! (Although was born in Wales)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale
    He's the second greatest Batman ever, after Adam West.
    There is only one Batman. Mr Keaton.
    A friend of mine used to go out with Michael Keaton.

    One afternoon, they went to see Batman. Keaton had great fun freaking out the guy sat in front of him using his best Batman voice...

    "What do you think of it so far?"
    I misread that and thought you had just outed Michael Keaton
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    Leon said:

    There, I have changed my TERRIFYING 1cm wide avatar, and you can all calm down

    Bad hair day ?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    Foxy said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    It is fairly simple. There are still plenty of people who don't like independent women with opinions, particularly when foreign to boot.

    If the Royals and Tabloids really were bothered by her "attention seeking" then they should ignore her. Instead it is the Two Minute Hate every month.

    I think Meghan and Harry are fairly well meaning celebs who don't really fir anymore in either tinsel town or stuffy heritage Britain. They will find their own place.
    I don't agree. There's hardly anyone in that category in this country. They all died about 20 years ago.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415

    Well now.

    A spy working for Canadian intelligence smuggled Shamima Begum and her two friends from Bethnal Green into Syria and Britain later conspired with Canada to cover up its role, an explosive new book has claimed.

    Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for both Islamic State and Canadian intelligence.

    An inquiry was demanded last night as it emerged that Canada knew about the teenagers’ fate but kept silent while the Metropolitan Police ran a frantic, international search for the trio.

    Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, the book claimed.

    The revelation reopens the debate over stripping Begum of her nationality, if an asset of western intelligence gave practical help in her journey to become a jihadist bride, even organising her bus tickets.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-was-smuggled-into-syria-by-western-spy-dqkkr8qlf

    Why did they do that? What was the thinking? Our own security services must have known what our Canadian colleagues were doing, so complicit, but why? What’s in it for them to help our kids out to that terrible place?

    And if it happened once, how many other instances?

    Colour me sceptical about these crazy claims, without a motive. 😤
    Presumably the motive was that the Canadian was also undercover in ISIS and it was wearing his ISIS hat that he moved Shemima and her pals across the border. If so, there is no need to suggest that Canadian or British intelligence agencies had any motivation to aid Shemima and co; it was ISIS that had the motive to get Shemima in; the Canadian motive was to infiltrate ISIS and Shemima was collateral damage.
    “collateral damage” yes.

    That’s how it always happens in the Ashenden stories.

    They made a TV series of these stories before I was born. Was it horribly sad?

    But this is one for PBs Yokes! I still think it’s unproved conspiracy theory.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    edited August 2022

    Quick question:

    Off to Paris for the weekend late September. Anyone got any restaurant/brasserie recommendations. Maxish 130 euros per person.

    I'd love small eatery somewhere quiet, very French, candles etc... Any ideas?

    In my experience, Parisian food is really hit and miss, and all the places that are like you describe: quiet, candles, French - are either horribly twee and touristy or very expensive, or both, and the food is STILL variable

    Sorry not to be more help

    The most reliable good food in Paris is the big old fashioned brasseries with the red banquettes (which are undergoing a revival). Stick to the classics: oysters, foie gras and gingerbread, turbot and veg. Yummy

    But they are noisy and boozy
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    rcs1000 said:

    MISTY said:

    Support for Welsh independence is growing – people are fed up with being forgotten
    - As in Scotland, many people have looked at the United Kingdom and decided that it’s simply not working for them

    The idea of an independent Wales is no longer just a hobby-horse of bearded men in Carmarthenshire pubs on Six Nations rugby match days. Polls put support for independence at about 30%, (and skew more pro- the younger you go): not enough to signal anything imminent, but high enough for us to be certain something real is happening. After all, Scotland was polling similar numbers in 2007, and just seven years later David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were making “the vow” to the people of Scotland as they scrambled to keep the union together.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/30/support-welsh-independence-growing-scotland-uk

    Wales is not Scotland. You could not even hold a debate about whether it could survive as an independent country. It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements.

    It could not even begin to create the wealth it would need to support itself. Drakeford, an uninspiring Marxist apparatchik, does not even try. Its public services, already crumbling on the giant bung it gets from England every year, would simply collapse.

    "It has no oil and gas, no large financial sector, no massive drinks industry and does not play a huge part in the UK's defence arrangements."

    Those sound more like advantages than disadvantages.
    Doesn’t it have the largest LNG terminal in Europe ?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,281
    Leon said:

    Quick question:

    Off to Paris for the weekend late September. Anyone got any restaurant/brasserie recommendations. Maxish 130 euros per person.

    I'd love small eatery somewhere quiet, very French, candles etc... Any ideas?

    In my experience, Parisian food is really hit and miss, and all the places that are like you describe: quiet, candles, French - are either horribly twee and touristy or very expensive, or both, and the food is STILL variable

    Sorry not to be more help

    The most reliable good food in Paris is the big old fashioned brasseries with the red banquettes (which are undergoing a revival). Stick to the classics: oysters, foie gras and gingerbread, turbot and veg. Yummy

    But they are noisy and boozy
    Gingerbread?!?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,047
    Cyclefree said:

    Foxy said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    I'm used to being in a minority of one on most things - I quite like Harry and Meghan. They seem a pretty well-adjusted couple who have chosen to live the life they want rather than play their part in the Royal Family theme park.

    I've no real issue with them living in California and her views don't bother me in the least.

    Why they attract such anger and ridicule is beyond me - I realise the money might anger some people but in the cosmic scheme of things does it matter that much?

    It is fairly simple. There are still plenty of people who don't like independent women with opinions, particularly when foreign to boot.

    If the Royals and Tabloids really were bothered by her "attention seeking" then they should ignore her. Instead it is the Two Minute Hate every month.

    I think Meghan and Harry are fairly well meaning celebs who don't really fir anymore in either tinsel town or stuffy heritage Britain. They will find their own place.
    Basically they are symbols of "woke". If you don't like woke you probably don't like Harry and Meghan. They hit a lot of the same triggers, if only one of them was transgender......
    Hmm. They seem cut from the same hypocritical cloth as Charles and other royals. Lecturing the rest of us about green issues but consuming far in excess of their fair share. Private jets to get to polo matches etc. Houses with vast numbers of rooms and so on.

    If I had my way, no-one but the heir to the throne and their heir would get a royal title. All the rest can be plain Mr, Mrs, Ms or whatever and earn a living like the rest of us.

    Charles should strip everyone bar William and George of their titles. Mind you, he's a much greater embarrassment to my mind (even than Andrew) with all this taking of cash off dodgy Middle Eastern potentates. What on earth were he or his advisers thinking?

    The country is going to have a tough time over the next few years and the RF really need to scale matters down a bit. I've had it with people at the top - whether politicians, royals or celebrities - thinking they can live it up while the rest of us have to make sacrifices.
    I didn't get the issue with taking a cash donation. It was the donor's choice to give it in cash. If he'd written a cheque, there would have been no story. If Charles had refused the cash and told him he wanted a BACS transfer it would have been a diplomatic incident. I think we shouldn't be up the KSA's fundament anyway, but I don't think that particular incident was worse than any other.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Source: https://twitter.com/HOnyshchenko/status/1564369574123954176
    Hmmm. One source. Every other estimate is one-third of that.

    Which is still a shockingly high casualty rate, and an appalling and almost unimaginable human tragedy, but not bizarrely out of line with what would be expected from the way the Russians attacked.

    Inflating the figures doesn't help. Look at the trouble it caused when Irving forged the figures for the numbers who died in Dresden, for example.
    Even one third of that is 30,000 people - ie a new Hamburg or Dresden

    Putin has Grozny'd Mariupol, and other cities, and will do the same to every town he can, given the chance

    It is difficult to think about
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Gorbachev has died.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Mariupol - Russian shelling caused 87,000 dead, a further 26,000 still to be identified.

    Compare with Nagasaki - 40,000 dead.

    Hamburg firestorm - 30,000.

    Dresden - 25,000

    Just in Mariupol? Are you sure? That would be about a quarter of the entire population which seems extraordinary.
    Source: https://twitter.com/HOnyshchenko/status/1564369574123954176
    Hmmm. One source. Every other estimate is one-third of that.

    Which is still a shockingly high casualty rate, and an appalling and almost unimaginable human tragedy, but not bizarrely out of line with what would be expected from the way the Russians attacked.

    Inflating the figures doesn't help. Look at the trouble it caused when Irving forged the figures for the numbers who died in Dresden, for example.
    It would not surprise me if that were an underestimate.
    It was clear some time back that the barbarity in Mariupol was of WWII proportions.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    dixiedean said:

    Blooming heck, Everton are winning.
    Pickford has crocked Rodrigo now.

    He knows how to crock em. When not lying on top the ball for five minutes.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,249

    Leon said:

    Quick question:

    Off to Paris for the weekend late September. Anyone got any restaurant/brasserie recommendations. Maxish 130 euros per person.

    I'd love small eatery somewhere quiet, very French, candles etc... Any ideas?

    In my experience, Parisian food is really hit and miss, and all the places that are like you describe: quiet, candles, French - are either horribly twee and touristy or very expensive, or both, and the food is STILL variable

    Sorry not to be more help

    The most reliable good food in Paris is the big old fashioned brasseries with the red banquettes (which are undergoing a revival). Stick to the classics: oysters, foie gras and gingerbread, turbot and veg. Yummy

    But they are noisy and boozy
    Gingerbread?!?
    Yeah, I know, but it's an ancien regime brasserie classic, and when you have it you see why. Sweetness works with foie gras - cf Sauternes

    https://www.laclassedecuisine.com/recipes/appetizers/foie-gras-and-gingerbread-canapes/
This discussion has been closed.