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Meet the Top Tory who wants asylum seekers to F-Off – politicalbetting.com

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    Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,567
    Here's a finding that confused me, and appears to have confused scientists even more: "Last summer, I got a tip about a curious scientific finding. “I’m sorry, it cracks me up every time I think about this,” my tipster said.

    Back in 2018, a Harvard doctoral student named Andres Ardisson Korat was presenting his research on the relationship between dairy foods and chronic disease to his thesis committee. One of his studies had led him to an unusual conclusion: Among diabetics, eating half a cup of ice cream a day was associated with a lower risk of heart problems. Needless to say, the idea that a dessert loaded with saturated fat and sugar might actually be good for you raised some eyebrows at the nation’s most influential department of nutrition."
    source: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/05/ice-cream-bad-for-you-health-study/673487/

    Though I am still confused, I have begun buying ice cream from time to time, now that a lactose-free version is avaialble in this area.
  • Options
    On topic, can't we just tell Lee Anderson to Fuck Off?
  • Options
    darkagedarkage Posts: 4,822
    Foxy said:

    darkage said:

    I'm sure that this will seem a rather pitiful thing to celebrate to some of the more affluent, but I've just checked my payslip for Friday and my pre-tax pay for the week is over a grand (£1,085) for the first time

    Some of it seems to be overtime from the week before, but that was a good week too which makes it just under £1,950 for the fortnight

    I have been working quite crazy hours, and have only had two days off in the last three weeks, but that's not bad money for being a postie

    That is good going, well done. I've done several weeks where I worked 48 hours paid hourly. The tax is a big disincentive. Also you eventually get exhausted.
    Pah! I have worked more than 48 hours per week my entire career, admittedly in a less physical job than a postie.
    What does that mean in practice? I am interested. I've been working in a situation where I just claim for the hours I work and I am trusted to put down the right hours. I've found that my normal limit is about 40, so 8 hours per day with a 1 hour lunch break (9-6), and maybe another half day on Sunday.
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 45,223

    On topic, can't we just tell Lee Anderson to Fuck Off?

    GE 2024 is the time. Not long to wait.
  • Options
    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
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    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,598
    Nigelb said:

    Interesting.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/aug/09/trump-secret-memo-2020-election-indictments-biden-energy-live-updates
    J Michael Luttig told CNN:

    A political party is a collection and assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of America. Today, there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles or even policy views as within the Republican party for America.
    Donald Trump, he said, was a danger “more so today” than last year, when Luttig testified to the House January 6 committee.

    A respected conservative judge who was considered for the supreme court under George W Bush, Luttig made a tremendous impact with his January 6 testimony.

    Speaking on primetime television, Luttig said:

    I believe that had Vice-President Pence obeyed the orders from his president … and declared Donald Trump the next president of the United States … [he] would have plunged America into what I believe would have been tantamount to a revolution, within a constitutional crisis.
    On Wednesday, Luttig also told CNN he did not think Trump could avoid conviction for election subversion.

    “The evidence is overwhelming that the former president knew full well that he had lost the election,” he said.

    The GOP need to find a way to not nominate him, don't they? I both think they will yet can't see how. Interesting conflict between intuition and analysis.
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    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 45,223
    darkage said:

    Foxy said:

    darkage said:

    I'm sure that this will seem a rather pitiful thing to celebrate to some of the more affluent, but I've just checked my payslip for Friday and my pre-tax pay for the week is over a grand (£1,085) for the first time

    Some of it seems to be overtime from the week before, but that was a good week too which makes it just under £1,950 for the fortnight

    I have been working quite crazy hours, and have only had two days off in the last three weeks, but that's not bad money for being a postie

    That is good going, well done. I've done several weeks where I worked 48 hours paid hourly. The tax is a big disincentive. Also you eventually get exhausted.
    Pah! I have worked more than 48 hours per week my entire career, admittedly in a less physical job than a postie.
    What does that mean in practice? I am interested. I've been working in a situation where I just claim for the hours I work and I am trusted to put down the right hours. I've found that my normal limit is about 40, so 8 hours per day with a 1 hour lunch break (9-6), and maybe another half day on Sunday.
    Clinics, ward rounds, admin, daycase, lecturing, private practice. It's not unusual in my field. On Call is generally pretty easy at my seniority, just telephone device, but I don't count that in the 48
    hours.

    It's much easier if you actually like your job.
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 45,102
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    I believe that Anderson said that refugees should "fuck off back to France".

    Perhaps Mike might explain why he didn't use the full quote ?

    Now we know that France has many of the attributes of a failed state but it is still preferable to the places these refugees come from.

    So you ARE "thinking what they are thinking" then.

    They'll be pleased. That's the play.
    I'm a realist and the reality is difficult.

    How many people live in failed countries - certainly tens of millions and very likely hundreds of millions.

    How many people live in nasty authoritarian countries - hundreds of millions and if you include China its over a billion.

    How many people live in economically backward countries - hundreds of millions, over a billion if you include India.

    How many people live in countries threated by natural disaster or climate change - hundreds of millions.

    How many more people will all these places have during the next few decades - hundreds of millions.

    And how many people migrating from these places does it take to turn a first world country into something else ?
    None of that maps to "fuck off back to France". As I say, it's visceral. An appeal to base instincts (which we all have to varying degrees).
    It's grossly immoral.


    Telling them to fuck off back to Somalia would be marginally acceptable.

    France is beyond the frozen limit. I mean... France....

    I still recall what my ex said about the time she went to Calais to deal with an immigration matter - a dual national, plus wife got into some bother, so she got sent there by the immigration service.

    When she turned up, he was quite rude to her - this isn't uncommon with frightened people. The police officer in the room threw him against a wall - without missing a beat. Afterwards he said that next time he (the police officer) would (translated roughly - they were speaking French) "tune up the n****r, so he would be more polite".

    The thing was that my ex was from Ghana, as was the detainee. Interesting how some racists don't see colour, when they see education above their own (she was a lawyer).
  • Options
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    I believe that Anderson said that refugees should "fuck off back to France".

    Perhaps Mike might explain why he didn't use the full quote ?

    Now we know that France has many of the attributes of a failed state but it is still preferable to the places these refugees come from.

    So you ARE "thinking what they are thinking" then.

    They'll be pleased. That's the play.
    I'm a realist and the reality is difficult.

    How many people live in failed countries - certainly tens of millions and very likely hundreds of millions.

    How many people live in nasty authoritarian countries - hundreds of millions and if you include China its over a billion.

    How many people live in economically backward countries - hundreds of millions, over a billion if you include India.

    How many people live in countries threated by natural disaster or climate change - hundreds of millions.

    How many more people will all these places have during the next few decades - hundreds of millions.

    And how many people migrating from these places does it take to turn a first world country into something else ?
    None of that maps to "fuck off back to France". As I say, it's visceral. An appeal to base instincts (which we all have to varying degrees).
    Politics has always been based on appealing to base instincts.

    Its ultimately "vote for me and I'll protect you from them".

    Lee Anderson is an outlier in that he doesn't try, or doesn't know how, to use the pretensions of subtlety.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 48,088
    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177

    On topic, can't we just tell Lee Anderson to Fuck Off?

    Of course you can

    That’s the beauty of living in a free country

  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 45,102
    Foxy said:

    Two thoughts: First, it seems nearly certain to me that, given our genetic variations, the "best" diets will be different for different ages, different people, and different groups. (By best, I mean the ones that let us live the longest, healthiest lives.) Incidentally, that may be a good problem for the AI folks to look at.

    Second, as travel (and food) writer Calvin Trillin has observed, comfort food for most of us is what we ate when we were young -- which varies. And so, parcels of food from home travel all over the United States, providing sustenance and, more important, comfort.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Trillin

    So we should not expect others to necessarily like the foods we do, for both physical and psychological reasons.

    (Full disclosure: I have two of Trillin's books, "American Fried" and "Alice, let's eat", and like both of them. I think almost anyone who wants to write about travel (and food) could learn something from those books, and probably from two or three others by Trillin.)

    I worked for three months near Denver, Colorado back in 2011, and was actually pleasantly surprised at the number and variety of restaurants and diners selling decent vegetarian food.
    I was in Hamberg recently and lots of decent Vegan restaurants. They were unknown when I was there 3 decades ago.

    Full of quite fruity young frauleins too.
    Hamburg has many excellent restaurants, full stop. The bakeries are especially good - good croissant and coffee in the morning, seems to be everywhere.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,788
    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    Why is sending them back to the country that they're fleeing from more humane than sending them to a safe country in Africa?
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 45,102
    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    The EU policy is quite effective

    image
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    PeckPeck Posts: 517
    edited August 2023
    maxh said:

    HYUFD said:

    Anderson's comments may be a bit uncouth for the upper middle classes but in the redwall where his seat is I expect most voters will agree with his comments that if the asylum seekers don't like the barge accomodation the government gives them, they can go back to France.

    I find it quite hard to read comments like this without reading a subtext that the asylum seekers in question are less human than the rest of us.

    In part it is that your comment only considers the political implications of the statement, without commenting on whether it is an appropriate way to talk politically about other human beings, as if the only thing worth being considered is the politics of this and its impact on ‘proper’ humans in the red wall.

    In part it is an awareness of how degrading and dehumanising language has been used as a political tool in the past, and where it has got us.

    It makes me think of Pence and my admiration for him that, in the white heat of the US election, he found his red line and stayed the right side of it.

    I wonder where Tory activists’ red lines are on this, or even if they have them.
    Or leading Tory politicians' red lines for that matter. The party line in the response to the response to Lee Anderson's remarks (i.e. the followup stage) has been extremely clear. It's that he was expressing the deep frustration felt by a large part of the British public.

    This is small boats week on the government's comms grid and there will be further such efforts. I keep saying it, but this will be the immigration election. What else have the Tories got? Labour haven't got a chance. The Tory strategists basically have a big button in front of them saying "Push this button to win the election". They're not going to say "Nah, that would be wrong."
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    edited August 2023

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden in the US
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12389279/Prince-William-TROUNCES-Donald-Trump-Joe-Biden-popularity-contest-British-royal-rare-unifying-figure-Republicans-Democrats-agree.html#comments
  • Options
    I eat and drink what tastes good and makes me feel happy

    Fuck the health benefits/risks

    I walk over 23,000 steps a day (average last six months)

    Today the BBC tells me that I only need to walk 4,000 each day to get some undefined benefit

    They also tell me that for every extra 1,000 steps I walk every day, up to 20,000, I reduce my chance of dying early by 15%

    They cant mean that I reduce my chance of dying early by 240% (16*15), more likely that I've reduced my chance of dying early to about 2.5% (0.85¹⁶)

    I wonder what smoking and drinking will have to say about that
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
    Polled by Gallup, a respected pollster
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
  • Options

    Has the Ohio abortion proxy vote been mentioned ?

    It looks like another example of the anti-abortion extremists over-reaching.

    If the GOP had any sense they would have aimed at restricting abortion to around 12-13 weeks.

    The one Republican candidate who has mentioned this explicitly is Trump - he has been saying the GOP is losing votes on the issue.
  • Options
    darkagedarkage Posts: 4,822
    Foxy said:

    darkage said:

    Foxy said:

    darkage said:

    I'm sure that this will seem a rather pitiful thing to celebrate to some of the more affluent, but I've just checked my payslip for Friday and my pre-tax pay for the week is over a grand (£1,085) for the first time

    Some of it seems to be overtime from the week before, but that was a good week too which makes it just under £1,950 for the fortnight

    I have been working quite crazy hours, and have only had two days off in the last three weeks, but that's not bad money for being a postie

    That is good going, well done. I've done several weeks where I worked 48 hours paid hourly. The tax is a big disincentive. Also you eventually get exhausted.
    Pah! I have worked more than 48 hours per week my entire career, admittedly in a less physical job than a postie.
    What does that mean in practice? I am interested. I've been working in a situation where I just claim for the hours I work and I am trusted to put down the right hours. I've found that my normal limit is about 40, so 8 hours per day with a 1 hour lunch break (9-6), and maybe another half day on Sunday.
    Clinics, ward rounds, admin, daycase, lecturing, private practice. It's not unusual in my field. On Call is generally pretty easy at my seniority, just telephone device, but I don't count that in the 48
    hours.

    It's much easier if you actually like your job.
    Yeah I like my job. But I think it has a limit at about 42 hours, if you just count the time you spend actually working. I just wondered how many more hours people do in other jobs. I've done up to 80 hours in the past working in a technical sense, ie 12 hours a day for 6 days a week in front of a computer.
  • Options
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
  • Options
    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,598

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    I believe that Anderson said that refugees should "fuck off back to France".

    Perhaps Mike might explain why he didn't use the full quote ?

    Now we know that France has many of the attributes of a failed state but it is still preferable to the places these refugees come from.

    So you ARE "thinking what they are thinking" then.

    They'll be pleased. That's the play.
    I'm a realist and the reality is difficult.

    How many people live in failed countries - certainly tens of millions and very likely hundreds of millions.

    How many people live in nasty authoritarian countries - hundreds of millions and if you include China its over a billion.

    How many people live in economically backward countries - hundreds of millions, over a billion if you include India.

    How many people live in countries threated by natural disaster or climate change - hundreds of millions.

    How many more people will all these places have during the next few decades - hundreds of millions.

    And how many people migrating from these places does it take to turn a first world country into something else ?
    None of that maps to "fuck off back to France". As I say, it's visceral. An appeal to base instincts (which we all have to varying degrees).
    Politics has always been based on appealing to base instincts.

    Its ultimately "vote for me and I'll protect you from them".

    Lee Anderson is an outlier in that he doesn't try, or doesn't know how, to use the pretensions of subtlety.
    Come off it. Don't be so dreary. Plenty of successful politicians do not do that.
  • Options
    Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 8,908
    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    Ah got you so the libyan coast guard taking them to a shed where they can just about have space to lie down and are rented out for field labour by the libyan governement is a lot better than sending them to rwanda....gotcha
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 48,088
    I think "Crooked House" is becoming an inflection point for the nation. The name alone...

    And it isn't good for Tories. But Labour will have to wrestle with the emotions that have been roiled
  • Options
    Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 33,786

    Second, as travel (and food) writer Calvin Trillin has observed, comfort food for most of us is what we ate when we were young -- which varies. And so, parcels of food from home travel all over the United States, providing sustenance and, more important, comfort.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Trillin

    So we should not expect others to necessarily like the foods we do, for both physical and psychological reasons.

    I read an article recently (and I can't remember if it was linked here or not) that suggested rich people like healthier food because low income families can't afford to waste food their kids won't eat, like broccoli

    Apparently you need to eat it at least 5 times before you overcome the bitterness and appreciate the flavour

    If you can afford for your kids to spit it out 5 times they are more likely to eat it as grown ups (apparently)
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    ..

    ...

    ohnotnow said:

    ...

    Me and the Mrs Had lunch in the Mad Cucumber vegan lounge in Bournemouth yesterday. Top notch scran. Aubergine fried in spiced breadcrumbs, vegetable Katsu curry, sticky jasmine rice. Chocolate and raspberry tarte and an oreo milk shake, the wife had a sticky tofu stir fry and Victoria sponge for afters. All made from scratch in the kitchen. Clearly I don't eat the type of vegan food most of PB think all vegans eat. For the record, none of the vegans I know eat meat substitutes regularly, usually only if you're out and that's all you can find on a menu. I did have a bit of diced up beyond meat sausage in some loaded fries I bought from a van on the beach a couple of nights ago, though!

    The fact that vegan food can be presented in an exciting way, and taste delicious, has never been in dispute (at least not by me). What I take issue with is the promotion of veganism as a healthy alternative diet. It simply isn't - it takes a lot of effort to maintain health on it, and necessitates artificial supplementation or artificially fortified foods. I don't see a difference between the promotion of veganism and the promotion of junk food - they are both driven by agribusiness/food processors looking to make a buck from the credulous.
    I put on about 3stones while I was vegan.

    Vegan pasties - just say 'no', kids.
    I think the fats used (in place of butter and meat derived fats) aren't great. Coconut oil is a wonderful vegan fat to cook with, but how much of that finds its way into processed vegan food?
    Coconut oil isn't great, but it's cheap so you'll find a lot of that in processed food. Ditto palm oil. You'll find unhealthy vegetable processd fats in most "non vegan" processed food as plants are far cheaper to grow than dairy cattle. All food now is about extracting the most profit from as little ingredient cost as possible, resulting in ultra processed foods making up more than half the daily calories in both the UK and US populations.
    You're mistaken. Coconut oil is a great fat - highly heat stable, with antibacterial and antioxidant properties, rich in vitamin E. Palm oil has quite a good profile too, but it's more problematical due to green issues concerning its cultivation. I am a lot more concerned about sunflower oil and other cheap polyunsaturated fats.

    It's not healthy to cook with regularly. It's about a third higher in unsaturated fat than butter. It was touted as a miracle fat by celebrities about 5 years ago, but current research debunks most of the alleged benefits of it.
    Congratulations - your comment has just caused the Tokelau stock market
    Foxy said:

    Pagan2 said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    There's plenty of evidence switching to a diet containing meat was a big factor in the cerebral development of early humanity. There's also evidence a balanced moderate diet containing red meat, white meat, fish and vegetables isn't a bad idea either.

    I've eatBeen some wonderful vegetarian food and I am less of a carnivore than I was - as far as venison is concerned, my brother-in-law in New Zealand is a decent shot and has served us roast venison in his time - he says it's a very lean meat and he uses bacon just to bring some fat to the table.

    Venison steaks with a cherry sauce works well I find
    Just had a cazoort of wisdom - The PB Cookbook!

    My own contribution would be most meager, but gauging from P2's post, and many others, a cookbook filled with PB favorites would have to be above average for the genre.
    Not sure my pork pie and cold beans meal will play in Peoria!
    Willing to wager, better than my own speciality - classic "shit-on-a-shingle"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipped_beef#U.S._military_cuisine

    Chow line staple, gave WW2 GIs the inner rage required to battle and defeat Hitler, Tojo and the War Dept.

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    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 45,102
    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    Ah got you so the libyan coast guard taking them to a shed where they can just about have space to lie down and are rented out for field labour by the libyan governement is a lot better than sending them to rwanda....gotcha
    Absolutely.

    In fact, instead of asking Rwanda, or renting boats, why not fly them to Libya?

    It's the EU solution. Think of it as alignment in action.
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
    Polled by Gallup, a respected pollster
    Irrelevant data are irrelevant however accurate they are.
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    ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,026
    Nigelb said:

    Interesting.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/aug/09/trump-secret-memo-2020-election-indictments-biden-energy-live-updates
    J Michael Luttig told CNN:

    A political party is a collection and assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of America. Today, there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles or even policy views as within the Republican party for America.
    Donald Trump, he said, was a danger “more so today” than last year, when Luttig testified to the House January 6 committee.

    A respected conservative judge who was considered for the supreme court under George W Bush, Luttig made a tremendous impact with his January 6 testimony.

    Speaking on primetime television, Luttig said:

    I believe that had Vice-President Pence obeyed the orders from his president … and declared Donald Trump the next president of the United States … [he] would have plunged America into what I believe would have been tantamount to a revolution, within a constitutional crisis.
    On Wednesday, Luttig also told CNN he did not think Trump could avoid conviction for election subversion.

    “The evidence is overwhelming that the former president knew full well that he had lost the election,” he said.

    This seems so obvious to me. I really think Trump is up shit creek this time, but a lot of people just don’t believe it.
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,505
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    I believe that Anderson said that refugees should "fuck off back to France".

    Perhaps Mike might explain why he didn't use the full quote ?

    Now we know that France has many of the attributes of a failed state but it is still preferable to the places these refugees come from.

    So you ARE "thinking what they are thinking" then.

    They'll be pleased. That's the play.
    I'm a realist and the reality is difficult.

    How many people live in failed countries - certainly tens of millions and very likely hundreds of millions.

    How many people live in nasty authoritarian countries - hundreds of millions and if you include China its over a billion.

    How many people live in economically backward countries - hundreds of millions, over a billion if you include India.

    How many people live in countries threated by natural disaster or climate change - hundreds of millions.

    How many more people will all these places have during the next few decades - hundreds of millions.

    And how many people migrating from these places does it take to turn a first world country into something else ?
    None of that maps to "fuck off back to France". As I say, it's visceral. An appeal to base instincts (which we all have to varying degrees).
    I'm perfectly sure the Leeanderthal (h/t to someone on here, sorry, can't remember who) defenders will be perfectly ok the next time some random Nat on twitter tells an Anglo to fuck off back to England.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,518

    Carnyx said:

    ...

    DavidL said:

    TOPPING said:

    DavidL said:

    TOPPING said:

    DavidL said:

    Pagan2 said:

    DavidL said:

    TOPPING said:

    kjh said:

    kjh said:

    Pagan2 said:

    kjh said:

    Pagan2 said:

    TOPPING said:

    Pagan2 said:

    TOPPING said:

    Pagan2 said:

    TOPPING said:

    Pagan2 said:

    TOPPING said:

    Pagan2 said:

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Pagan2 said:

    Carnyx said:

    148grss said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Its a terrible, unhealthy diet. Vegan food, especially vegan meat alternatives, is all processed carbs.

    You keep saying this. It is not true. Vegan meat alternatives are largely processed vegetable (or fungal) proteins.

    Oh really?

    Just thought I'd look at first example I could think of, a burger, ASDA own brand for like-for-like comparison.

    Per 100 grams
    Beef burgers: 13g fat, 5g carb, 20g protein https://groceries.asda.com/product/beef-burgers-bbq/asda-succulent-8-beef-burgers/910002976720
    Plant based burgers: 11g fat, 14g carb, 6g protein https://groceries.asda.com/product/vegan-burgers-mince/asda-plant-based-spiced-bean-burgers/1000383162213

    Processed carb crap. No thanks.

    Meat you can get whole cuts of unprocessed meat. Whereas you largely get processed crap for the alternative, which is nowhere near as healthy and not something we should wish upon our worst enemy.
    While that might be true for an Asda own brand vegan burger, an Impossible burger contains 19g of protein, while there are 18g in a Beyond burger.
    Also it’s a bean burger, not a pretend-meat burger! And if you think the beefburger *isn't* processed… well, ignorance is bliss I guess.

    People get very strange very quickly when the consumption of flesh is questioned.

    The idea that vegan food is ‘all processed carbs’ is just daft, unless you have an extraordinarily broad definition of ‘processed’ which extends to such processes as ‘picking fruit off a tree’.
    It's entirely natural. The whole planet works on the basis of a living food chain.

    What do people think consumes their flesh when our time on earth is up?

    Little clue: they aren't vegan.
    Natural does not equal necessary. It's natural for me to not be able to see clearly 4ft in front of my face, but I like my glasses. It's also natural to piss and shit straight onto the soil, but I'm sure people would get upset if I did that outside of any private compost heap I might decide to keep.

    No one is saying that humans cannot get nutrients from meat, just that we can have a diet that doesn't include it.

    If you feel that the consumption of meat is morally abhorrent, or just dislike the mass produced nature of a lot of meat now, then you can live a healthy life without eating meat.
    Yes this is my position. I know that it is perfectly possible to have a healthy diet without meat as I haven't eaten meat in 35 years and am in great health. I've never tried to force this view on anyone else and as far as I can see on this forum the greatest proselytisers are from the eating dead animals camp. I do wish they would fuck off as I believe the government likes to put it.
    I've never tried to make someone eat meat.

    I've definitely had vegans and vegetarians try and make me eat their diet at events, either directly or through moral blackmail, or use their diet to exercise control in social situations. At a macro level there's a strong movement to tax or regulate me out of meat too.

    So I wish they would fuck off, actually.
    I've seen people - usually old fogies - insist on trying to feed meat to vegetarians or pescetarians even when given ample notice to go for one of their other perfectlyt normal recipes.
    Yes, I've been vegetarian ever since I was a teenager (I'm in my 50s now) and my father never accepted it. Whenever I dropped round, he'd offer me a bacon sandwich or suchlike and then act all hurt when I turned it down. I never really understood his determination to make me eat meat when I was obviously doing fine without it.
    I cook a lot and have people around if someone is a vegetarian/vegan I have always made a main dish for them that is vegatarian/vegan....what I won't do is make the whole main dish vegetarian/vegan. The rest of us will be eating meat
    I'm the opposite. Rabid meat eater. But if I'm giving a dinner party and there is a veggie there I will give everyone veggie food. Gives me a chance to show off my creativity although warning: putting (delicious) open cap mushrooms in things turns everything grey. I think it's rude to give people different things effectively singling them out for their dietary choices. I invited them, after all.
    If someone wants to make a dietary choice, then that's their choice, but everyone else doesn't have to suffer for it.

    My choice is to eat meat, and if I was eating at a vegan household I'd be seriously impressed and pleased if they put the effort in to make a meal suitable to my choices, not feel singled out.

    For some reason though most vegans think they should be catered for, but there's no onus on them to return the favour.
    As I said I believe it is rude. I have invited the person for dinner and the essence of good manners is not to make someone feel awkward or out of place. Hence everyone gets veggie food. Rolling out a separate dish for them, although I'm sure would be appreciated, is imo bad manners. But then I'm an old fashioned kind of guy.
    That is your choice, many though would be offended at not being served because someone is a vegetarian.
    Not my friends. If they are offended because they don't get their lamb cutlets because another of my, likely our friends is a veggie then they wouldn't be a friend.
    Frankly I would rather cut the veggie out
    Again, more of a comment on you and I'm sure your dinner parties are a guinea a minute.
    In my experience vegan/vegetarian friends are short term.....pretty much everyone I have had has at some point tried to lecture me about meat means murder and get told to fuck off
    QED. People are lining up to bemoan the attitude of people at their dinner parties that they are never going to invite to their dinner parties.
    No it means I am happy to invite them, make an effort for them. They don't however get to impose their standards on others.
    Doesn't sound like you are talking about a friend. Sounds like you are talking about an imaginary vegan about whom you like to rant. If you are talking about a friend what a nasty attitude you have to your friends.
    Ok here is another example. My step brother only likes his roast potato's, parsnips etc. burnt to a crisp. When I have him over for the sunday roast I get the potato's etc out then leave enough for him in the oven to overcook. By your argument I should serve everyone blackened roasties so he is not singled out.

    I goto the extra hassle of making a good main dish for a vegetarian/vegan but that is not good enough....no it is there faddy diet and their choice. I catered for it just like I do with my stepbrother. I just refuse to let it impact others
    But that is not the same is it. I'm a meat eater but I also love a veggie meal. Most (all) meat eaters do.
    I like vegetables, I like meat and they go well together. Cannot remember the last time a meal I had was vegan certainly. Vegetarian when I have a cheese salad is about the closest I get.

    I am not a huge fan of pulses and avoid them like the plague because I find them disgusting. Most vegetarian or vegan meals seem replete with them so yes I don't want generally to eat them as I don't like pulses (by which I mean any type of bean, lentils etc).
    Macaroni cheese, Cauliflower cheese, vegetable curry. I had a lovely potato and cauliflower curry last night. My wife does a lovely stilton and walnut tart. How about a simple cheese omelette. Other favourites of mine are a fennel casserole or a vegetable crumble. How about beans on toast? Most of us have that sometimes.

    There are lots of veggie meals. Vegan I grant you is a challenge.
    Macaroni cheese should have bacon in it.

    There's few things that aren't improved with bacon though.
    Well I'm not going to disagree with that, ever.
    Conversely, few things aren't improved with cheese.
    Burgers? I am really not a fan of cheese burgers.
    Oh, and soup, especially if it’s blue cheese which I adore but makes a disgusting soup.
    Asparagus and stilton soup is yummy
    No it’s not. And one of my favourite meals in my life was in Stratford upon Avon where “desert” was a Stilton you had to scoop out with a spoon. Utterly divine. Best cheese I’ve ever had. Just keep it away from the soup.
    NEVER SCOOP STILTON OUT WITH A SPOON DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN.

    Cut it horizontally.
    This was honestly too runny to cut. It was nearly 30 years ago and I remember the taste even yet.
    Stilton too runny to cut? What? Are you sure? I mean I don't want to puncture one of your key memories but I can't see it. You mean they gave you a round or a half a round of stilton and a spoon and it was too runny? Hmm.
    It was a whole Stilton with the top cut off and you scooped the inside out of it. Never seen the like again. It didn’t have much similarity to the bits you get cut in even a good cheese shop but it was sensational.
    You'd really love Shropshire blue (if you haven't had it) the texture is so smooth, it's amazing. A far more consistent cheese than Stilton.
    Dorset Blue Vinny is a great cheese with an interesting history. Made on one farm near Sturminster Newton.

    https://www.dorsetblue.com/dorset-blue-vinny
    It is rather nice: a wersh, tart version of Stilton, and quite refreshing.

    I always try to buy some on my periodic trips to Dorset, preferably with Knobs to eat them with, but the latter seem only to be baked at certain times of the year.
    I've got to say that vegan cheese ain't the best. There's a few small makers (some good ones in Scotland) making a half decent attempt, but supermarket vegan cheese is mostly grim!
    Vegan cheese is often repulsive.
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355

    ..

    ...

    ohnotnow said:

    ...

    Me and the Mrs Had lunch in the Mad Cucumber vegan lounge in Bournemouth yesterday. Top notch scran. Aubergine fried in spiced breadcrumbs, vegetable Katsu curry, sticky jasmine rice. Chocolate and raspberry tarte and an oreo milk shake, the wife had a sticky tofu stir fry and Victoria sponge for afters. All made from scratch in the kitchen. Clearly I don't eat the type of vegan food most of PB think all vegans eat. For the record, none of the vegans I know eat meat substitutes regularly, usually only if you're out and that's all you can find on a menu. I did have a bit of diced up beyond meat sausage in some loaded fries I bought from a van on the beach a couple of nights ago, though!

    The fact that vegan food can be presented in an exciting way, and taste delicious, has never been in dispute (at least not by me). What I take issue with is the promotion of veganism as a healthy alternative diet. It simply isn't - it takes a lot of effort to maintain health on it, and necessitates artificial supplementation or artificially fortified foods. I don't see a difference between the promotion of veganism and the promotion of junk food - they are both driven by agribusiness/food processors looking to make a buck from the credulous.
    I put on about 3stones while I was vegan.

    Vegan pasties - just say 'no', kids.
    I think the fats used (in place of butter and meat derived fats) aren't great. Coconut oil is a wonderful vegan fat to cook with, but how much of that finds its way into processed vegan food?
    Coconut oil isn't great, but it's cheap so you'll find a lot of that in processed food. Ditto palm oil. You'll find unhealthy vegetable processd fats in most "non vegan" processed food as plants are far cheaper to grow than dairy cattle. All food now is about extracting the most profit from as little ingredient cost as possible, resulting in ultra processed foods making up more than half the daily calories in both the UK and US populations.
    You're mistaken. Coconut oil is a great fat - highly heat stable, with antibacterial and antioxidant properties, rich in vitamin E. Palm oil has quite a good profile too, but it's more problematical due to green issues concerning its cultivation. I am a lot more concerned about sunflower oil and other cheap polyunsaturated fats.

    It's not healthy to cook with regularly. It's about a third higher in unsaturated fat than butter. It was touted as a miracle fat by celebrities about 5 years ago, but current research debunks most of the alleged benefits of it.
    Congratulations - your comment has just caused the Tokelau stock market
    Foxy said:

    Pagan2 said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    There's plenty of evidence switching to a diet containing meat was a big factor in the cerebral development of early humanity. There's also evidence a balanced moderate diet containing red meat, white meat, fish and vegetables isn't a bad idea either.

    I've eatBeen some wonderful vegetarian food and I am less of a carnivore than I was - as far as venison is concerned, my brother-in-law in New Zealand is a decent shot and has served us roast venison in his time - he says it's a very lean meat and he uses bacon just to bring some fat to the table.

    Venison steaks with a cherry sauce works well I find
    Just had a cazoort of wisdom - The PB Cookbook!

    My own contribution would be most meager, but gauging from P2's post, and many others, a cookbook filled with PB favorites would have to be above average for the genre.
    Not sure my pork pie and cold beans meal will play in Peoria!
    Willing to wager, better than my own speciality - classic "shit-on-a-shingle"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipped_beef#U.S._military_cuisine

    Chow line staple, gave WW2 GIs the inner rage required to battle and defeat Hitler, Tojo and the War Dept.

    The recipe is absolutely hideous. Just the list of ingredients ...

    Beef, chipped (for 60 men)


    Ingredients used:
    15 pounds chipped beef
    1½ pound of fat, butter preferred
    1¼ lbs flour
    2 12-oz cans of evaporated milk
    1 bunch parsley
    ¼ oz pepper
    6 quarts beef stock

    Melt the fat in the pan, and add the flour; when it has cooked a few minutes, add the milk, dissolved in the beef stock, or water. Stir the batter in slowly to prevent lumping, and then add the beef. Cook a few minutes, add the parsley, and serve on toast. If the beef is very salty, it should be scalded before cooking.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
    Polled by Gallup, a respected pollster
    Irrelevant data are irrelevant however accurate they are.
    It is not irrelevant, it is significant for our royal family and its global brand that the population of the richest and most powerful nation on earth not only knows who the King and Prince of Wales are but also gives them such high favourable ratings.

    Confirming the huge soft power the royal family gives the UK
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden in the US
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12389279/Prince-William-TROUNCES-Donald-Trump-Joe-Biden-popularity-contest-British-royal-rare-unifying-figure-Republicans-Democrats-agree.html#comments
    Baldy fucker, wife makes Chris Bonington look like an also-ran. Huzzah.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
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    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,027
    would GAIN Bristol Central from Labour with 16% swing.

    Bristol Central GE2024 forecast

    GRN 46% (+16)
    LAB 39% (-16)
    CON 6% (-7)
    LD 4% (+4)
    REF 3% (+2)

    Current MP = Thangam Debbonaire (Labour)
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425

    Has the Ohio abortion proxy vote been mentioned ?

    It looks like another example of the anti-abortion extremists over-reaching.

    If the GOP had any sense they would have aimed at restricting abortion to around 12-13 weeks.

    The one Republican candidate who has mentioned this explicitly is Trump - he has been saying the GOP is losing votes on the issue.
    Maybe the evangelicals will do for Trump then for not being pro life enough and switch to Pence or DeSantis even if he manages to avoid any criminal convictions next year turning off independents
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
    Polled by Gallup, a respected pollster
    Irrelevant data are irrelevant however accurate they are.
    It is not irrelevant, it is significant for our royal family and its global brand that the population of the richest and most powerful nation on earth not only knows who the King and Prince of Wales are but also gives them such high favourable ratings.

    Confirming the huge soft power the royal family gives the UK
    TV soap opera? On that logic, Love Island must just about double it.
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    Leon said:

    I think "Crooked House" is becoming an inflection point for the nation. The name alone...

    And it isn't good for Tories. But Labour will have to wrestle with the emotions that have been roiled

    "Crooked Keir"
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,505
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    Also polled in the US, so who cares what they think? And posted by a rabidly antirepublican organisation. And I don't mean Republicans.
    Polled by Gallup, a respected pollster
    Irrelevant data are irrelevant however accurate they are.
    It is not irrelevant, it is significant for our royal family and its global brand that the population of the richest and most powerful nation on earth not only knows who the King and Prince of Wales are but also gives them such high favourable ratings.

    Confirming the huge soft power the royal family gives the UK
    Is soft a synonym for limp?
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
  • Options
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    But that's irrelevant.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
  • Options
    darkagedarkage Posts: 4,822
    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    Ah got you so the libyan coast guard taking them to a shed where they can just about have space to lie down and are rented out for field labour by the libyan governement is a lot better than sending them to rwanda....gotcha
    From the EU's point of view they aren't sponsoring the alleged slavery, they are just sending the people back from where they set out. I would suggest that is different to imprisoning them and shipping them out to a physically remote country thousands of miles away.

    I don't think you can be certain that the refugees wouldn't end up the same situation in Rwanda.

    The whole thing is a mess but the aim should be to close down the routes.



  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177
    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,027
    MRP estimate for Scotland (old boundaries):

    SNP 38 (-10)
    LAB 13 (+12)
    LD 5 (+1)
    CON 3 (-3)

    Via
    @ElectCalculus
    /
    @FindoutnowUK
    , 31 Jul - 4 Aug (+/- vs 2019)
  • Options
    stodgestodge Posts: 12,984

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
    It's well away from the Four Seasons which is on my bucket list. I'm sure @Leon has stayed there - is it as good as it looks?

    That said, disastrous for the western coast - the winds are being funnelled between the hurricane to the south and an unusually strong ridge over the northern Pacific which might perhsps be related to the typhoons further west over the Japanese Islands.

    The winds are classic fire-makers, strong, gusty and bringing low humidity.

    It seems likely there will be fatalities on an island unused to this - as the Governor says, it's usually flooding. It's also affecting the Big Island but not, as yet, Oahu.
  • Options
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    You don't really get it do you?
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,355
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    Which should have all gone ionto the public purse many, many years ago.

    Very unwise of you to bring up that particular issue, given how very, very well the RF has done out of it, rather than a proper fixed budget. Especially at a time when so many folk have had their finances trashed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/19/cash-and-the-crown-estate-a-look-at-the-british-monarchys-funding-deal
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-take-smaller-cut-from-crown-estate-as-windfarm-profits-soar
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    But half of the point is, they don't get to vote for him. The other half is, neither do we. What was the question anyway? Best POTUS, best regular guy, best evidence that royalty plus billionairedom outweighs being a reasonably amiable pudding?
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 10,140

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The vast majority of migrants and refugees find their way to London. Because we’re a world city and a melting pot where anything is
    possible. And I’m sorry to report to the voters of Ashfield that we don’t see it as a “problem” in the slightest. We actually have functional demographics rather than gerontocracy.

    Lee will probably lose his Ashfield seat to Labour at the next election. Which means he can fuck off back to deserved obscurity.
  • Options

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
    Eudora
    Wizadora
    Pandora
  • Options
    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,806
    edited August 2023

    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them

    Yes. All round the estate where I live.

    Big ones, too, much larger than normal.
  • Options

    MRP estimate for Scotland (old boundaries):

    SNP 38 (-10)
    LAB 13 (+12)
    LD 5 (+1)
    CON 3 (-3)

    Via
    @ElectCalculus
    /
    @FindoutnowUK
    , 31 Jul - 4 Aug (+/- vs 2019)

    No Green seats?
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 48,088

    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
    And they had a JCB ready to go, to:


    1. Pile up the mud to prevent fire engine access

    and then, when they panicked (due to the massive anger on social media)

    2. To send in the JCB along non blocked lanes to tear down the evidence of their ALLEGED arson

    There are other rumours as to why they wanted the land - cleared of annoying buildings

    Fuck em. Looks like slam dunk to me. Guilty as fuck, and right next door



  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-doctor-murdered-after-taking-wrong-turn-in-cape-town-jf9ffhq05

    Reasons not to treat 3rd world shitholes as holiday destinations pt 94.
  • Options

    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them

    I just saw one puny male ant, and that was it.
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 10,140
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
    And they had a JCB ready to go, to:


    1. Pile up the mud to prevent fire engine access

    and then, when they panicked (due to the massive anger on social media)

    2. To send in the JCB along non blocked lanes to tear down the evidence of their ALLEGED arson

    There are other rumours as to why they wanted the land - cleared of annoying buildings

    Fuck em. Looks like slam dunk to me. Guilty as fuck, and right next door



    Community service: rebuild it brick by brick, by hand. Wonky, mind.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    TimS said:

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The vast majority of migrants and refugees find their way to London. Because we’re a world city and a melting pot where anything is
    possible. And I’m sorry to report to the voters of Ashfield that we don’t see it as a “problem” in the slightest. We actually have functional demographics rather than gerontocracy.

    Lee will probably lose his Ashfield seat to Labour at the next election. Which means he can fuck off back to deserved obscurity.
    Also a city where housing is very expensive and most rent whereas in Ashfield most own
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    Miklosvar said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    But half of the point is, they don't get to vote for him. The other half is, neither do we. What was the question anyway? Best POTUS, best regular guy, best evidence that royalty plus billionairedom outweighs being a reasonably amiable pudding?
    And all the better for it as we avoid a divisive and party political head of state
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,668
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    So the whole American revolution thing was a mistake? I can see why, given a choice like Trump and Biden they might think that.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,425
    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    Which should have all gone ionto the public purse many, many years ago.

    Very unwise of you to bring up that particular issue, given how very, very well the RF has done out of it, rather than a proper fixed budget. Especially at a time when so many folk have had their finances trashed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/19/cash-and-the-crown-estate-a-look-at-the-british-monarchys-funding-deal
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-take-smaller-cut-from-crown-estate-as-windfarm-profits-soar
    The King is seeing a fall in percentage profits from the Crown Estate while those on minimum wage, state pension and benefits are seeing an above inflation rise of 10%
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,518
    .

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The non stupid way might be more interesting.

    https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-right-to-work-in-germany-and-the-uk/
    … The UK’s longstanding asylum policy relies on circular logic: asylum-seekers are a burden as they are dependent on the state, so to prevent them from being drawn to the country by economic opportunities, we must exclude them from the labour market, rendering them dependent on the state. As well as being discriminatory and feeding into anti-migration sentiments, this approach represents a missed opportunity for the economy and welfare system. This is something Germany recognises, and the EU is beginning to, yet the UK still does not...
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 45,102
    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    The EU policy is to stop the boats, just like the UK policy. But surely it is clear that it is different sending them back to where they set off, to flying them out against their will to the middle of Africa with no route to claim asylum in the UK.
    Ah got you so the libyan coast guard taking them to a shed where they can just about have space to lie down and are rented out for field labour by the libyan governement is a lot better than sending them to rwanda....gotcha
    From the EU's point of view they aren't sponsoring the alleged slavery, they are just sending the people back from where they set out. I would suggest that is different to imprisoning them and shipping them out to a physically remote country thousands of miles away.

    I don't think you can be certain that the refugees wouldn't end up the same situation in Rwanda.

    The whole thing is a mess but the aim should be to close down the routes.



    They are actually paying the "Libyan Coastguard" - a heavily armed militia - to catch the migrants before they get to the EU. There have been many confirmed reports of the Libyan Coastguard boarding ships in international waters and even shooting at them to get them to stop.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,668

    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them

    I just saw one puny male ant, and that was it.
    Surely an uncle? Edit, on reflection I don't want to start another gender argument. Apologies.
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    Which should have all gone ionto the public purse many, many years ago.

    Very unwise of you to bring up that particular issue, given how very, very well the RF has done out of it, rather than a proper fixed budget. Especially at a time when so many folk have had their finances trashed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/19/cash-and-the-crown-estate-a-look-at-the-british-monarchys-funding-deal
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-take-smaller-cut-from-crown-estate-as-windfarm-profits-soar
    The King is seeing a fall in percentage profits from the Crown Estate while those on minimum wage, state pension and benefits are seeing an above inflation rise of 10%
    We should start a GoFundMe already
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 56,171
    DavidL said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    So the whole American revolution thing was a mistake? I can see why, given a choice like Trump and Biden they might think that.
    We did try to tell them. And King George III tried to parley.

    Oh well.
  • Options
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    Which should have all gone ionto the public purse many, many years ago.

    Very unwise of you to bring up that particular issue, given how very, very well the RF has done out of it, rather than a proper fixed budget. Especially at a time when so many folk have had their finances trashed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/19/cash-and-the-crown-estate-a-look-at-the-british-monarchys-funding-deal
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-take-smaller-cut-from-crown-estate-as-windfarm-profits-soar
    The King is seeing a fall in percentage profits from the Crown Estate while those on minimum wage, state pension and benefits are seeing an above inflation rise of 10%
    Excellent news
  • Options
    TimSTimS Posts: 10,140
    Having just spent an evening in Temple Bar in Dublin I can report: cheesy over-the-top yet undeniably fun tourist honeypot excess is back.

    Dublin is full of French tourists in particular this year, it seems. With the dinging trams and Euros it almost feels exotic. The whole place reinforcing its spot as clear second best city destination in the British isles.
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    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    But that's irrelevant.
    Worse than that it’s downright misleading

    In a polarised political society the cheerleader from one side is going to start with significant negatives

    Compare that with “nice guy that I’ve vaguely heard of - he’s the one with the pretty wife right? - from a country that I like. But I don’t know much about him so I’ll say I like him. After all he’s better than Trump/Biden (delete as appropriate)”

  • Options
    Miklosvar said:

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-doctor-murdered-after-taking-wrong-turn-in-cape-town-jf9ffhq05

    Reasons not to treat 3rd world shitholes as holiday destinations pt 94.

    My wife and I hired a car in Cape Town and had a fantastic few days with no trouble whatsoever
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 48,088
    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
    And they had a JCB ready to go, to:


    1. Pile up the mud to prevent fire engine access

    and then, when they panicked (due to the massive anger on social media)

    2. To send in the JCB along non blocked lanes to tear down the evidence of their ALLEGED arson

    There are other rumours as to why they wanted the land - cleared of annoying buildings

    Fuck em. Looks like slam dunk to me. Guilty as fuck, and right next door



    Community service: rebuild it brick by brick, by hand. Wonky, mind.
    I honestly think these people need to do serious jailtime. It is now apparent this happens everywhere, all the time - developer's lightning, then demolition (because "unsafe"), dodge the planning laws, get planning permission. And thus a lovely building/district is gone

    These people need to do a few years in jail. They've been caught red handed - it seems - so it is a clear cut case. A severe prison sentence should concentrate the minds of anyone tempted to copy the method. Detterence is one of the moral and philosophical pillars of incarceration as a punishment. Honour it
  • Options
    Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,419

    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them

    I just saw one puny male ant, and that was it.
    I saw loads of them in pembs. Maybe it's the ant queens birthday.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 56,171
    Republicans really hate it when the monarchy polls well, don't they?

    Temper temper.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177
    stodge said:

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
    It's well away from the Four Seasons which is on my bucket list. I'm sure @Leon has stayed there - is it as good as it looks?

    That said, disastrous for the western coast - the winds are being funnelled between the hurricane to the south and an unusually strong ridge over the northern Pacific which might perhsps be related to the typhoons further west over the Japanese Islands.

    The winds are classic fire-makers, strong, gusty and bringing low humidity.

    It seems likely there will be fatalities on an island unused to this - as the Governor says, it's usually flooding. It's also affecting the Big Island but not, as yet, Oahu.
    As an aside that’s a terrible article for the governor - the LG taking the lead as he’s “travelling out of state” while it burns
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855

    Miklosvar said:

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-doctor-murdered-after-taking-wrong-turn-in-cape-town-jf9ffhq05

    Reasons not to treat 3rd world shitholes as holiday destinations pt 94.

    My wife and I hired a car in Cape Town and had a fantastic few days with no trouble whatsoever
    My granny smoked heavily and lived to be 89.
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 45,223

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
    Eudora
    Wizadora
    Pandora
    We have a Theodora in our department, known as Dora.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,668
    Nigelb said:

    .

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The non stupid way might be more interesting.

    https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-right-to-work-in-germany-and-the-uk/
    … The UK’s longstanding asylum policy relies on circular logic: asylum-seekers are a burden as they are dependent on the state, so to prevent them from being drawn to the country by economic opportunities, we must exclude them from the labour market, rendering them dependent on the state. As well as being discriminatory and feeding into anti-migration sentiments, this approach represents a missed opportunity for the economy and welfare system. This is something Germany recognises, and the EU is beginning to, yet the UK still does not...
    This is just wild speculation obviously, but would giving asylum seekers the right to work before their claims were determined create a draw for yet more asylum seekers to come here?

    Of course their claims should be getting determined much much faster and they should then be either given leave to stay and work or forced to get out where it is safe for them to do so.
  • Options

    Republicans really hate it when the monarchy polls well, don't they?

    Temper temper.

    How about Democrats? :lol:
  • Options
    Foxy said:

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a name for a hurricane
    Eudora
    Wizadora
    Pandora
    We have a Theodora in our department, known as Dora.
    Forgot about Theodora! Thanks!
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    State pensions to cost more than education, policing and defence combined

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-state-pension-spend-education-policing-defence-2023-n529t0tch

    That's OAPs, not including civil service DB contractual stuff.

    A problem.
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 45,223
    Miklosvar said:

    Miklosvar said:

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-doctor-murdered-after-taking-wrong-turn-in-cape-town-jf9ffhq05

    Reasons not to treat 3rd world shitholes as holiday destinations pt 94.

    My wife and I hired a car in Cape Town and had a fantastic few days with no trouble whatsoever
    My granny smoked heavily and lived to be 89.
    My grandfather was an Infantry private at the Somme in 1916, lived to be 86. Proves that trench warfare is quite safe.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,518

    Nigelb said:

    Interesting.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/aug/09/trump-secret-memo-2020-election-indictments-biden-energy-live-updates
    J Michael Luttig told CNN:

    A political party is a collection and assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of America. Today, there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles or even policy views as within the Republican party for America.
    Donald Trump, he said, was a danger “more so today” than last year, when Luttig testified to the House January 6 committee.

    A respected conservative judge who was considered for the supreme court under George W Bush, Luttig made a tremendous impact with his January 6 testimony.

    Speaking on primetime television, Luttig said:

    I believe that had Vice-President Pence obeyed the orders from his president … and declared Donald Trump the next president of the United States … [he] would have plunged America into what I believe would have been tantamount to a revolution, within a constitutional crisis.
    On Wednesday, Luttig also told CNN he did not think Trump could avoid conviction for election subversion.

    “The evidence is overwhelming that the former president knew full well that he had lost the election,” he said.

    This seems so obvious to me. I really think Trump is up shit creek this time, but a lot of people just don’t believe it.
    Well, yes.

    But I think a lot of people perhaps underestimate the robustness of the criminal justice system.
  • Options
    SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 15,815
    edited August 2023
    Re: subject of ethnic voting, this is the Reader's digest version, of how John McCormack, a future Speaker of the US House, first won election just after the First World War from north Boston.

    McCormack decided to run for the Massachusetts legislature for an open seat in a heavily Democratic district. He was hardly the only hopeful.

    The district was overwhelmingly comprised of immigrants and their children, the majority being Hibernians of the Papish persuasion. Indeed, all the candidates who filed in the Democratic primary were Irish.

    Obviously the "Irish vote" was gonna be split! As for other ethnic groups, the WASP minority was mostly Republican, while the Italians were also split between several different candidates depending on neighborhood.

    That left just one group which, while not large, was sizable enough to have some leverage on Primary Day - the Jews.

    Now a fair number of Jewish heads of households in the district at that time, were peddlers, tinkers and the like, who would go out each day pushing their handcart around various residential areas. And in the evening, they'd catch a streetcar to head back home.

    Only many streetcar drivers disliked stopping to pick up pushcarts, as they were a hassle. So they'd just pass the peddlers by if they could.

    Except for John McCormack's uncle, Eddie.

    Naturally the pushcarters were fond of Eddie. And when the primary campaign began, one of them asked him, "Hey Eddie, is the McCormack who's running for the State House, any relation?" the reply was, "Yes indeed, he's my sister Mary's boy; a real go-getter, just out of the Army".

    So the pushcart peddlers passed the word to their friends, family and community, that the best candidate, as far as they were concerned, was Eddie McCormack's nephew. And that, plus his own merits, won John McCormack the Democratic nomination - tantamount to election - when all the votes were counted.

    And the rest, as they say, is history.

  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
    And they had a JCB ready to go, to:


    1. Pile up the mud to prevent fire engine access

    and then, when they panicked (due to the massive anger on social media)

    2. To send in the JCB along non blocked lanes to tear down the evidence of their ALLEGED arson

    There are other rumours as to why they wanted the land - cleared of annoying buildings

    Fuck em. Looks like slam dunk to me. Guilty as fuck, and right next door



    Not clear to me they have committed an offence.

    I’ve only skimmed wiki, but it does suggest that the property must be “belonging to another”.

    If it was unlisted and they don’t make an insurance claim…

    I guess you might get them for obstructing the police in their enquiries?
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 32,163
    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    Carnyx said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Prince William voted the world leader with the highest US favourable rating, he also has a significantly higher US poll rating than President Biden or Trump.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1800396/prince-william-popularity-gallup-poll

    'The Prince of Wales scored favourability with more than 6 in 10 Republicans (65%) and Democrats (63%), whilst The King scored fourth place, still firmly ahead of any American politician, with a favourability rating of 49%.'
    https://twitter.com/TheRoyalistsUK/status/1689265423894581248?s=20

    He's not a World Leader. He leads fuck all, probably isn't even the boss in his own bedroom!
    He is next in line to be UK head of state, the King also polling better than Trump and Biden
    He's not a leader. You might tug yer forelock for him, but he's nowt to do with me.
    The King, our head of state now, also polls better in the US than Trump and Biden
    Not surprising. They don't have to pay for him and his insistence on pageantry, and the cringing honours hierarchy. We do.
    No we don't, profits of the Crown Estate do
    Which should have all gone ionto the public purse many, many years ago.

    Very unwise of you to bring up that particular issue, given how very, very well the RF has done out of it, rather than a proper fixed budget. Especially at a time when so many folk have had their finances trashed.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/19/cash-and-the-crown-estate-a-look-at-the-british-monarchys-funding-deal
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-take-smaller-cut-from-crown-estate-as-windfarm-profits-soar
    The King is seeing a fall in percentage profits from the Crown Estate while those on minimum wage, state pension and benefits are seeing an above inflation rise of 10%
    State Pension going up by >10% while the ICT personal allowances remain frozen for the 3rd year running is creating an interesting phenomenon where some people whose only income is the Sate Pension are getting tax bills. The DWP won't calculate and deduct ICT at source so HMRC have to post out an assessment and track and chase a payment.

    I saw my first example of this today at Citizens Advice - an 85 yo who was totally baffled why he owed income tax when he's never paid it on his State Pension before. More of these to come.
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855

    Republicans really hate it when the monarchy polls well, don't they?

    Temper temper.

    I don't see that a claim by HYUFD that baldy and Skeletor outpoll POTUS and trumpy tells us very much at all. What was the question and what business is it of theirs?
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,668
    Miklosvar said:

    State pensions to cost more than education, policing and defence combined

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-state-pension-spend-education-policing-defence-2023-n529t0tch

    That's OAPs, not including civil service DB contractual stuff.

    A problem.

    Logan's run, its coming. The gerontocracy cannot be sustained.
  • Options
    Miklosvar said:

    Republicans really hate it when the monarchy polls well, don't they?

    Temper temper.

    I don't see that a claim by HYUFD that baldy and Skeletor outpoll POTUS and trumpy tells us very much at all. What was the question and what business is it of theirs?
    Skeletor? You mean Stick Insect? :lol:
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    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,177
    Foxy said:

    Paradise Scorched

    CNS - Maui town evacuated amid ‘unprecedented’ wildfires
    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before.

    As wildfires spread across Lahaina Town, a historically significant and tourist-dense town on the island of Maui, officials on Wednesday pushed to evacuate the area and called for backup from the National Guard.

    Videos posted online show buildings engulfed in flames on Front Street, a travel destination in Lahaina. Some fleeing the fires and smoky air took to the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Fueled by winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Dora, the wildfires are like nothing Hawaii has seen before. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard.

    “When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, we're usually dealing with heavy rain, we’re dealing with flooding,” Luke, who is acting as governor because Governor Josh Green is traveling out of the state, said on CNN Wednesday

    “The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of, indirectly from, a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.”

    County of Maui officials warned people to stay away from the West Maui tourist destination where 911 service has gone down, as responders fight blazes there and in a mountainous region inland. In Maui around 14,500 customers lost power early Wednesday, as reported by poweroutage.us.

    "Do NOT go to Lahaina Town," the County of Maui tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui's biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

    County officials asked those outside of evacuation areas to shelter in place to mitigate heavy traffic, as evacuees sought to escape winds faster than 60 miles per hour that took out power and grounded helicopters fighting the fires.

    The Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina and that it was “en route to Maui to enhance efforts.”

    Maui County spokesperson Mahina Martin echoed Lieutenant Governor Luke in deeming the fires “unprecedented.”

    "It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Martin said.

    No deaths have been reported from the fires at press time. One firefighter was injured after inhaling smoke, and was hospitalized in stable condition, Martin said. Four shelters are open for evacuees, the largest holding more than 1,000 people.

    Known for its rich history, Lahaina was conquered in the late 18th century by Kamehameha the Great and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 until 1845 when Honolulu took its place. Its historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    https://www.courthousenews.com/maui-town-evacuated-amid-unprecedented-wildfires/

    Sorry but “Dora” just lacks credibility as a
    name for a hurricane
    Eudora
    Wizadora
    Pandora
    We have a Theodora in our department, known as Dora.
    Is she a force of nature?
  • Options
    FoxyFoxy Posts: 45,223
    Miklosvar said:

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-doctor-murdered-after-taking-wrong-turn-in-cape-town-jf9ffhq05

    Reasons not to treat 3rd world shitholes as holiday destinations pt 94.

    Capetown is lovely, but like anywhere in RSA you need to be careful of where you drive, and who is nearby. I have had a lovely time on self drive holidays there, but no way would I turn off the freeway between airport and city centre in Cape Town.
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    CiceroCicero Posts: 2,381

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    Police confirm Crooked House being treated as arson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

    God bless social media.
    Yayyy!

    In all honesty, I am starting to feel sorry for the alleged culprits. Tried and lynched on social media

    Do they deserve this? Won't someone think of the evil property developers? Who is standing up for the people who like to tear apart 250 year old buildings full of memories, history and love just so they can make a quick £100k? Who hasn't....

    Ach, nah. STRING 'EM UP BY THE GOOLIES
    Looks like it was the neighbours … didn’t want a commercial property there as had been having dispute about access…
    And they had a JCB ready to go, to:


    1. Pile up the mud to prevent fire engine access

    and then, when they panicked (due to the massive anger on social media)

    2. To send in the JCB along non blocked lanes to tear down the evidence of their ALLEGED arson

    There are other rumours as to why they wanted the land - cleared of annoying buildings

    Fuck em. Looks like slam dunk to me. Guilty as fuck, and right next door



    Not clear to me they have committed an offence.

    I’ve only skimmed wiki, but it does suggest that the property must be “belonging to another”.

    If it was unlisted and they don’t make an insurance claim…

    I guess you might get them for obstructing the police in their enquiries?
    The demolition against what had been agreed with the planning authority is what gets them. The authority can compel restitution and should do so.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 63,518
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    .

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The non stupid way might be more interesting.

    https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-right-to-work-in-germany-and-the-uk/
    … The UK’s longstanding asylum policy relies on circular logic: asylum-seekers are a burden as they are dependent on the state, so to prevent them from being drawn to the country by economic opportunities, we must exclude them from the labour market, rendering them dependent on the state. As well as being discriminatory and feeding into anti-migration sentiments, this approach represents a missed opportunity for the economy and welfare system. This is something Germany recognises, and the EU is beginning to, yet the UK still does not...
    This is just wild speculation obviously, but would giving asylum seekers the right to work before their claims were determined create a draw for yet more asylum seekers to come here?

    Of course their claims should be getting determined much much faster and they should then be either given leave to stay and work or forced to get out where it is safe for them to do so.
    Perhaps.
    But properly funding the system would be a great deal easier in that case - which would mean much speedier decisions.
  • Options
    CiceroCicero Posts: 2,381

    Did anyone else have a flying ant day today?

    I saw thousands of them

    I just saw one puny male ant, and that was it.
    Was his name Rishi, by any chance?
  • Options
    MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855

    Miklosvar said:

    Republicans really hate it when the monarchy polls well, don't they?

    Temper temper.

    I don't see that a claim by HYUFD that baldy and Skeletor outpoll POTUS and trumpy tells us very much at all. What was the question and what business is it of theirs?
    Skeletor? You mean Stick Insect? :lol:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgl0lr71z2o

    how she will look when coronation time comes around
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,402
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    .

    TimS said:

    Pagan2 said:

    darkage said:

    The basic problem with the Conservatives is the Rwanda policy is a gimmick. The intention was obviously to just let the lefty lawyers and Euro judges block it and then blame them, with the solution being Brexit round 2, leave the ECHR. The flaw in the plan however is that the actual policy itself, sending people to Rwanda rather than back to France, is morally indefensible.

    France won't accept them nor any other eu country which is why the eu is in talks with tunisia now to add to their agreement with libya to keep migrants out.

    UK suggests something similar certain people get all up in arms
    Because we do it in such an infuriatingly, embarrassingly uncouth way.
    The amusingly ironic way would be build refugee camps on Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Clapham Common.

    I suspect the voters of Ashfield would be amused at the problem being concentrated on affluent Londoners.
    The non stupid way might be more interesting.

    https://www.europeanfutures.ed.ac.uk/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-right-to-work-in-germany-and-the-uk/
    … The UK’s longstanding asylum policy relies on circular logic: asylum-seekers are a burden as they are dependent on the state, so to prevent them from being drawn to the country by economic opportunities, we must exclude them from the labour market, rendering them dependent on the state. As well as being discriminatory and feeding into anti-migration sentiments, this approach represents a missed opportunity for the economy and welfare system. This is something Germany recognises, and the EU is beginning to, yet the UK still does not...
    This is just wild speculation obviously, but would giving asylum seekers the right to work before their claims were determined create a draw for yet more asylum seekers to come here?

    Of course their claims should be getting determined much much faster and they should then be either given leave to stay and work or forced to get out where it is safe for them to do so.
    Quite:

    Rapid processing would seem to be the holy grail here.

    (1) It means people aren't waiting years, costing the taxpayer and allowing leakage into the informal economy
    (2) It discourages economic migrants, because they want to leak into the informal economy

    The Dutch do it very well.

    For those who come from or through a safe country, 96% of claims are processed within eleven weeks. 96%!

    Now, other cases are more difficult. And there the Dutch can take longer. If you come off a flight from Congo and claim asylum at Schipol, then processing times are 43 weeks.

    But still, compared to the UK, this is light speed.

    And all we really need to do is to throw money at the problem. Yes, it means more immigration lawyers will be needed, but it absolutely has to be positive for the UK when all the costs are taken into account.
This discussion has been closed.