Cosplaying President is likely as close as he’ll ever get to the WH.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1718027396199129276 Israel’s Consul General says Ron Desantis is lying when he claimed that he sent weapons and equipment to Israel, saying it is “bizarre to think that someone is procuring weapons and sending them to Israel. This is not how we work.”
I can't believe it's allowed for a *State* Governor to get involved in sending weapons to a foreign government?
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Stewart also ruins his point with his adolescent hyperbole
He could have called Boris a “dangerous liar” or “an amoral charlatan”, or any number of more acute things, which would have stuck in the mind. Calling another politician a “terrible human being” sounds like desperate envious overwrought wank and so the reader tunes out the rest of the message. Tsk
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Good that Israel/Palestine hasn't stopped the Americans and ourselves helping Ukraine, despite what Putin is no doubt hoping. Both conflicts are horrifying from a humanitarian point of view, but Russia poses a threat to western civilisation in a way that Hamas doesn't, though no doubt it would like to.
Raj Thamotheram @RajThamotheram · 2h If you care about what's happening in Palestine & Israel, and live in the UK, then your focus should be on pushing Keir Starmer to think again.
It can be done.
It must be done.
@OwenJones84 makes a powerful & persuasive case. Take the time to listen please.
====
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Yes
“Terrible human being” is what you say about people beyond moral redemption, guilty of the most atrocious sins. Actual genocidal dictators, actual mass murderers
What would this anorexic Etonian gargoyle say if he met an actual “terrible human being”? Oh he was “not a nice chap”?
Posho Fuckwit
Yes, so why he couldn't relate to Boris Johnson is a bit of a mystery.
Some interesting chatter tonight from someone who might know that Saudi Arabia are looking to restart the diplomatic normalisation process with Israel and burn their ties with Hamas. I wonder whether the refusal by Hamas to release the hostages was the final straw for the Saudis. If it's true I also wonder what the US (and UK) has handed to the Saudis to make it happen.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Bill Kristol @BillKristol · 2h Sad and telling that Pence had an even more hopeless path in the Republican nomination fight precisely because he did the right thing on January 6th.
Raj Thamotheram @RajThamotheram · 2h If you care about what's happening in Palestine & Israel, and live in the UK, then your focus should be on pushing Keir Starmer to think again.
It can be done.
It must be done.
@OwenJones84 makes a powerful & persuasive case. Take the time to listen please.
====
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
Or you know, Hamas. Pressuring Hamas to release the hostages is the first step to a ceasefire. Hamas seems to be getting a completely free pass on the hostages while these useful idiots march against Israel defending itself and its citizens from these brutal terrorists.
Some interesting chatter tonight from someone who might know that Saudi Arabia are looking to restart the diplomatic normalisation process with Israel and burn their ties with Hamas. I wonder whether the refusal by Hamas to release the hostages was the final straw for the Saudis. If it's true I also wonder what the US (and UK) has handed to the Saudis to make it happen.
Good that Israel/Palestine hasn't stopped the Americans and ourselves helping Ukraine, despite what Putin is no doubt hoping. Both conflicts are horrifying from a humanitarian point of view, but Russia poses a threat to western civilisation in a way that Hamas doesn't, though no doubt it would like to.
Russia seem to have spent the last few years making the worst possible decision all the time. The last few weeks being no exception.
Putin had a cool relationship with Netanyahu, they clearly disliked each other but were not treating each other as enemies. Despite America historically being Israel's ally, and the USSR historically being the Palestinians, until the end of the Cold War, Putin who has wanted to revive the Cold War was not openly on the side of Hamas despite them both having Iran as a common denominator. As a result Israel wasn't sharing its weapons with Ukraine out of fear that any they sent that got intercepted could end up with Iran.
Now in the last few weeks Putin has come out clearly and unambiguously on the side of Hamas. He's made a clear enemy out of Israel. I'm sure that won't come to bite him in the ass at all, not one bit, no sir.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Yes
“Terrible human being” is what you say about people beyond moral redemption, guilty of the most atrocious sins. Actual genocidal dictators, actual mass murderers
What would this anorexic Etonian gargoyle say if he met an actual “terrible human being”? Oh he was “not a nice chap”?
Posho Fuckwit
Far be it from me to defend Rory Stewart, who I've always found rather annoying, but I think "terrible human being" is the right kind of language to use about Johnson. That's because I don't see it as an especially damning phrase. It's one I'd employ to describe people who are basic shits, like Johnson, not dictators or mass murderers. Calling Hitler a "terrible human being" would sound trivialising, to me. I suppose phrases mean different things to different people, though. One other thing - given the fact they went to the same secondary school and have worked together maybe Stewart knows Johnson better than any of us do - and if he says he is a terrible human being maybe he knows what he's talking about?
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Ruthlessness you need but not nastiness.
That's an irregular verb again.
Not in my hands it isn't. You know me. Careful. Precise. Almost fussy sometimes.
Cosplaying President is likely as close as he’ll ever get to the WH.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1718027396199129276 Israel’s Consul General says Ron Desantis is lying when he claimed that he sent weapons and equipment to Israel, saying it is “bizarre to think that someone is procuring weapons and sending them to Israel. This is not how we work.”
I can't believe it's allowed for a *State* Governor to get involved in sending weapons to a foreign government?
Some interesting chatter tonight from someone who might know that Saudi Arabia are looking to restart the diplomatic normalisation process with Israel and burn their ties with Hamas. I wonder whether the refusal by Hamas to release the hostages was the final straw for the Saudis. If it's true I also wonder what the US (and UK) has handed to the Saudis to make it happen.
Most interesting.
Has the kaleidoscope been shaken?
Well let's see what plays out of the next few weeks. Supposedly there's a lot of worry that siding with Hamas will make it difficult for PIF to continue it's investment spree in the US and across Europe and if they get caught up in it properly they may end up with PIF being sanctioned which will result in assets being frozen etc... The way the UK government and US government targeted Russian oligarch assets after Ukraine has them very worried.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Yes
“Terrible human being” is what you say about people beyond moral redemption, guilty of the most atrocious sins. Actual genocidal dictators, actual mass murderers
What would this anorexic Etonian gargoyle say if he met an actual “terrible human being”? Oh he was “not a nice chap”?
Posho Fuckwit
Far be it from me to defend Rory Stewart, who I've always found rather annoying, but I think "terrible human being" is the right kind of language to use about Johnson. That's because I don't see it as an especially damning phrase. It's one I'd employ to describe people who are basic shits, like Johnson, not dictators or mass murderers. Calling Hitler a "terrible human being" would sound trivialising, to me. I suppose phrases mean different things to different people, though. One other thing - given the fact they went to the same secondary school and have worked together maybe Stewart knows Johnson better than any of us do - and if he says he is a terrible human being maybe he knows what he's talking about?
Yeah, the world is fiull of terrible human beings who aren't Hitler or even Boris Johnson. Some of them may even post on PB.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Ruthlessness you need but not nastiness.
That's an irregular verb again.
Not in my hands it isn't. You know me. Careful. Precise. Almost fussy sometimes.
Yes, carefully, precisely and fussily framing everything to suit your own agenda. You're a master manipulator at irregular verbs. You're so practiced at doing it, its comes effortlessly to you and I'm not sure if you even realise you're doing it.
Some interesting chatter tonight from someone who might know that Saudi Arabia are looking to restart the diplomatic normalisation process with Israel and burn their ties with Hamas. I wonder whether the refusal by Hamas to release the hostages was the final straw for the Saudis. If it's true I also wonder what the US (and UK) has handed to the Saudis to make it happen.
Most interesting.
Has the kaleidoscope been shaken?
Well let's see what plays out of the next few weeks. Supposedly there's a lot of worry that siding with Hamas will make it difficult for PIF to continue it's investment spree in the US and across Europe and if they get caught up in it properly they may end up with PIF being sanctioned which will result in assets being frozen etc... The way the UK government and US government targeted Russian oligarch assets after Ukraine has them very worried.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Yes
“Terrible human being” is what you say about people beyond moral redemption, guilty of the most atrocious sins. Actual genocidal dictators, actual mass murderers
What would this anorexic Etonian gargoyle say if he met an actual “terrible human being”? Oh he was “not a nice chap”?
Posho Fuckwit
Far be it from me to defend Rory Stewart, who I've always found rather annoying, but I think "terrible human being" is the right kind of language to use about Johnson. That's because I don't see it as an especially damning phrase. It's one I'd employ to describe people who are basic shits, like Johnson, not dictators or mass murderers. Calling Hitler a "terrible human being" would sound trivialising, to me. I suppose phrases mean different things to different people, though. One other thing - given the fact they went to the same secondary school and have worked together maybe Stewart knows Johnson better than any of us do - and if he says he is a terrible human being maybe he knows what he's talking about?
Well then just say “he is a shit”
The whole thrust of that interview is Stewart saying British politics has become tawdry and cartoonish and juvenile and hyperbolic, and then he says, in the next breath, that Boris Johnson is a “terrible human being”. It is absurd, and revealing. Stewart is a pious, effete, self-regarding wanker - and I choose those words carefully
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
With a bit more introspection, that could be an interesting reflection on the psychology of his own Boris Derangement Syndrome, but he doesn't seem able to snap out of it.
It's more comforting for him to tell himself that he fought the good fight.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
With a bit more introspection, that could be an interesting reflection on the psychology of his own Boris Derangement Syndrome, but he doesn't seem able to snap out of it.
It's more comforting for him to tell himself that he fought the good fight.
Yes. And note that he claims his fight with the Satanic Boris Johnson was “existential”
Raj Thamotheram @RajThamotheram · 2h If you care about what's happening in Palestine & Israel, and live in the UK, then your focus should be on pushing Keir Starmer to think again.
It can be done.
It must be done.
@OwenJones84 makes a powerful & persuasive case. Take the time to listen please.
====
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
Or you know, Hamas. Pressuring Hamas to release the hostages is the first step to a ceasefire. Hamas seems to be getting a completely free pass on the hostages while these useful idiots march against Israel defending itself and its citizens from these brutal terrorists.
But... Hamas are the angels. Sent to Earth to warn us of the evils of democracy, individuality and progress.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Stewart also ruins his point with his adolescent hyperbole
He could have called Boris a “dangerous liar” or “an amoral charlatan”, or any number of more acute things, which would have stuck in the mind. Calling another politician a “terrible human being” sounds like desperate envious overwrought wank and so the reader tunes out the rest of the message. Tsk
Yes. You see a lot of it on this site of course. It’s people who wish we could go back to the 90s when there was a soft consensus. They can’t cope with the idea what someone might win votes offering something they dislike. So to achieve that, they must be evil and they must have”lied” to the public.
"Leicestershire Police officer suffers 'serious bite injuries' after attack by dog believed to be XL bully Two Leicestershire Police officers were injured on a call to a house in Ibstock where they were looking for a wanted man."
"BREAKING; Mike Pence drops out of presidential race at RJC summit this afternoon."
I still think he had a chance in Iowa. May be a tactical decision to go above the fray so he is the compromise establishment candidate if Trump is jailed and there is a deadlocked convention with no candidate having a majority of delegates
Some interesting chatter tonight from someone who might know that Saudi Arabia are looking to restart the diplomatic normalisation process with Israel and burn their ties with Hamas. I wonder whether the refusal by Hamas to release the hostages was the final straw for the Saudis. If it's true I also wonder what the US (and UK) has handed to the Saudis to make it happen.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman (KBS) is expected to visit Washington on Monday for talks with senior Biden administration officials, three sources with knowledge of the trip told Axios.
Raj Thamotheram @RajThamotheram · 2h If you care about what's happening in Palestine & Israel, and live in the UK, then your focus should be on pushing Keir Starmer to think again.
It can be done.
It must be done.
@OwenJones84 makes a powerful & persuasive case. Take the time to listen please.
====
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
Or you know, Hamas. Pressuring Hamas to release the hostages is the first step to a ceasefire. Hamas seems to be getting a completely free pass on the hostages while these useful idiots march against Israel defending itself and its citizens from these brutal terrorists.
But... Hamas are the angels. Sent to Earth to warn us of the evils of democracy, individuality and progress.
And community. That's also bad.
And many other things. I have a slide-deck.
On the news in Ireland this evening they had some people from today's Palestine solidarity demonstration [in Dublin] talking to camera. One of them seemed to think that Hamas didn't exist, or at least, didn't have an army, and consequently Israel were only fighting civilians.
Quote who they thought had murdered all the Israelis three weeks ago, or who were firing rockets into Israel today, I'm not quite sure.
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
"Your opponents are on the seats in front of you, your enemies are sat behind you" - Diane Abbott, quoting others.
Interesting thread. Ukraine is starting to lose tanks to top attack drones. The.conclusions seem correct to me.
In four months of hard fighting, the Ukrainians have lost just five Leopard 2A4s, three Leopard 2A6s and a single Challenger 2. Nine Western tanks out of 150 or so that Kyiv’s allies have delivered. Most were taken out by AT mines in the Mala Tokmachka area. Until this week ... https://twitter.com/GwarWorin/status/1718253748978417873
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
"Your opponents are on the seats in front of you, your enemies are sat behind you" - Diane Abbott, quoting others.
The import at thing is to purify The Revolution, even if that reduces The Revolution to you and me and actually, you are a heretic…..
Once The Revolution has been completely Purified it will instantly spread to every mind on Earth. Because it will be Perfect.
"BREAKING; Mike Pence drops out of presidential race at RJC summit this afternoon."
I still think he had a chance in Iowa. May be a tactical decision to go above the fray so he is the compromise establishment candidate if Trump is jailed and there is a deadlocked convention with no candidate having a majority of delegates
There are days I despair of the UK: the disconnect of the political classes from the working class, the conversion of the UK into a machine that consumes people to make profit for foreigners, the massive debt, the endless complaints of the chattering classes.
But every now and then I see something that makes my heart cheer. I present to you the Fairy Bridge of Stiffkey.
A bridge in the Norfolk Marshes was removed by the National Trust. They intend to replace it, but it is dragging on, stating that “...what makes this project complex is the multiple ownership, multiple designations, multiple permissions and the construction regulations we need to follow to ensure that we build a bridge that’s legally compliant, robust, safe and suitable for this inter-tidal coastal location...”, whilst filing papers in the "Beware of the Leopard" cabinet in the basement.
Meanwhile a crude bridge has been constructed by unknown entities, stopping just short of the banks and thus ensuring that it falls under "Natural England" jurisdiction not the "National Trust"
When asked the locals say that it's a mystery and the fairies must have built it. Certainly Ian Curtis (not that one!), the convener of the "Rebuild Stiffkey Marsh Bridge" campaign holds this belief, stating that after the old one was removed "...The police were informed. But, of course, the fairies were watching and they put another one up..."
He then added "...A better one this time, which is much harder to take down..." whilst putting away his tools and cleaning the mud off his wellies, softly whistling "Killing in the Name"
There are days I despair of the UK: the disconnect of the political classes from the working class, the conversion of the UK into a machine that consumes people to make profit for foreigners, the massive debt, the endless complaints of the chattering classes.
But every now and then I see something that makes my heart cheer. I present to you the Fairy Bridge of Stiffkey.
A bridge in the Norfolk Marshes was removed by the National Trust. They intend to replace it, but it is dragging on, stating that “...what makes this project complex is the multiple ownership, multiple designations, multiple permissions and the construction regulations we need to follow to ensure that we build a bridge that’s legally compliant, robust, safe and suitable for this inter-tidal coastal location...”, whilst filing papers in the "Beware of the Leopard" cabinet in the basement.
Meanwhile a crude bridge has been constructed by unknown entities, stopping just short of the banks and thus ensuring that it falls under "Natural England" jurisdiction not the "National Trust"
When asked the locals say that it's a mystery and the fairies must have built it. Certainly Ian Curtis (not that one!), the convener of the "Rebuild Stiffkey Marsh Bridge" campaign holds this belief, stating that after the old one was removed "...The police were informed. But, of course, the fairies were watching and they put another one up..."
He then added "...A better one this time, which is much harder to take down..." whilst putting away his tools and cleaning the mud off his wellies, softly whistling "Killing in the Name"
Hee's an observation that some of you may find cheering: At the beginning of 2008, it was widely accepted that Hilary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee. I pointed out -- at the time -- that she had about 50 percent support, much of it soft. And that an early defeat, for example in Iowa, might cause the other 50 percent to rally behind another candidate.
Which is what happened.
And now I see some -- let me repeat, some -- similarities to that situation on the Republican side. If Nikki Haley were to win in New Hampshire, I think the odds of her winning the Republican nomination should be upped to at least 25 percent. Reminder: Independents can vote in the New Hampshire primaries. (If there is no real contest on the Democratic side, that would give her an even stronger advantage in that primary.) If that were followed by a victory in her home state of South Carolina, then her odds should be increased.
Boris Johnson? Really? Really?? OK he’s a lazy narcissist, maybe even a charlatan, maybe a mountebank, a cad, a liar, but “a terrible human being”? No. No no no. This reflects badly on Stewart, it cheapens and coarsens debate and makes Stewart look as guilty as those he accuses
I suspect they are more similar than either would like to admit.
Perhaps if we could stop worshipping posh boys who have read the classics, we would be better all around.
Rory Stewart has just descended seventeen levels of estimation. I quite liked him, despite his stupid posh affectations. But this is ugly, nasty, and vile. “Terrible human being”. FFS
Bit much maybe. 'Nasty piece of work' would have sufficed.
Indeed, a nasty piece of work who could be quite charismatic too. A politician in other words.
Blair was the same, and Starmer is too.
To thrive in politics you need a mix of charisma and nastiness.
Stewart also ruins his point with his adolescent hyperbole
He could have called Boris a “dangerous liar” or “an amoral charlatan”, or any number of more acute things, which would have stuck in the mind. Calling another politician a “terrible human being” sounds like desperate envious overwrought wank and so the reader tunes out the rest of the message. Tsk
Was the original comment spoken or written
If spoken “he’s a terrible human being” is a fairly genial slap. It’s not meant to be taken literally.
There are days I despair of the UK: the disconnect of the political classes from the working class, the conversion of the UK into a machine that consumes people to make profit for foreigners, the massive debt, the endless complaints of the chattering classes.
But every now and then I see something that makes my heart cheer. I present to you the Fairy Bridge of Stiffkey.
A bridge in the Norfolk Marshes was removed by the National Trust. They intend to replace it, but it is dragging on, stating that “...what makes this project complex is the multiple ownership, multiple designations, multiple permissions and the construction regulations we need to follow to ensure that we build a bridge that’s legally compliant, robust, safe and suitable for this inter-tidal coastal location...”, whilst filing papers in the "Beware of the Leopard" cabinet in the basement.
Meanwhile a crude bridge has been constructed by unknown entities, stopping just short of the banks and thus ensuring that it falls under "Natural England" jurisdiction not the "National Trust"
When asked the locals say that it's a mystery and the fairies must have built it. Certainly Ian Curtis (not that one!), the convener of the "Rebuild Stiffkey Marsh Bridge" campaign holds this belief, stating that after the old one was removed "...The police were informed. But, of course, the fairies were watching and they put another one up..."
He then added "...A better one this time, which is much harder to take down..." whilst putting away his tools and cleaning the mud off his wellies, softly whistling "Killing in the Name"
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the current fight over NT leadership, they certainly do seem to have an institutional tone deafness about them.
The perfect touch to the story is at the end
“The National Trust says it is now going ahead with plans to replace the bridge, at a cost of £250,000, but needs planning permission and expects the new structure to be in place by autumn 2024.”
It’s a plank over a ditch. Say a dozen feet long. £20k a foot. Nice work if you can get it. Makes you wonder who the contractor that does the job is related to.
Good that Israel/Palestine hasn't stopped the Americans and ourselves helping Ukraine, despite what Putin is no doubt hoping. Both conflicts are horrifying from a humanitarian point of view, but Russia poses a threat to western civilisation in a way that Hamas doesn't, though no doubt it would like to.
Russia seem to have spent the last few years making the worst possible decision all the time. The last few weeks being no exception.
Putin had a cool relationship with Netanyahu, they clearly disliked each other but were not treating each other as enemies. Despite America historically being Israel's ally, and the USSR historically being the Palestinians, until the end of the Cold War, Putin who has wanted to revive the Cold War was not openly on the side of Hamas despite them both having Iran as a common denominator. As a result Israel wasn't sharing its weapons with Ukraine out of fear that any they sent that got intercepted could end up with Iran.
Now in the last few weeks Putin has come out clearly and unambiguously on the side of Hamas. He's made a clear enemy out of Israel. I'm sure that won't come to bite him in the ass at all, not one bit, no sir.
"Only at 8:06 a.m. — an hour and a half after the start of the assault — did the Israel Defense Forces report a “combined attack.” At 8:25, with a large number of Israelis already dead, it declared “a state of alert for war.”
Placing key command centers so close to the border was a key mistake, said a former senior Israeli intelligence officer, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject."
(A small notice in the body of the article says: "No subscription required to read.")
"BREAKING; Mike Pence drops out of presidential race at RJC summit this afternoon."
I still think he had a chance in Iowa. May be a tactical decision to go above the fray so he is the compromise establishment candidate if Trump is jailed and there is a deadlocked convention with no candidate having a majority of delegates
Or maybe you were just wrong.
When Trump picked Pence for VP, Pence was in personal financial trouble - he had so little pull in American politics that he was failing to get the gravy. Let alone the pork.
Hee's an observation that some of you may find cheering: At the beginning of 2008, it was widely accepted that Hilary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee. I pointed out -- at the time -- that she had about 50 percent support, much of it soft. And that an early defeat, for example in Iowa, might cause the other 50 percent to rally behind another candidate.
Which is what happened.
And now I see some -- let me repeat, some -- similarities to that situation on the Republican side. If Nikki Haley were to win in New Hampshire, I think the odds of her winning the Republican nomination should be upped to at least 25 percent. Reminder: Independents can vote in the New Hampshire primaries. (If there is no real contest on the Democratic side, that would give her an even stronger advantage in that primary.) If that were followed by a victory in her home state of South Carolina, then her odds should be increased.
I hope for the sake of America you are right.
If Trump is the nominee then anyone rational, and anyone who cares for Ukraine (which should be anyone in the first category anyway) needs to hope the Democrat candidate wins the Presidency. No matter how much you might oppose capital-D Democratic politics, the support of lower-case-d democratic politics has to come before party politics.
If Haley is the nominee, I'd support her over any of the commonly discussed Democrat candidates. I think she'd win too.
Good that Israel/Palestine hasn't stopped the Americans and ourselves helping Ukraine, despite what Putin is no doubt hoping. Both conflicts are horrifying from a humanitarian point of view, but Russia poses a threat to western civilisation in a way that Hamas doesn't, though no doubt it would like to.
Russia seem to have spent the last few years making the worst possible decision all the time. The last few weeks being no exception.
Putin had a cool relationship with Netanyahu, they clearly disliked each other but were not treating each other as enemies. Despite America historically being Israel's ally, and the USSR historically being the Palestinians, until the end of the Cold War, Putin who has wanted to revive the Cold War was not openly on the side of Hamas despite them both having Iran as a common denominator. As a result Israel wasn't sharing its weapons with Ukraine out of fear that any they sent that got intercepted could end up with Iran.
Now in the last few weeks Putin has come out clearly and unambiguously on the side of Hamas. He's made a clear enemy out of Israel. I'm sure that won't come to bite him in the ass at all, not one bit, no sir.
May be that was Iran’s price for their support?
World politics really is friendship groups for adults, isn’t it?
If you are down with the cool kids then you get invites to Davos. If your only bestie is North Korea, you get to re-enact Sideways. Only without the wine.
Hee's an observation that some of you may find cheering: At the beginning of 2008, it was widely accepted that Hilary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee. I pointed out -- at the time -- that she had about 50 percent support, much of it soft. And that an early defeat, for example in Iowa, might cause the other 50 percent to rally behind another candidate.
Which is what happened.
And now I see some -- let me repeat, some -- similarities to that situation on the Republican side. If Nikki Haley were to win in New Hampshire, I think the odds of her winning the Republican nomination should be upped to at least 25 percent. Reminder: Independents can vote in the New Hampshire primaries. (If there is no real contest on the Democratic side, that would give her an even stronger advantage in that primary.) If that were followed by a victory in her home state of South Carolina, then her odds should be increased.
I think there's a good chance the candidate won't be Trump.
There are days I despair of the UK: the disconnect of the political classes from the working class, the conversion of the UK into a machine that consumes people to make profit for foreigners, the massive debt, the endless complaints of the chattering classes.
But every now and then I see something that makes my heart cheer. I present to you the Fairy Bridge of Stiffkey.
A bridge in the Norfolk Marshes was removed by the National Trust. They intend to replace it, but it is dragging on, stating that “...what makes this project complex is the multiple ownership, multiple designations, multiple permissions and the construction regulations we need to follow to ensure that we build a bridge that’s legally compliant, robust, safe and suitable for this inter-tidal coastal location...”, whilst filing papers in the "Beware of the Leopard" cabinet in the basement.
Meanwhile a crude bridge has been constructed by unknown entities, stopping just short of the banks and thus ensuring that it falls under "Natural England" jurisdiction not the "National Trust"
When asked the locals say that it's a mystery and the fairies must have built it. Certainly Ian Curtis (not that one!), the convener of the "Rebuild Stiffkey Marsh Bridge" campaign holds this belief, stating that after the old one was removed "...The police were informed. But, of course, the fairies were watching and they put another one up..."
He then added "...A better one this time, which is much harder to take down..." whilst putting away his tools and cleaning the mud off his wellies, softly whistling "Killing in the Name"
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the current fight over NT leadership, they certainly do seem to have an institutional tone deafness about them.
Any very large organisation can fall prey to this - it ends up tying itself up in knots on policy, procedure and compliance and essentially ends up serving itself, not others.
Comments
Also sub optimal for him.
Florida Republican Assembly Issues Declaration Urges DeSantis to End Presidential Campaign and Return to Florida to Govern the State Again
https://twitter.com/gatewaypundit/status/1718363548412416146
He could have called Boris a “dangerous liar” or “an amoral charlatan”, or any number of more acute things, which would have stuck in the mind. Calling another politician a “terrible human being” sounds like desperate envious overwrought wank and so the reader tunes out the rest of the message. Tsk
And replying to keep this on the next page.
Raj Thamotheram
@RajThamotheram
·
2h
If you care about what's happening in Palestine & Israel, and live in the UK, then your focus should be on pushing Keir Starmer to think again.
It can be done.
It must be done.
@OwenJones84
makes a powerful & persuasive case. Take the time to listen please.
====
Interesting how so many on the left view Starmer as the target in all this rather than the actual you know governing party. Almost as if they have another agenda.
@BillKristol
·
2h
Sad and telling that Pence had an even more hopeless path in the Republican nomination fight precisely because he did the right thing on January 6th.
Has the kaleidoscope been shaken?
Putin had a cool relationship with Netanyahu, they clearly disliked each other but were not treating each other as enemies. Despite America historically being Israel's ally, and the USSR historically being the Palestinians, until the end of the Cold War, Putin who has wanted to revive the Cold War was not openly on the side of Hamas despite them both having Iran as a common denominator. As a result Israel wasn't sharing its weapons with Ukraine out of fear that any they sent that got intercepted could end up with Iran.
Now in the last few weeks Putin has come out clearly and unambiguously on the side of Hamas. He's made a clear enemy out of Israel. I'm sure that won't come to bite him in the ass at all, not one bit, no sir.
One other thing - given the fact they went to the same secondary school and have worked together maybe Stewart knows Johnson better than any of us do - and if he says he is a terrible human being maybe he knows what he's talking about?
The whole thrust of that interview is Stewart saying British politics has become tawdry and cartoonish and juvenile and hyperbolic, and then he says, in the next breath, that Boris Johnson is a “terrible human being”. It is absurd, and revealing. Stewart is a pious, effete, self-regarding wanker - and I choose those words carefully
It's more comforting for him to tell himself that he fought the good fight.
Jesus Wept. Get over yourself, Rory
And community. That's also bad.
And many other things. I have a slide-deck.
Not how democracy should work.
https://news.sky.com/story/leicestershire-police-officer-suffers-serious-bite-injuries-after-attack-by-dog-believed-to-be-xl-bully-12994790
"Leicestershire Police officer suffers 'serious bite injuries' after attack by dog believed to be XL bully
Two Leicestershire Police officers were injured on a call to a house in Ibstock where they were looking for a wanted man."
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman (KBS) is expected to visit Washington on Monday for talks with senior Biden administration officials, three sources with knowledge of the trip told Axios.
Quote who they thought had murdered all the Israelis three weeks ago, or who were firing rockets into Israel today, I'm not quite sure.
The.conclusions seem correct to me.
In four months of hard fighting, the Ukrainians have lost just five Leopard 2A4s, three Leopard 2A6s and a single Challenger 2. Nine Western tanks out of 150 or so that Kyiv’s allies have delivered.
Most were taken out by AT mines in the Mala Tokmachka area.
Until this week ...
https://twitter.com/GwarWorin/status/1718253748978417873
Once The Revolution has been completely Purified it will instantly spread to every mind on Earth. Because it will be Perfect.
This could get very interesting...
But every now and then I see something that makes my heart cheer. I present to you the Fairy Bridge of Stiffkey.
A bridge in the Norfolk Marshes was removed by the National Trust. They intend to replace it, but it is dragging on, stating that “...what makes this project complex is the multiple ownership, multiple designations, multiple permissions and the construction regulations we need to follow to ensure that we build a bridge that’s legally compliant, robust, safe and suitable for this inter-tidal coastal location...”, whilst filing papers in the "Beware of the Leopard" cabinet in the basement.
Meanwhile a crude bridge has been constructed by unknown entities, stopping just short of the banks and thus ensuring that it falls under "Natural England" jurisdiction not the "National Trust"
When asked the locals say that it's a mystery and the fairies must have built it. Certainly Ian Curtis (not that one!), the convener of the "Rebuild Stiffkey Marsh Bridge" campaign holds this belief, stating that after the old one was removed "...The police were informed. But, of course, the fairies were watching and they put another one up..."
He then added "...A better one this time, which is much harder to take down..." whilst putting away his tools and cleaning the mud off his wellies, softly whistling "Killing in the Name"
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/28/norfolk-marsh-bridge-national-trust
Babylon Healthcare won NHS contracts after being championed by Matt Hancock but the company’s AI tech was oversold and it has now collapsed" (£)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rise-and-fall-of-babylon-healthcare-the-doctor-in-your-pocket-3p6q6jjfx
https://www.wired.com/story/babylon-health-warning-ai-unicorns/
Which is what happened.
And now I see some -- let me repeat, some -- similarities to that situation on the Republican side. If Nikki Haley were to win in New Hampshire, I think the odds of her winning the Republican nomination should be upped to at least 25 percent. Reminder: Independents can vote in the New Hampshire primaries. (If there is no real contest on the Democratic side, that would give her an even stronger advantage in that primary.) If that were followed by a victory in her home state of South Carolina, then her odds should be increased.
No idea if she's right or not, so DYOR.
https://youtu.be/4j3KOPHt7Cg?si=rqtzWNP-D1tuzVjK&t=320
Tom Pursglove was photographed with the Wellingborough MP, who was found to have indecently exposed himself to a staff member."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/peter-bone-minister-wellingborough-commons-department-for-work-and-pensions-b2437800.html
Apparently the campaigning took place just a few hours ago.
If spoken “he’s a terrible human being” is a fairly genial slap. It’s not meant to be taken literally.
“The National Trust says it is now going ahead with plans to replace the bridge, at a cost of £250,000, but needs planning permission and expects the new structure to be in place by autumn 2024.”
It’s a plank over a ditch. Say a dozen feet long. £20k a foot. Nice work if you can get it. Makes you wonder who the contractor that does the job is related to.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/27/hamas-attack-israel-october-7-hostages/
For example:
"Only at 8:06 a.m. — an hour and a half after the start of the assault — did the Israel Defense Forces report a “combined attack.” At 8:25, with a large number of Israelis already dead, it declared “a state of alert for war.”
Placing key command centers so close to the border was a key mistake, said a former senior Israeli intelligence officer, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject."
(A small notice in the body of the article says: "No subscription required to read.")
Trump picked him to be a rubber stamp non-entity.
If Trump is the nominee then anyone rational, and anyone who cares for Ukraine (which should be anyone in the first category anyway) needs to hope the Democrat candidate wins the Presidency. No matter how much you might oppose capital-D Democratic politics, the support of lower-case-d democratic politics has to come before party politics.
If Haley is the nominee, I'd support her over any of the commonly discussed Democrat candidates. I think she'd win too.
If you are down with the cool kids then you get invites to Davos. If your only bestie is North Korea, you get to re-enact Sideways. Only without the wine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Perry
But, as always, they were somewhat exaggerating.
He actually got £320k.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64421025