A game changer or a QTWTAIN? – politicalbetting.com
Comments
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93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election0 -
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What makes the world less safe. Russia, the Middle East, potential war with Taiwan and China.Dopermean said:
Lol!Foxy said:The drug addled Space Clown giving money to Roderick Spode?
My money would be on him keeling over from cirrhosis before the GE.
What's to stop Farage and Tice winding up Reform Ltd and splitting the cash?
The world was a much safer place when Musk was focused on sending himself to Mars.
What doesn’t make the world less safe. Elon Musk talking about giving Reform U.K. money.0 -
Reminds me of the times when progressives discovered that there were people who should have their asylum requests denied based on their skin colour and culture.Andy_JS said:Interesting viewpoint about the riots.
"One of the riots’ ironies (if they were merely an episode and not the shape of things to come) was that liberal intellectuals rediscovered the social value of punishment, which they had previously denied, both on pragmatic and philosophical grounds. Punishment did not work, they had long argued: it neither deterred nor reformed. Besides, it was unjust, merely cruel and vengeful, for wrongdoers were the victims of their circumstances. What they needed was a moral form of physical therapy, or rehabilitation.
Nothing like this was heard during the riots. What was needed in response to them, the liberals maintained, was severe and rapidly administered punishment (with which I wholeheartedly agree). If rioters could count on a few years’ prison time, there would be fewer of them in years to come, no matter their feelings of resentment. There was no talk of rehabilitation. No psychologist was consulted as to how the rioters should learn to reorder their thoughts so that they became good citizens or to manage their anger so that they did not act on it. No one, as far as I noticed, suggested that rioters were the victims of their circumstances, and therefore the true victims of their own behavior."
https://www.city-journal.org/article/britains-long-hot-summer0 -
Starmer is outflanking Farage on the right. Reform need to be careful they don’t get branded as an open borders party along with the Tories.HYUFD said:@PeoplesMomentum
'Appalling rhetoric from the Labour Government as it panders to the far-right.'
https://x.com/PeoplesMomentum/status/18635317076740059071 -
As I said, the rebels are dominated by AQ linked rebels, once ISIL went they were the main alternative to Assad then and are again now and must be defeatedJosiasJessop said:
"areas like Palmyra" != Syria.HYUFD said:
No it remains right. Had Assad fallen ISIL and AQ linked rebels would have taken over most of the government not the FSA. The FSA may have defeated ISIL in patches on the edge of Syria but it was Assad and his troops supported by the Russians who removed ISIL from areas like Palmyra.JosiasJessop said:
You keep on repeating the same shit, and it's wrong, as my links show. But at least you've changed your view to 'largely', which is at least an improved position from your "It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria." rubbish.HYUFD said:
Baghuz Fawqani was right on the Iraq and Syria border, it was Assad's troops forcing ISIL out of the likes of Palmyra backed by the Russians that largely defeated ISIL in SyriaJosiasJessop said:
" Moscow officially portrayed its intervention as an anti-IS campaign and publicly declared support for the "patriotic Syrian opposition", the vast majority of its bombings were focused on destroying bases of the Syrian opposition militias of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Southern Front."HYUFD said:
You showed sod all, the Kurds only held ISIL at bay from the very north of Syria, it was Assad's army and Russian airstrikes that defeated ISIL in the rest of Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Bullshit, as I showed with my links yesterday. Russia and Assad were more concerned with destroying the other rebels, and as my link above shows, even paid ISIL.HYUFD said:
It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Not all the rebels are 'Al Qaeda linked'.HYUFD said:
No matter what he has done, he is still better than the Islamist former Al Qaeda linked rebels opposing himJosiasJessop said:
Why? Are you aware of what Assad's been doing over there?HYUFD said:
Not necessarily, Iraq is still free of Saddam and his family and has an elected government. Afghanistan by contrast is back in Taliban hands and Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan anyway.DavidL said:
Gulf War 1 was right and proportionate. Gulf War 2 was not only immoral and illegal, it was tactically and strategically disastrous.Leon said:
Possibly the greatest unforced error by western powers EVERNigelb said:
More backwash of the Iraq invasion.Leon said:
It is if you’ve been to Syria and met Syrians and had a wonderful time back in 1998 and held out a lot of hope that this country - quite secular, pluralistic, a safe place for minorities like Christians, despite the horrors of the regime - might actually evolve into an exemplar. Maybe even one day a democracyanother_richard said:
Bad guys of different types killing each other is no bad thing.Leon said:
There are, I am afraid, grotesque videos. I don’t think they are fakeNigelb said:
Initial reports on the ground from Aleppo suggest not.Leon said:
Thankyou. It’s so incredibly complexJosiasJessop said:
No. Both Russia and Iran back Assad (though I would not be surprised if Iran was sponsoring other groups as well.)Leon said:
If true, that means Russia and the USA are on the same side?!?Nigelb said:
Yes, I saw that, but hesitated to post it without confirmation.JosiasJessop said:*Apparently* there were US air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria last night.
Not seeing this reported anywhere sane, but it was on Twix.
The source was a pretty regular Syrian conflict reporter, FWIW.
I’ve seen some hideous evidence that these rebels - or some of them - are easily as bad as isis. Islamist maniacs who will impose brutal sharia law a la Taliban
Which leaves me in the impossibly horrible position of maybe hoping Assad prevails
But then again, similar claims of reasonableness were actually made for ISIS in the very early days.
This is probably ISIS 2.0 and I reckon anyone hoping for the rebels to be good guys are like those who hoped the new Taliban would be more reasonable. That’s the Taliban who have just made it illegal for women to speak
What has happened since is unutterably bad. There is no upside. At all
Britain’s decision to enter WW1 was worse if you’re a Briton
Blair was a very smart PM and extremely shrewd about the main chance but his backing of W was a huge mistake, even if the Tories were all for it.
Given the growth of militants in Syria since though Assad is the better of 2 evils there
And Assad himself has cooperated with ISIL when it suited him.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/4698
Don't swallow Russian propaganda.
(Snip)
Clearly they didn't defeat the other largely AQ linked rebels enough though, for even as ISIL have largely been defeated in Syria the Al Qaeda linked rebels haven't
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_the_Islamic_State
The battle that rid Syria of IS was an American/SDF one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghuz_Fawqani
And as I've pointed out in the past, IS still exist in Syria, though they do not really control any territory.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/3/3/palmyra-russia-backed-syrian-army-retakes-ancient-city#:~:text=The Syrian army said it,driven out eight months before.
You now seem to be saying: "Yeah, but that place in Syria wasn't really Syria..." Which is an absurd position to take. You also ignore my point about the Russians and Assad concentrating most of their fire on non-ISIL groups.
The situation in Syria was, and is, an almighty mess. But trying to make the Russians out to be the good guys over there is a rather odd position to take.
Indeed it is now AQ linked rebels leading the opposition to Assad, not the FSA
And you also ignore the atrocities Assad and the Russians committed against non-ISIS, not-AQ people. And not all the rebels are Muslim extremists, by a long shot.
You are swallowing Russian propaganda hook, line and sinker. You may want to stare deep into your soul to ask why that is.0 -
Well, nothing. One of the reasons to have been sceptical of the purpose of the latest iteration of the Farage Political Publicity Vehicle.Dopermean said:
Lol!Foxy said:The drug addled Space Clown giving money to Roderick Spode?
My money would be on him keeling over from cirrhosis before the GE.
What's to stop Farage and Tice winding up Reform Ltd and splitting the cash?
The world was a much safer place when Musk was focused on sending himself to Mars.
But, if they did, wouldn't that make Musk's hypothetical £100m donation an act of lefty benevolence, buying off the most effective agitator for right-wing politics, and leaving the right leaderless and disheartened?
Could Musk be a sleeper agent?0 -
"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html2 -
Mission led, numbers based, process driven and pragmatic action. 100% applauded by this woke leftywilliamglenn said:
Starmer is outflanking Farage on the right. Reform need to be careful they don’t get branded as an open borders party along with the Tories.HYUFD said:@PeoplesMomentum
'Appalling rhetoric from the Labour Government as it panders to the far-right.'
https://x.com/PeoplesMomentum/status/18635317076740059070 -
I've revised my view that he is likely to try and pardon *some*, but I'm not sure which ones, and what will happen to cases in process.IanB2 said:
He’s doing it, because he fears Trump will use all the powers soon to be at his disposal to enact revenge upon his son.Taz said:
Biden has not been a bad President even after this faux pas which it would be a shame if it tarnished his legacy.kinabalu said:
A four year break on a tide of shit is not such a terrible legacy.williamglenn said:Biden's pardon relegates his legacy even more to being just an interregnum in the Trump era.
Which doesn’t make it right, but makes it more understandable.
The biggest likely consequence is that it will make it easier for Trump to get away with pardoning all the Jan 6 rioters.
For example, will Trump pardon men who accepted that he had beaten policemen with a baseball bat?
https://www.newsweek.com/emanuel-jackson-capitol-attack-police-baseball-bat-1562498
In some cases I think he will use the Presidential power to commute sentences, and other things.1 -
Having met people in the Prison Reform movement, there are quite a few who seriously advocate the position that prison never works.MattW said:
I don't know any 'liberals' (whatever they are through the author's spectacles) who think 'punishment never works'. It is far more along the lines of punishment AND other interventions.Andy_JS said:Interesting viewpoint about the riots.
"One of the riots’ ironies (if they were merely an episode and not the shape of things to come) was that liberal intellectuals rediscovered the social value of punishment, which they had previously denied, both on pragmatic and philosophical grounds. Punishment did not work, they had long argued: it neither deterred nor reformed. Besides, it was unjust, merely cruel and vengeful, for wrongdoers were the victims of their circumstances. What they needed was a moral form of physical therapy, or rehabilitation.
Nothing like this was heard during the riots. What was needed in response to them, the liberals maintained, was severe and rapidly administered punishment (with which I wholeheartedly agree). If rioters could count on a few years’ prison time, there would be fewer of them in years to come, no matter their feelings of resentment. There was no talk of rehabilitation. No psychologist was consulted as to how the rioters should learn to reorder their thoughts so that they became good citizens or to manage their anger so that they did not act on it. No one, as far as I noticed, suggested that rioters were the victims of their circumstances, and therefore the true victims of their own behavior."
https://www.city-journal.org/article/britains-long-hot-summer
Having skimmed the piece, I think Theodore Dalrymple is rather playng chess with his straw men.
Put it another way - until the riots came up, you weren’t going to get Guardian pieces on how we need to send criminals to prison.1 -
We were rather hoping that they might improve things.mwadams said:
The very notion that there is any evidence that growth has been "promptly wrecked" by a change of administration within 5 months is laughable...kenObi said:
We didn't really have the fastest growth.Fishing said:
It's much worse than continuity Sunak. Sunak wasn't exactly a genius, but left the country with the fastest growth in the G7, which Starmer has promptly wrecked. And Starmer hasn't had to deal with multiple crises including the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget and the pandemic, the energy price shock and the acute phase of the war in Ukraine. God knows what a terrible state this country would be in if he did.Taz said:
I genuinely fell for the way they presented themselves as a ‘government in waiting bringing competence and stabilitysquareroot2 said:
Political.parties are all much of the same type....Useless. Labour seem worse than ever, ineffective and driven by socialist dogma.Taz said:
He will be cropping up on Loose Women next to talk about it.Alanbrooke said:
Anything but the economy which theyre totally screwing upTaz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
Manufacturing PMIs worst for 9 months
What a shit show they are turning out to be.
You can't polish a turd but Starmer is going to have a go at it. They never learn.
I was, like many voters, rather mugged off.
This is continuity Sunak. No more no less.
So far so shit.
And that's not to mention the WFA, 2TK or Free Gear controversies - all in just six months.
Unless you mean we had a single quarter (Q1) where growth zipped along at massive increase of 0.7% - bouncing back from a technical recession.
On an annualised basis it was worse than France and miles worse than USA
Since 2019, it has been worse than every G7 country bar Germany.
Perhaps that was also laughable.0 -
I'm not sure he's even wrong.biggles said:Biden has clearly said “sod it, nothing to lose so might as well”. He’s very wrong to do so, but you can understand it on a human level.
As the last election shows, Americans clearly value loyalty and identity above consistency and duty. Imagine if Biden had done his duty and not pardoned his son, who is then promptly jailed by his successor. Do you reckon Americans would think, "Biden did his duty; I respect him" or, "He didn't even pardon his own son. What a sap!" Odds on the latter, I reckon.5 -
The real worry about what Trump will do is that he won’t be worrying about re-election. And he doesn’t give a XXXX about anyone else.MattW said:
I've revised my view that he is likely to try and pardon *some*, but I'm not sure which ones, and what will happen to cases in process.IanB2 said:
He’s doing it, because he fears Trump will use all the powers soon to be at his disposal to enact revenge upon his son.Taz said:
Biden has not been a bad President even after this faux pas which it would be a shame if it tarnished his legacy.kinabalu said:
A four year break on a tide of shit is not such a terrible legacy.williamglenn said:Biden's pardon relegates his legacy even more to being just an interregnum in the Trump era.
Which doesn’t make it right, but makes it more understandable.
The biggest likely consequence is that it will make it easier for Trump to get away with pardoning all the Jan 6 rioters.
For example, will Trump pardon men who accepted that he had beaten policemen with a baseball bat?
https://www.newsweek.com/emanuel-jackson-capitol-attack-police-baseball-bat-1562498
In some cases I think he will use the Presidential power to commute sentences, and other things.0 -
Librarians and academics have much wider cultural hinterland and academics are far more intellectual than this lot and think through ideas far more. Business leaders not happy with the government either.Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html
'There are so many CEOs who felt that the Budget was a slap in the face. They were wooed by Starmer and Rachel Reeves and believed them when they said that the “changed Labour Party” was pro-business as well as pro-worker – which was a very Blairite elision of the contradiction between the two. But now they feel betrayed...#
Those around Blair don’t have much of an answer either. “Tony would never have done that,” they say, about private schools, winter fuel, farms and employers’ national insurance. Yet they agree that Labour was right to rule out general tax rises before the election – so what taxes would they raise, and what spending would they cut?'0 -
Badenoch maybe, certainly not Farage who has even promised to withdraw from the ECHR to ensure migrant deportations unlike Kemi and Sir Keirwilliamglenn said:
Starmer is outflanking Farage on the right. Reform need to be careful they don’t get branded as an open borders party along with the Tories.HYUFD said:@PeoplesMomentum
'Appalling rhetoric from the Labour Government as it panders to the far-right.'
https://x.com/PeoplesMomentum/status/18635317076740059070 -
You lost the argument when you said EE had the fastest growth in the G7.kenObi said:
We didn't really have the fastest growth.Fishing said:
It's much worse than continuity Sunak. Sunak wasn't exactly a genius, but left the country with the fastest growth in the G7, which Starmer has promptly wrecked. And Starmer hasn't had to deal with multiple crises including the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget and the pandemic, the energy price shock and the acute phase of the war in Ukraine. God knows what a terrible state this country would be in if he did.Taz said:
I genuinely fell for the way they presented themselves as a ‘government in waiting bringing competence and stabilitysquareroot2 said:
Political.parties are all much of the same type....Useless. Labour seem worse than ever, ineffective and driven by socialist dogma.Taz said:
He will be cropping up on Loose Women next to talk about it.Alanbrooke said:
Anything but the economy which theyre totally screwing upTaz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
Manufacturing PMIs worst for 9 months
What a shit show they are turning out to be.
You can't polish a turd but Starmer is going to have a go at it. They never learn.
I was, like many voters, rather mugged off.
This is continuity Sunak. No more no less.
So far so shit.
And that's not to mention the WFA, 2TK or Free Gear controversies - all in just six months.
Unless you mean we had a single quarter (Q1) where growth zipped along at massive increase of 0.7% - bouncing back from a technical recession.
On an annualised basis it was worse than France and miles worse than USA
Since 2019, it has been worse than every G7 country bar Germany.
A contrived technical blip to mask the blindingly obvious.0 -
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).2 -
AwwHYUFD said:
Librarians and academics have much wider cultural hinterland and academics are far more intellectual than this lot and think through ideas far more. [snipped]Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html
Thanks HYUFD!
I was quite offended by Rentoul's reported comparison
1 -
Hopefully she sacked Robbie Gibb and told him to take Kuenssberg and Mason with himnumbertwelve said:
Never fear, Lisa Nandy has apparently met BBC bosses about it all!Stocky said:
Good grief.Taz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
"Speaking on Monday, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "As we said last week these allegations are obviously deeply concerning."
Are they?1 -
The big winner is Micheal Martin certainly and FF, which is slightly more socially conservative than FG but a bit less economically liberal and that will make the new government a bit more statist and authoritarianLostPassword said:
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).0 -
I'm willing to give them half a term: two years. That seems fair, given the enormity of the task and the fact they're newly in power.Nigelb said:
We were rather hoping that they might improve things.mwadams said:
The very notion that there is any evidence that growth has been "promptly wrecked" by a change of administration within 5 months is laughable...kenObi said:
We didn't really have the fastest growth.Fishing said:
It's much worse than continuity Sunak. Sunak wasn't exactly a genius, but left the country with the fastest growth in the G7, which Starmer has promptly wrecked. And Starmer hasn't had to deal with multiple crises including the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget and the pandemic, the energy price shock and the acute phase of the war in Ukraine. God knows what a terrible state this country would be in if he did.Taz said:
I genuinely fell for the way they presented themselves as a ‘government in waiting bringing competence and stabilitysquareroot2 said:
Political.parties are all much of the same type....Useless. Labour seem worse than ever, ineffective and driven by socialist dogma.Taz said:
He will be cropping up on Loose Women next to talk about it.Alanbrooke said:
Anything but the economy which theyre totally screwing upTaz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
Manufacturing PMIs worst for 9 months
What a shit show they are turning out to be.
You can't polish a turd but Starmer is going to have a go at it. They never learn.
I was, like many voters, rather mugged off.
This is continuity Sunak. No more no less.
So far so shit.
And that's not to mention the WFA, 2TK or Free Gear controversies - all in just six months.
Unless you mean we had a single quarter (Q1) where growth zipped along at massive increase of 0.7% - bouncing back from a technical recession.
On an annualised basis it was worse than France and miles worse than USA
Since 2019, it has been worse than every G7 country bar Germany.
Perhaps that was also laughable.
If there's a black swan event, such as Covid mk 2, then a full term.0 -
It's not laughable at all. They've managed a huge transfer of wealth from the productive public sector to the unproductive private sector, they've raised especially those taxes that will hammer business confidence, investment and employment, they've implemented a giant increase in the already absurdly high minimum wage and they've taken an axe to employer's rights.mwadams said:
The very notion that there is any evidence that growth has been "promptly wrecked" by a change of administration within 5 months is laughable.kenObi said:
We didn't really have the fastest growth.Fishing said:
It's much worse than continuity Sunak. Sunak wasn't exactly a genius, but left the country with the fastest growth in the G7, which Starmer has promptly wrecked. And Starmer hasn't had to deal with multiple crises including the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget and the pandemic, the energy price shock and the acute phase of the war in Ukraine. God knows what a terrible state this country would be in if he did.Taz said:
I genuinely fell for the way they presented themselves as a ‘government in waiting bringing competence and stabilitysquareroot2 said:
Political.parties are all much of the same type....Useless. Labour seem worse than ever, ineffective and driven by socialist dogma.Taz said:
He will be cropping up on Loose Women next to talk about it.Alanbrooke said:
Anything but the economy which theyre totally screwing upTaz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
Manufacturing PMIs worst for 9 months
What a shit show they are turning out to be.
You can't polish a turd but Starmer is going to have a go at it. They never learn.
I was, like many voters, rather mugged off.
This is continuity Sunak. No more no less.
So far so shit.
And that's not to mention the WFA, 2TK or Free Gear controversies - all in just six months.
Unless you mean we had a single quarter (Q1) where growth zipped along at massive increase of 0.7% - bouncing back from a technical recession.
On an annualised basis it was worse than France and miles worse than USA
Since 2019, it has been worse than every G7 country bar Germany.
Expect the economy to underachieve even the much lower growth projections unless a miracle happens - anecdotal evidence I've picked up from my own bellwethers has confirmed this.
The brand new but already tired government could hardly have done more to wreck the economy if they'd tried, which is why business confidence and Starmer's approval ratings have collapsed.0 -
You should be worrying about a next election that turns into a fight between Starmer’s ‘borings’ and Farage’s Musk-funded ‘crazies’, in which your own party will struggle to decide which way to jump.HYUFD said:
Badenoch maybe, certainly not Farage who has even promised to withdraw from the ECHR to ensure migrant deportations unlike Kemi and Sir Keirwilliamglenn said:
Starmer is outflanking Farage on the right. Reform need to be careful they don’t get branded as an open borders party along with the Tories.HYUFD said:@PeoplesMomentum
'Appalling rhetoric from the Labour Government as it panders to the far-right.'
https://x.com/PeoplesMomentum/status/18635317076740059070 -
Did you really mean: "productive public sector to the unproductive private sector" ?Fishing said:
It's not laughable at all. They've managed a huge transfer of wealth from the productive public sector to the unproductive private sector, they've raised especially those taxes that will hammer business confidence, investment and employment, they've implemented a giant increase in the minimum wage and they've taken an axe to employer's rights.mwadams said:
The very notion that there is any evidence that growth has been "promptly wrecked" by a change of administration within 5 months is laughable.kenObi said:
We didn't really have the fastest growth.Fishing said:
It's much worse than continuity Sunak. Sunak wasn't exactly a genius, but left the country with the fastest growth in the G7, which Starmer has promptly wrecked. And Starmer hasn't had to deal with multiple crises including the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget and the pandemic, the energy price shock and the acute phase of the war in Ukraine. God knows what a terrible state this country would be in if he did.Taz said:
I genuinely fell for the way they presented themselves as a ‘government in waiting bringing competence and stabilitysquareroot2 said:
Political.parties are all much of the same type....Useless. Labour seem worse than ever, ineffective and driven by socialist dogma.Taz said:
He will be cropping up on Loose Women next to talk about it.Alanbrooke said:
Anything but the economy which theyre totally screwing upTaz said:Now number 10 are wading in with their thoughts on the Gregg Wallace issue !!!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/breaking-keir-starmer-blasts-gregg-wallace-comments-as-misogynistic-as-he-makes-demand-of-bbc/ar-AA1v7E6H?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b830c33991d94971aadb518b0aadf052&ei=16
Manufacturing PMIs worst for 9 months
What a shit show they are turning out to be.
You can't polish a turd but Starmer is going to have a go at it. They never learn.
I was, like many voters, rather mugged off.
This is continuity Sunak. No more no less.
So far so shit.
And that's not to mention the WFA, 2TK or Free Gear controversies - all in just six months.
Unless you mean we had a single quarter (Q1) where growth zipped along at massive increase of 0.7% - bouncing back from a technical recession.
On an annualised basis it was worse than France and miles worse than USA
Since 2019, it has been worse than every G7 country bar Germany.
Expect the economy to underachieve even the much lower growth projections unless a miracle happens - anecdotal evidence I've picked up from my own bellwethers has confirmed this.
The brand new but already tired government could hardly have done more to wreck the economy if they'd tried, which is why business confidence and Starmer's approval ratings have collapsed.1 -
I actually meant it. HYUFD is, as he makes clear, very much a Christian. Putin pretends to play up to Christianity, even if an Orthodox form, and is therefore one of the good guys. Assad follows a minor branch of Islam, and pretends to be more secular. Most of those groups fighting Assad can be painted as Shia or Sunni Muslim, and therefore the bad guys, whether IS/IL, AQ, or Kurds.LostPassword said:
"Deep into your soul"? Isn't that a bit hyperbolic?JosiasJessop said:
"areas like Palmyra" != Syria.HYUFD said:
No it remains right. Had Assad fallen ISIL and AQ linked rebels would have taken over most of the government not the FSA. The FSA may have defeated ISIL in patches on the edge of Syria but it was Assad and his troops supported by the Russians who removed ISIL from areas like Palmyra.JosiasJessop said:
You keep on repeating the same shit, and it's wrong, as my links show. But at least you've changed your view to 'largely', which is at least an improved position from your "It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria." rubbish.HYUFD said:
Baghuz Fawqani was right on the Iraq and Syria border, it was Assad's troops forcing ISIL out of the likes of Palmyra backed by the Russians that largely defeated ISIL in SyriaJosiasJessop said:
" Moscow officially portrayed its intervention as an anti-IS campaign and publicly declared support for the "patriotic Syrian opposition", the vast majority of its bombings were focused on destroying bases of the Syrian opposition militias of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Southern Front."HYUFD said:
You showed sod all, the Kurds only held ISIL at bay from the very north of Syria, it was Assad's army and Russian airstrikes that defeated ISIL in the rest of Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Bullshit, as I showed with my links yesterday. Russia and Assad were more concerned with destroying the other rebels, and as my link above shows, even paid ISIL.HYUFD said:
It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Not all the rebels are 'Al Qaeda linked'.HYUFD said:
No matter what he has done, he is still better than the Islamist former Al Qaeda linked rebels opposing himJosiasJessop said:
Why? Are you aware of what Assad's been doing over there?HYUFD said:
Not necessarily, Iraq is still free of Saddam and his family and has an elected government. Afghanistan by contrast is back in Taliban hands and Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan anyway.DavidL said:
Gulf War 1 was right and proportionate. Gulf War 2 was not only immoral and illegal, it was tactically and strategically disastrous.Leon said:
Possibly the greatest unforced error by western powers EVERNigelb said:
More backwash of the Iraq invasion.Leon said:
It is if you’ve been to Syria and met Syrians and had a wonderful time back in 1998 and held out a lot of hope that this country - quite secular, pluralistic, a safe place for minorities like Christians, despite the horrors of the regime - might actually evolve into an exemplar. Maybe even one day a democracyanother_richard said:
Bad guys of different types killing each other is no bad thing.Leon said:
There are, I am afraid, grotesque videos. I don’t think they are fakeNigelb said:
Initial reports on the ground from Aleppo suggest not.Leon said:
Thankyou. It’s so incredibly complexJosiasJessop said:
No. Both Russia and Iran back Assad (though I would not be surprised if Iran was sponsoring other groups as well.)Leon said:
If true, that means Russia and the USA are on the same side?!?Nigelb said:
Yes, I saw that, but hesitated to post it without confirmation.JosiasJessop said:*Apparently* there were US air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria last night.
Not seeing this reported anywhere sane, but it was on Twix.
The source was a pretty regular Syrian conflict reporter, FWIW.
I’ve seen some hideous evidence that these rebels - or some of them - are easily as bad as isis. Islamist maniacs who will impose brutal sharia law a la Taliban
Which leaves me in the impossibly horrible position of maybe hoping Assad prevails
But then again, similar claims of reasonableness were actually made for ISIS in the very early days.
This is probably ISIS 2.0 and I reckon anyone hoping for the rebels to be good guys are like those who hoped the new Taliban would be more reasonable. That’s the Taliban who have just made it illegal for women to speak
What has happened since is unutterably bad. There is no upside. At all
Britain’s decision to enter WW1 was worse if you’re a Briton
Blair was a very smart PM and extremely shrewd about the main chance but his backing of W was a huge mistake, even if the Tories were all for it.
Given the growth of militants in Syria since though Assad is the better of 2 evils there
And Assad himself has cooperated with ISIL when it suited him.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/4698
Don't swallow Russian propaganda.
(Snip)
Clearly they didn't defeat the other largely AQ linked rebels enough though, for even as ISIL have largely been defeated in Syria the Al Qaeda linked rebels haven't
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_the_Islamic_State
The battle that rid Syria of IS was an American/SDF one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghuz_Fawqani
And as I've pointed out in the past, IS still exist in Syria, though they do not really control any territory.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/3/3/palmyra-russia-backed-syrian-army-retakes-ancient-city#:~:text=The Syrian army said it,driven out eight months before.
You now seem to be saying: "Yeah, but that place in Syria wasn't really Syria..." Which is an absurd position to take. You also ignore my point about the Russians and Assad concentrating most of their fire on non-ISIL groups.
The situation in Syria was, and is, an almighty mess. But trying to make the Russians out to be the good guys over there is a rather odd position to take.
Indeed it is now AQ linked rebels leading the opposition to Assad, not the FSA
And you also ignore the atrocities Assad and the Russians committed against non-ISIS, not-AQ people. And not all the rebels are Muslim extremists, by a long shot.
You are swallowing Russian propaganda hook, line and sinker. You may want to stare deep into your soul to ask why that is.
I don't think this is an example of HYUFD's latent authoritarianism leading him to side with a dictator. It's a simple matter of justifying a simplistic take based on opposing Islamic terrorists.
That's something that only requires a superficial look, not a deep one.0 -
I would struggle to make any distinction between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politics. What are you basing it on?HYUFD said:
The big winner is Micheal Martin certainly and FF, which is slightly more socially conservative than FG but a bit less economically liberal and that will make the new government a bit more statist and authoritarianLostPassword said:
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).0 -
No. The Assad regime cracks down on ruthlessly on attempts to undermine it. The Islamists crack down ruthlessly on others for existing. The two can't even be compared.JosiasJessop said:
You're missing out some important steps.Luckyguy1983 said:...
We have already seen what rebel controlled Aleppo was like, hence the joyous Christmas celebrations when they fucked off. These will obviously be exactly the same for their bloody and hopefully short reign, and as I said to Tim the other day, if you found yourself in a no man's land between SAA held territory and rebel held Aleppo, you'd run screaming into the former to protect you, so I think the citizens of Aleppo would probably tell you where you could file your 'hopes', especially if they have the misfortune to be Christian, Druze, Alawite, female, or anything apart from an Islamist nutter.Nigelb said:
I'm not expecting good guys.Leon said:
There are, I am afraid, grotesque videos. I don’t think they are fakeNigelb said:
Initial reports on the ground from Aleppo suggest not.Leon said:
Thankyou. It’s so incredibly complexJosiasJessop said:
No. Both Russia and Iran back Assad (though I would not be surprised if Iran was sponsoring other groups as well.)Leon said:
If true, that means Russia and the USA are on the same side?!?Nigelb said:
Yes, I saw that, but hesitated to post it without confirmation.JosiasJessop said:*Apparently* there were US air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria last night.
Not seeing this reported anywhere sane, but it was on Twix.
The source was a pretty regular Syrian conflict reporter, FWIW.
I’ve seen some hideous evidence that these rebels - or some of them - are easily as bad as isis. Islamist maniacs who will impose brutal sharia law a la Taliban
Which leaves me in the impossibly horrible position of maybe hoping Assad prevails
But then again, similar claims of reasonableness were actually made for ISIS in the very early days.
This is probably ISIS 2.0 and I reckon anyone hoping for the rebels to be good guys are like those who hoped the new Taliban would be more reasonable. That’s the Taliban who have just made it illegal for women to speak
Just hoping for something slightly better than Assad. We'll see.
City under Assad's control: death to anyone who dares disagree with him.
City under IS control: death to anyone who dare disagree with them.
Most of the population, as in France during WW2, just buckle down and try to make the best of what they can, without popping their heads above the parapet. Some of these rebel groups - especially the Kurds - may well be 'better' than both those options.
But don't make the mistake of believing Assad is anything other than a mass-murdering shit.
It is especially galling to see those who have more than a passing sympathy with woke ideals be so glib about the passing of authority from a tolerant society to an Islamist one. That's clearly how far your espousal of feminist values goes.1 -
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.0 -
What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
0 -
Are you there to offer reparations for slavery ?Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.0 -
What's the "M" for?Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
The red lozenge in the background is too obscured and not obviously enough a rugby ball. The logo is not going to help anyone who doesn't already know about the six nations work out what it's about.
But it's not as bad as jaGuar. So there is that.
I see the Ireland v England match is on the bank holiday weekend. That's going to be fun.1 -
And not a cloud in a brilliant blue skyLeon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.0 -
You think Assad was 'tolerant' ?Luckyguy1983 said:
No. The Assad regime cracks down on ruthlessly on attempts to undermine it. The Islamists crack down ruthlessly on others for existing. The two can't even be compared.JosiasJessop said:
You're missing out some important steps.Luckyguy1983 said:...
We have already seen what rebel controlled Aleppo was like, hence the joyous Christmas celebrations when they fucked off. These will obviously be exactly the same for their bloody and hopefully short reign, and as I said to Tim the other day, if you found yourself in a no man's land between SAA held territory and rebel held Aleppo, you'd run screaming into the former to protect you, so I think the citizens of Aleppo would probably tell you where you could file your 'hopes', especially if they have the misfortune to be Christian, Druze, Alawite, female, or anything apart from an Islamist nutter.Nigelb said:
I'm not expecting good guys.Leon said:
There are, I am afraid, grotesque videos. I don’t think they are fakeNigelb said:
Initial reports on the ground from Aleppo suggest not.Leon said:
Thankyou. It’s so incredibly complexJosiasJessop said:
No. Both Russia and Iran back Assad (though I would not be surprised if Iran was sponsoring other groups as well.)Leon said:
If true, that means Russia and the USA are on the same side?!?Nigelb said:
Yes, I saw that, but hesitated to post it without confirmation.JosiasJessop said:*Apparently* there were US air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria last night.
Not seeing this reported anywhere sane, but it was on Twix.
The source was a pretty regular Syrian conflict reporter, FWIW.
I’ve seen some hideous evidence that these rebels - or some of them - are easily as bad as isis. Islamist maniacs who will impose brutal sharia law a la Taliban
Which leaves me in the impossibly horrible position of maybe hoping Assad prevails
But then again, similar claims of reasonableness were actually made for ISIS in the very early days.
This is probably ISIS 2.0 and I reckon anyone hoping for the rebels to be good guys are like those who hoped the new Taliban would be more reasonable. That’s the Taliban who have just made it illegal for women to speak
Just hoping for something slightly better than Assad. We'll see.
City under Assad's control: death to anyone who dares disagree with him.
City under IS control: death to anyone who dare disagree with them.
Most of the population, as in France during WW2, just buckle down and try to make the best of what they can, without popping their heads above the parapet. Some of these rebel groups - especially the Kurds - may well be 'better' than both those options.
But don't make the mistake of believing Assad is anything other than a mass-murdering shit.
It is especially galling to see those who have more than a passing sympathy with woke ideals be so glib about the passing of authority from a tolerant society to an Islamist one. That's clearly how far your espousal of feminist values goes.
You care so much about people that you spread Putin's lies about MH17, however contradictory that latest lie was. If I'm 'woke', then at least I'm at peace that I'm not a stupid shill for a fascist, imperialist regime.0 -
It looks like the logo of a 1990s satellite TV channel.Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
0 -
Wally Wallace has apologised for his comments on social media
"I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it, I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.
"It's obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is under way I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/gregg-wallace-apologises-for-his-response-to-masterchef-claims-as-no10-slams-comments-as-misogynistic/ar-AA1v6Q2W?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=f59af3a88fa8483f8cf2d8a256f03429&ei=10
2 -
I wonder what time it gets dark thereIanB2 said:
And not a cloud in a brilliant blue skyLeon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.0 -
It's a Batmobile.Nigelb said:The replies to this...
It’s leaked! Say hello to the beginning of Jaguars’s all-new “copy nothing” era! What do you think?
https://x.com/AutoExpress/status/1863519651621134537
I'd say Biden's pardon decision went down pretty well in comparison.
(There are, of course, a whole heap of Americans triggered by the choice of pink.)0 -
Men’s (Six Nation).LostPassword said:
What's the "M" for?Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
The red lozenge in the background is too obscured and not obviously enough a rugby ball. The logo is not going to help anyone who doesn't already know about the six nations work out what it's about.
But it's not as bad as jaGuar. So there is that.
I see the Ireland v England match is on the bank holiday weekend. That's going to be fun.1 -
A pretty low bar to be honest.LostPassword said:
What's the "M" for?Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
The red lozenge in the background is too obscured and not obviously enough a rugby ball. The logo is not going to help anyone who doesn't already know about the six nations work out what it's about.
But it's not as bad as jaGuar. So there is that.
I see the Ireland v England match is on the bank holiday weekend. That's going to be fun.0 -
It looks quite art deco. They should have leant into that and not gone with the ultra derivative logo and advertising.viewcode said:
It's a Batmobile.Nigelb said:The replies to this...
It’s leaked! Say hello to the beginning of Jaguars’s all-new “copy nothing” era! What do you think?
https://x.com/AutoExpress/status/1863519651621134537
I'd say Biden's pardon decision went down pretty well in comparison.
(There are, of course, a whole heap of Americans triggered by the choice of pink.)2 -
Guinness. 6N = Six Nations. But what do the M & O mean?Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
Maybe the O is just a rugby ball and M means Men.
Overall, I'm getting a Christmas Mars Bar &Bailey'sGuinness ice cream dessert vibe.
Better than Jaguar, I suppose.0 -
Lots of drama in France. Michel Barnier is using a constitutional provision to force his budget through without a parliamentary vote and now a vote of no confidence is being supported by the left and right.
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/live/2024/12/02/en-direct-budget-2025-michel-barnier-utilisera-l-article-49-3-de-la-constitution-pour-adopter-le-budget-de-la-securite-sociale-le-rn-entend-toujours-censurer-le-gouvernement_6424825_823448.html0 -
I get a Loony Toons vibe off it. I like it.williamglenn said:
It looks quite art deco. They should have leant into that and not gone with the ultra derivative logo and advertising.viewcode said:
It's a Batmobile.Nigelb said:The replies to this...
It’s leaked! Say hello to the beginning of Jaguars’s all-new “copy nothing” era! What do you think?
https://x.com/AutoExpress/status/1863519651621134537
I'd say Biden's pardon decision went down pretty well in comparison.
(There are, of course, a whole heap of Americans triggered by the choice of pink.)0 -
FF the party of DeValera, when it was effectively the political wing of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland pushing anti abortion, anti homosexuality and anti divorce laws. It is also a shade tougher on immigration than FG.LostPassword said:
I would struggle to make any distinction between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politics. What are you basing it on?HYUFD said:
The big winner is Micheal Martin certainly and FF, which is slightly more socially conservative than FG but a bit less economically liberal and that will make the new government a bit more statist and authoritarianLostPassword said:
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).
FG the party of the few remaining Irish Anglicans and upper middle class on the whole and Varadkar and Bruton in particular pushed low tax, small state policies. On social issues though FG was pro legalisation of divorce and contraception and abortion when FF certainly were still opposed and FG also led the way to legalise same sex marriage under Varadkar1 -
What happens if it passes? Fresh elections? I thought they needed to wait 12 months for a new dissolution, but maybe VONCs override them?williamglenn said:Lots of drama in France. Michel Barnier is using a constitutional provision to force his budget through without a parliamentary vote and now a vote of no confidence is being supported by the left and right.
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/live/2024/12/02/en-direct-budget-2025-michel-barnier-utilisera-l-article-49-3-de-la-constitution-pour-adopter-le-budget-de-la-securite-sociale-le-rn-entend-toujours-censurer-le-gouvernement_6424825_823448.html
Has to be a straight up battle between the left and Le Pen this time, surely.
0 -
I seldom disagree with you and such a pardon system is an affront to morality. Remember Clinton pardoning my old mates and America's greatest white collar criminals Marc Rich and Pincus Green. Mind you Trump took pardoning to a different level.Peter_the_Punter said:
It's more than optics, it's a shitshow, and it's no excuse to point at Trump.Leon said:The White House spokeswomen 6 months ago
"No. No. It's a no. It will always be a no. Biden will not pardon his son Hunter."
https://x.com/richquack/status/1863504826346488110?s=46
Do the optics get any worse than that?
Democrats have as much to answer for as the GoP.
Compare and contrast the previous attempts to brush Gregg Wallace under the carpet despite accusations of inappropriate touching and his hilarious banter "cock in a sock" antics with that of Jermaine Jenas who was thrown to the wolves over inappropriate texting. Lost his job with Formula E this week too.JosiasJessop said:On Gregg Wallace.
I was never a fan of his, and he's been utterly stupid over a significant period of time. His 'apology' shows he does not understand why his behaviour was so poor.
What he did was worth losing his job over. But I fear the pile-on might lead to something much worse. One day, one of these idiots will end up taking their own life over the pile-on. And I don't think that in any way fits the crime.
As long as he does not get a media job again, let's all forget about him.
I wonder why Jenas was fed to the dogs and Wallace allowed to carry on regardless since 2018. Answers on a postcard.1 -
Jenrick would have been firmly in the Farage camp, Badenoch a bit less so if still anti woke, though Farage has no chance of forming a government even if he surged in the polls to near 30% without Tory supportIanB2 said:
You should be worrying about a next election that turns into a fight between Starmer’s ‘borings’ and Farage’s Musk-funded ‘crazies’, in which your own party will struggle to decide which way to jump.HYUFD said:
Badenoch maybe, certainly not Farage who has even promised to withdraw from the ECHR to ensure migrant deportations unlike Kemi and Sir Keirwilliamglenn said:
Starmer is outflanking Farage on the right. Reform need to be careful they don’t get branded as an open borders party along with the Tories.HYUFD said:@PeoplesMomentum
'Appalling rhetoric from the Labour Government as it panders to the far-right.'
https://x.com/PeoplesMomentum/status/18635317076740059070 -
I think they should have gone the full Penelope and stuck on another pair of wheels.viewcode said:
It's a Batmobile.Nigelb said:The replies to this...
It’s leaked! Say hello to the beginning of Jaguars’s all-new “copy nothing” era! What do you think?
https://x.com/AutoExpress/status/1863519651621134537
I'd say Biden's pardon decision went down pretty well in comparison.
(There are, of course, a whole heap of Americans triggered by the choice of pink.)3 -
France facing a no confidence vote and Barnier 66% chance of ceasing to be PM before the 31st December
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-far-right-party-likely-back-no-confidence-motion-against-government-2024-12-02/0 -
Macron will simply form another government with a few tweeks to the social security law, he certainly will not call another election unless polls show a comfortable majority for his party and Barnier's LRs combined. Not that he could call one for 12 months anyway since the last onenumbertwelve said:
What happens if it passes? Fresh elections? I thought they needed to wait 12 months for a new dissolution, but maybe VONCs override them?williamglenn said:Lots of drama in France. Michel Barnier is using a constitutional provision to force his budget through without a parliamentary vote and now a vote of no confidence is being supported by the left and right.
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/live/2024/12/02/en-direct-budget-2025-michel-barnier-utilisera-l-article-49-3-de-la-constitution-pour-adopter-le-budget-de-la-securite-sociale-le-rn-entend-toujours-censurer-le-gouvernement_6424825_823448.html
Has to be a straight up battle between the left and Le Pen this time, surely.0 -
How many times each day, and for how long does this article get posted on PB? I suspect there is some life in this old article yet.Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html1 -
So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?0
-
@Leon !!!!!!BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
1 -
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)0 -
Majority of French back Macron's resignation if government falls - poll
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/majority-french-back-macrons-resignation-if-government-falls-poll-2024-11-27/
If Barnier's government fell, 63% of those polled said they would be in favour of President Emmanuel Macron resigning.0 -
Scott_xP said:
@Smyth_Chris
Chris Wormald, dept of health perm sec, is the new Cabinet secretary
The choice no one expected
Worm tongue. Get that. And Starmer as old and befuddled Theodon. Get that too. But who is Gandalf? We need a new perspective.Scott_xP said:@Smyth_Chris
Chris Wormald, dept of health perm sec, is the new Cabinet secretary
The choice no one expected2 -
For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/0 -
FG is the party of Martin Collins. FF and FG were on opposite sides in the civil war. Some families still remember that. More important than policies to some.HYUFD said:
FF the party of DeValera, when it was effectively the political wing of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland pushing anti abortion, anti homosexuality and anti divorce laws. It is also a shade tougher on immigration than FG.LostPassword said:
I would struggle to make any distinction between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politics. What are you basing it on?HYUFD said:
The big winner is Micheal Martin certainly and FF, which is slightly more socially conservative than FG but a bit less economically liberal and that will make the new government a bit more statist and authoritarianLostPassword said:
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).
FG the party of the few remaining Irish Anglicans and upper middle class on the whole and Varadkar and Bruton in particular pushed low tax, small state policies. On social issues though FG was pro legalisation of divorce and contraception and abortion when FF certainly were still opposed and FG also led the way to legalise same sex marriage under Varadkar
1 -
Labour have lost 13% in Wales and share second place behind Plaid with Reformbigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1863188068347322507?t=RjQjS9vPTtFz2OXHOo2b-Q&s=190 -
Yes, I should have not voted as was my initial thought.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
However I am happy to be won over. Give it 2 years, See how the land lies
One thing I strongly believe is that the Tories did not deserve to win irrespective of how Labour have started.0 -
A Labour and Tory collapse could leave Reform as the default unionist party against Plaid in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.bigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)0 -
It is fair to see that my vote for Labour has not necessarily unfolded to my or my nation’s advantageBatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
0 -
I think a lot of these differences are a product of when the parties have been in government, and who they've been in coalition with. Varadkar certainly had to be pushed into the abortion referendum, for example, and there's no evidence that the blue shirts were any less keen on support for the Catholic Church - they just barely got a look in while Dev was around.HYUFD said:
FF the party of DeValera, when it was effectively the political wing of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland pushing anti abortion, anti homosexuality and anti divorce laws. It is also a shade tougher on immigration than FG.LostPassword said:
I would struggle to make any distinction between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politics. What are you basing it on?HYUFD said:
The big winner is Micheal Martin certainly and FF, which is slightly more socially conservative than FG but a bit less economically liberal and that will make the new government a bit more statist and authoritarianLostPassword said:
Remember, new boundaries mean there were 14 additional seats. So all things being equal you'd have expected a party on 37 seats to have gained 3. This makes the likely final tally for Fine Gael of 38 a bit of a disappointment for them.HYUFD said:93% in from Ireland and SF down 5% on the last Irish GE and have lost 1 seat to reach 36.
FF gain 5 seats to reach 43 and FG gain 1 seat to 36 so the FF and FG government will certainly stay in office.
Gains also for the SDs, Labour, Aontu and new party Independent Ireland wins 4 seats.
PBF had a bad night down 2 seats and the Greens a terrible night, down 11 seats to just 1 so will certainly leave the government
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Irish_general_election
Fianna Fail will likely end up on 48, +10 seats, which they will be delighted by, even if they lost some senior TDs, such as ministers Donnelly (Health) and Rabbitte (Disability).
FG the party of the few remaining Irish Anglicans and upper middle class on the whole and Varadkar and Bruton in particular pushed low tax, small state policies. On social issues though FG was pro legalisation of divorce and contraception and abortion when FF certainly were still opposed and FG also led the way to legalise same sex marriage under Varadkar
Fine Gael have most often been in coalition with Labour, while Fianna Fail were in coalition with the right-wing Progressive Democrats when I first met my Irish wife, which coloured my perception somewhat.
They split over the Treaty, with a lot of objection to the oath of allegiance, but since becoming a Republic in 1948 there's no difference there. The division is simply an echo of the divisions during the civil war, and it's a question of tribal loyalty, which is why it runs so strongly in families.
The biggest difference I have identified is, as you say, that Fine Gael is more middle class and Anglican, but when FF Taoiseach Bertie Ahern claimed to be a socialist it was with an argument that George Osborne would have been proud of, and it met with the derision such an assertion deserved.0 -
Macron’s bombshell election turned out to be a spectacular unforced errorHYUFD said:
Macron will simply form another government with a few tweeks to the social security law, he certainly will not call another election unless polls show a comfortable majority for his party and Barnier's LRs combined. Not that he could call one for 12 months anyway since the last onenumbertwelve said:
What happens if it passes? Fresh elections? I thought they needed to wait 12 months for a new dissolution, but maybe VONCs override them?williamglenn said:Lots of drama in France. Michel Barnier is using a constitutional provision to force his budget through without a parliamentary vote and now a vote of no confidence is being supported by the left and right.
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/live/2024/12/02/en-direct-budget-2025-michel-barnier-utilisera-l-article-49-3-de-la-constitution-pour-adopter-le-budget-de-la-securite-sociale-le-rn-entend-toujours-censurer-le-gouvernement_6424825_823448.html
Has to be a straight up battle between the left and Le Pen this time, surely.1 -
I was sorting out some stuff over the weekend and came across the programme for my degree ceremony in 1965. It was interesting to see the distribution of grades. There were 158 candidates for the BA(Econ); 4% got Firsts, 20% 2.1s, 42% 2.2s, 1% 3rds, and 23% Ordinary. How different to today! For a bit of fun I googled the Firsts and Upper Seconds to see where people ended up in life. I found no reference to any of the Firsts. Of my fellow Upper Seconds there were a number of academics notably Leslie Wagner who became Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University. Two achieved success abroad as Finance Minister of Nigeria and President of Iceland. But the most successful was Terrence Burns better know as Sir Terry Burns, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and later as Lord Burns, one of the great and the good.3
-
Not really as both the Senedd and Holyrood have PR and Farage has never been as strong in Scotland as in Wales anywaywilliamglenn said:
A Labour and Tory collapse could leave Reform as the default unionist party against Plaid in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.bigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)0 -
Not I. Voted Labour for the first time in 50 years of voting Tory. I am sad at how bad they have been so far, but no regrets at all about: three things: the Tories had to go; they had to be replaced because we have to have a government; Labour was the only alternative.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Two footnotes: I would have voted for whichever party could replace the Tories - LD it would have been in lots of seats but not mine. There are loads of reasons the Tories had to go, most important they needed and need time to sort out what the party is for.
Once you have spend several years holding two simultaneous policies on migration - one, there should be less, two, there should be more - it's time for a rest in a quiet dark room.0 -
You'd lose 50 miles of range, but given the number of alloy wheels my father-in-law has been welding recently, perhaps the redundancy would be useful.Nigelb said:
I think they should have gone the full Penelope and stuck on another pair of wheels.viewcode said:
It's a Batmobile.Nigelb said:The replies to this...
It’s leaked! Say hello to the beginning of Jaguars’s all-new “copy nothing” era! What do you think?
https://x.com/AutoExpress/status/1863519651621134537
I'd say Biden's pardon decision went down pretty well in comparison.
(There are, of course, a whole heap of Americans triggered by the choice of pink.)0 -
Farage, clearly.DavidL said:Scott_xP said:@Smyth_Chris
Chris Wormald, dept of health perm sec, is the new Cabinet secretary
The choice no one expected
Worm tongue. Get that. And Starmer as old and befuddled Theodon. Get that too. But who is Gandalf? We need a new perspective.Scott_xP said:@Smyth_Chris
Chris Wormald, dept of health perm sec, is the new Cabinet secretary
The choice no one expected
Afterall, as he said to UKIP after the EU referendum:
“I am with you at present, but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the UK. You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. Do you not yet understand? My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now. Grown indeed very high; among the great you are, and I have no longer any fear at all for any of you.”1 -
Was Syria under Assad &c from 1990-2010 a free, safe, prosperous liberal democracy like Australia or Canada? No of course not. It was a sometimes brutal autocracyJosiasJessop said:For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/
Was it palpably more tolerant and pluralistic - a better place for minorities and women - than many other countries in MENA? - yes absoiutely2 -
I thought it was Leisure Centre Manager. What Starmer is like seems to be very much in the eye of the beholder. Eg for me he's a forensic accountant (chartered) parachuted in to a struggling enterprise with a brief to try and rescue 30p in the pound. My sort of guy in other words.Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html1 -
Still better than the Al Qaeda linked Islamist militant rebelsJosiasJessop said:For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/1 -
Which has zero chance of happening, Macron will simply appoint a new governmentwilliamglenn said:Majority of French back Macron's resignation if government falls - poll
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/majority-french-back-macrons-resignation-if-government-falls-poll-2024-11-27/
If Barnier's government fell, 63% of those polled said they would be in favour of President Emmanuel Macron resigning.0 -
I've visited all 612 train, tube and tram stations in London, every single one of them.Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.
What have you done, @Leon? You've done nothing!
[shrieking] NOTHING!3 -
Reform beat the Tories in 25 seats in Scotland in the GE. They have a surprising amount of momentum.HYUFD said:
Not really as both the Senedd and Holyrood have PR and Farage has never been as strong in Scotland as in Wales anywaywilliamglenn said:
A Labour and Tory collapse could leave Reform as the default unionist party against Plaid in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.bigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/01/reform-uk-bullish-and-optimistic-as-polls-predict-success-in-scotland0 -
As if.Big_G_NorthWales said:
@Leon !!!!!!BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
0 -
I am disappointed with the new government, but I wouldn't say I regretted my vote in July and wished I had voted differently.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
I'm unlikely to vote for Labour at the next election though0 -
Which is still less than half, Reform beat Labour in not a single Scottish seatwilliamglenn said:
Reform beat the Tories in 25 seats in Scotland in the GE. They have a surprising amount of momentum.HYUFD said:
Not really as both the Senedd and Holyrood have PR and Farage has never been as strong in Scotland as in Wales anywaywilliamglenn said:
A Labour and Tory collapse could leave Reform as the default unionist party against Plaid in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.bigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/01/reform-uk-bullish-and-optimistic-as-polls-predict-success-in-scotland0 -
That was before the Tories voted for Badenoch as leader and before the wheels came off Project Starmer.HYUFD said:
Which is still less than half, Reform beat Labour in not a single Scottish seatwilliamglenn said:
Reform beat the Tories in 25 seats in Scotland in the GE. They have a surprising amount of momentum.HYUFD said:
Not really as both the Senedd and Holyrood have PR and Farage has never been as strong in Scotland as in Wales anywaywilliamglenn said:
A Labour and Tory collapse could leave Reform as the default unionist party against Plaid in Wales and the SNP in Scotland.bigjohnowls said:
Plenty of people in Wales by the look of it.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
Projected Senedd result (official draft boundaries):
🟩 PLAID: 26 (+2)
🟪 REF: 26 (+26)
🟥 LAB: 25 (-21)
🟦 CON: 18 (-8)
🟧 LD: 1 (+1)
Based on
@YouGov
poll, 25-29 Nov
(+/- vs 2021 notional result)
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/01/reform-uk-bullish-and-optimistic-as-polls-predict-success-in-scotland0 -
I changed my avatar several weeks agoBatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
0 -
Yes. For 20-30 years spanning the millennium Syria was one of the best places to live in a benighted region. Far better for women than Saudi. Better for everyone than Iran. More peaceful than Lebanon. More prosperous than Egypt. Less cruel and warlike than IraqHYUFD said:
Still better than the Al Qaeda linked Islamist militant rebelsJosiasJessop said:For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/
It’s a low bar but Syria surmounted it
It turns out that somewhat brutal autocracies are often better than the alternatives in that corner of the world, and no amount of western interfering can change this fact, indeed we only make it worse1 -
Shit design but I understand the idea. I think most of us older chaps regard the men’s Six Nations as ‘The Six Nations’, certainly since 2000, and as ‘The Five Nations’ before that. The rise and rise of womens sport means more care is needed to tell the viewer or listener what event is what.Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
I don’t care much either way. I do rather dislike that the Premiership has now become the EPL. Smacks too much of cricket for me.0 -
I've just done some French Revolution so I can bring some perspective and colour to this. Who holds the key (as always) is the "sans culottes". If Manu has lost them he's in trouble.williamglenn said:Majority of French back Macron's resignation if government falls - poll
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/majority-french-back-macrons-resignation-if-government-falls-poll-2024-11-27/
If Barnier's government fell, 63% of those polled said they would be in favour of President Emmanuel Macron resigning.0 -
How many of the world's metro systems have you been on, outside of the UK?Sunil_Prasannan said:
I've visited all 612 train, tube and tram stations in London, every single one of them.Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.
What have you done, @Leon? You've done nothing!
[shrieking] NOTHING!
I've done very few: Vienna, Paris, New York, Hong Kong. The best ones, obviously.0 -
AQ and Assad are both arses of the same cheek. And as I pointed out earlier, Assad's regime funded ISIS/IL at times.HYUFD said:
Still better than the Al Qaeda linked Islamist militant rebelsJosiasJessop said:For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/
There are no 'good' sides in Syria, except perhaps the Kurds (and I have concerns about their links with the PKK). Your idea that Russia and Assad are in any way 'good' or praiseworthy is frankly pathetic.
But I guess your reading of the bible has given you a rather intolerant definition of 'tolerant'...
0 -
His media management finally got hold of him then.Taz said:Wally Wallace has apologised for his comments on social media
"I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it, I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege yesterday when I posted it.
"It's obvious to me I need to take some time out, now, while this investigation is under way I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/gregg-wallace-apologises-for-his-response-to-masterchef-claims-as-no10-slams-comments-as-misogynistic/ar-AA1v6Q2W?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=f59af3a88fa8483f8cf2d8a256f03429&ei=102 -
Ooh that’s a good travel quiz. The best metro!LostPassword said:
How many of the world's metro systems have you been on, outside of the UK?Sunil_Prasannan said:
I've visited all 612 train, tube and tram stations in London, every single one of them.Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.
What have you done, @Leon? You've done nothing!
[shrieking] NOTHING!
I've done very few: Vienna, Paris, New York, Hong Kong. The best ones, obviously.
Moscow has the best stations. New York the worst
Unless you count Cairo. Omg cairo
Bangkok is surprisingly pleasant but the skytrain exterior infrastructure is generally hideous
London is pleasingly comprehensive1 -
It hasn't.turbotubbs said:
Shit design but I understand the idea. I think most of us older chaps regard the men’s Six Nations as ‘The Six Nations’, certainly since 2000, and as ‘The Five Nations’ before that. The rise and rise of womens sport means more care is needed to tell the viewer or listener what event is what.Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
I don’t care much either way. I do rather dislike that the Premiership has now become the EPL. Smacks too much of cricket for me.
Its name is the Premier League, not the English Premier League.0 -
Formerly AQ-linked. They split from AQ several years ago and have sought to emphasise differences to AQ and present a more moderate face. I'm not saying they're super-cuddly and we should just trust them, but you are misrepresenting the situation.HYUFD said:
As I said, the rebels are dominated by AQ linked rebels, once ISIL went they were the main alternative to Assad then and are again now and must be defeatedJosiasJessop said:
"areas like Palmyra" != Syria.HYUFD said:
No it remains right. Had Assad fallen ISIL and AQ linked rebels would have taken over most of the government not the FSA. The FSA may have defeated ISIL in patches on the edge of Syria but it was Assad and his troops supported by the Russians who removed ISIL from areas like Palmyra.JosiasJessop said:
You keep on repeating the same shit, and it's wrong, as my links show. But at least you've changed your view to 'largely', which is at least an improved position from your "It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria." rubbish.HYUFD said:
Baghuz Fawqani was right on the Iraq and Syria border, it was Assad's troops forcing ISIL out of the likes of Palmyra backed by the Russians that largely defeated ISIL in SyriaJosiasJessop said:
" Moscow officially portrayed its intervention as an anti-IS campaign and publicly declared support for the "patriotic Syrian opposition", the vast majority of its bombings were focused on destroying bases of the Syrian opposition militias of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Southern Front."HYUFD said:
You showed sod all, the Kurds only held ISIL at bay from the very north of Syria, it was Assad's army and Russian airstrikes that defeated ISIL in the rest of Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Bullshit, as I showed with my links yesterday. Russia and Assad were more concerned with destroying the other rebels, and as my link above shows, even paid ISIL.HYUFD said:
It was Assad's army supported by the Russians who defeated ISIL in Syria.JosiasJessop said:
Not all the rebels are 'Al Qaeda linked'.HYUFD said:
No matter what he has done, he is still better than the Islamist former Al Qaeda linked rebels opposing himJosiasJessop said:
Why? Are you aware of what Assad's been doing over there?HYUFD said:
Not necessarily, Iraq is still free of Saddam and his family and has an elected government. Afghanistan by contrast is back in Taliban hands and Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan anyway.DavidL said:
Gulf War 1 was right and proportionate. Gulf War 2 was not only immoral and illegal, it was tactically and strategically disastrous.Leon said:
Possibly the greatest unforced error by western powers EVERNigelb said:
More backwash of the Iraq invasion.Leon said:
It is if you’ve been to Syria and met Syrians and had a wonderful time back in 1998 and held out a lot of hope that this country - quite secular, pluralistic, a safe place for minorities like Christians, despite the horrors of the regime - might actually evolve into an exemplar. Maybe even one day a democracyanother_richard said:
Bad guys of different types killing each other is no bad thing.Leon said:
There are, I am afraid, grotesque videos. I don’t think they are fakeNigelb said:
Initial reports on the ground from Aleppo suggest not.Leon said:
Thankyou. It’s so incredibly complexJosiasJessop said:
No. Both Russia and Iran back Assad (though I would not be surprised if Iran was sponsoring other groups as well.)Leon said:
If true, that means Russia and the USA are on the same side?!?Nigelb said:
Yes, I saw that, but hesitated to post it without confirmation.JosiasJessop said:*Apparently* there were US air strikes against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria last night.
Not seeing this reported anywhere sane, but it was on Twix.
The source was a pretty regular Syrian conflict reporter, FWIW.
I’ve seen some hideous evidence that these rebels - or some of them - are easily as bad as isis. Islamist maniacs who will impose brutal sharia law a la Taliban
Which leaves me in the impossibly horrible position of maybe hoping Assad prevails
But then again, similar claims of reasonableness were actually made for ISIS in the very early days.
This is probably ISIS 2.0 and I reckon anyone hoping for the rebels to be good guys are like those who hoped the new Taliban would be more reasonable. That’s the Taliban who have just made it illegal for women to speak
What has happened since is unutterably bad. There is no upside. At all
Britain’s decision to enter WW1 was worse if you’re a Briton
Blair was a very smart PM and extremely shrewd about the main chance but his backing of W was a huge mistake, even if the Tories were all for it.
Given the growth of militants in Syria since though Assad is the better of 2 evils there
And Assad himself has cooperated with ISIL when it suited him.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/4698
Don't swallow Russian propaganda.
(Snip)
Clearly they didn't defeat the other largely AQ linked rebels enough though, for even as ISIL have largely been defeated in Syria the Al Qaeda linked rebels haven't
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_the_Islamic_State
The battle that rid Syria of IS was an American/SDF one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghuz_Fawqani
And as I've pointed out in the past, IS still exist in Syria, though they do not really control any territory.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/3/3/palmyra-russia-backed-syrian-army-retakes-ancient-city#:~:text=The Syrian army said it,driven out eight months before.
You now seem to be saying: "Yeah, but that place in Syria wasn't really Syria..." Which is an absurd position to take. You also ignore my point about the Russians and Assad concentrating most of their fire on non-ISIL groups.
The situation in Syria was, and is, an almighty mess. But trying to make the Russians out to be the good guys over there is a rather odd position to take.
Indeed it is now AQ linked rebels leading the opposition to Assad, not the FSA
And you also ignore the atrocities Assad and the Russians committed against non-ISIS, not-AQ people. And not all the rebels are Muslim extremists, by a long shot.
You are swallowing Russian propaganda hook, line and sinker. You may want to stare deep into your soul to ask why that is.1 -
He’s saying Assad is less bad than Isis. Which is true. But only in the way Stalin was less bad than HitlerJosiasJessop said:
AQ and Assad are both arses of the same cheek. And as I pointed out earlier, Assad's regime funded ISIS/IL at times.HYUFD said:
Still better than the Al Qaeda linked Islamist militant rebelsJosiasJessop said:For @HYUFD and @Luckyguy1983 : examples of Assad's 'tolerance':
From 2010:
"Syria’s security agencies, the feared mukhabarat, continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, such as the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), sentence people following unfair trials. Syria is still a de facto single-party state with only the Ba`ath Party holding effective power."
https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/16/wasted-decade/human-rights-syria-during-bashar-al-asads-first-ten-years-power
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/torture-under-the-assad-regime/
There are no 'good' sides in Syria, except perhaps the Kurds (and I have concerns about their links with the PKK). Your idea that Russia and Assad are in any way 'good' or praiseworthy is frankly pathetic.
But I guess your reading of the bible has given you a rather intolerant definition of 'tolerant'...0 -
Though we don't normally blame the funeral director for the stiffness of the stiff. The culpability for that lies elsewhere.kinabalu said:
I thought it was Leisure Centre Manager. What Starmer is like seems to be very much in the eye of the beholder. Eg for me he's a forensic accountant (chartered) parachuted in to a struggling enterprise with a brief to try and rescue 30p in the pound. My sort of guy in other words.Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html
My model of Starmer is much as it was before the election- the father of the nation, where the nation is a teenager experiencing its first proper hangover. On that basis, it's far too early to say whether this government is going to work or not, but it's not surprising that the nation isn't happy.2 -
Pretty much where I see myself. I’m not sure who I’d have voted for instead if I hadn’t voted Labour. Not sure at this stage I see myself voting for them again, I’ve been very disappointed. But politically homeless right now.LostPassword said:
I am disappointed with the new government, but I wouldn't say I regretted my vote in July and wished I had voted differently.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
I'm unlikely to vote for Labour at the next election though0 -
...everybody talkin' bout...pop music!LostPassword said:
How many of the world's metro systems have you been on, outside of the UK?Sunil_Prasannan said:
I've visited all 612 train, tube and tram stations in London, every single one of them.Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.
What have you done, @Leon? You've done nothing!
[shrieking] NOTHING!
I've done very few: Vienna, Paris, New York, Hong Kong.....
0 -
NEW THREAD
0 -
I voted Lib Dem rather than Labour, as I had initially planned. Labour decided to parachute in someone from London, with no idea of the area. Quite why there are no plausible labour candidates who live locally I cannot say. I’m glad I didn’t vote Labour. However it’s really early days. Labour will win or lose based on the economy and the NHS. Let’s see where we are in 4 years time.Taz said:
Yes, I should have not voted as was my initial thought.BatteryCorrectHorse said:So has anyone who voted Labour actually regretted it yet apart from @Taz?
However I am happy to be won over. Give it 2 years, See how the land lies
One thing I strongly believe is that the Tories did not deserve to win irrespective of how Labour have started.2 -
Paris, had a guy pull a knife in the same carriage, New York not as frightening as I'd feared and very interesting, London dire, Moscow I would agree, pure elegance.Leon said:
Ooh that’s a good travel quiz. The best metro!LostPassword said:
How many of the world's metro systems have you been on, outside of the UK?Sunil_Prasannan said:
I've visited all 612 train, tube and tram stations in London, every single one of them.Leon said:
Well right now what I’m doing is cruising along the Caribbean coast seeking out a famously sacred indigenous mountain-shrine, and you’re in ventnorIanB2 said:
With posts like that, our Leon simply reminds us why he’s spent his life observing, rather than doing.kenObi said:
It's bad.Leon said:
Biden swore he would not do this. He swore that many times. He made a big thing out of it. His White House spokespeople repeated it. “No. Never. Not gonna happen. We are better than Trump”DecrepiterJohnL said:
The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump has immunity so if he commits murder, rape or child abuse... you see where I'm going with this? Hunter Biden had a laptop and tax bill, and now a pardon. So what?Leon said:The wording of Biden’s pardon - according to Andrew Neil - is mind boggling
“The pardon is very broad, covering offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” dating back to the beginning of 2014”
https://x.com/afneil/status/1863527669939216732?s=46
How can anyone justify that? What if Biden committed a murder or a rape or child abuse or god knows. I can’t get my head around it
I am NOT saying Hunter Biden did any of these things, I am saying that if he did then - as per my reading of these words - he is now immune from prosecution
That actually goes far beyond the concept of “pardon”
It was literally one of his campaigning principles - “I’m the kind of guy that respects the law, unlike Trump, I won’t pardon my son”
How can you guys not see the FUCKING ENORMOUS PROBLEM HERE
Trump sells himself as a chancer and a wise guy and a devious fuck who will nonetheless get things done. You can’t then sell yourself as the morally superior alternative then be easily as bad. Because it makes you WORSE
It tarnishes any legacy (what legacy).
There have been worse pardons on both sides.
The idea that this makes Biden look worse than Trump is simply ludicrous.
It will have absolutely no impact on the 2028 election.
What have you done, @Leon? You've done nothing!
[shrieking] NOTHING!
I've done very few: Vienna, Paris, New York, Hong Kong. The best ones, obviously.
Moscow has the best stations. New York the worst
Unless you count Cairo. Omg cairo
Bangkok is surprisingly pleasant but the skytrain exterior infrastructure is generally hideous
London is pleasingly comprehensive0 -
The father of the nation? Really?Stuartinromford said:
Though we don't normally blame the funeral director for the stiffness of the stiff. The culpability for that lies elsewhere.kinabalu said:
I thought it was Leisure Centre Manager. What Starmer is like seems to be very much in the eye of the beholder. Eg for me he's a forensic accountant (chartered) parachuted in to a struggling enterprise with a brief to try and rescue 30p in the pound. My sort of guy in other words.Andy_JS said:"Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director"
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/starmer-leadership-blairites-despair-b2656483.html
My model of Starmer is much as it was before the election- the father of the nation, where the nation is a teenager experiencing its first proper hangover. On that basis, it's far too early to say whether this government is going to work or not, but it's not surprising that the nation isn't happy.
Will he let us stay at Lord Alli’s while we’re studying for our exams?0 -
I keep hearing it called the EPL.Anabobazina said:
It hasn't.turbotubbs said:
Shit design but I understand the idea. I think most of us older chaps regard the men’s Six Nations as ‘The Six Nations’, certainly since 2000, and as ‘The Five Nations’ before that. The rise and rise of womens sport means more care is needed to tell the viewer or listener what event is what.Taz said:What do we think of the new 6 nations logo. Designed to attract a younger audience
I don’t care much either way. I do rather dislike that the Premiership has now become the EPL. Smacks too much of cricket for me.
Its name is the Premier League, not the English Premier League.0
