Could becoming a republic be the only way to keep Scotland in the Union? – politicalbetting.com
Comments
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Nicko Henderson was the ambassador when my father worked at the DC embassy. According to him, Henderson ran his own completely autonomous foreign policy and often wouldn't even pick up the phone when King Charles Street was calling. He was a distressed purchase by Thatcher who had to appoint him in a tearing hurry when Heath told her to shove the job up her narrow arse.Nigelb said:
Substantive policy decisions will, in any event, be made by the government, not by the ambassador.
Mandleson's job is to smooth the relationship with the US, not sabotage it; if he fails in that, he won't last long in post.
NH was also a workaholic which was ill-matched to my father's overwhelming preference to spend his working day doing crosswords and perusing catalogues of model train bits.3 -
According to Peston, it’s the British ambassador’s job to make the case against tariffs on Chinese exports.
https://x.com/peston/status/18700495812553482860 -
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers0 -
Yeah. The fact I told you Biden was gaga about two years ago and I told you it was a brewing disaster for the Dems and you kept saying “no he’s just old and he likes drooling, he’s always drooled”Nigelb said:
By employing incompetent randoms ?Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
Other than your fevered imagination, do you have any actual ... evidence ?1 -
The 22nd Amendment exists for precisely this purpose, but the Cabinet and Veep didn’t have the balls to do it.Jonathan said:If the Democrats had been aggressive could they have won?
Ditch Biden altogether on illness grounds
Install the first female president
Enact some high profile 180s and a couple of new policies
Be the change
Dare the electorate to kick out the first woman in the Oval Office
Have Trump call her madam president
This thought has been occupying me this morning. Would have been interesting.
The way they actually enacted the coup was possibly the worst imaginable way of doing it. They either had to do the 22nd, or have him agree to stand aside a year out to allow a primary season.0 -
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers1 -
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu1 -
But of course. Who, overwhelmingly, has the money means men motivation and militaristic mindset to take out Trump? The UkrainiansDura_Ace said:
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
FFS the second sassytempt was some nutter who actually fought for Ukraine, even as they now urgently disown him0 -
To win you have to leave nothing on the table. Sentimentality cost them. Left them stranded between change and defending the status quo without incumbency. Nuts really.Sandpit said:
The 22nd Amendment exists for precisely this purpose, but the Cabinet and Veep didn’t have the balls to do it.Jonathan said:If the Democrats had been aggressive could they have won?
Ditch Biden altogether on illness grounds
Install the first female president
Enact some high profile 180s and a couple of new policies
Be the change
Dare the electorate to kick out the first woman in the Oval Office
Have Trump call her madam president
This thought has been occupying me this morning. Would have been interesting.
The way they actually enacted the coup was possibly the worst imaginable way of doing it. They either had to do the 22nd, or have him agree to stand aside a year out to allow a primary season.1 -
I don’t want to spoil the fun, but as a psephologist I have to ask. You sure it’s switchers you are looking at, and not just stay at home voters and some protest voters, who come out differently when it matters in GEs.Taz said:
I’ve said it before and I’ll,say it again. Reform are a bigger threat to labour than the Tories and the assumptions that Reform voters are lapsed Tories by some, there for the taking back, is for the birds.IanB2 said:
An early instance of Reform splitting the Labour vote?Theuniondivvie said:
Has Elon commented on this seismic event yet?williamglenn said:
UK politics has been here before, whilst a party continues to dominate GE after GE.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll,say it again. Reform are a bigger threat to labour” and you are basing that on a very Reform leaning part of the world, that’s atypical of a lot of Labour vote these days based on not liking Brexit happening?
The real downside here is that Reform and Farage cannot win a General Election, the Conservatives have a lot of work in front of them to do so, and this sort of “victory will just plop into into our laps” narrative will undermine the hard work needed 🤦♀️0 -
He would be better off making the case against tariffs on UK exports given Trump will impose them on EU and Chinese exports anywaywilliamglenn said:According to Peston, it’s the British ambassador’s job to make the case against tariffs on Chinese exports.
https://x.com/peston/status/18700495812553482862 -
It strikes me as quite hard to do. I know little about sniping but trying to get a bullet accurately into a human from some distance away strikes me as a thing more likely to be done unsuccessfully than successfully.Dura_Ace said:
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers0 -
Quite - which is why I said that it was one which could properly be managed. But you can only do so if you recognise them - which was my criticism of @TSE's response.Nigelb said:
There is obviously a conflict of interest.Cyclefree said:
You need to redo your Conflicts of Interest training. I can give it to you and look forward to sending you an invoice so outrageous it would make even @Dura_Ace blush.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
It is a potential conflict of interest and would be one were he an atheist, paid up member of the CoE or Hindu. There is every possibility of the EU and Britain having conflicting interests with regard to whatever policies Trump comes out with. It needs to be declared and appropriate steps taken to ensure that it is mitigated. I expect the people behind the scenes who do the work any Ambassador relies on will be well able to ensure this. But lazily dismissing it as you have done is not on.
Too many recent governance failures and scandals have had conflicts of interest at their heart. There is another potential one in the Business Department with the appointment of Ian Anderson as a director to its Board. He is also the founder and executive chair of Cicero Group which advises many leading businesses. Again another potential conflict of interest which needs to be properly managed.
Governments - of whichever type - are very poor at recognising, let alone effectively managing, such conflicts of interest. The need to do so is not even mentioned in the Nolan Principles for Public Life - which is a big gap. Any bank which had such a gap in its Code of Conduct would get a spanking from the regulators. Government should do better.
How serious it is, though is questionable.
Mandleson is well known to be pretty pro-EU irrespective of any financial interests, and Starmer picked him in full knowledge of that. And an important part of his brief is going to be attempting to balance our relationship with Europe with the relationship with the US.
Substantive policy decisions will, in any event, be made by the government, not by the ambassador.
Mandleson's job is to smooth the relationship with the US, not sabotage it; if he fails in that, he won't last long in post.
The other aspect of them is the appearance factor. You need to be alive to the perception of a conflict of interest as well as its actuality. It is a matter of ensuring trust in how decisions are made.1 -
He wasn’t “some distance away”. He was incredibly close. So close a nasty person might question the thoroughness of local securityCookie said:
It strikes me as quite hard to do. I know little about sniping but trying to get a bullet accurately into a human from some distance away strikes me as a thing more likely to be done unsuccessfully than successfully.Dura_Ace said:
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers1 -
No, Trump has beaten 2 female Democrat candidates now sad to say and a female GOP primary opponent, the only candidate who beat him was a white male who grew up in the rustbelt but by 2024 was too dementia hit to run again.Jonathan said:If the Democrats had been aggressive could they have won?
Ditch Biden altogether on illness grounds
Install the first female president
Enact some high profile 180s and a couple of new policies
Be the change
Dare the electorate to kick out the first woman in the Oval Office
Have Trump call her madam president
This thought has been occupying me this morning. Would have been interesting.0 -
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813670 -
Real life isn’t a thriller though. This guy was awfully lucky that he got as far he did before being taken out, and that the various police there on the day couldn’t talk to each other particularly well.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
A serious state-sponsored attempt on the life of the President would have been done very differently, and the sniper could have very quickly been disappeared because they’d planned half a dozen different escape routes in advance.0 -
It was still BiS who added the add on.Carnyx said:
Are you aware that the original poll was commissioned by the Times, and that BiS simply added on a follow up supplementary? I believe that the Times is not a fanatical far left group (mind, almost anything left of Genghiz Khan is f.f.l. in your view in my experience).HYUFD said:Without doubt the most ridiculous poll I have ever seen posted on here. No surprise Carnyx highlighted it. Believe in Scotland is a fanatical far left Yes to independence group so the idea they would commission any poll which doesn't suit their agenda is absurd.
The idea that when 85% of Tories back the monarchy they would be 3% more likely to support independence for Scotland shows you just how unreliable this poll is. Indeed a mere 38% of Scots back a republic with Yougov confirming the absurdity of this poll, ignore
https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Internal_RoyalFavourability_230831_W.pdf (p7)
In the extremely unlikely event this poll was correct, Scotland can leave anyway, no way we give up our royal family to appease them
It would however have been better to have the two together, because of obvious decline in the public regard of the RF collectively of late.
Given Charles has taken over from his iconic mother Elizabeth II and republicans assured us Charles would be the end of the monarchy for the monarchy still to be well ahead of a republic in every poll (with a mere 38% even in Scotland wanting a republic in the last Yougov on the topic even in Scotland) is pretty significant1 -
Well, of course.Taz said:
I hope you say the same about the diehard remainers who want Brexit to damage the UK and the people who supported it.Nigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of us argued in favour of managing Brexit to do the least damage - advice which fell on deaf ears.
Pointing out the subsequent damage is not the same thing as celebrating it.0 -
Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms0 -
His post was an anti English rant, for Scottish nationalists like him the Welsh are fellow Celts battling against their evil English oppressorsCookie said:
To be fair to TUD, it's worth clarifying that Wales isn't in Scotland.HYUFD said:
Nearly 40% of Scots voted for Brexit and Reform are surging there. There is a UK Olympics team, there are more Roman Catholics in Scotland than England percentage wise and percentage wise child abuse amongst priests is higher with them than the C of E (Smyth for starters was a barrister not a priest).Theuniondivvie said:On topic, the Royals are just another thing to be added to the growing pile of stuff that makes the average Scot think what the fuck has this got to do with me.
Some others (not a definitive list):
Brexit
The Tory party
Small boats
Farage
The triumphs and tribulations of the English cricket team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English football team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English rugby team
(See also the women’s versions of these and whatever stupid name the marketing guys have come up with for them)
The nonce-tolerant Church of England
The House of Lords
Eastenders
The sewage ridden waterways of England
HS2
England’s energy poverty
GAVIN AND FCKNG STACEY
All of these topics are of course extensively and endlessly amplified by the state broadcaster. Only this morning I’ve learned via several news bulletins that Wills & Kate did not attend the traditional pre Christmas lunch at the Palace.
The House of Lords now includes Scottish hereditary peers, sadly to be removed by Labour but also many Scottish life peers from Lord Robertson to Lord Reid and Lord Ming Campbell and Baron Livingston.
Gavin and Stacey are half WELSH1 -
Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.0 -
Putin?OnlyLivingBoy said:
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813670 -
Isn't "fucking wanker" an oxymoron anyway?Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu4 -
The only counter-factual that I think about is if Trump's secret documents case had been assigned to any other judge than Aileen Cannon.Jonathan said:If the Democrats had been aggressive could they have won?
Ditch Biden altogether on illness grounds
Install the first female president
Enact some high profile 180s and a couple of new policies
Be the change
Dare the electorate to kick out the first woman in the Oval Office
Have Trump call her madam president
This thought has been occupying me this morning. Would have been interesting.1 -
“Awfully lucky” is one way of putting it…Sandpit said:
Real life isn’t a thriller though. This guy was awfully lucky that he got as far he did before being taken out, and that the various police there on the day couldn’t talk to each other particularly well.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
A serious state-sponsored attempt on the life of the President would have been done very differently, and the sniper could have very quickly been disappeared because they’d planned half a dozen different escape routes in advance.0 -
UKHSA recommends simple steps to avoid winter bugs this festive seasonLeon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms
UKHSA urges vaccinations, handwashing, and self-care to prevent winter illnesses and protect health.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-recommends-simple-steps-to-avoid-winter-bugs-this-festive-season
0 -
Yes, that case was very straightforward on the factual issues, without involving dozens of others or complex constitutional issues (other than the issue of immunity).bondegezou said:
The only counter-factual that I think about is if Trump's secret documents case had been assigned to any other judge than Aileen Cannon.Jonathan said:If the Democrats had been aggressive could they have won?
Ditch Biden altogether on illness grounds
Install the first female president
Enact some high profile 180s and a couple of new policies
Be the change
Dare the electorate to kick out the first woman in the Oval Office
Have Trump call her madam president
This thought has been occupying me this morning. Would have been interesting.0 -
UK goods exports to the US are basically McLaren and Macallan. There’s no need to put tarrifs on high-end or explicitly British-branded items, no-one is buying American Scotch or supercars.HYUFD said:
He would be better off making the case against tariffs on UK exports given Trump will impose them on EU and Chinese exports anywaywilliamglenn said:According to Peston, it’s the British ambassador’s job to make the case against tariffs on Chinese exports.
https://x.com/peston/status/1870049581255348286
The EU situation is very different, which is why the UK ambassador being in receipt of an EU pension is potentially a conflict of interest which needs to be resolved.2 -
Musk does seem to be pushing it a bit too quickly, especially as Trump has not even gotten his feet back under the Resolute desk yet. What's his hurry?OnlyLivingBoy said:
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813671 -
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.3 -
'So Scotland’s governance would be fully democratic and not a monarchy' just like those wonderfully democratic republics like Putin's Russia or Hitler's Germany compared to the dictatorships of constitutional monarchy like the UK, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands.'Leon said:
@HYUFD has a point. Have you seen the question that Believe in Scotland asked, to get this specific result? James Kelly, Scot Nat and ex PB parishioner, does indeed query its validity, and you can see why. Here it isTheScreamingEagles said:
You will be banned if you repeat these defamatory allegations about pollsters.HYUFD said:
It was a poll commissioned to get the result far left republicans Believe in Scotland wanted, indeed even diehard nationalist James Kelly says it is very dangerous for the indy campaign to follow it. For while nationalists and Yes backers in Scotland are almost all republicans, swing voters who voted No in 2014 are largely monarchistTheuniondivvie said:
Calling polling companies bent is it?HYUFD said:Without doubt the most ridiculous poll I have ever seen posted on here. No surprise Carnyx highlighted it. Believe in Scotland is a fanatical far left Yes to independence group so the idea they would commission any poll which doesn't suit their agenda is absurd.
The idea that when 85% of Tories back the monarchy they would be 3% more likely to support independence for Scotland shows you just how unreliable this poll is. Indeed a mere 38% of Scots back a republic with Yougov confirming the absurdity of this poll, ignore
https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Internal_RoyalFavourability_230831_W.pdf (p7)
In the extremely unlikely event this poll was correct, Scotland can leave anyway, no way we give up our royal family to appease them
https://scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2024/12/no-believe-in-scotland-poll-does-not.html
Do you understand?
“If Scottish independence meant that Scotland would be a republic - meaning the King would no longer be the head of state, so Scotland’s governance would be fully democratic and not a monarchy - how would you vote if there were an independence referendum tomorrow?
Yes 59%
No 41%”
That’s a slanted and leading question. “Fully democratic”.
Yes move along, completely unsubjective poll question here, how dare anyone query it?1 -
Well yes, always.noneoftheabove said:
Putin?OnlyLivingBoy said:
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813670 -
Unexpectly updated t'internet in Femes....
£1.6BN new money to Council to fix even more Potholes
Very warmly welcomed by AA + RAC
Interesting and possibly clever politics from Morgan McSweeney accourding to Pippa Crerar...
Definitely clever politics at play here
(1) Make the investment for an issue 96% of mototists complain about and have done for years
(2) Make the investment significantly bigger than any before
(3) Make it the responsibility of councils to ring-fence for Potholes and to spend the money on cure and prevention
(4) Put 100% of the onus on the Councils to undertake the work
(5) Please ALL Motorists
side benefits
(1) reduce lost work hours and expense for motorists
(2) reduce insurance claims and pay out
I do wonder is McSweeney is (and I think he is) politically astute enough to now find 5-6 similar projects, already seeing some in NHS and Education and Immigration so that by the Spring Labour can turn around to both WASPI women / Farmers IHT and say..
"That's what we've targetted £10bn on that we could not spend on Waspi because of this and that's what we 've done to improve areas the ALL Farmers use and IF farmers actually pay IHT sums that are LESS than the general population - there is so much more that we can achieve...
Taxation when ACTUAL BENEFITS for ALL can be evidence especially massive lobby groups like Motorists is a VOTE WINNER!
Meanwhile Kemo does a gesture photo-op supporting Farmers with exactly the bloke genuine farmers despise and the General Public despise as an arrogant shit who openly brags about Tax avoidance!.....she really isn't very clever is she.
Agios amigos!1 -
AIUI Clarkson is highly popular with farmers for raising their political profile and highlighting their financial and legal hasslesShecorns88 said:Unexpectly updated t'internet in Femes....
£1.6BN new money to Council to fix even more Potholes
Very warmly welcomed by AA + RAC
Interesting and possibly clever politics from Morgan McSweeney accourding to Pippa Crerar...
Definitely clever politics at play here
(1) Make the investment for an issue 96% of mototists complain about and have done for years
(2) Make the investment significantly bigger than any before
(3) Make it the responsibility of councils to ring-fence for Potholes and to spend the money on cure and prevention
(4) Put 100% of the onus on the Councils to undertake the work
(5) Please ALL Motorists
side benefits
(1) reduce lost work hours and expense for motorists
(2) reduce insurance claims and pay out
I do wonder is McSweeney is (and I think he is) politically astute enough to now find 5-6 similar projects, already seeing some in NHS and Education and Immigration so that by the Spring Labour can turn around to both WASPI women / Farmers IHT and say..
"That's what we've targetted £10bn on that we could not spend on Waspi because of this and that's what we 've done to improve areas the ALL Farmers use and IF farmers actually pay IHT sums that are LESS than the general population - there is so much more that we can achieve...
Taxation when ACTUAL BENEFITS for ALL can be evidence especially massive lobby groups like Motorists is a VOTE WINNER!
Meanwhile Kemo does a gesture photo-op supporting Farmers with exactly the bloke genuine farmers despise and the General Public despise as an arrogant shit who openly brags about Tax avoidance!.....she really isn't very clever is she.
Agios amigos!2 -
Money brings an awful lot of power, but being President, without the need to be re-elected? The strings money can put on you will be lessened. Their interests may well align in many ways regardless, but does Musk think a) does gratitude b) is not capable of some kind of petty revenge if he feels slighted?Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.0 -
I’ve always gone for the Caesar’s wife approach.Cyclefree said:
Quite - which is why I said that it was one which could properly be managed. But you can only do so if you recognise them - which was my criticism of @TSE's response.Nigelb said:
There is obviously a conflict of interest.Cyclefree said:
You need to redo your Conflicts of Interest training. I can give it to you and look forward to sending you an invoice so outrageous it would make even @Dura_Ace blush.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
It is a potential conflict of interest and would be one were he an atheist, paid up member of the CoE or Hindu. There is every possibility of the EU and Britain having conflicting interests with regard to whatever policies Trump comes out with. It needs to be declared and appropriate steps taken to ensure that it is mitigated. I expect the people behind the scenes who do the work any Ambassador relies on will be well able to ensure this. But lazily dismissing it as you have done is not on.
Too many recent governance failures and scandals have had conflicts of interest at their heart. There is another potential one in the Business Department with the appointment of Ian Anderson as a director to its Board. He is also the founder and executive chair of Cicero Group which advises many leading businesses. Again another potential conflict of interest which needs to be properly managed.
Governments - of whichever type - are very poor at recognising, let alone effectively managing, such conflicts of interest. The need to do so is not even mentioned in the Nolan Principles for Public Life - which is a big gap. Any bank which had such a gap in its Code of Conduct would get a spanking from the regulators. Government should do better.
How serious it is, though is questionable.
Mandleson is well known to be pretty pro-EU irrespective of any financial interests, and Starmer picked him in full knowledge of that. And an important part of his brief is going to be attempting to balance our relationship with Europe with the relationship with the US.
Substantive policy decisions will, in any event, be made by the government, not by the ambassador.
Mandleson's job is to smooth the relationship with the US, not sabotage it; if he fails in that, he won't last long in post.
The other aspect of them is the appearance factor. You need to be alive to the perception of a conflict of interest as well as its actuality. It is a matter of ensuring trust in how decisions are made.0 -
I suspect we might see a serious investigation of it next year. A shooter on the roof of the police staging area building, 100 yards from the stage, should be utterly incomprehensible.Leon said:
“Awfully lucky” is one way of putting it…Sandpit said:
Real life isn’t a thriller though. This guy was awfully lucky that he got as far he did before being taken out, and that the various police there on the day couldn’t talk to each other particularly well.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
A serious state-sponsored attempt on the life of the President would have been done very differently, and the sniper could have very quickly been disappeared because they’d planned half a dozen different escape routes in advance.
One inch to the right, and the last six months of American history would be very different.0 -
Politicians pretend to find this distinction impossible to understand, despite it being very common.Cyclefree said:
The other aspect of them is the appearance factor. You need to be alive to the perception of a conflict of interest as well as its actuality. It is a matter of ensuring trust in how decisions are made.Nigelb said:
There is obviously a conflict of interest.Cyclefree said:
You need to redo your Conflicts of Interest training. I can give it to you and look forward to sending you an invoice so outrageous it would make even @Dura_Ace blush.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
It is a potential conflict of interest and would be one were he an atheist, paid up member of the CoE or Hindu. There is every possibility of the EU and Britain having conflicting interests with regard to whatever policies Trump comes out with. It needs to be declared and appropriate steps taken to ensure that it is mitigated. I expect the people behind the scenes who do the work any Ambassador relies on will be well able to ensure this. But lazily dismissing it as you have done is not on.
Too many recent governance failures and scandals have had conflicts of interest at their heart. There is another potential one in the Business Department with the appointment of Ian Anderson as a director to its Board. He is also the founder and executive chair of Cicero Group which advises many leading businesses. Again another potential conflict of interest which needs to be properly managed.
Governments - of whichever type - are very poor at recognising, let alone effectively managing, such conflicts of interest. The need to do so is not even mentioned in the Nolan Principles for Public Life - which is a big gap. Any bank which had such a gap in its Code of Conduct would get a spanking from the regulators. Government should do better.
How serious it is, though is questionable.
Mandleson is well known to be pretty pro-EU irrespective of any financial interests, and Starmer picked him in full knowledge of that. And an important part of his brief is going to be attempting to balance our relationship with Europe with the relationship with the US.
Substantive policy decisions will, in any event, be made by the government, not by the ambassador.
Mandleson's job is to smooth the relationship with the US, not sabotage it; if he fails in that, he won't last long in post.
1 -
I do love the wide range of subject matter experts on PB 🥰bondegezou said:
It was #1 in downloads last week, but didn't actually make the top 100 singles because no-one is streaming it. (The main singles chart combines sales and streaming.) The song was at #85 in the midweek chart. I don't see it becoming the Xmas #1.DecrepiterJohnL said:BBC refuses to play anti-Starmer Christmas song as it hits No 1 in downloads chart
Freezing This Christmas, by Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers, lampoons cutting of winter fuel payments for pensioners
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/12/19/bbc-refuses-to-play-anti-starmer-christmas-song/ (£££)
The song (based on Mud's Lonely this Christmas) can be heard here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQrvmY5s2mo
The "official" Christmas number one will be announced this afternoon and is based on sales and streams in the week up to midnight last night.1 -
Ok, who?OnlyLivingBoy said:
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813670 -
I usually go for a Caesar salad.TheScreamingEagles said:
I’ve always gone for the Caesar’s wife approach.Cyclefree said:
Quite - which is why I said that it was one which could properly be managed. But you can only do so if you recognise them - which was my criticism of @TSE's response.Nigelb said:
There is obviously a conflict of interest.Cyclefree said:
You need to redo your Conflicts of Interest training. I can give it to you and look forward to sending you an invoice so outrageous it would make even @Dura_Ace blush.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
It is a potential conflict of interest and would be one were he an atheist, paid up member of the CoE or Hindu. There is every possibility of the EU and Britain having conflicting interests with regard to whatever policies Trump comes out with. It needs to be declared and appropriate steps taken to ensure that it is mitigated. I expect the people behind the scenes who do the work any Ambassador relies on will be well able to ensure this. But lazily dismissing it as you have done is not on.
Too many recent governance failures and scandals have had conflicts of interest at their heart. There is another potential one in the Business Department with the appointment of Ian Anderson as a director to its Board. He is also the founder and executive chair of Cicero Group which advises many leading businesses. Again another potential conflict of interest which needs to be properly managed.
Governments - of whichever type - are very poor at recognising, let alone effectively managing, such conflicts of interest. The need to do so is not even mentioned in the Nolan Principles for Public Life - which is a big gap. Any bank which had such a gap in its Code of Conduct would get a spanking from the regulators. Government should do better.
How serious it is, though is questionable.
Mandleson is well known to be pretty pro-EU irrespective of any financial interests, and Starmer picked him in full knowledge of that. And an important part of his brief is going to be attempting to balance our relationship with Europe with the relationship with the US.
Substantive policy decisions will, in any event, be made by the government, not by the ambassador.
Mandleson's job is to smooth the relationship with the US, not sabotage it; if he fails in that, he won't last long in post.
The other aspect of them is the appearance factor. You need to be alive to the perception of a conflict of interest as well as its actuality. It is a matter of ensuring trust in how decisions are made.0 -
Well they are difficult to feed and let out a piteous howl if left alone...MarqueeMark said:
A merkin was never a great present anyway...JosiasJessop said:We are laughing our heads off here. Mrs J just opened a Secret Santa present form a new colleague.
It's from Kopenhagen Fur.
Yes, he gave a vegetarian animal-rights person something made from fur...
...oh, I thought you meant "hamster". Silly me. 😎0 -
Nah, the Welsh know their place - under an English boot.HYUFD said:
His post was an anti English rant, for Scottish nationalists like him the Welsh are fellow Celts battling against their evil English oppressorsCookie said:
To be fair to TUD, it's worth clarifying that Wales isn't in Scotland.HYUFD said:
Nearly 40% of Scots voted for Brexit and Reform are surging there. There is a UK Olympics team, there are more Roman Catholics in Scotland than England percentage wise and percentage wise child abuse amongst priests is higher with them than the C of E (Smyth for starters was a barrister not a priest).Theuniondivvie said:On topic, the Royals are just another thing to be added to the growing pile of stuff that makes the average Scot think what the fuck has this got to do with me.
Some others (not a definitive list):
Brexit
The Tory party
Small boats
Farage
The triumphs and tribulations of the English cricket team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English football team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English rugby team
(See also the women’s versions of these and whatever stupid name the marketing guys have come up with for them)
The nonce-tolerant Church of England
The House of Lords
Eastenders
The sewage ridden waterways of England
HS2
England’s energy poverty
GAVIN AND FCKNG STACEY
All of these topics are of course extensively and endlessly amplified by the state broadcaster. Only this morning I’ve learned via several news bulletins that Wills & Kate did not attend the traditional pre Christmas lunch at the Palace.
The House of Lords now includes Scottish hereditary peers, sadly to be removed by Labour but also many Scottish life peers from Lord Robertson to Lord Reid and Lord Ming Campbell and Baron Livingston.
Gavin and Stacey are half WELSH
#lamejokes0 -
kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.0 -
He wasn’t “awfully lucky”. I don’t believe in amazing “incomprehensible” luck. He was assisted, at the very least by local copsSandpit said:
I suspect we might see a serious investigation of it next year. A shooter on the roof of the police staging area building, 100 yards from the stage, should be utterly incomprehensible.Leon said:
“Awfully lucky” is one way of putting it…Sandpit said:
Real life isn’t a thriller though. This guy was awfully lucky that he got as far he did before being taken out, and that the various police there on the day couldn’t talk to each other particularly well.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
A serious state-sponsored attempt on the life of the President would have been done very differently, and the sniper could have very quickly been disappeared because they’d planned half a dozen different escape routes in advance.
One inch to the right, and the last six months of American history would be very different.
“In Pennsylvania, particularly in cities like Philadelphia and smaller towns across the state, there is a long-established Ukrainian American community. Pennsylvania has the 2nd largest Ukrainian population in the United States due to waves of immigration that began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as post-World War II.”
0 -
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.0 -
I think there are other differences, like having some sort of connection to the truth, and views on anti-Semitism.Sandpit said:
The difference between Musk, and the likes of Soros, Adelson, and the existing lobbying industry, is that Musk does the dirty work in public rather than in private, so the American people are now finally starting to see how the sausage is made in Washington.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).0 -
Is it one of the vegetables is singing that makes it look AI?Leon said:
I believe AI images merit a ban. If that has been changed - great! Can the mods tell us?Scott_xP said:
What's more interesting is which one is in charge...JosiasJessop said:
Trump and Musk are two small men who see themselves as giants. It's pathetic, really. But not as pathetic as those who seem to worship the two of them...Scott_xP said:
@acnewsiticsTheuniondivvie said:The one thing to remember about US politics and public life is that it’s primarily show business.
Hence Trump (& Musk).
https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/1869807874777432495?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Maybe it’s just me, but Republicans having two daddies seems kind of woke
NB: I don’t want you banned. I just want to know the rules0 -
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.1 -
His post was a list of things which have no resonance in Scotland. Surely things going on in South Wales fall into this list?HYUFD said:
His post was an anti English rant, for Scottish nationalists like him the Welsh are fellow Celts battling against their evil English oppressorsCookie said:
To be fair to TUD, it's worth clarifying that Wales isn't in Scotland.HYUFD said:
Nearly 40% of Scots voted for Brexit and Reform are surging there. There is a UK Olympics team, there are more Roman Catholics in Scotland than England percentage wise and percentage wise child abuse amongst priests is higher with them than the C of E (Smyth for starters was a barrister not a priest).Theuniondivvie said:On topic, the Royals are just another thing to be added to the growing pile of stuff that makes the average Scot think what the fuck has this got to do with me.
Some others (not a definitive list):
Brexit
The Tory party
Small boats
Farage
The triumphs and tribulations of the English cricket team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English football team
The triumphs and tribulations of the English rugby team
(See also the women’s versions of these and whatever stupid name the marketing guys have come up with for them)
The nonce-tolerant Church of England
The House of Lords
Eastenders
The sewage ridden waterways of England
HS2
England’s energy poverty
GAVIN AND FCKNG STACEY
All of these topics are of course extensively and endlessly amplified by the state broadcaster. Only this morning I’ve learned via several news bulletins that Wills & Kate did not attend the traditional pre Christmas lunch at the Palace.
The House of Lords now includes Scottish hereditary peers, sadly to be removed by Labour but also many Scottish life peers from Lord Robertson to Lord Reid and Lord Ming Campbell and Baron Livingston.
Gavin and Stacey are half WELSH
(My motto, which I try to follow, is that if someone says something which can be taken in two ways and one of those ways makes you sad or angry, then assume they mean the other one. It saves a lot of annoyance.)
My argument is that it is a poor idea to limit your consumption of sitcoms to those produced by the nearest 5 million people. For me, that would be an awful lot for Peter Kay to bear.0 -
Musk endorses the AfD ahead of next year's German election 'Only the AfD can save Germany' following his endorsements for President elect Trump in the USA and for Farage and Reform here
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/18699869460319887800 -
Of course it is being pushed by Democrats, RINOs, and other opponents. That doesn't preclude the situation getting away from what Trump - possessor of the biggest ego on the planet, who gets his underlings to praise his physicality and his golf game for heaven's sake - will have wanted or expected, particularly in alliance with a powerful but unreliable figure like Musk who has his own goals.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.
I wouldn't expect a relationship breakdown imminently, but I do suspect it will not be as longlasting as they might have initially prepared for, and sooner than anticipated there will be 'Musk stepping back to focus on his businesses, now the job is done/on its way' kind of thing.0 -
He knows so much about politics in every country in the world it is a shame he is not posting here.HYUFD said:Musk endorses the AfD ahead of next year's German election 'Only the AfD can save Germany' following his endorsements for President elect Trump in the USA and for Farage and Reform here
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/18699869460319887800 -
I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.3 -
But only 49% pro monarchy is highly significant as well. See?HYUFD said:
It was still BiS who added the add on.Carnyx said:
Are you aware that the original poll was commissioned by the Times, and that BiS simply added on a follow up supplementary? I believe that the Times is not a fanatical far left group (mind, almost anything left of Genghiz Khan is f.f.l. in your view in my experience).HYUFD said:Without doubt the most ridiculous poll I have ever seen posted on here. No surprise Carnyx highlighted it. Believe in Scotland is a fanatical far left Yes to independence group so the idea they would commission any poll which doesn't suit their agenda is absurd.
The idea that when 85% of Tories back the monarchy they would be 3% more likely to support independence for Scotland shows you just how unreliable this poll is. Indeed a mere 38% of Scots back a republic with Yougov confirming the absurdity of this poll, ignore
https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Internal_RoyalFavourability_230831_W.pdf (p7)
In the extremely unlikely event this poll was correct, Scotland can leave anyway, no way we give up our royal family to appease them
It would however have been better to have the two together, because of obvious decline in the public regard of the RF collectively of late.
Given Charles has taken over from his iconic mother Elizabeth II and republicans assured us Charles would be the end of the monarchy for the monarchy still to be well ahead of a republic in every poll (with a mere 38% even in Scotland wanting a republic in the last Yougov on the topic even in Scotland) is pretty significant
I must say you've risen to TSE's bait admirably.
You'd be more convincing - at least in the sense of being more obviously even-handed: not that your sentiment would be accurate anyway - if you accused all pollsters of being bent, rather than confining yourself to the pro-indy poll results. Or rather you wouldn't be convincing at all, because you'd be permanently off PB.0 -
You really believe that they intend to cut the budget, amazing.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.0 -
That is an appalling post.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
Every member of the British diplomatic service should be above reproach, and the fact that the terms of Mandelson's pension explicitly state that he must remain loyal to an organisation that is not the British state and of which Britain is no longer a member is a clear conflict of interest. For what it's worth, I highly doubt Peter Mandelson is hugely fussed by £30,000 a year, which is why I suggest a good solution would be to relinquish the pension.
To keep schtum over this because of Peter Mandelson's Jewish heritage would not only be totally wrong, it would also not serve the interests of British Jews, because a double standard would be being applied that would end up placing members of that community in an invidious position.3 -
I think it's called "being British in Winter". The cure involves scarfs, honey, whisky and possibly a waistcoat.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms1 -
I try not to allow nascent nationalistic fervour colour my view here, but I've been a bit stumped what the perceived advantages fo that whole deal were supposed to be, particularly given how things have developed.Leon said:
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
At a pragmatic, practical level (which is how every other country seems to be playing it) did we gain anything useful?
Not that I disagree with the basic premise about weighing up options and taking heat out of politics generally.0 -
What they want to do is transfer money from the poorer to the rich. They have been *very* clear on that, even before the election.noneoftheabove said:
You really believe that they intend to cut the budget, amazing.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.4 -
Had exactly that recently, lingered on for 2 weeks. Neg for Covid.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms0 -
That's not dramatic enough for Leon. It has to be something *dramatic*.viewcode said:
I think it's called "being British in Winter". The cure involves scarfs, honey, whisky and possibly a waistcoat.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms
0 -
Even the Economist - not known for British nationalism, and generally in favour of centrist dad globalism - thought it was a terrible ideakle4 said:
I try not to allow nascent nationalistic fervour colour my view here, but I've been a bit stumped what the perceived advantages fo that whole deal were supposed to be, particularly given how things have developed.Leon said:
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
At a pragmatic, practical level (which is how every other country seems to be playing it) did we get gain anything useful?
Not that I disagree with the basic premise about weighing up options and taking heat out of politics generally.1 -
The advantage of the deal is that we stop being in breach of international law.kle4 said:
I try not to allow nascent nationalistic fervour colour my view here, but I've been a bit stumped what the perceived advantages fo that whole deal were supposed to be, particularly given how things have developed.Leon said:
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
At a pragmatic, practical level (which is how every other country seems to be playing it) did we get gain anything useful?
Not that I disagree with the basic premise about weighing up options and taking heat out of politics generally.0 -
This is blatantly obvious, but am confused why Sandpit, clearly an intelligent and informed chap, still believes the fairy tale.JosiasJessop said:
What they want to do is transfer money from the poorer to the rich. They have been *very* clear on that, even before the election.noneoftheabove said:
You really believe that they intend to cut the budget, amazing.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.0 -
Interesting, ta. Glad you’re betterkinabalu said:
Had exactly that recently, lingered on for 2 weeks. Neg for Covid.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms
Yes it seems rampant across London and the SE. An odd viral variant
Anyway as it’s not enough to keep me in bed, I better get up
Coffee!0 -
With Musk and other media backing they are in a strong position indeed.Sean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.1 -
Go out and be a super-spreader across London. Just in time for Christmas.Leon said:
Interesting, ta. Glad you’re betterkinabalu said:
Had exactly that recently, lingered on for 2 weeks. Neg for Covid.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms
Yes it seems rampant across London and the SE. An odd viral variant
Anyway as it’s not enough to keep me in bed, I better get up
Coffee!
Have you not got boxed sets to watch?0 -
Can we have a citation or two in order to demonstrate your genius? You can't just claim world beating intellect when we have struggled on PB for years to find any prior evidence.Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu0 -
But how much does that actually get us? That's a moral argument, and no one else in this matter seems to care about the moral position or the Chagossians, certainly not Mauritius or the UK. It doesn't appear to have gained us any goodwill with any party, so sure, no longer a breach, but given for all sides this seems to just be a transactional matter, I'm not particularly fussed on the moral position.bondegezou said:
The advantage of the deal is that we stop being in breach of international law.kle4 said:
I try not to allow nascent nationalistic fervour colour my view here, but I've been a bit stumped what the perceived advantages fo that whole deal were supposed to be, particularly given how things have developed.Leon said:
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
At a pragmatic, practical level (which is how every other country seems to be playing it) did we get gain anything useful?
Not that I disagree with the basic premise about weighing up options and taking heat out of politics generally.1 -
Good morning
Sky
Two men charged after Manchester Airport incident
No police officers have been charged1 -
Two tier justice.Big_G_NorthWales said:Good morning
Sky
Two men charged after Manchester Airport incident
No police officers have been charged1 -
Eh?noneoftheabove said:
This is blatantly obvious, but am confused why Sandpit, clearly an intelligent and informed chap, still believes the fairy tale.JosiasJessop said:
What they want to do is transfer money from the poorer to the rich. They have been *very* clear on that, even before the election.noneoftheabove said:
You really believe that they intend to cut the budget, amazing.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.0 -
That is more "nice to have" than any kind of major advantage. Governments in general prioritise reason of State far above compliance with UN rulings.bondegezou said:
The advantage of the deal is that we stop being in breach of international law.kle4 said:
I try not to allow nascent nationalistic fervour colour my view here, but I've been a bit stumped what the perceived advantages fo that whole deal were supposed to be, particularly given how things have developed.Leon said:
No. Chagos was a genuinely terrible decision made by seriously stupid people enabled by duplicitous anti-British wankersCookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
At a pragmatic, practical level (which is how every other country seems to be playing it) did we get gain anything useful?
Not that I disagree with the basic premise about weighing up options and taking heat out of politics generally.1 -
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=191 -
I am literally paid to go on free holidays to luxury hotels in beautiful sunny placesMexicanpete said:
Can we have a citation or two in order to demonstrate your genius? You can't just claim world beating intellect when we have struggled on PB for years to find any prior evidence.Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu1 -
Going after people's contractual pension entitlements is very high up the lists of things that boil my blood, even when those affected are NU10K. Because weakening the immutability of pensions is a classic face eating leopard type path. Why not say my accrued pension is undeserved and go for me. Taxing it is one thing, saying the entitlement shouldn't be there is wholly another. And to a fairly sizeable extent I'd go in to bat for the pension entitlements of some deeply unpopular people in the past, the Sharon Shoesmiths and Fred the Shreds of this world. They did the work and, short of proven financial criminality, they accrued those pensions.Sandpit said:
UK goods exports to the US are basically McLaren and Macallan. There’s no need to put tarrifs on high-end or explicitly British-branded items, no-one is buying American Scotch or supercars.HYUFD said:
He would be better off making the case against tariffs on UK exports given Trump will impose them on EU and Chinese exports anywaywilliamglenn said:According to Peston, it’s the British ambassador’s job to make the case against tariffs on Chinese exports.
https://x.com/peston/status/1870049581255348286
The EU situation is very different, which is why the UK ambassador being in receipt of an EU pension is potentially a conflict of interest which needs to be resolved.
That is not to say that the sort of multiples accrued by senior execs in their pensions aren't silly money, and I'd be tempted to regulate not the pay of a top exec, but the sort of contribution they'd be able to get relative to the lowest employee in their company (e.g., if
your ordinary employee gets 4% company
contribution, the highest UK exec can only get
8%). Obviously on a forward going basis - those past contractual accruals are locked in.
In this case, as Cyclefree says, note the potential conflict, say why it isn't, move on.4 -
From seeing the full(?) video, and the context, I find it hard to say anything other than:TheScreamingEagles said:
Two tier justice.Big_G_NorthWales said:Good morning
Sky
Two men charged after Manchester Airport incident
No police officers have been charged
*) The members of the public behaved reprehensibly.
*) The police officers were trying to stop a disturbance at a sensitive location.
But it might be best to leave this for the courts?0 -
Why do you think Trump has any intention of cutting federal spending? The objective is to give the billionaires as much as govt money as possible, as it always is in autocratic governments.Sandpit said:
Eh?noneoftheabove said:
This is blatantly obvious, but am confused why Sandpit, clearly an intelligent and informed chap, still believes the fairy tale.JosiasJessop said:
What they want to do is transfer money from the poorer to the rich. They have been *very* clear on that, even before the election.noneoftheabove said:
You really believe that they intend to cut the budget, amazing.Sandpit said:
The “Musk is the real leader” narrative is being pushed by Democrats and RINOs.Stark_Dawning said:
The 'Musk is the real leader' narrative is going mainstream. Donald won't put up with that. Musky will be out on his ear soon enough.kle4 said:Good thing Musk is rich, I'm sure Trump loves headlines and images like this
Looks more like Michael Jackson and the gingerbread man to me though.
Donald knows damn well who’s the real leader, he appointed Elon and Vivek with the explicit purpose of using them for what they’ve been doing for the past couple of days.
The real fight is Executive vs Legislature, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch for the next few months.0 -
Yes, you are a paid sex tourist.Leon said:
I am literally paid to go on free holidays to luxury hotels in beautiful sunny placesMexicanpete said:
Can we have a citation or two in order to demonstrate your genius? You can't just claim world beating intellect when we have struggled on PB for years to find any prior evidence.Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu0 -
My mother has had it since the weekend.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms0 -
I believe that to be true, but we didn't all have alternative pro and con letters in our inside breast pockets. This was particularly problematic for those who then foolishly pulled out and read the wrong one.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu2 -
It backs up my view that the coming local election cycles will be like 1967-69 for Labour.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=192 -
Nice work if you can get it?JosiasJessop said:
Yes, you are a paid sex tourist.Leon said:
I am literally paid to go on free holidays to luxury hotels in beautiful sunny placesMexicanpete said:
Can we have a citation or two in order to demonstrate your genius? You can't just claim world beating intellect when we have struggled on PB for years to find any prior evidence.Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu0 -
Good point.Leon said:
I am literally paid to go on free holidays to luxury hotels in beautiful sunny placesMexicanpete said:
Can we have a citation or two in order to demonstrate your genius? You can't just claim world beating intellect when we have struggled on PB for years to find any prior evidence.Leon said:
Indeed so. But a fucking wanker who is a good deal smarter than youNigelb said:
That also makes you a fucking wanker.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu0 -
Oh, Trump, easily.logical_song said:
Ok, who?OnlyLivingBoy said:
The Trump-Musk falling out is going to be absolutely spectacular. Alien vs Predator level stuff. I have no doubt who will come out on top.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/18700255475116813670 -
I’ve just heard from ANOTHER frienddixiedean said:
My mother has had it since the weekend.Leon said:Has anyone else got this stupid lurgy? Several of my friends have. And now me
It’s quite weird. In some ways it’s mild. No sore throat, no muscle aches. Not enough to keep you in bed (unless you want), but lots of sneezing and deep coughing and a definite yuk feeling and, worse, it really drags on
We all report similar symptoms
“Yeah let's see about after Xmas. I still feel shit. COld sort of gone but not quite from the chest or the head. Sneezy”
Exactly the same. Odd0 -
Don't worry, there is always swingback.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=190 -
I think it's pretty dubious of the EU to be putting loyalty clauses into their pension schemes in the first place, really. My employer doesn't get to yank back their contributions to my pension if I leave and go work for a competitor.Luckyguy1983 said:
That is an appalling post.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
Every member of the British diplomatic service should be above reproach, and the fact that the terms of Mandelson's pension explicitly state that he must remain loyal to an organisation that is not the British state and of which Britain is no longer a member is a clear conflict of interest. For what it's worth, I highly doubt Peter Mandelson is hugely fussed by £30,000 a year, which is why I suggest a good solution would be to relinquish the pension.
To keep schtum over this because of Peter Mandelson's Jewish heritage would not only be totally wrong, it would also not serve the interests of British Jews, because a double standard would be being applied that would end up placing members of that community in an invidious position.
3 -
Your usual elegant twist of a rebuttal to my central thesis.Cookie said:kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Agree (except obviously I'd say the more enlightened side won). Almost nobody wanted to tow the UK into the mid-Atlantic and shut up the barriers (metaphorically). Almost nobody wanted to bend over and hand the EU the vaseline. It was all a question of degree.kinabalu said:
I know. I have some of that in me too but it's outweighed by the better bits. I think I've said before it wasn't Leavers v Remainers as distinct boundaried individuals because all Leavers have some Remain in them and all Remainers have some Leave. The vote was in essence a weighing up of these two sides of our national brain chemistry, our character if you like, and it was the less enlightened side which narrowly but clearly prevailed. This is how I see it anyway, the EU Referendum of 2016. It's a good way of looking at it because (i) it's true and (ii) it gets away from personal bitterness and division.Leon said:
One reason I voted Leave WAS to damage the EU. Fucking wankers with their “rerun that referendum til you get the right result” ethos. They even tried it on us. I am deeply proud that in the end the British said “Nah, fuck off, we’re democratic, we will respect the result of our referendum, we’re not doing an EU re-run like everyone else, we’re better than them”kinabalu said:
I don't know about more damaging but certainly damaging, I thought as much at the time of the Referendum. My Remain vote was informed by this. Sort of person I am. Holistic. Big picture.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Most of politics can be seen this way. Everything is a balance of weighing up the options, everything is on a continuum. If you think something being done by government has no benefits whatsoever then you almost certainly haven't understood the issue properly. [Surely that is the case with Chagos?] Politics gets a lot less heated when you realise you are basically arguing over whether the amount of money the state spends should be 44% of GDP or 40% of GDP.
However I went to College Green a couple of times during the Brexit wars and experienced close up the two sets of protestors, and ... well there wasn't much enlightenment on show with the Leave mob.
Typical Remainer banter was about the weather and Robert Peston's hat. From the Leavers, "Oi Burley you slaaaag".
You knew who shouldn't be winning. You'd have felt the same if you were there.1 -
Boring alert!Fishing said:
I think the real foreign winner from Brexit was ultimately Ukraine.Leon said:Interesting angle on Brexit
It was more damaging for the EU than the UK. The loss of UK pragmatism and liberalism has led directly to the EU’s self defeating regulatory bonanza, destroying innovation and crushing flexibility
https://www.eurointelligence.com/column/what-brexit-did-to-the-eu
Brexit (eventually) brought Boris to power, and he was Ukraine's biggest major supporter at the critical time of the war.
It's a counterfactual of course I can't see Cameron or Osborne or whoever rallying the free world as well as Boris did in the first year of the war, especially given how they acquiesced in Europe's spinelessness after the first invasion in 2014.
Anyway, as Starmer has shown in the last six months, we don't need the EU - we're more than capable of destroying innovation and crushing flexibility on our own.1 -
Two Tier KierBig_G_NorthWales said:Good morning
Sky
Two men charged after Manchester Airport incident
No police officers have been charged0 -
I am not worried about swingback, but everyone should be worried about the adverse consequences of Reeves anti business anti growth Autumn Statement which is playing out in the economy and resulting in the Bank of England warnings yesterday for future growthMexicanpete said:
Don't worry, there is always swingback.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=191 -
He didn’t. He tried to get involved, but was turned down as a useless nutter.Leon said:
But of course. Who, overwhelmingly, has the money means men motivation and militaristic mindset to take out Trump? The UkrainiansDura_Ace said:
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
FFS the second sassytempt was some nutter who actually fought for Ukraine, even as they now urgently disown him0 -
And the LibDems surged against Labour in Greenwich. Does seem to be "Anyone But Labour" in these council by-elections.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=193 -
It’s in the EU Constitution. That’s where this loyalty clause first appears, IIRC. And it was one of my main objections and where my euroscepticism began to harden into a loathing of Brusselspm215 said:
I think it's pretty dubious of the EU to be putting loyalty clauses into their pension schemes in the first place, really. My employer doesn't get to yank back their contributions to my pension if I leave and go work for a competitor.Luckyguy1983 said:
That is an appalling post.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's a bit of antisemitic trope or two to accuse a Jewish man of having split loyalties and is being influenced by money.Luckyguy1983 said:Interesting old Telegraph story highlighted by a Guido commentor:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/4996440/Lord-Mandelson-must-remain-loyal-to-EU-to-guarantee-pension.html
It's only 30 thousand a year he gets, but it seems a pretty clear conflict of interest to me. He should relinquish the pension upon joining the British diplomatic service.
Every member of the British diplomatic service should be above reproach, and the fact that the terms of Mandelson's pension explicitly state that he must remain loyal to an organisation that is not the British state and of which Britain is no longer a member is a clear conflict of interest. For what it's worth, I highly doubt Peter Mandelson is hugely fussed by £30,000 a year, which is why I suggest a good solution would be to relinquish the pension.
To keep schtum over this because of Peter Mandelson's Jewish heritage would not only be totally wrong, it would also not serve the interests of British Jews, because a double standard would be being applied that would end up placing members of that community in an invidious position.
You could see they were trying to hardwire a federal Europe into existence, anti democratic, irreversible and run by wonks, and they were doing it by stealth
And this is the constitution that was rejected in two referendums yet we were all forced to swallow anyway because they are lying shits. Better Off Out
2 -
Leon doesn't let facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory. He thinks using 'facts' is something low-IQ people do...Malmesbury said:
He didn’t. He tried to get involved, but was turned down as a useless nutter.Leon said:
But of course. Who, overwhelmingly, has the money means men motivation and militaristic mindset to take out Trump? The UkrainiansDura_Ace said:
The Ukranian government would have to be insane and/or incompetent not to kill DJT if they had the chance. I mean, why wouldn't they? If they thought they could.Leon said:
No they wouldn’t. Think about it. If they used a pro and he got caught with links to Kyiv imagine the firestorm. All US aid would have ended instantly. And worseSandpit said:
They wouldn’t use a 20-year-old idiot who couldn’t even make his own school’s shooting team, trying to take the shot from 100 yards away on the roof of the bulding the police were using as their base for the day; they’d have used a serious ex-military sniper from half a mile, out of sight of the USSS and likely to get away before they could find him.Leon said:
But they have to be a tad more discreet taking out a US president in the USASandpit said:
It wasn’t the Ukranians. The Ukranian assassination attempts are successful, and they use bombs rather than guns.Leon said:
I’m glad you agree with my theory it was the Ukrainians. One day it will be revealedDura_Ace said:
The fucking useless Ukrainians used Fiverr.Leon said:
Possibly. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve memory holed the two sassytempts on Trump. One of which made him bleed and was 2cm from killing himDura_Ace said:
Agree. He's completely beyond the law and democracy but is shaping the future of the US. That's why "they" are probably going to have to kill him,.Leon said:
Yeah, the idea Musk is “owned by lobbyists and foreign entities” is quite sensationally dumb even by the standards of PB’s resident mental tardigrade, @JosiasJessopPulpstar said:
Trump maybe, Musk isn't. He's worth $447 Bn. Even if you take the value of say X down to zero he's still the richest man on the planet by a distance. ITAR regulations mean SpaceX is pretty much entirely American in fact and law.JosiasJessop said:
Who are Trump and Musk owned by? Other big donors, lobbyists, and foreign entities.Sandpit said:
Yes, the big fights next year are going to be if Trump can get his cost-cutting agenda past a Congress wholly owned and sponsored by the big donors and lobbyists.Scott_xP said:@sturdyAlex
And so it begins.
This had Trump's backing - actually, was dictated by him. Musk turned GOP Reps. against, forcing Trump into U-turn.
There were jokes in the chamber about "President Musk". Trump may try to style it out, but this is a direct challenge.
https://x.com/sturdyAlex/status/1870025547511681367
The past couple of days have been an early example of what the next few months is going to bring. It’s going to be fascinating to watch (from a distance of many time zones!).
The reason so many - esp on the left - fear and loathe Musk is because he is extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right. Autonomous
They had to find a dumb clean skin incel who was so stupid he thought he’d survive the sassytempt, coz that hot blonde Eastern European girl in the bar persuaded him so
Jeez. It’s almost like you guys have never plotted thrillers
FFS the second sassytempt was some nutter who actually fought for Ukraine, even as they now urgently disown him
1 -
I was being impish.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I am not worried about swingback, but everyone should be worried about the adverse consequences of Reeves anti business anti growth Autumn Statement which is playing out in the economy and resulting in the Bank of England warnings yesterday for future growthMexicanpete said:
Don't worry, there is always swingback.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The conservative gain in Dudley and Reform gain in Swale are terrible results for LabourSean_F said:I see Reform have just picked up another seat off Labour, in Kent.
It's easy to see the problems that Reform causes the Conservatives. But, they're causing problems to Labour, too.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1869902344852279350?t=d_aiDIWQXd8l4ZYtr59BTQ&s=19
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1870058934007910636?t=C3Z6O15oCl3sOpCj9o3DMQ&s=19
That was the view of the few remaining enthusiastic PB Tories's expectations post Truss, until time ran out.1
