I really don't understand his position. I agreed with him on many things, but it's been clear for ages that you cannot support both Trump/GOP/Musk and Ukraine. Yet he tried. And I think the reason he's left isn't anything I, or anyone else, said, but because the waveforms of reality have collapsed and shown him the cat in the box is, sadly, dead.
I'm surprised that anybody's remotely surprised to discover that Trump is a nasty, unpleasant, rude bully.
All I've learnt today is that Vance is at least as bad, and possibly even more dangerous, being marginally more intelligent.
I'm reminded of the "let's go back in time and kill Hitler" stories that end up with someone just as evil but a bit more clever and ruthless running the Reich.
Didn’t Stephen fry do one like that? Sterilised the Jews and used them to help win the war.
For 80 years the US has been the linchpin of the Western alliance. Now in a matter of weeks it has done an 180 degree turn and seems to want to ally itself with Russia rather than against it.
Were I an Israeli politician, I'd be saying to myself: if the US can do this to long-standing allies, if it can betray a country invaded by those wanting to obliterate its existence, my country can't be certain it won't do the same to us too, one day. And from that realisation policies will flow, policies many of us will not like at all.
The US can no longer be trusted.
Quite so. They are treating allies as enemies, and we're to believe that does not or should not shake even the allies they have not (yet) turned on?
Support for Trump is rapidly becoming utterly toxic on the British Right. I'm amazed at the speed of the shift. I wonder who'll be the last person left standing. Liz Truss looks to be quite flat footed in that regard.
She’s intellectually nimble in all other respects of course.
That's not pleasant but also I think that's the reason he's not here too.
He seemed to genuinely reconcile in his head the idea of backing Trump and backing Ukraine by his belief that America's Military Industrial Complex will see Ukraine through even if Trump won.
Sadly he was wrong, and I think he realised he was too, saw the writing on the wall and that's why he's gone.
It must be truly upsetting to realise what a big mistake you've made, especially on something you feel so passionately about. I feel sorry for him.
The Dems who voted Trump to protest at Biden’s lack of support for the Palestinians must be feeling the same.
Francis Ford Coppola, one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, has been named worst director for his self-financed project Megalopolis in this year's Razzies.
Announced two days before the Oscars reward Hollywood's finest, the Razzie Awards name and shame the year's worst films.
In an Instagram post,, external Coppola said he was "thrilled" to accept the award, "at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary movie-making". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7ev3wygl4o
The razzies are a joke, but his response is so arrogant. It was the worst film I've seen in years, if not ever. Incoherent, turning great actors into horrible ones, saying nothing of note, and not even interestingly bad. There's weird and experimental films, but Megalopolis was just crap in every respect.
I've never been closer to walking out of a movie.
I quite liked it. 🤭
Maybe it was just mood I was in, or starting with low expectations, but I like big, overblown, indulgent films with great visuals and teetering on the edge of maybe thought provoking or maybe passé.
Megalopolis is more about architecture than The Brutalist is. Both films are similar in that one uses the past , the other the future, as a black mirror to show us the point it’s trying to make. Of the 2, Brutalist is by far the better, in fact far better than Conclave and Anora, the Brutalist will clean up at 2025 Oscars, except Mikey Maddison should win an Oscar… and except I havn’t seen complete unknown yet to compare.
For 80 years the US has been the linchpin of the Western alliance. Now in a matter of weeks it has done an 180 degree turn and seems to want to ally itself with Russia rather than against it.
Were I an Israeli politician, I'd be saying to myself: if the US can do this to long-standing allies, if it can betray a country invaded by those wanting to obliterate its existence, my country can't be certain it won't do the same to us too, one day. And from that realisation policies will flow, policies many of us will not like at all.
The US can no longer be trusted.
Israel has never trusted the US. It’s why they build their own tanks & have their own nuclear deterrent.
They’re very happy to have US support if it’s available to them of course, but that support has not been there when they might have appreciated it in the past & might not be in the future - a reality they are very keenly aware of.
I'm surprised that anybody's remotely surprised to discover that Trump is a nasty, unpleasant, rude bully.
All I've learnt today is that Vance is at least as bad, and possibly even more dangerous, being marginally more intelligent.
I'm reminded of the "let's go back in time and kill Hitler" stories that end up with someone just as evil but a bit more clever and ruthless running the Reich.
Didn’t Stephen fry do one like that? Sterilised the Jews and used them to help win the war.
I vaguely recall a 'Tales of the Unexpected' which covers a couple's problems conceiving. And when a healthy boy was born, the doctor asks: "And what will you call him, Herr Hitler?"
Support for Trump is rapidly becoming utterly toxic on the British Right. I'm amazed at the speed of the shift. I wonder who'll be the last person left standing. Liz Truss looks to be quite flat footed in that regard.
I know there are still some Tories who are fans, and plenty people Trump leaning at least in Reform, even as a majority (among the Tories at least) are not. But I'm not sure what those people do - they will not get kicked out of either party, and if they spend all their time on twitter they will think that there is a big market for Trump support in Britain (when it's probably more like 10-20%) so they won't be quiet about it.
I'm surprised that anybody's remotely surprised to discover that Trump is a nasty, unpleasant, rude bully.
All I've learnt today is that Vance is at least as bad, and possibly even more dangerous, being marginally more intelligent.
I'm reminded of the "let's go back in time and kill Hitler" stories that end up with someone just as evil but a bit more clever and ruthless running the Reich.
Didn’t Stephen fry do one like that? Sterilised the Jews and used them to help win the war.
I vaguely recall a 'Tales of the Unexpected' which covers a couple's problems conceiving. And when a healthy boy was born, the doctor asks: "And what will you call him, Herr Hitler?"
Thanks. I shall watch that nest week; it'll be interesting to see how it matches my hazy recollections from decades ago.
It made an impact, as we used to watch that series a lot, and it's one of the few that has stuck in my memory. Although I cannot say I haven't seen it on a repeat, also decades ago...
Support for Trump is rapidly becoming utterly toxic on the British Right. I'm amazed at the speed of the shift. I wonder who'll be the last person left standing. Liz Truss looks to be quite flat footed in that regard.
I know there are still some Tories who are fans, and plenty people Trump leaning at least in Reform, even as a majority (among the Tories at least) are not. But I'm not sure what those people do - they will not get kicked out of either party, and if they spend all their time on twitter they will think that there is a big market for Trump support in Britain (when it's probably more like 10-20%) so they won't be quiet about it.
To speak politics for a moment, there would be a massive opportunity here for a good Tory leader to be “not Labour but despise Russia and strong on defence”. But they don’t have one.
Also if this goes the way it looks, many will rally around the PM we have.
They need to choose: Ukraine or Putin/Russia. Which do they back. No equivocation.
Because if they back Ukraine, they cannot support Trump/GOP.
But it'd be good to get some left-wingers on this list. Corbyn? BJO?
I think they have been waiting for a deal to be signed, because at that point even if Ukraine did so with extreme reluctance through no real choice, they can marry together that they do not like Putin, but that even Ukraine now say it is time for peace.
So they will be desperately hoping Zelensky is brought to heel or told to resign to get one.
Dear Volodymyr @zelenskyyua, we stand with #Ukraine in good and in testing times. We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war. (FM)
Pity he didn't abolish the debt rules and chose to play politics instead.
They need to choose: Ukraine or Putin/Russia. Which do they back. No equivocation.
Because if they back Ukraine, they cannot support Trump/GOP.
But it'd be good to get some left-wingers on this list. Corbyn? BJO?
It's not about which football team you support but which practical actions you are willing to take.
Starmer could send British forces into Ukraine now and it wouldn't undermine his relationship with Trump unless he expected Trump to bail us out if we get into trouble.
That's not pleasant but also I think that's the reason he's not here too.
He seemed to genuinely reconcile in his head the idea of backing Trump and backing Ukraine by his belief that America's Military Industrial Complex will see Ukraine through even if Trump won.
Sadly he was wrong, and I think he realised he was too, saw the writing on the wall and that's why he's gone.
It must be truly upsetting to realise what a big mistake you've made, especially on something you feel so passionately about. I feel sorry for him.
The Dems who voted Trump to protest at Biden’s lack of support for the Palestinians must be feeling the same.
Oh no - those idiots are doubling down & blaming the Dems for everything that’s happening. In their heads it’s the Dem’s fault for forcing them to vote for Trump.
Francis Ford Coppola, one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, has been named worst director for his self-financed project Megalopolis in this year's Razzies.
Announced two days before the Oscars reward Hollywood's finest, the Razzie Awards name and shame the year's worst films.
In an Instagram post,, external Coppola said he was "thrilled" to accept the award, "at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary movie-making". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7ev3wygl4o
The razzies are a joke, but his response is so arrogant. It was the worst film I've seen in years, if not ever. Incoherent, turning great actors into horrible ones, saying nothing of note, and not even interestingly bad. There's weird and experimental films, but Megalopolis was just crap in every respect.
I've never been closer to walking out of a movie.
I quite liked it. 🤭
Maybe it was just mood I was in, or starting with low expectations, but I like big, overblown, indulgent films with great visuals and teetering on the edge of maybe thought provoking or maybe passé.
Megalopolis is more about architecture than The Brutalist is. Both films are similar in that one uses the past , the other the future, as a black mirror to show us the point it’s trying to make. Of the 2, Brutalist is by far the better, in fact far better than Conclave and Anora, the Brutalist will clean up at 2025 Oscars, except Mikey Maddison should win an Oscar… and except I havn’t seen complete unknown yet to compare.
If Megalopolis was trying to make a point it passed me by completely, in which case it still failed.
Francis Ford Coppola, one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, has been named worst director for his self-financed project Megalopolis in this year's Razzies.
Announced two days before the Oscars reward Hollywood's finest, the Razzie Awards name and shame the year's worst films.
In an Instagram post,, external Coppola said he was "thrilled" to accept the award, "at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary movie-making". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7ev3wygl4o
The razzies are a joke, but his response is so arrogant. It was the worst film I've seen in years, if not ever. Incoherent, turning great actors into horrible ones, saying nothing of note, and not even interestingly bad. There's weird and experimental films, but Megalopolis was just crap in every respect.
I've never been closer to walking out of a movie.
I quite liked it. 🤭
Maybe it was just mood I was in, or starting with low expectations, but I like big, overblown, indulgent films with great visuals and teetering on the edge of maybe thought provoking or maybe passé.
Megalopolis is more about architecture than The Brutalist is. Both films are similar in that one uses the past , the other the future, as a black mirror to show us the point it’s trying to make. Of the 2, Brutalist is by far the better, in fact far better than Conclave and Anora, the Brutalist will clean up at 2025 Oscars, except Mikey Maddison should win an Oscar… and except I havn’t seen complete unknown yet to compare.
I have quite enjoyed watching Megalopolis reviews over the last few months. In fact, I've probably spent longer watching the reviews than the film run-time. The *best* anyone has said is that there's the kernel of a good film in it, but it required a massive edit and some reshoots.
The problem is is seemed to miss even its intended audience of serious critics.
Kemi issued a statement. probably shouldn't have bothered...
@KemiBadenoch Respectable diplomacy is essential for peace. We need to remember that the villain is the war criminal President Putin who illegally invaded another sovereign country - Ukraine. A divided West only benefits Russia. Now is the time for more cooperation, not less.
Any peace agreement must be negotiated with Ukraine at the table, and will need security guarantees.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that tonight air raid sirens are sounding in Ukraine.
That’s a strong statement, diplomatic, realpolitik.
PB can froth, but the only correct option for our country’s leaders is a cool head like Kemi demonstrating, realpolitik, and try to steer it best we can.
Nous avons tous eu raison d'aider l'Ukraine et de sanctionner la Russie il y a trois ans et de continuer à le faire.
Nous, c’est les Américains, les Européens, Canadiens, Japonais et plusieurs autres.
Merci à tous ceux qui ont aidé et continuent. Et respect à ceux qui, depuis le début, se battent. Parce qu'ils se battent pour leur dignité, leur indépendance, pour leurs enfants et pour la sécurité de l'Europe.
Has anyone ever written an alternative history novel where the US and Russia team up against Europe? Or would that have been seen as too far-fetched?
I'm on the tablet so can't easily answer your question. With these limited resources apparently not, although real-life WW2 was exactly this, as "Continental Europe" was unified and conquered. Possibly the "Hearts of Iron" mod "The Last Days Of Europe" *may* approximate this, but that's from memory
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
For 80 years the US has been the linchpin of the Western alliance. Now in a matter of weeks it has done an 180 degree turn and seems to want to ally itself with Russia rather than against it.
Were I an Israeli politician, I'd be saying to myself: if the US can do this to long-standing allies, if it can betray a country invaded by those wanting to obliterate its existence, my country can't be certain it won't do the same to us too, one day. And from that realisation policies will flow, policies many of us will not like at all.
The US can no longer be trusted.
It is interesting. I think many of us have said before that no country can or should be trusted. There are no friends, only mutual vested interests.
What has changed is that the current dickhead in charge in the US has no idea what the best interests of his country are, nor does he care.
He is compared to many people - Hitler, Mussolini, the Tango Man who jumps up and slaps you - but actually he models himself on Louis XIV. The man who apparently claimed 'L'État, c'est moi'. Trump believes this and therefore believes that anything that advances himself and his ego does the same for his country.
We have had many decades of 1st world countries including and especially the US acting in self serving ways which also help the rest of us. The US has stopped serving itself and started serving the Great Orange Loon.
Starmer urgently needs to put out some sort of at least anodyne statement.
Yes, Sir Keir needs to stop re-reading this morning's papers. That was then. It's clear he was duped and the public will have some sympathy, but he should as least tell us how 'let down' he feels and that 'lessons will be learnt'.
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
I really don't understand his position. I agreed with him on many things, but it's been clear for ages that you cannot support both Trump/GOP/Musk and Ukraine. Yet he tried. And I think the reason he's left isn't anything I, or anyone else, said, but because the waveforms of reality have collapsed and shown him the cat in the box is, sadly, dead.
A few days ago when Trump started with the Zekenskyy is a dictator stuff. He couldn't handle the contradictions of his support for Ukraine and for Trump.
That wasn't quite his spin on the matter.
I hope he comes back, he was one of the few people here who agreed with me about most things!
I really don't understand his position. I agreed with him on many things, but it's been clear for ages that you cannot support both Trump/GOP/Musk and Ukraine. Yet he tried. And I think the reason he's left isn't anything I, or anyone else, said, but because the waveforms of reality have collapsed and shown him the cat in the box is, sadly, dead.
A few days ago when Trump started with the Zekenskyy is a dictator stuff. He couldn't handle the contradictions of his support for Ukraine and for Trump.
That wasn't quite his spin on the matter.
I hope he comes back, he was one of the few people here who agreed with me about most things!
He did not believe in every anti-western conspiracy theory going, so you are wrong.
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
It's hard to know exactly what an appropriate response to this is in relation to the USA, but I do know one thing: the meeting of European leaders this Sunday could not have had a clearer impetus.
If they collectively bottle taking decisive measures to allow Europe to stand alone in defence within 3-5 years, including defending Ukraine to the extent that we are capable of doing so, starting Monday, every single one of them deserves to be thrown out of office.
If things weren't clear before, they surely are now.
Unfortunately Germany won't be in a position to promise increased defence spending because that utter shit Merz refused to talk about reforming the debt brake on any of the dozen times the outgoing government asked him to consider it over the last year or more.
Whether something can be done before the new parliament (that has a 1 third blocking minority AfD plus die Linke) convenes isn't certain. Today die Linke threatened to go to the constitutional court if an attempt is made using the old parliament.
But you know there are historical reasons Germany is reticent to get involved in war in Ukraine. Why don’t you just be honest and explain to us that you understand that, rather than hide behind those reasons in your criticism of Merz?
Prediction: RefUK's support in the polls won't be dented by the Trump/Vance/Zelinsky confrontation.
Farage will say he doesn't support Trump on this (even though it aligns with views he has expressed on Ukraine in the past eg blaming NATO) and leave it at that, and the rest are sufficiently unpopular that the main drivers for Reform's rise in the polls will remain.
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
What does that last sentence allude to?
On Sunday, 2 March 2025, the NATO Secretary General, Mr Mark Rutte, will travel to London, United Kingdom, to attend a meeting of European leaders on Ukraine. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_233527.htm
Probably "Oh shit, what do we do now" will be the main theme.
@Sandpit was a much liked contributor to this forum and many would welcome his return
He is very personally invested in Ukraine and has a lot to lose
(Snip)
He was personally invested in Ukraine, but also supported those who were against Ukraine.
That was the issue.
He gave an interesting perspective and certainly isn't deluded anymore than anyone else on here
In your view, what was his perspective? Being pro-Ukraine and pro-Trump/GOP/Musk is a position, but it is massively contradictory. And I think that is a fair summary of his position.
I really don't understand his position. I agreed with him on many things, but it's been clear for ages that you cannot support both Trump/GOP/Musk and Ukraine. Yet he tried. And I think the reason he's left isn't anything I, or anyone else, said, but because the waveforms of reality have collapsed and shown him the cat in the box is, sadly, dead.
A few days ago when Trump strutted with the Zekenskyy of a dictator stuff. He couldn't handle the contradictions of his support for Ukraine and for Trump.
I'm surprised that anybody's remotely surprised to discover that Trump is a nasty, unpleasant, rude bully.
All I've learnt today is that Vance is at least as bad, and possibly even more dangerous, being marginally more intelligent.
I'm reminded of the "let's go back in time and kill Hitler" stories that end up with someone just as evil but a bit more clever and ruthless running the Reich.
Didn’t Stephen fry do one like that? Sterilised the Jews and used them to help win the war.
For 80 years the US has been the linchpin of the Western alliance. Now in a matter of weeks it has done an 180 degree turn and seems to want to ally itself with Russia rather than against it.
Were I an Israeli politician, I'd be saying to myself: if the US can do this to long-standing allies, if it can betray a country invaded by those wanting to obliterate its existence, my country can't be certain it won't do the same to us too, one day. And from that realisation policies will flow, policies many of us will not like at all.
The US can no longer be trusted.
Israel has never trusted the US. It’s why they build their own tanks & have their own nuclear deterrent.
They’re very happy to have US support if it’s available to them of course, but that support has not been there when they might have appreciated it in the past & might not be in the future - a reality they are very keenly aware of.
We need to do that. Israel is the only nation that doesn't need the US to set the software for its F35's.
Starmer urgently needs to put out some sort of at least anodyne statement.
Yes, Sir Keir needs to stop re-reading this morning's papers. That was then. It's clear he was duped and the public will have some sympathy, but he should as least tell us how 'let down' he feels and that 'lessons will be learnt'.
I'm torn on Starmer. Heart says I want him to put out a statement immediately. Head says, what difference would that make? What he really needs to do is use all diplomatic channels to build a coalition of the willing to get into Ukraine asap. The petulance of USA administration means that things could now unravel very quickly for Ukraine otherwise. Why add to that petulance by criticising Trump on social media?
Something else that has occurred to me is that we likely owe some of the members of Trump's 2017-2021 cabinet a lot more credit than they got, for stopping Trump's worst instincts in their tracks. Unshackled Trump is even worse than I expected, and I truly hate Trump so I didn't have high expectations.
Trump has a soft spot for Starmer because the shithead is vaguely aware that Starmer is a white guy who replaced a non-white guy, just like Trump did. And Trump, above everything else, is a massive racist.
@Haggis_UK Douglas Alexander(Labour MP): "President Zelenskyy is probably the bravest political leader, in Europe, since Winston Churchill. That exchange was deeply troubling... the only winner from the division of the West is going to be Putin..."
It's amazing how fast the tech world changes. I should put this on my Myspace page...
I remember watching sci fi in my youth and marvelling at video phone calls (there is good use in The Caves of Androzani). I never dreamed it would become a routine part of my day to day. And yet here we are. I can interview prospective students from anywhere in the world and see them as if they were in my office. Although some staff found the adjustment during the pandemic quite hard.One older colleague regularly appeared with shots up his nose from close range for almost all meetings…
That's not pleasant but also I think that's the reason he's not here too.
He seemed to genuinely reconcile in his head the idea of backing Trump and backing Ukraine by his belief that America's Military Industrial Complex will see Ukraine through even if Trump won.
Sadly he was wrong, and I think he realised he was too, saw the writing on the wall and that's why he's gone.
It must be truly upsetting to realise what a big mistake you've made, especially on something you feel so passionately about. I feel sorry for him.
The Dems who voted Trump to protest at Biden’s lack of support for the Palestinians must be feeling the same.
Oh no - those idiots are doubling down & blaming the Dems for everything that’s happening. In their heads it’s the Dem’s fault for forcing them to vote for Trump.
I get if people want to say that the Dems caused a lot of their own problems. But it doesn't follow that people had no agency or the choices the GOP are making are not their own.
It's like when people blamed the media or whatever for Brexit, essentially that people were tricked so its not the voters fault. I was one of those voters, I think I made a mistake, and that's on me.
@Sandpit was a much liked contributor to this forum and many would welcome his return
He is very personally invested in Ukraine and has a lot to lose
(Snip)
He was personally invested in Ukraine, but also supported those who were against Ukraine.
That was the issue.
He gave an interesting perspective and certainly isn't deluded anymore than anyone else on here
In your view, what was his perspective? Being pro-Ukraine and pro-Trump/GOP/Musk is a position, but it is massively contradictory. And I think that is a fair summary of his position.
I found his personal investment in Ukraine and his comments interesting, even though I did not agree with them on occasions
Something else that has occurred to me is that we likely owe some of the members of Trump's 2017-2021 cabinet a lot more credit than they got, for stopping Trump's worst instincts in their tracks. Unshackled Trump is even worse than I expected, and I truly hate Trump so I didn't have high expectations.
It is also almost certainly the case that Trump has been radicalised since 2020, but I take your point.
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
What does that last sentence allude to?
They’re all meeting here over the weekend. Good. But Starmer needs to fucking say something.
It's amazing how fast the tech world changes. I should put this on my Myspace page...
I remember watching sci fi in my youth and marvelling at video phone calls (there is good use in The Caves of Androzani). I never dreamed it would become a routine part of my day to day. And yet here we are. I can interview prospective students from anywhere in the world and see them as if they were in my office. Although some staff found the adjustment during the pandemic quite hard.One older colleague regularly appeared with shots up his nose from close range for almost all meetings…
Until Covid my work didn't use video phone calls either - though the tech has been there for a long long time, it seemed to take that moment for it to practically become ubiquitous.
It's hard to know exactly what an appropriate response to this is in relation to the USA, but I do know one thing: the meeting of European leaders this Sunday could not have had a clearer impetus.
If they collectively bottle taking decisive measures to allow Europe to stand alone in defence within 3-5 years, including defending Ukraine to the extent that we are capable of doing so, starting Monday, every single one of them deserves to be thrown out of office.
If things weren't clear before, they surely are now.
Unfortunately Germany won't be in a position to promise increased defence spending because that utter shit Merz refused to talk about reforming the debt brake on any of the dozen times the outgoing government asked him to consider it over the last year or more.
Whether something can be done before the new parliament (that has a 1 third blocking minority AfD plus die Linke) convenes isn't certain. Today die Linke threatened to go to the constitutional court if an attempt is made using the old parliament.
But you know there are historical reasons Germany is reticent to get involved in war in Ukraine. Why don’t you just be honest and explain to us that you understand that, rather than hide behind those reasons in your criticism of Merz?
I don't buy those historical reasons. They're an excuse.
You say: "We were wrong then. These (state X, Y & Z) are our values now. They are radically different from our values then, which were evil. As a form of repentance, we will defend out new values, which are not about about just us, as our values 80 years ago were, but about everyone."
Or somesuch. Otherwise no significant country would ever be able to do anything. How can France defend eastern Europe, given it rampaged over that region in 1812?
“[The people] should know that we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road; they should know that we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when the whole equilibrium of Europe has been deranged, and that the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced against the Western democracies:
"Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting."
And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time”.
Something else that has occurred to me is that we likely owe some of the members of Trump's 2017-2021 cabinet a lot more credit than they got, for stopping Trump's worst instincts in their tracks. Unshackled Trump is even worse than I expected, and I truly hate Trump so I didn't have high expectations.
Yes, there's quite a lot of that that's come out - although as with all insider memoirs, there's always a substantial element of post-hoc justification. Still, it says something when the likes of John Bolton was a restraining factor (in terms of America's geostrategic positioning; not so in his interventionism).
But Trump is a much more confident character now, and has largely dispensed with career officials and politicians.
Zelensky WILL do Fox live this evening after White House clash with Trump
Poor guy. I know it was said Baier is a real journalist too, but he will have his orders from the Network (who have form on shifting stance to please their base), and with MAGA against Zelensky will they dare not try to trip him up or push him to apologise for being rude to America etc?
Trump has a soft spot for Starmer because the shithead is vaguely aware that Starmer is a white guy who replaced a non-white guy, just like Trump did. And Trump, above everything else, is a massive racist.
You think he remembers Rishi? I barely remember him - I'm pretty sure Trump doesn't.
It's amazing how fast the tech world changes. I should put this on my Myspace page...
I remember watching sci fi in my youth and marvelling at video phone calls (there is good use in The Caves of Androzani). I never dreamed it would become a routine part of my day to day. And yet here we are. I can interview prospective students from anywhere in the world and see them as if they were in my office. Although some staff found the adjustment during the pandemic quite hard.One older colleague regularly appeared with shots up his nose from close range for almost all meetings…
Heck. IN 1997 I was working for a company developing IP TV cable products (TV over cable Internet), and we were wondering where we would get the bandwidth from for all our customers' requirements. We needed discrete MPEG decoders just to decode the video stream...
Larry the Cat @Number10cat · 1h The bust of Sir Winston Churchill sits in Trump's Oval Office. He was an immensely brave leader who visited Washington, dressed in fatigues, seeking support against a despot. We all know what he would have made of today's unedifying spectacle and whose side he would have been on.
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
What does that last sentence allude to?
The soft metal band Europe are having a concert at Wembley in aid of Ukraine? Writing a song specially.
Francis Ford Coppola, one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, has been named worst director for his self-financed project Megalopolis in this year's Razzies.
Announced two days before the Oscars reward Hollywood's finest, the Razzie Awards name and shame the year's worst films.
In an Instagram post,, external Coppola said he was "thrilled" to accept the award, "at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary movie-making". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7ev3wygl4o
The razzies are a joke, but his response is so arrogant. It was the worst film I've seen in years, if not ever. Incoherent, turning great actors into horrible ones, saying nothing of note, and not even interestingly bad. There's weird and experimental films, but Megalopolis was just crap in every respect.
I've never been closer to walking out of a movie.
I quite liked it. 🤭
Maybe it was just mood I was in, or starting with low expectations, but I like big, overblown, indulgent films with great visuals and teetering on the edge of maybe thought provoking or maybe passé.
Megalopolis is more about architecture than The Brutalist is. Both films are similar in that one uses the past , the other the future, as a black mirror to show us the point it’s trying to make. Of the 2, Brutalist is by far the better, in fact far better than Conclave and Anora, the Brutalist will clean up at 2025 Oscars, except Mikey Maddison should win an Oscar… and except I havn’t seen complete unknown yet to compare.
If Megalopolis was trying to make a point it passed me by completely, in which case it still failed.
But each to their own.
How architecture and urban planning can solve societal issues. Much the same point King Charles was trying to get across to Starmer and that woman with the dreadful red fringe in Cornwall last month. The use of the future as the black mirror to have interesting visuals to underline the point, wasn’t such a bad directorial vision imo.
With that lot, has @TSE been on holiday again for a day?
A question and several thoughts:
1 - What exactly is involved in releasing the frozen Russian funds held in the European Bank (whichever one it is) in Belgium? It is a Belgian country aiui.
2 - The logical step may be a rapid release of significant funds to Ukraine, to use as they choose for reconstruction or humanitarian or military use or - say €75bn or €100bn, maybe including a proportionate release from here. It is now even clearer that Europe needs simply to write the agenda, regardless of Trump/Vance.
If the problem is that Belgium would be liable for the whole thing if it turned out not to be lawful, then indemnities may be needed from 15-20 other countries.
There was a report a few days ago that repair and recovery costs in Ukraine would be $486 bn over the next 10 years, which would seem to me to justify the release.
3 - Such an act would wake the USA up as to how serious Europe is about this. That they have now withdrawn US aid for Ukraine to rebuild its energy grid shows that they still think that bullying can close this down, and how out of touch they have become.
4 - There's a concern that they might try and pull the ITAR noose - for example there are 30 F-16s to be restored and upgraded in the USA for Ukraine from Greece.
That's a matter of making the Usonians accept that we are serious enough that whatever they do will make little difference, and they need to accept the money for the arms projects.
5 - Isn't there a meeting set up for European leaders this weekend?
The prime minister had invited France, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Turkey, as well as Ukraine. After Starmer’s meeting with Trump, the leaders of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were added to the list of attenders.
I'm surprised that anybody's remotely surprised to discover that Trump is a nasty, unpleasant, rude bully.
All I've learnt today is that Vance is at least as bad, and possibly even more dangerous, being marginally more intelligent.
I'm reminded of the "let's go back in time and kill Hitler" stories that end up with someone just as evil but a bit more clever and ruthless running the Reich.
Didn’t Stephen fry do one like that? Sterilised the Jews and used them to help win the war.
For 80 years the US has been the linchpin of the Western alliance. Now in a matter of weeks it has done an 180 degree turn and seems to want to ally itself with Russia rather than against it.
Were I an Israeli politician, I'd be saying to myself: if the US can do this to long-standing allies, if it can betray a country invaded by those wanting to obliterate its existence, my country can't be certain it won't do the same to us too, one day. And from that realisation policies will flow, policies many of us will not like at all.
The US can no longer be trusted.
Israel has never trusted the US. It’s why they build their own tanks & have their own nuclear deterrent.
They’re very happy to have US support if it’s available to them of course, but that support has not been there when they might have appreciated it in the past & might not be in the future - a reality they are very keenly aware of.
We need to do that. Israel is the only nation that doesn't need the US to set the software for its F35's.
Just what I was about to say. Britain needs to be more like Israel in the defence of our realm.
That's not pleasant but also I think that's the reason he's not here too.
He seemed to genuinely reconcile in his head the idea of backing Trump and backing Ukraine by his belief that America's Military Industrial Complex will see Ukraine through even if Trump won.
Sadly he was wrong, and I think he realised he was too, saw the writing on the wall and that's why he's gone.
It must be truly upsetting to realise what a big mistake you've made, especially on something you feel so passionately about. I feel sorry for him.
Comments
@DavidGauke
Any comment yet from
@BorisJohnson
@trussliz
@Jacob_Rees_Mogg
@Nigel_Farage?
Trump backers all. Putin backers by association.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7vxlrvxyeo
It's amazing how fast the tech world changes. I should put this on my Myspace page...
Maybe it was just mood I was in, or starting with low expectations, but I like big, overblown, indulgent films with great visuals and teetering on the edge of maybe thought provoking or maybe passé.
Megalopolis is more about architecture than The Brutalist is. Both films are similar in that one uses the past , the other the future, as a black mirror to show us the point it’s trying to make. Of the 2, Brutalist is by far the better, in fact far better than Conclave and Anora, the Brutalist will clean up at 2025 Oscars, except Mikey Maddison should win an Oscar… and except I havn’t seen complete unknown yet to compare.
They’re very happy to have US support if it’s available to them of course, but that support has not been there when they might have appreciated it in the past & might not be in the future - a reality they are very keenly aware of.
Because if they back Ukraine, they cannot support Trump/GOP.
But it'd be good to get some left-wingers on this list. Corbyn? BJO?
https://archive.org/details/Tales_of_the_Unexpected_021_02x12_gemesis_and_catastrophe
Why pay Netflix to stream the latest blockbuster when you can collect the NZB for free...
It made an impact, as we used to watch that series a lot, and it's one of the few that has stuck in my memory. Although I cannot say I haven't seen it on a repeat, also decades ago...
Also if this goes the way it looks, many will rally around the PM we have.
So they will be desperately hoping Zelensky is brought to heel or told to resign to get one.
Gonna be funny when Trudeau signs that minerals deal and fucks us with more tariffs
He is very personally invested in Ukraine and has a lot to lose
And do you agree Trump must now be uninvited to meet the King ?
Starmer could send British forces into Ukraine now and it wouldn't undermine his relationship with Trump unless he expected Trump to bail us out if we get into trouble.
But each to their own.
The problem is is seemed to miss even its intended audience of serious critics.
Zelensky has balls the size of the Lost Ark's boulder.
PB can froth, but the only correct option for our country’s leaders is a cool head like Kemi demonstrating, realpolitik, and try to steer it best we can.
Il y a un agresseur : la Russie.
Il y a un peuple agressé : l'Ukraine.
Nous avons tous eu raison d'aider l'Ukraine et de sanctionner la Russie il y a trois ans et de continuer à le faire.
Nous, c’est les Américains, les Européens, Canadiens, Japonais et plusieurs autres.
Merci à tous ceux qui ont aidé et continuent. Et respect à ceux qui, depuis le début, se battent. Parce qu'ils se battent pour leur dignité, leur indépendance, pour leurs enfants et pour la sécurité de l'Europe.
Strong men make peace, weak men make war.
Today President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!
Whose side are you on, comrade?
Czechia will always stand by Ukraine. Zelensky is a strong leader of a sovereign country. If an agreement had been signed with the USA, it would have meant great benefits for the USA. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The next chapter will be written by Europe in London. 🇨🇿🇺🇦🇪🇺
What has changed is that the current dickhead in charge in the US has no idea what the best interests of his country are, nor does he care.
He is compared to many people - Hitler, Mussolini, the Tango Man who jumps up and slaps you - but actually he models himself on Louis XIV. The man who apparently claimed 'L'État, c'est moi'. Trump believes this and therefore believes that anything that advances himself and his ego does the same for his country.
We have had many decades of 1st world countries including and especially the US acting in self serving ways which also help the rest of us. The US has stopped serving itself and started serving the Great Orange Loon.
That was the issue.
Donald Trump attacks Pierre [Pollievre] saying:
“I think [Pierre’s] biggest problem is that he’s not a MAGA guy, you know? I mean he’s not a Trump guy at all”
It won’t stop Liberals from pretending he is, but now you’ve heard it from the mouth of the beast.
https://nitter.poast.org/Anthony__Koch/status/1895501688892788909#m
Problem is you cannot trust him either, so will waverers going to the Liberals believe it?
But I fear he went the full Plato on Trump/Musk/GOP.
I hope he comes back, he was one of the few people here who agreed with me about most things!
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_233527.htm
Probably "Oh shit, what do we do now" will be the main theme.
Heart says I want him to put out a statement immediately.
Head says, what difference would that make? What he really needs to do is use all diplomatic channels to build a coalition of the willing to get into Ukraine asap. The petulance of USA administration means that things could now unravel very quickly for Ukraine otherwise. Why add to that petulance by criticising Trump on social media?
It's incredible though isn't it? Putin invades a place, that place is trying to hold out for a better deal, and they are the ones against peace.
@Haggis_UK
Douglas Alexander(Labour MP): "President Zelenskyy is probably the bravest political leader, in Europe, since Winston Churchill. That exchange was deeply troubling... the only winner from the division of the West is going to be Putin..."
Zelensky WILL do Fox live this evening after White House clash with Trump
Although some staff found the adjustment during the pandemic quite hard.One older colleague regularly appeared with shots up his nose from close range for almost all meetings…
It's like when people blamed the media or whatever for Brexit, essentially that people were tricked so its not the voters fault. I was one of those voters, I think I made a mistake, and that's on me.
This forum is better for a wide range of views
You say: "We were wrong then. These (state X, Y & Z) are our values now. They are radically different from our values then, which were evil. As a form of repentance, we will defend out new values, which are not about about just us, as our values 80 years ago were, but about everyone."
Or somesuch. Otherwise no significant country would ever be able to do anything. How can France defend eastern Europe, given it rampaged over that region in 1812?
"Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting."
And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time”.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1938-10-05/debates/25851755-dbcd-4704-9334-fdf2574d6453/PolicyOfHisMajestySGovernment
But Trump is a much more confident character now, and has largely dispensed with career officials and politicians.
Youtube was launched seven years later.
@Number10cat
·
1h
The bust of Sir Winston Churchill sits in Trump's Oval Office. He was an immensely brave leader who visited Washington, dressed in fatigues, seeking support against a despot. We all know what he would have made of today's unedifying spectacle and whose side he would have been on.
A question and several thoughts:
1 - What exactly is involved in releasing the frozen Russian funds held in the European Bank (whichever one it is) in Belgium? It is a Belgian country aiui.
2 - The logical step may be a rapid release of significant funds to Ukraine, to use as they choose for reconstruction or humanitarian or military use or - say €75bn or €100bn, maybe including a proportionate release from here. It is now even clearer that Europe needs simply to write the agenda, regardless of Trump/Vance.
If the problem is that Belgium would be liable for the whole thing if it turned out not to be lawful, then indemnities may be needed from 15-20 other countries.
There was a report a few days ago that repair and recovery costs in Ukraine would be $486 bn over the next 10 years, which would seem to me to justify the release.
3 - Such an act would wake the USA up as to how serious Europe is about this. That they have now withdrawn US aid for Ukraine to rebuild its energy grid shows that they still think that bullying can close this down, and how out of touch they have become.
4 - There's a concern that they might try and pull the ITAR noose - for example there are 30 F-16s to be restored and upgraded in the USA for Ukraine from Greece.
That's a matter of making the Usonians accept that we are serious enough that whatever they do will make little difference, and they need to accept the money for the arms projects.
5 - Isn't there a meeting set up for European leaders this weekend?
The prime minister had invited France, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Turkey, as well as Ukraine. After Starmer’s meeting with Trump, the leaders of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were added to the list of attenders.
The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, António Costa, will also attend.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/28/starmer-to-hold-talks-with-zelenskyy-and-meloni-before-ukraine-defence-summit
That's enough that all the leaders of JEF will be represented in spirit too - afaics the same as Paris - ish.