Interesting but hardly surprising to see Trump and Meloni apparently getting on well.
Both are strong on "immigration" which is apparently at the root of all Europe's problems.
Yet I hear no practical or coherent solutions - from "stop the boats" to "re-migration", there's a lot of people talking about immigration and saying something needs to be done but I've not heard a syllable of a practical and workable solution.
More "complaints" from Britain's greatest bunch of whingers, GB News, about Sudanese refugees at a 4* hotel - okay, fine. How do you get them out of that hotel? Where do you put them while their asylum cases are being processed? I'm led to believe (it's GB News so I take it with a bucketful of salt) there are thousands more waiting in Northern France to cross the Channel. Right - how do you prevent them crossing if that's the objective?
The whole debate is couched in sensationalist, fear mongering terms - practicality and common sense are noticeable by their absence.
Interesting but hardly surprising to see Trump and Meloni apparently getting on well.
Both are strong on "immigration" which is apparently at the root of all Europe's problems.
Yet I hear no practical or coherent solutions - from "stop the boats" to "re-migration", there's a lot of people talking about immigration and saying something needs to be done but I've not heard a syllable of a practical and workable solution.
More "complaints" from Britain's greatest bunch of whingers, GB News, about Sudanese refugees at a 4* hotel - okay, fine. How do you get them out of that hotel? Where do you put them while their asylum cases are being processed? I'm led to believe (it's GB News so I take it with a bucketful of salt) there are thousands more waiting in Northern France to cross the Channel. Right - how do you prevent them crossing if that's the objective?
The whole debate is couched in sensationalist, fear mongering terms - practicality and common sense are noticeable by their absence.
Here's the channel 4 news report on the war in Sudan.
12 million internally displaced, and most refugees either internal or in neighbouring countries like Chad. Murder, rape and famine all over. Credit to Lammy to try to get peace talks going, but neither side interested.
A Sudanese colleague of mine says there is no ideology to it, just rival warlords fighting over the spoils.
You will never stop these morons robbing , raping and stealing, they have been at it forever.
Jaw-dropping footage revealed by @markwhiteTV today showing what GB News believes to be Sudanese migrants showing off their 4* hotels.
This is a mockery. There are homeless British citizens sleeping rough on the street and economic migrants fleeing France are a priority for our government.
Keir Starmer promised he would end the migrant hotels, yet another failure.
These videos are nothing but an advertisement for others to come to the UK, of which we believe, there are thousands more queueing up.
If we allowed asylum seekers to work, which that moron May stopped, we wouldn't need to host them in hotels, 4* or otherwise.
Truly one of the worst policy decisions of my lifetime.
Was that May? In any case, allowing asylum seekers to work is an obvious loophole in the work permit system that shouldn't be reopened. We need to remove the right to claim asylum on demand.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will today unveil plans to strip thousands of asylum seekers of the right to work while their claim to stay in Britain is being assessed.
Sudan is a brutal war zone. I am not surprised that Sudanese people are seeking asylum elsewhere, including in the country of the empire that occupied them for decades.
Presumably as a democrat you believe the people of that country have a right to decide whether to accept asylum seekers or not?
You're not suggesting an "in/out" referendum on it, I hope?
We've seen the folly of that.
They should be right back on the next boat out as illegal immigrants, it is a joke saying they are asylum seekers given all the safe countries they have travelled through. It will end in tears for sure , indigenous people getting hee haw and illegal immigrants living it up in fancy hotels, are politician's really as thick and lazy as they make out. Gifting it to Farage.
So when Scotland gets independence, and there are floods of people from the South seeking refuge from a Reform government, how should these 'asylum seekers' be treated. Accomodation in the Bar-L?
Such people would be escaping a genuinely dangerous country that borders Scotland, so I'd expect us to fulfill our obligations
(I hope the Canadians have developed a secret plan just in case the US goes full Pol Pot. Could have a refugee crisis. )
A comment I've just seen in another place, about Musk:
"imagine being such a loser that you can't even build a harem right, like you're supposed to sleep with them all not pay doctors to impregnate them you dork"
Trouble is this just doesn't wash: he's not a loser. He's a successful multi-billionairre and entrepreneur and has a huge brood of children, with lots of women.
None of the rest of us have that.
That doesn't mean we should look up to him or admire him, still less try and emulate him - he's clearly a dick - but he's not a "loser".
Jaw-dropping footage revealed by @markwhiteTV today showing what GB News believes to be Sudanese migrants showing off their 4* hotels.
This is a mockery. There are homeless British citizens sleeping rough on the street and economic migrants fleeing France are a priority for our government.
Keir Starmer promised he would end the migrant hotels, yet another failure.
These videos are nothing but an advertisement for others to come to the UK, of which we believe, there are thousands more queueing up.
If we allowed asylum seekers to work, which that moron May stopped, we wouldn't need to host them in hotels, 4* or otherwise.
Truly one of the worst policy decisions of my lifetime.
Was that May? In any case, allowing asylum seekers to work is an obvious loophole in the work permit system that shouldn't be reopened. We need to remove the right to claim asylum on demand.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will today unveil plans to strip thousands of asylum seekers of the right to work while their claim to stay in Britain is being assessed.
Sudan is a brutal war zone. I am not surprised that Sudanese people are seeking asylum elsewhere, including in the country of the empire that occupied them for decades.
Presumably as a democrat you believe the people of that country have a right to decide whether to accept asylum seekers or not?
You're not suggesting an "in/out" referendum on it, I hope?
We've seen the folly of that.
They should be right back on the next boat out as illegal immigrants, it is a joke saying they are asylum seekers given all the safe countries they have travelled through. It will end in tears for sure , indigenous people getting hee haw and illegal immigrants living it up in fancy hotels, are politician's really as thick and lazy as they make out. Gifting it to Farage.
So when Scotland gets independence, and there are floods of people from the South seeking refuge from a Reform government, how should these 'asylum seekers' be treated. Accomodation in the Bar-L?
Only if entering illegally, otherwise they will b emore than welcome just as they are now.
My holiday has started with the automatic door on this ScotRail service knocking a coffee out of my hand and all over my clothes.
About to spend 4 days cycling in torrential rain - typical west coast behaviour. Plan is to get the 80k done by lunch and spend the afternoons/evenings getting drunk.
You should head south west where there is no rain, typical east coast twat slagging off the west coast.
LD vote standing still is enough as Tories bleed votes to Reform and Labour bleed votes to Greens.
Vote Reform, get LibDems...
My hope in Bruntingthorpe division - South Leicestershire on May 1st! 1,250 addressed postal voter letters delivered before postal votes arrived. Will finish delivering my main leaflet this weekend -5,000 more for last week squeeze (see drop in labour vote in Horsham) arriving early next week.
Good luck!
I was all ready to go with my ninth run - for just a town council election, my principal council days being behind me now - but find myself re-elected in an uncontested election.
Who the fuck mapped out the frontiers of central Central Asia?
LOOK AT IT
It must have been Stalin, on acid. And meth
Not sure. May have been Slartibartfast. He did Norway.
I asked a friend who’s a Soviet expert
“The tangled borders you’re seeing are not medieval relics or lines of actual mountains, but the product of Soviet‑era “national delimitation” in the 1920s–30s, frozen into international frontiers in 1991. Here’s what happened:
1. The Fergana Valley’s Ethnic Patchwork • The Fergana Valley (center of your map) is one of the most densely populated - and ethnically mixed—areas in Central Asia. Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks (and even minorities of Russians, Karakalpaks, etc.) live intermingled down to the village level.
• When the USSR drew internal republic borders, they tried to give each “titular nationality” a share of good land and water. In practice that meant slicing through villages, fields and irrigation channels to achieve a rough ethnic balance.
2. Divide‑and‑Rule Delimitation • Moscow’s planners deliberately created convoluted boundaries (and even a handful of enclaves and exclaves) so that no single republic was too compact or self‑sufficient - thus keeping them dependent on central Soviet authorities for trade, transport and supplies. • They also used water‑rights (canals criss‑crossing the valley) as a justification for zig‑zagging lines: “This canal taps off into Uzbek SSR, so let’s give that bend of land to Uzbekistan, then loop back into Kyrgyz.”
3. The Enclave Patchwork • Uzbek exclaves inside Kyrgyzstan (e.g. Sokh, Shohimardon) • Tajik exclave inside Kyrgyzstan (Vorukh) • Kyrgyz exclave inside Uzbekistan (Barak) These tiny pockets (sometimes just a few square kilometers) were never a big deal when they were “merely” internal Soviet boundaries. After 1991 they became international - and a source of chronic headaches for border control, road access, customs, and local residents.
4. The “Panhandle” Corridors • Look up at Tashkent: the Uzbek SSR was given a long, narrow finger of territory reaching northeast, separating southern Kazakhstan from the rest of Kyrgyzstan. That’s why today the Tashkent–Shymkent railway (green dashed line) crosses Kazakh or Kyrgyz land in odd little spurts.
5. Why It Looks “Insane” Today • Once internal lines, these borders weren’t designed to be barriers. They cut through irrigation ditches, farmland, even villages - and relied on Soviet authorities to manage the flows of people and goods across them. • After 1991, those lines hardened into international borders. No longer easy to cross on a whim (or in a tractor), they now require passports, visas, checkpoints - turning a 2 km walk across a field into an odyssey involving customs forms and border guards.
⸻
In short: what looks like an absurd, arbitrary tangle of frontiers is really the legacy of Stalin‑era border‑drawing in one of the Soviet Union’s most complex, multi‑ethnic regions—lines that never anticipated becoming impenetrable international boundaries.
Ah, you mean you asked ChatGPT
The Soviet Union really fucked with Central Asia. Until visiting Kazakhstan’s national museum yesterday I had no idea they experienced a famine in the 30s which killed MORE THAN A THIRD of all Kazakh people
1.5-2m victims, IIRC
It is amazing Russia is not MORE hated than it is
We also have the Bengal Famine of 1943 which killed anywhere from 1.5 million to 3 million people. Should we be more hated?
The recent smash hit film RRR is the most expensive Indian film ever, and a massive worldwide hit It is a pretty impressive bit of film making, but pretty harsh in its depiction of British atrocities. It's well worth a watch on Netflix
Modi is busy erecting golden statues of Indian freedom fighters* in all sorts of prominent places, including Bose and similar. So while individual Brits are welcomed, Britain as a country is fairly unpopular.
* only Hindu ones, Muslim, Sikh, Dalit freedom fighters need not apply.
If India wants to make a big thing of tragic mistakes (or evil decisions, depending on viewpoint...) the British made in 1943, then perhaps they should not be helping Russia perform atrocities in Ukraine today.
India's decision to help Russia and profit from Ukraine's ruination is their decision, with no other factors involved.
They are shit to their own people into the bargain.
A comment I've just seen in another place, about Musk:
"imagine being such a loser that you can't even build a harem right, like you're supposed to sleep with them all not pay doctors to impregnate them you dork"
Trouble is this just doesn't wash: he's not a loser. He's a successful multi-billionairre and entrepreneur and has a huge brood of children, with lots of women.
None of the rest of us have that.
That doesn't mean we should look up to him or admire him, still less try and emulate him - he's clearly a dick - but he's not a "loser".
It does wash, if you think that being a muti-billionaiire and entrapaneur with a huge brood of children is what most of us want and is a sign of 'winning'.
it isn't. It's also evidently not what he wants, given he's an absent dad to most of those kids, and is resorting to live-streaming games that he's paid someone else to level up. The 'sad divorced dad' vibe of that is off the charts.
What's more, he's evidently incredibly unhappy - hence his anger. With all the advantages he has, he's unhappy. That makes him a 'loser'.
My holiday has started with the automatic door on this ScotRail service knocking a coffee out of my hand and all over my clothes.
About to spend 4 days cycling in torrential rain - typical west coast behaviour. Plan is to get the 80k done by lunch and spend the afternoons/evenings getting drunk.
You should head south west where there is no rain, typical east coast twat slagging off the west coast.
Give over. The western side of the isles gets more rain than the east - that’s just geography. I joke about it always raining in Manchester- I grew up near it so know all about the rain.
Slagging off, honestly. You’re about as touchy as a Musk supporter…
Donald Trump is expected to travel to Britain in September, visiting Windsor Castle to spend time with the Royal family.
The UK is preparing to host the US president and first lady for a high-profile visit at the end of summer, as the Government seeks to reaffirm transatlantic ties in the wake of his trade war.
Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Trump are understood to have discussed the visit during a telephone call, with a plan close to being formally agreed.
The venue is set to be Windsor Castle, rather than Balmoral or Dumfries House as previously thought
It sounds like helicopter transfers straight inside the grounds (not done inside the walls themselves).
That way Mr Chump gets to think he's ultra important, and we the great unwashed (see "We The People") get to portray him as Charlie Chaplin's Great Leader in his bunker, and the Govt get to apply a quantity of fudge.
My holiday has started with the automatic door on this ScotRail service knocking a coffee out of my hand and all over my clothes.
About to spend 4 days cycling in torrential rain - typical west coast behaviour. Plan is to get the 80k done by lunch and spend the afternoons/evenings getting drunk.
You should head south west where there is no rain, typical east coast twat slagging off the west coast.
Give over. The western side of the isles gets more rain than the east - that’s just geography. I joke about it always raining in Manchester- I grew up near it so know all about the rain.
Slagging off, honestly. You’re about as touchy as a Musk supporter…
Only after it hits the hills. That's why some of the islands like Tiree can have the best weather anywhere in the UK. Malcolm is right about his patch - hence all the golf courses and airfields, similar to Moray.
A comment I've just seen in another place, about Musk:
"imagine being such a loser that you can't even build a harem right, like you're supposed to sleep with them all not pay doctors to impregnate them you dork"
Trouble is this just doesn't wash: he's not a loser. He's a successful multi-billionairre and entrepreneur and has a huge brood of children, with lots of women.
None of the rest of us have that.
That doesn't mean we should look up to him or admire him, still less try and emulate him - he's clearly a dick - but he's not a "loser".
It does wash, if you think that being a muti-billionaiire and entrapaneur with a huge brood of children is what most of us want and is a sign of 'winning'.
it isn't. It's also evidently not what he wants, given he's an absent dad to most of those kids, and is resorting to live-streaming games that he's paid someone else to level up. The 'sad divorced dad' vibe of that is off the charts.
What's more, he's evidently incredibly unhappy - hence his anger. With all the advantages he has, he's unhappy. That makes him a 'loser'.
If winning the prize makes you that unhappy, was the prize worth winning anyway?
(I suspect that's the dead end that some people and countries get stuck in. If money becomes the end in itself, rather than a means to procure happiness, you start playing a game where you can never totally succeed.)
A comment I've just seen in another place, about Musk:
"imagine being such a loser that you can't even build a harem right, like you're supposed to sleep with them all not pay doctors to impregnate them you dork"
Trouble is this just doesn't wash: he's not a loser. He's a successful multi-billionairre and entrepreneur and has a huge brood of children, with lots of women.
None of the rest of us have that.
That doesn't mean we should look up to him or admire him, still less try and emulate him - he's clearly a dick - but he's not a "loser".
He is a Fcukwitted loser, no matter how you look at it , just because he has money does not alter that fact. Any dick can donate sperm. If you want to be like him then you have had too much vegan venison.
My holiday has started with the automatic door on this ScotRail service knocking a coffee out of my hand and all over my clothes.
About to spend 4 days cycling in torrential rain - typical west coast behaviour. Plan is to get the 80k done by lunch and spend the afternoons/evenings getting drunk.
You should head south west where there is no rain, typical east coast twat slagging off the west coast.
Give over. The western side of the isles gets more rain than the east - that’s just geography. I joke about it always raining in Manchester- I grew up near it so know all about the rain.
Slagging off, honestly. You’re about as touchy as a Musk supporter…
Only after it hits the hills. That's why some of the islands like Tiree can have the best weather anywhere in the UK. Malcolm is right about his patch - hence all the golf courses and airfields, similar to Moray.
Glad you agree and take it the way it was meant, Rochdale does not understand Scottish humour. Come to Ayrshire we even have palm trees at Culzean due to the gulf stream. Is it any wonder Trump has the jewel in his crown in Ayrshire.
All good things come to an end, and sadly this week we waved goodbye to the Mark Steyn cruise, which wrapped up its tour of Spain and Portugal on Sunday.
Lucky guests on the luxurious liner - known as the Celebrity Apex - enjoyed some fantastic perks courtesy of the Canadian author, who left GB News in 2023 after his knuckles were rapped by Ofcom for promoting dodgy COVID vaccine scepticism.
As well as having direct ocean access to his views on the invasion of Iraq (pro) and Muslim immigration (anti), guests are also treated to tapings of The Mark Steyn Show and live versions of Mark Steyn Club features, including Sunday Poem, Tales for Our Time and Steyn's Song of the Week. All this for the bargain basement price of $3,500 a cabin – and upwards.
Guests also enjoyed some VIP speakers who came along for the ride (and the paycheck). Those guests included Lawrence "Lozza" Fox, former Miss GB Leilani Dowding, Dan Wootton, Naomi Wolf, Allison Pearson and Calvin Robinson.
Some of the finest brains from both sides of the Atlantic, while stuck on a vessel you cannot leave without descending to your own watery grave?
Sign us up!
@Taz, Popbitch is paywalled since around February this year. Is there a way of getting around it?
Comments
Quite right too.
Kemi Badenoch’s leadership struggles 🚫 (in 90 seconds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqvlC52WcH4
(I hope the Canadians have developed a secret plan just in case the US goes full Pol Pot. Could have a refugee crisis. )
None of the rest of us have that.
That doesn't mean we should look up to him or admire him, still less try and emulate him - he's clearly a dick - but he's not a "loser".
I can never hear Campbell without thinking of an uncountable number of lies, dodgy dossiers and David Kelly's body rotting in an Oxfordshire ditch.
I was all ready to go with my ninth run - for just a town council election, my principal council days being behind me now - but find myself re-elected in an uncontested election.
And people pay to go and watch these people pontificating on stage for a couple of hours.
NEW THREAD
it isn't. It's also evidently not what he wants, given he's an absent dad to most of those kids, and is resorting to live-streaming games that he's paid someone else to level up. The 'sad divorced dad' vibe of that is off the charts.
What's more, he's evidently incredibly unhappy - hence his anger. With all the advantages he has, he's unhappy. That makes him a 'loser'.
Slagging off, honestly. You’re about as touchy as a Musk supporter…
That way Mr Chump gets to think he's ultra important, and we the great unwashed (see "We The People") get to portray him as Charlie Chaplin's Great Leader in his bunker, and the Govt get to apply a quantity of fudge.
(I suspect that's the dead end that some people and countries get stuck in. If money becomes the end in itself, rather than a means to procure happiness, you start playing a game where you can never totally succeed.)
Any dick can donate sperm.
If you want to be like him then you have had too much vegan venison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqvlC52WcH4&t=18s
Come to Ayrshire we even have palm trees at Culzean due to the gulf stream. Is it any wonder Trump has the jewel in his crown in Ayrshire.
From the "small things" department, I can report that ChatGPT has discovered the existence of black shorts, on being told about them.
Not quite there yet - real action men have a rank, and eagle eyes are required.