It's finally ended - apart from the voting. I liked the one with the muscular young man who was topless with mud smeared on him. I can't remember the song though.
"Way back in 2016 when journalists/pundits/blue-checks (2016 version) were going crazy with "How did Trump possibly win" and offering up all sorts of crazy atavistic explanations, a few of us who had actually talked to voters before this, and so were not surprised, said, "Well, a whole lot of the country thinks the system is corrupt and you elites now screaming are who they think are the most corrupted," and they thought about that for a moment and said, "Naaaaaaah, American voters are dirty racist idiots and we don't need to change a bit,"
"And then they go and pull off the whole Biden isn't senile thing—which is more and more looking like they covered for a deeply detached and mentally incompetent president while a cadre of unelected bureaucrats could run stuff the way they wanted to run stuff and then they kept trying to do this telling whoever pointed it out that Biden sure looked out of it that no, don't believe your eyes, no you instead were lying misinformation spreaders who needed more education and were fascists as well, which because Biden was now so clearly a zombie that no amount of their usual big word lying could hide they got caught, and the result is the very person they hate the most, Trump, got elected again.
It really boggles the mind that a group could be lacking this much self awareness, this incompetent, and keep on stepping on rakes they way they do, all without suffering any consequences or moral reflection"
I think it's fair to say that the Dems had the worst of all possible worlds in 2016; a poor, or at least dreadfully advised, candidate and a poor campaign. They had a better campaign in 2020 but really should have had a younger candidate; surely somewhere there was a Governor or other prominent Dem who could have run?
Had Biden been Democratic nominee in 2016, as by rights historically he should have been as incumbent VP, he probably would have beaten Trump narrowly.
However the Democratic establishment insisted it had to be Hillary and she was the ideal candidate for Trump to beat and so Biden had to be called out of retirement to run in 2020 when he should have been running for his second term not his first, in which case win or lose he would not have been running last year when he was too old anyway
If Biden (or Hillary) had won in 2016, then Trump would have done the same thing he did in 2020. He would have claimed that the election was stolen.
Biden would have faced a hostile Senate and Congress, and would be unable to to anything. This would have caused increased disillusionment among Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans would get angrier and angier after 12 years of rule by Democratic Presidents.
In 2020, Covid would happen, and Congressional Republicans would do their best to crash the economy so that Biden lost the upcoming election. Republicans would be even angrier if a Democratic President tried to impose Covid restrictions, and there would be mass civil unrest by Republicans protesting against these restrictions.
Trump would have kept his second candidacy viable by continuing to claim that the 2016 election had been rigged against him. In an atmosphere of intense Republican anger, he would have won the 2020 nomination and then because of the crashing Covid economy, he would have won the 2020 election in a landslide.
He would have been a lot better than Biden at claiming credit for the post-Covid recovery, and wouldn't have lost control of the border, and would have easily won re-election in 2024.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
So, the big question now ahead of the voting. Which Swedish city will be hosting next year?
That song was dire . Hard to believe it’s the favourite.
It was pure Eurovision, silly, catchy, fun. Well staged. Most of the songs were pure bollocks but this isn’t about the general music industry as the relation between the success of the UK music industry v the performance of the UK in Eurovision shows.
Incidentally Sweden is probably the outlier in having a hugely disproportionately successful music industry and Eurovision success.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Recorded abortions anyway.
And one possible explanation might be an increase in birth control.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
I'll be deciding where the wind is blowing in 2028 and betting accordingly. If that's towards Reform then I'll be betting on them.
But at the moment it's just too early to say. I don't underestimate Starmer simply because the people here saying he's done were the same people saying he was done in 2021 and laughing at me.
So I'll stick with my guns for now.
Who are these people?
I was basically the only person here at the peak of Johnson predicting he'd not last and Labour would win. I'm not sure if you were one of the people laughing but there were certainly a large number calling my predictions ridiculous.
Of course I also predicted a Corbyn win in 2019 so you can't win them all.
A stopped clock is right twice a day. If you just always say the party you vote for is going to win, and repeat it constantly, that doesn’t show any insight, it’s just noise
I've learned from the best.
Passive aggressive nonsense again
You obviously mean me, but I don’t always say the party I am voting for is going to win, so you’re passively aggressively bang wrong. And I understand betting.
Sam I was one of the people here most trying to get you to be unbanned as I thought it unfair. Be careful where you're throwing that fire.
I understand betting just as much as you.
I very much doubt both of those statements!
I haven't been banned for about three years anyway, what are you talking about?
Horse was very keen for your return be that you were on an enforced holiday or a voluntary one. Obviously there were a fair number of your more obvious supporters demanding your return too. Fair play to them all.
You asked earlier who were the Starmer nay sayers way back before the Hartlepool by election. There was a common theme on here then poking fun at Starmer's perceived incompetence. He was called Brittas, Captain Hindsight, Mr Indecisive, Sir Fence Sitter. They then moved on to Kid Starver, Granny Starver, Two Tier Keir, Free Gear Kier.and now flip flop.
I am not here to defend Starmer. I think he is a poor politician. However it does seem odd that Farage doesn't get the same vitriol thrown at him in opposition that Starmer did, despite being a complete barsteward.
I don't disagree. Since the election it has been a one way barrage against Starmer and co. I don't think it's been that fair to be honest, but I suspect that is the sign of the times.
I am not a labour supporter btw, but it has been very obvious.
Are you seriously trying to claim the press (or PB) are unfair on Starmer, because they were nicer to the Tories? Really???
Starmer gets intense grief because he has made unforced error after unforced error, starting from day 1 (the free lingerie and designer spectacles), and he is - it turns out - politically inept, wooden on TV, very poor at speaking, devoid of ideas, devoid of charisma, and fantastically bad at making deals
Take just one recent example. He went to Albania expecting to announce a new Rwanda-lite deal with Albania, where they would take boat people. But he was humiliated on live TV when the Albanian PM said, Nope, that's not happening, with Starmer standing by his side, blushing furiously
How does a UK PM get into these pickles? It is basic and shocking political incompetence, an inability to "do" politics, and Starmer makes these errors all the time. He deserves all the criticism he gets. Soz
I don't think Starmer ever expected to be PM when he went into politics. And, if it hadn't been for the bog Corbyn made, or was said by the twitterati to have made, of things sometimes, Starmer might have ended up as a competent Attorney General or Roy Jenkins-like Home Secretary. IMHO, for what little it is worth, I think Ed Miliband should have stayed in post after 2015. He might well have defeated May in 2017.
Burnham maybe, Ed Miliband no
You may be right about Burnham but I really don't see him now coming back to Parliament unless it's to the HoL. Same with Sadiq Khan. It's only in the recent past, though, that defeated leaders have abandoned the job after a GE. Heath didn't, nor Wilson, nor most other leaders going back though Attlee, Churchill to pre-war.
I could see Burnham coming back in a Greater Manchester seat, I can't see Starmer lasting more than 1 more term as PM and Labour leader
Burnham would most likely have to run as an independent. (Similarly Boris)
He then rejoining the party and sweeping to leadership seems a long shot. Quite why the PLP might then choose to let him sweep all before him escapes me.
Why? He was Labour members top choice in the last Labour poll to succeed Starmer and unlike the Tories once nominated Labour members pick from all candidates not just the final 2.
Boris would also be Tory members top choice, a Boris v Burnham GE would probably the only way to really push back Reform
Reform would eat the Tories for breakfast if Johnson was leader.
What killed the Tories and is killing Labour today? Immigration! What individual politician is blamed by racists and non- racists alike for teeing up mass immigration from the Indian subcontinent?
MiC had Reform still on 23% v a Boris led Tories but the Conservatives reached 26% under Boris with Labour on 22% as Boris reaches centrist swing voters that Farage can't
Bring boris back I say if you are so convinced, it will drive your vote into greens territory if you promote him as pm
Given you didn't even vote for Boris when he won his landslide in 2019 why is your opinion on his electability relevant?
Then go ahead and do it I dare you to.....it will amuse me to see the tory party come 5th in a general election
SAS: Rogue Heroes is a fuck of a lot better than Eurovision
Jack O'Connell (who plays Paddy Maine) is 5ft 8. If Barbara Broccoli was still in charge of Bond he would be automatically disqualified because IIRC she only went for 6ft+ . Now that Amazon are in charge he might be chosen, tho I doubt it. A pity because he'd be my pick out of current British actors.
It's finally ended - apart from the voting. I liked the one with the muscular young man who was topless with mud smeared on him. I can't remember the song though.
"Way back in 2016 when journalists/pundits/blue-checks (2016 version) were going crazy with "How did Trump possibly win" and offering up all sorts of crazy atavistic explanations, a few of us who had actually talked to voters before this, and so were not surprised, said, "Well, a whole lot of the country thinks the system is corrupt and you elites now screaming are who they think are the most corrupted," and they thought about that for a moment and said, "Naaaaaaah, American voters are dirty racist idiots and we don't need to change a bit,"
"And then they go and pull off the whole Biden isn't senile thing—which is more and more looking like they covered for a deeply detached and mentally incompetent president while a cadre of unelected bureaucrats could run stuff the way they wanted to run stuff and then they kept trying to do this telling whoever pointed it out that Biden sure looked out of it that no, don't believe your eyes, no you instead were lying misinformation spreaders who needed more education and were fascists as well, which because Biden was now so clearly a zombie that no amount of their usual big word lying could hide they got caught, and the result is the very person they hate the most, Trump, got elected again.
It really boggles the mind that a group could be lacking this much self awareness, this incompetent, and keep on stepping on rakes they way they do, all without suffering any consequences or moral reflection"
Even that Guardian article, admitting that Biden WAS gaga and that the Dems obviously lied about all this, tries to Whatabout the subject by referring to Trump's mad statements and many gaffes
Yes, Donald Trump does say stupid shit. But this story is not about Trump. It is about how the Democrats conspired to hide, from the entirety of the USA, the fact that a sitting US president was incapable of doing the job. Worse, they then tried to get him re-elected, with this hidden knowledge
You can't "whatabout" that. You have to confront it, honestly
There must be a case for criminal prosecutions
On the flip side donald is obviously not compis mentis and hasnt been for several years why is that not a a case for criminal prosecutions....the man is mazy
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Non-sequitar of the day.
I had to look that up not having a degree in philosophy! Abortion is lower in Hungary when adjusted by population size compared with the U.K.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Non-sequitar of the day.
I had to look that up not having a degree in philosophy! Abortion is lower in Hungary when adjusted by population size compared with the U.K.
Abortion laws are stricter as well in hungary only allowing a 12 week cut off instead of 24 for example so you are comparing apples with kookaburras
Britain now second-largest foreign holder of US treasuries as China reduces holdings.
Holding the baby?
What happened to Japan, which was top?
Japan still no 1.
Not so much holding the baby, I think. Only a small amount of the US Govt debt held in the UK is by our Govt - perhaps 15-20% of "our" total.
The changes are fairly small. We only get data a couple of months behind, and changes over 6-12 months for both UK and China are single digit percentages.
Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Giving their accounts publicly for the first time, the veterans described seeing members of the SAS murder unarmed people in their sleep and execute handcuffed detainees, including children.
"They handcuffed a young boy and shot him," recalled one veteran who served with the SAS in Afghanistan. "He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age."
Killing of detainees "became routine", the veteran said. "They'd search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them", before cutting off the plastic handcuffs used to restrain people and "planting a pistol" by the body, he said.
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Non-sequitar of the day.
I had to look that up not having a degree in philosophy! Abortion is lower in Hungary when adjusted by population size compared with the U.K.
1. You claim that liberal democracies have had to import people (immigrants) because of liberal abortion laws. 2. I point out that fertility rates have collapsed everywhere, irrespective of the legal status of abortion. 3. You point out that Hungary has enacted pro-natal policies. 4. I point out that Hungary's fertility rate - despite extremely expensive pro-natal policies - is still shit. 5. You point out that Hungary's abortion rate is relatively low. 6. I point out that that is a non-sequitar.
I don't think this is too complicated. But then again, I do have a philosophy degree.
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
I only realised this year why I have come to despise Eurovision, rather than merely ignore it
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
I only realised this year why I have come to despise Eurovision, rather than merely ignore it
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
I think it was way less this year than the last few. The worm is turning against the TQ+ part of that movement now. That Austrian song might be the last hurrah for it for a while.
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Non-sequitar of the day.
I had to look that up not having a degree in philosophy! Abortion is lower in Hungary when adjusted by population size compared with the U.K.
1. You claim that liberal democracies have had to import people (immigrants) because of liberal abortion laws. 2. I point out that fertility rates have collapsed everywhere, irrespective of the legal status of abortion. 3. You point out that Hungary has enacted pro-natal policies. 4. I point out that Hungary's fertility rate - despite extremely expensive pro-natal policies - is still shit. 5. You point out that Hungary's abortion rate is relatively low. 6. I point out that that is a non-sequitar.
I don't think this is too complicated. But then again, I do have a philosophy degree.
Fertility rates haven't collapsed in Africa and abortion is mostly illegal there
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
I only realised this year why I have come to despise Eurovision, rather than merely ignore it
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
You live in Camden though which must be one of the most Eurovision loving areas of the UK.
Basically Eurovision interest is inversely correlated with Reform voteshare in your area
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
I only realised this year why I have come to despise Eurovision, rather than merely ignore it
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
I think it was way less this year than the last few. The worm is turning against the TQ+ part of that movement now. That Austrian song might be the last hurrah for it for a while.
It is repulsive and stupid and anyone that watches it is a cretin. Apart from that, Go Eurovision
I'll be deciding where the wind is blowing in 2028 and betting accordingly. If that's towards Reform then I'll be betting on them.
But at the moment it's just too early to say. I don't underestimate Starmer simply because the people here saying he's done were the same people saying he was done in 2021 and laughing at me.
So I'll stick with my guns for now.
Who are these people?
I was basically the only person here at the peak of Johnson predicting he'd not last and Labour would win. I'm not sure if you were one of the people laughing but there were certainly a large number calling my predictions ridiculous.
Of course I also predicted a Corbyn win in 2019 so you can't win them all.
A stopped clock is right twice a day. If you just always say the party you vote for is going to win, and repeat it constantly, that doesn’t show any insight, it’s just noise
I've learned from the best.
Passive aggressive nonsense again
You obviously mean me, but I don’t always say the party I am voting for is going to win, so you’re passively aggressively bang wrong. And I understand betting.
Sam I was one of the people here most trying to get you to be unbanned as I thought it unfair. Be careful where you're throwing that fire.
I understand betting just as much as you.
I very much doubt both of those statements!
I haven't been banned for about three years anyway, what are you talking about?
Horse was very keen for your return be that you were on an enforced holiday or a voluntary one. Obviously there were a fair number of your more obvious supporters demanding your return too. Fair play to them all.
You asked earlier who were the Starmer nay sayers way back before the Hartlepool by election. There was a common theme on here then poking fun at Starmer's perceived incompetence. He was called Brittas, Captain Hindsight, Mr Indecisive, Sir Fence Sitter. They then moved on to Kid Starver, Granny Starver, Two Tier Keir, Free Gear Kier.and now flip flop.
I am not here to defend Starmer. I think he is a poor politician. However it does seem odd that Farage doesn't get the same vitriol thrown at him in opposition that Starmer did, despite being a complete barsteward.
I don't disagree. Since the election it has been a one way barrage against Starmer and co. I don't think it's been that fair to be honest, but I suspect that is the sign of the times.
I am not a labour supporter btw, but it has been very obvious.
Are you seriously trying to claim the press (or PB) are unfair on Starmer, because they were nicer to the Tories? Really???
Starmer gets intense grief because he has made unforced error after unforced error, starting from day 1 (the free lingerie and designer spectacles), and he is - it turns out - politically inept, wooden on TV, very poor at speaking, devoid of ideas, devoid of charisma, and fantastically bad at making deals
Take just one recent example. He went to Albania expecting to announce a new Rwanda-lite deal with Albania, where they would take boat people. But he was humiliated on live TV when the Albanian PM said, Nope, that's not happening, with Starmer standing by his side, blushing furiously
How does a UK PM get into these pickles? It is basic and shocking political incompetence, an inability to "do" politics, and Starmer makes these errors all the time. He deserves all the criticism he gets. Soz
I don't think Starmer ever expected to be PM when he went into politics. And, if it hadn't been for the bog Corbyn made, or was said by the twitterati to have made, of things sometimes, Starmer might have ended up as a competent Attorney General or Roy Jenkins-like Home Secretary. IMHO, for what little it is worth, I think Ed Miliband should have stayed in post after 2015. He might well have defeated May in 2017.
Burnham maybe, Ed Miliband no
You may be right about Burnham but I really don't see him now coming back to Parliament unless it's to the HoL. Same with Sadiq Khan. It's only in the recent past, though, that defeated leaders have abandoned the job after a GE. Heath didn't, nor Wilson, nor most other leaders going back though Attlee, Churchill to pre-war.
I could see Burnham coming back in a Greater Manchester seat, I can't see Starmer lasting more than 1 more term as PM and Labour leader
Burnham would most likely have to run as an independent. (Similarly Boris)
He then rejoining the party and sweeping to leadership seems a long shot. Quite why the PLP might then choose to let him sweep all before him escapes me.
Why? He was Labour members top choice in the last Labour poll to succeed Starmer and unlike the Tories once nominated Labour members pick from all candidates not just the final 2.
Boris would also be Tory members top choice, a Boris v Burnham GE would probably the only way to really push back Reform
Reform would eat the Tories for breakfast if Johnson was leader.
What killed the Tories and is killing Labour today? Immigration! What individual politician is blamed by racists and non- racists alike for teeing up mass immigration from the Indian subcontinent?
MiC had Reform still on 23% v a Boris led Tories but the Conservatives reached 26% under Boris with Labour on 22% as Boris reaches centrist swing voters that Farage can't
Bring boris back I say if you are so convinced, it will drive your vote into greens territory if you promote him as pm
Given you didn't even vote for Boris when he won his landslide in 2019 why is your opinion on his electability relevant?
Then go ahead and do it I dare you to.....it will amuse me to see the tory party come 5th in a general election
Given Boris is the only Tory polled who leads Reform and Labour they are more at risk of that not making him leader again
I'm so clever that only I understand how clever I am
Inter alia, this explains the last twenty years of conversation on PB
I'm not even joking. I asked the cleverest person I know (me) how clever I am, and that person confirmed it
I can speak the following languages.
English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi, and American.
That is the sign of true intelligence.
And yet, you live in..... Sheffield
Yeah, I could be one of those sad Londoners who live in a million pound shoe box or I can live in a very nice house.
Tough choice.
There are many markers of high intelligence. "Living in Sheffield" is, I fear, not one of them
There is a story of Queen Victoria on the royal train heading north to Balmoral. Apparently she loved all the varying views. However as the train pulled into Sheffield she would ask her equerry to close the curtains, and not open them until the regal train had entirely exited Sheffield
It depends where you live. Dore & Totley is staggeringly opulent.
Yes on Dore & Totley; it's where the nobs and the Cleggs live.
I don't want to be too rude about that house, but it's cookie cutters 2010s footballer in a leafy bit of Cheshire with Peak District wallpaper - no character.
Leon's just wibbling from his own lack of experience !
I've been to Sheffield several times. It's a shithole. Most northern English post industrial citiies are, I am afraid. Grotty, ugly, declining (again), riven with new racial divides, vape shops, despair. Indeed the decline and grot is spreading south (and the south has shit-holes of its own). And the weather sucks
I really really really wish this wasn't true, but it is. Hopefully down the line a new government can at least improve the economic sitch, and the architectural nightmare, even if they can't improve the weather
@Cookie gives us hopeful posts from Manc, so we shall see
There are a few acceptable places to live in the UK. Central and central ish London. The nicer suburbs of London. Posh cathedral cities (but not all of them). Cornwall and Devon in general, the nicest parts of the Home Counties and Welsh Marches, wilder bits of Scotland if you can cope with the winters and the midges. Er, Southwold?
I hesitate to say you need to get out more, but perhaps get out different. You have missed out the whole of: Lincolnshire (have you never been to Stamford?), Cumberland and Westmorland, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Norfolk and almost all of Suffolk, Sussex, Northumberland, the entire of the Scottish side of the borders, Wiltshire and Doset, Northamptonshire. And Yorkshire.
Apart from that you are on the right lines.
I did say I was being provocative
However, you also forget I have travelled the entire world, pretty much. So I can compare multiple places in a way 99% of PBers cannot. Half of you barely go over the Channel
Britain, as a place to live, is falling behind quite badly, in terms of quality of life, beauty of surroundings, urban architecture
I'm a patriot. I wish this wasn't true. But it is
The UK has always been a crap place to live if you like nice weather. However we made up for that with quite handsome cities, free speech, a high trust society, social homogeneity, low crime, political stability, notably high incomes, lush green countryside, and clean bracing coastlines etc
One by one we have lost and are losing all of these, which makes the UK, steadily, much less attractive
I've noticed the scuzziness of my town worsening over the last 5-10 years.
Lots of Turkish/Albanian barbers all over the place, lots of carers from overseas (usually sub-saharan Africa), some people with serious addiction and mental problems walking round, and a noticeable number of hijabs, which were once non-existent. And, in general, young men (in particular) in their twenties being noticeably fatter with bad beards and really shit tattoos.
This is a market town in rural Hampshire.
Liberal society chose abortion over adoption. The 12m immigrants since 1997 more than replacing the 10.7m aborted since 1967.
Birth rates have collapsed even in countries where abortion is illegal. I guess you could make contraception illegal, or perhaps make it so a woman is not allowed to resist a man, but I'm not 100% sure those policies would be popular.
Wages went down and rents went up. Hungary is giving a lifetime 25% tax cut to women who have children. Abortions are down 50% and divorce rates are lower. Liberal societies are declining while conservative societies prosper.
Hungary spends 5% of GDP on measures to try and get its birthrate up.
Its TFR is ... 1.52
It's an utter failure.
2010 to 2023 abortion in Hungary fell from 40,449 to 21,136. Source abort-report.eu via grok.
Non-sequitar of the day.
I had to look that up not having a degree in philosophy! Abortion is lower in Hungary when adjusted by population size compared with the U.K.
1. You claim that liberal democracies have had to import people (immigrants) because of liberal abortion laws. 2. I point out that fertility rates have collapsed everywhere, irrespective of the legal status of abortion. 3. You point out that Hungary has enacted pro-natal policies. 4. I point out that Hungary's fertility rate - despite extremely expensive pro-natal policies - is still shit. 5. You point out that Hungary's abortion rate is relatively low. 6. I point out that that is a non-sequitar.
I don't think this is too complicated. But then again, I do have a philosophy degree.
Fertility rates haven't collapsed in Africa and abortion is mostly illegal there
Fertility rates have collapsed in Africa. In fact the biggest declines in fertility in the last 20 years are all in Africa.
I will admit, that fertility rates are higher in Africa than elsewhere, but that is because they started at a higher level.
Also: if you think fertility rates are higher in Africa because of a lack of access to abortion, then I have a bridge to sell you.
"Way back in 2016 when journalists/pundits/blue-checks (2016 version) were going crazy with "How did Trump possibly win" and offering up all sorts of crazy atavistic explanations, a few of us who had actually talked to voters before this, and so were not surprised, said, "Well, a whole lot of the country thinks the system is corrupt and you elites now screaming are who they think are the most corrupted," and they thought about that for a moment and said, "Naaaaaaah, American voters are dirty racist idiots and we don't need to change a bit,"
"And then they go and pull off the whole Biden isn't senile thing—which is more and more looking like they covered for a deeply detached and mentally incompetent president while a cadre of unelected bureaucrats could run stuff the way they wanted to run stuff and then they kept trying to do this telling whoever pointed it out that Biden sure looked out of it that no, don't believe your eyes, no you instead were lying misinformation spreaders who needed more education and were fascists as well, which because Biden was now so clearly a zombie that no amount of their usual big word lying could hide they got caught, and the result is the very person they hate the most, Trump, got elected again.
It really boggles the mind that a group could be lacking this much self awareness, this incompetent, and keep on stepping on rakes they way they do, all without suffering any consequences or moral reflection"
I think it's fair to say that the Dems had the worst of all possible worlds in 2016; a poor, or at least dreadfully advised, candidate and a poor campaign. They had a better campaign in 2020 but really should have had a younger candidate; surely somewhere there was a Governor or other prominent Dem who could have run?
Had Biden been Democratic nominee in 2016, as by rights historically he should have been as incumbent VP, he probably would have beaten Trump narrowly.
However the Democratic establishment insisted it had to be Hillary and she was the ideal candidate for Trump to beat and so Biden had to be called out of retirement to run in 2020 when he should have been running for his second term not his first, in which case win or lose he would not have been running last year when he was too old anyway
If Biden (or Hillary) had won in 2016, then Trump would have done the same thing he did in 2020. He would have claimed that the election was stolen.
Biden would have faced a hostile Senate and Congress, and would be unable to to anything. This would have caused increased disillusionment among Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans would get angrier and angier after 12 years of rule by Democratic Presidents.
In 2020, Covid would happen, and Congressional Republicans would do their best to crash the economy so that Biden lost the upcoming election. Republicans would be even angrier if a Democratic President tried to impose Covid restrictions, and there would be mass civil unrest by Republicans protesting against these restrictions.
Trump would have kept his second candidacy viable by continuing to claim that the 2016 election had been rigged against him. In an atmosphere of intense Republican anger, he would have won the 2020 nomination and then because of the crashing Covid economy, he would have won the 2020 election in a landslide.
He would have been a lot better than Biden at claiming credit for the post-Covid recovery, and wouldn't have lost control of the border, and would have easily won re-election in 2024.
Had Trump lost in 2016 the GOP may well have picked Cruz or Rubio in 2020 instead
I wonder which year was the last year that Eurovision didn't make a conscious effort to appear camp.
Yes. It’s the laboured contrived industrialised campness which makes Eurovision so disgusting and unwatchable. It’s not funny or transgressive any more - it’s a product being forced on you
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
The only people I know interested in Eurovision are friends of mine who are gay and commenters on PB.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
I only realised this year why I have come to despise Eurovision, rather than merely ignore it
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
You try so so hard to be hip to the kids... but you really are just a reactionary old fart.
Comments
Austria
Latvia
Greece
Poland
Denmark
And I knew you'd bite!
1 Sweden
2 France
3 San Marino
I might be wrong. DYOR 😈
Which proves that there is nothing new under the sun, in Eurovision
Waterloo at 35:30.
The conductor is a salad, dressed up as Napoleon, Sven-Olaff Walldoff.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p007x8b2/eurovision-song-contest-grand-final-1974
Britain now second-largest foreign holder of US treasuries as China reduces holdings.
Biden would have faced a hostile Senate and Congress, and would be unable to to anything. This would have caused increased disillusionment among Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans would get angrier and angier after 12 years of rule by Democratic Presidents.
In 2020, Covid would happen, and Congressional Republicans would do their best to crash the economy so that Biden lost the upcoming election. Republicans would be even angrier if a Democratic President tried to impose Covid restrictions, and there would be mass civil unrest by Republicans protesting against these restrictions.
Trump would have kept his second candidacy viable by continuing to claim that the 2016 election had been rigged against him. In an atmosphere of intense Republican anger, he would have won the 2020 nomination and then because of the crashing Covid economy, he would have won the 2020 election in a landslide.
He would have been a lot better than Biden at claiming credit for the post-Covid recovery, and wouldn't have lost control of the border, and would have easily won re-election in 2024.
Incidentally Sweden is probably the outlier in having a hugely disproportionately successful music industry and Eurovision success.
Finland
Malta
Not a forecast so much as a hope
Also A Monster Like Me , from Norway , superb probably too good for Eurovision .
A genuinely world class song
Cantaray-oh-oh-oh-ohhh
https://x.com/argyletweet/status/1923780023384760614?s=61
The Exit Poll is a lot quicker!
Finland
Germany
Sweden
Denmark
Spain
The German song is a proper 90s club banger, the studio version is really good.
What happened to Japan, which was top?
Pop song did not suit.
Not so much holding the baby, I think. Only a small amount of the US Govt debt held in the UK is by our Govt - perhaps 15-20% of "our" total.
The changes are fairly small. We only get data a couple of months behind, and changes over 6-12 months for both UK and China are single digit percentages.
https://ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/slt_table5.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3j5gxgz0do
Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Giving their accounts publicly for the first time, the veterans described seeing members of the SAS murder unarmed people in their sleep and execute handcuffed detainees, including children.
"They handcuffed a young boy and shot him," recalled one veteran who served with the SAS in Afghanistan. "He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age."
Killing of detainees "became routine", the veteran said. "They'd search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them", before cutting off the plastic handcuffs used to restrain people and "planting a pistol" by the body, he said.
Eurovision is to camp what McDonalds is to a really good burger. It’s about as transgressive as Disney - but far less skilful
It only appeals to morons who don’t get this, at this point
We won't be bottom.
I think it's got its target market nailed on.
Switzerland in the lead now
Irish give us only 2
I don't think Austria will do so well there.
2. I point out that fertility rates have collapsed everywhere, irrespective of the legal status of abortion.
3. You point out that Hungary has enacted pro-natal policies.
4. I point out that Hungary's fertility rate - despite extremely expensive pro-natal policies - is still shit.
5. You point out that Hungary's abortion rate is relatively low.
6. I point out that that is a non-sequitar.
I don't think this is too complicated. But then again, I do have a philosophy degree.
https://x.com/hush_kit/status/1923830375379276142?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Swiss 127
I used to vaguely watch it, a long time ago
But the pre-packaged, utterly fake, industrially pasteurised "campness" is now rebarbative, and speaks to a sickness. Fuck it to high heaven, and beyond
Basically Eurovision interest is inversely correlated with Reform voteshare in your area
I will admit, that fertility rates are higher in Africa than elsewhere, but that is because they started at a higher level.
Also: if you think fertility rates are higher in Africa because of a lack of access to abortion, then I have a bridge to sell you.