Be interesting to know how that will actually work in practice.
Reform can't even get rid of pride flags from council buildings and we are to believe they will bring on huge immigration reform? Not gonna happen
I have accepted real change in the UK will not happen via the ballot box without some sort of revolution. The blob is too big
They couldn't get rid of Pride flags because they didn't actually win a majority on the council concerned.
A party failing at the ballot box and switching to revolution instead... is not a path I think we want for the country.
We don't WANT it. But if the people keep voting for lower immigration and all they ever get is more mass immigration then the people will look towards other means to change policy. Look at what is happening in Epping and the summer riots last year, this far they relatively minor compared to an all out revolution but if what happened with the Afghan super injunction keeps happening and nothing changes with the small boats then people WILL be pushed into taking extreme action
We don't want it but for how long can we avoid it?
Parties pushing hard on much lower immigration lost the 2024 general election. You talked above about "far right conspiracies about vaccines". What's behind what is happening in Epping is more far right conspiracies. So, let's not give in to political violence and maybe do something about social media spreading lies?
What far right conspiracies in Epping. They are protesting an actual sexual assault by an asylum seeker. And also expressing a larger anger at the establishment unwilling or unable to stop the small boats, as well as the much higher sexual assault rates of these types of migrants. All of this is based on facts.
Unless something changes the anger will boil over. I don't know when the tipping point will be, maybe another Southport? Maybe another cover up this time about Syrians, maybe a vast booming bang on London. Who knows but the parties must get a grip. Or violence will become normal. Which none of us want.
Civil strife is inevitable now. See the works of David Betz, passim
There's no democratic way out. Even if REFORM win a huge majority they won't pull out of the ECHR because the EU won't agree with it without massive trade barriers that would be untenable. So we would not be able to deny or deport the vast majority of small boat people.
And even if they did they then have to have the House of Lords on side and then even change many other laws. It's a herculean task. That would take at least a decade. And very skilled politician and lawyers. And I don't think Nigel is up to the job. He runs Reform like a cult, anyone more talented than him is cut off. How then can there be a democratic solution.
And it hurts the peaceful Muslim/minorities the most because the population will drift ever further right. The liberals think they are helping but in not having robust controls are hurting the ethnic minorities that are already here! Aghhhhh!!!
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
There is such thing as war crimes. Something both Sri Lanka and Israel have committed. Both are just as bad as each other
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
There is such thing as war crimes. Something both Sri Lanka and Israel have committed. Both are just as bad as each other
Sri Lanka destroyed the Tigers and got peace.
Israel should do the same.
Hamas need to be eliminated. What's bad is you wanting to just let Hamas survive.
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
That will only work if, as in Sri Lanka, serious concessions are made to address the grievances of the oppressed populations. In Sri Lanka, a serious political process was started, the LTTE was legalised, devolution was given to the provinces under the 13th Amendment and the Sinhalese majority stopped the pogroms that caused the insurgency in the first place. This reduced Tamil support and international sympathy for the Tigers.
To defeat a terrorist insurgency, you have to address its political causes, helping moderates and isolating hardliners. Just focusing on a military solution, as Netanyahu is doing, mostly to keep his government together and himself out of jail, will simply create a successor organisation and another generation or two of violence.
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
Last October, she broke the marathon world record by nearly two minutes. In March. a masking agent was found in a sample of hers at 190 times the accepted level...
Last October, she broke the marathon world record by nearly two minutes. In March. a masking agent was found in a sample of hers at 190 times the accepted level...
We have in the recent past had a lot of focus on doping among Russians and Jamaicans. Kenyan athletes have an appalling record in doping, what they are able to do is the talent pool is very deep, so somebody fails, they disappear and another one appears.
In 2018 a World-Anti Doping Agency (Wada) report titled 'Doping In Kenya', external found 138 Kenyan athletes had tested positive for prohibited substances between 2004 and 2018, but a lowly 14% of those were caught in an out-of-competition test.
"For a very long time, Kenyans were not tested at home," says Watta.
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Right. Got it.
Clearly a factor, and also clearly not the whole thing. I don't think this is disputed particularly?
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
The current Green vote is in large part, Labour voters on holiday.
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
That will only work if, as in Sri Lanka, serious concessions are made to address the grievances of the oppressed populations. In Sri Lanka, a serious political process was started, the LTTE was legalised, devolution was given to the provinces under the 13th Amendment and the Sinhalese majority stopped the pogroms that caused the insurgency in the first place. This reduced Tamil support and international sympathy for the Tigers.
To defeat a terrorist insurgency, you have to address its political causes, helping moderates and isolating hardliners. Just focusing on a military solution, as Netanyahu is doing, mostly to keep his government together and himself out of jail, will simply create a successor organisation and another generation or two of violence.
There is little question, moreover, that widespread war crimes (murder of civilians, mass rape), were committed against Tamil civilians in the closing stages of the war.
Which is not to say that the defeat of the LTTE was not a good thing. It was.
WRT Gaza, I can readily discount what Hamas say, or the UN agencies, or Special Rapporteurs. Of course, they come out with bullshit.
But, I don't think one can so readily discount the things that Jonathan Sumption, Ehud Olmert, Daniel Levy, or the Israeli left are saying. These are not people who have an axe to grind against the West.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
The current Green vote is in large part, Labour voters on holiday.
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
I'd agree with that if Reform weren't a shitshow, with Farage falling out with everyone and spitting out ludicrous (and somewhat contradictory) policies left, right and centre. To become PM he'd need to form an effective Cabinet.
Then again, it's possible people simply get to a stage where they don't care about the details.
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
Last October, she broke the marathon world record by nearly two minutes. In March. a masking agent was found in a sample of hers at 190 times the accepted level...
We have in the recent past had a lot of focus on doping among Russians and Jamaicans. Kenyan athletes have an appalling record in doping, what they are able to do is the talent pool is very deep, so somebody fails, they disappear and another one appears.
In 2018 a World-Anti Doping Agency (Wada) report titled 'Doping In Kenya', external found 138 Kenyan athletes had tested positive for prohibited substances between 2004 and 2018, but a lowly 14% of those were caught in an out-of-competition test.
"For a very long time, Kenyans were not tested at home," says Watta.
Yes. And if found guilty her world record will continue to stand - apparently there are several current world records by athletes who were later found guilty of doping.
It should be that if you are found guilty of doping, any record you have held in the past is no longer a record. Though I expect that might lead to athletes getting a record and then immediately retiring.
There are confounding issues: athletes are generally getting faster for a number of reasons: improved training techniques; better knowledge about the effects of nutrition; and tech like carbon shoes. So an athlete smashing a previous world record does not automatically mean they are doping.
More people need to talk about Palestinians being killed whilst collecting food aid by Israel. This is surely a war crime?
Allegedly.
Everyone has a smartphone, yet there's no evidence of these supposed killings. Why is that?
If Hamas are involved, then they are legitimate targets to be killed. And collateral damage can happen.
Or Hamas can just pretend people are getting killed and it gets swallowed up whole.
Israel has destroyed their whole infrastructure and banned all pressure.
Its a war, what do you expect!?
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
You have strong view on this, based as I recall on simply having a Jewish friend. Have you thought about applying to join the IDF and bashing a keyboard for them? As a conscript army, I am sure they would welcome volunteers.
As an example, a son's friend felt as strongly as you about the Russia/Ukraine war. He volunteered to drive civilians out of the war zones and did this for a while before he was able to volunteer to join the army. (It didn't end that well). Have you thought about practicing rather than preaching and coming back with your informed view?
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
The problem is 20 bikes is probably the equivalent of 30 seats and that is a lot of potential revenue lost.
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Right. Got it.
Edmund is explaining the cultural difference between Japanese society with its strong social bond and the more adversarial basis for western cultures. I think you might be misapplying one idea for another.
If you don't already have it on your list, take a trip there. It's a really strange place for western eyes and still welcoming. Spain ... not so welcoming now.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
It may be a copy of Trump - not sure where the El Salvador reference came from, or even if Farage said El Salvador, but I've been advocating overseas gaol for the worst offenders for years.
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
The problem is 20 bikes is probably the equivalent of 30 seats and that is a lot of potential revenue lost.
Depends - on ScotRail services (and some in Europe) they use drop seats that fold down when there aren't any cyclists.
All of the long distance train journeys I've done this year have been fully booked for cyclists. It's why I'm on a £60 train rather than the £20 one RIP.
Last October, she broke the marathon world record by nearly two minutes. In March. a masking agent was found in a sample of hers at 190 times the accepted level...
We have in the recent past had a lot of focus on doping among Russians and Jamaicans. Kenyan athletes have an appalling record in doping, what they are able to do is the talent pool is very deep, so somebody fails, they disappear and another one appears.
In 2018 a World-Anti Doping Agency (Wada) report titled 'Doping In Kenya', external found 138 Kenyan athletes had tested positive for prohibited substances between 2004 and 2018, but a lowly 14% of those were caught in an out-of-competition test.
"For a very long time, Kenyans were not tested at home," says Watta.
Yes. And if found guilty her world record will continue to stand - apparently there are several current world records by athletes who were later found guilty of doping.
It should be that if you are found guilty of doping, any record you have held in the past is no longer a record. Though I expect that might lead to athletes getting a record and then immediately retiring.
There are confounding issues: athletes are generally getting faster for a number of reasons: improved training techniques; better knowledge about the effects of nutrition; and tech like carbon shoes. So an athlete smashing a previous world record does not automatically mean they are doping.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
It may be a copy of Trump - not sure where the El Salvador reference came from, or even if Farage said El Salvador, but I've been advocating overseas gaol for the worst offenders for years.
A more intelligent version of an overseas jails policy might be to pay the home country of foreign convicts to serve their sentences in those countries, and at the same time revoke their right to return. It will be expensive but cheaper than Rwanda, and comes with built-in repatriation, and will be popular with the caricature Reform voter.
Be interesting to know how that will actually work in practice.
Reform can't even get rid of pride flags from council buildings and we are to believe they will bring on huge immigration reform? Not gonna happen
I have accepted real change in the UK will not happen via the ballot box without some sort of revolution. The blob is too big
They couldn't get rid of Pride flags because they didn't actually win a majority on the council concerned.
A party failing at the ballot box and switching to revolution instead... is not a path I think we want for the country.
We don't WANT it. But if the people keep voting for lower immigration and all they ever get is more mass immigration then the people will look towards other means to change policy. Look at what is happening in Epping and the summer riots last year, this far they relatively minor compared to an all out revolution but if what happened with the Afghan super injunction keeps happening and nothing changes with the small boats then people WILL be pushed into taking extreme action
We don't want it but for how long can we avoid it?
Parties pushing hard on much lower immigration lost the 2024 general election. You talked above about "far right conspiracies about vaccines". What's behind what is happening in Epping is more far right conspiracies. So, let's not give in to political violence and maybe do something about social media spreading lies?
Farage is Britain Trump.
When he is elected we will just rerun everyone of the batshit US ideas of the last six months: deporting millions, bitcoin wealth funds, tariffs, close down the education department, put failed businessmen as Cabinet secs, go after the judges, try and close the BBC etc etc.
Reform have no ideas themselves. It is a copycat act.
Be interesting to know how that will actually work in practice.
Reform can't even get rid of pride flags from council buildings and we are to believe they will bring on huge immigration reform? Not gonna happen
I have accepted real change in the UK will not happen via the ballot box without some sort of revolution. The blob is too big
They couldn't get rid of Pride flags because they didn't actually win a majority on the council concerned.
A party failing at the ballot box and switching to revolution instead... is not a path I think we want for the country.
We don't WANT it. But if the people keep voting for lower immigration and all they ever get is more mass immigration then the people will look towards other means to change policy. Look at what is happening in Epping and the summer riots last year, this far they relatively minor compared to an all out revolution but if what happened with the Afghan super injunction keeps happening and nothing changes with the small boats then people WILL be pushed into taking extreme action
We don't want it but for how long can we avoid it?
Parties pushing hard on much lower immigration lost the 2024 general election. You talked above about "far right conspiracies about vaccines". What's behind what is happening in Epping is more far right conspiracies. So, let's not give in to political violence and maybe do something about social media spreading lies?
Farage is Britain Trump.
When he is elected we will just rerun everyone of the batshit US ideas of the last six months: deporting millions, bitcoin wealth funds, tariffs, close down the education department, put failed businessmen as Cabinet secs, go after the judges, try and close the BBC etc etc.
Reform have no ideas themselves. It is a copycat act.
Be interesting to know how that will actually work in practice.
Reform can't even get rid of pride flags from council buildings and we are to believe they will bring on huge immigration reform? Not gonna happen
I have accepted real change in the UK will not happen via the ballot box without some sort of revolution. The blob is too big
They couldn't get rid of Pride flags because they didn't actually win a majority on the council concerned.
A party failing at the ballot box and switching to revolution instead... is not a path I think we want for the country.
We don't WANT it. But if the people keep voting for lower immigration and all they ever get is more mass immigration then the people will look towards other means to change policy. Look at what is happening in Epping and the summer riots last year, this far they relatively minor compared to an all out revolution but if what happened with the Afghan super injunction keeps happening and nothing changes with the small boats then people WILL be pushed into taking extreme action
We don't want it but for how long can we avoid it?
Parties pushing hard on much lower immigration lost the 2024 general election. You talked above about "far right conspiracies about vaccines". What's behind what is happening in Epping is more far right conspiracies. So, let's not give in to political violence and maybe do something about social media spreading lies?
Farage is Britain Trump.
When he is elected we will just rerun everyone of the batshit US ideas of the last six months: deporting millions, bitcoin wealth funds, tariffs, close down the education department, put failed businessmen as Cabinet secs, go after the judges, try and close the BBC etc etc.
Reform have no ideas themselves. It is a copycat act.
Farage for PM!
Don't you mean "Farage" for Pentonville?
We could take a leaf out of Fourecks’ book perhaps and lock him up on election?
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Right. Got it.
Edmund is explaining the cultural difference between Japanese society with its strong social bond and the more adversarial basis for western cultures. I think you might be misapplying one idea for another.
If you don't already have it on your list, take a trip there. It's a really strange place for western eyes and still welcoming. Spain ... not so welcoming now.
I didn't intend to be explaining cultural differences particularly apart from the way the media works.
Transferring the same facts to the British context, I think there would be less of a Farage if - The EU had never existed - The entire media wasn't constantly trying to elevate him - It was legal to build houses - There were hardly any immigrants
I think Sanseito performance also shows just how drastically sakoku you would have to get to get rid of him with *only* the "hardly any immigrants" plank.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
The current Green vote is in large part, Labour voters on holiday.
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
I'd agree with that if Reform weren't a shitshow, with Farage falling out with everyone and spitting out ludicrous (and somewhat contradictory) policies left, right and centre. To become PM he'd need to form an effective Cabinet.
Then again, it's possible people simply get to a stage where they don't care about the details.
I was seriously thinking about giving one of my votes to them at the May locals but, following discussion with Andrew Husband on one of our local FB groups, I just got the impression they had no real ideas and seee just spouting empty platitudes to get in. A slightly less malign version of the Lib Dem’s.
Reeves will not impose a wealth tax, showing some sense, and likely to piss off the left in her party and well funded lobbying groups like the so-called Patriotic Millionaires.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
The current Green vote is in large part, Labour voters on holiday.
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
I'd agree with that if Reform weren't a shitshow, with Farage falling out with everyone and spitting out ludicrous (and somewhat contradictory) policies left, right and centre. To become PM he'd need to form an effective Cabinet.
Then again, it's possible people simply get to a stage where they don't care about the details.
They will care if Reform ever get into government. It's unlikely to be pretty.
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Right. Got it.
Edmund is explaining the cultural difference between Japanese society with its strong social bond and the more adversarial basis for western cultures. I think you might be misapplying one idea for another.
If you don't already have it on your list, take a trip there. It's a really strange place for western eyes and still welcoming. Spain ... not so welcoming now.
Right, so mass immigration is fine here but not there because.. Japanese culture.
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
What will happen in a GE campaign is that Labour will magically jump up from 22% to about 30% inside less than 10 days, as its payroll turns out, and Reform are challenged.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
The current Green vote is in large part, Labour voters on holiday.
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
I'd agree with that if Reform weren't a shitshow, with Farage falling out with everyone and spitting out ludicrous (and somewhat contradictory) policies left, right and centre. To become PM he'd need to form an effective Cabinet.
Then again, it's possible people simply get to a stage where they don't care about the details.
I was seriously thinking about giving one of my votes to them at the May locals but, following discussion with Andrew Husband on one of our local FB groups, I just got the impression they had no real ideas and seee just spouting empty platitudes to get in. A slightly less malign version of the Lib Dem’s.
I am glad I didn’t vote for them.
That's exactly what it is. And i say that as someone not unsympathetic to much of their agenda.
But I wonder if that is due to a cultural difference in a country that values loyalty so strongly ? I could be wrong though
no
Expanding on this a bit, reasons the far right has had trouble getting traction:
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent - the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through - there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
So. you're saying effective immigration control is key to defeating the far-right?
Right. Got it.
Edmund is explaining the cultural difference between Japanese society with its strong social bond and the more adversarial basis for western cultures. I think you might be misapplying one idea for another.
If you don't already have it on your list, take a trip there. It's a really strange place for western eyes and still welcoming. Spain ... not so welcoming now.
I didn't intend to be explaining cultural differences particularly apart from the way the media works.
Transferring the same facts to the British context, I think there would be less of a Farage if - The EU had never existed - The entire media wasn't constantly trying to elevate him - It was legal to build houses - There were hardly any immigrants
I think Sanseito performance also shows just how drastically sakoku you would have to get to get rid of him with *only* the "hardly any immigrants" plank.
Is Trump adopting sakuko? Would be ironic if so given the history of the Black Ships
I also can rewrite the Good Friday Agreement. The operative word however is "agreement", as it is for any treaty. Does the supposed lawyer not know this is a treaty she proposes to break, or does she just pretend?
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
The problem is 20 bikes is probably the equivalent of 30 seats and that is a lot of potential revenue lost.
It's dead easy to do - you just have a larger space with fold down seats, half a carriage or a whole carriage. Priority to disabled people, booked (and paid for) cyclists (and maybe luggage), then casual users.
The issue is that the rail company do not have equality as a core value of their company culture, despite whatever waffle in on the website.
My photo today: a cycle/mobility aid space on the Belgian railway:
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
The problem is 20 bikes is probably the equivalent of 30 seats and that is a lot of potential revenue lost.
It's dead easy to do - you just have a larger space with fold down seats, half a carriage or a whole carriage. Priority to disabled people, booked (and paid for) cyclists (and maybe luggage), then casual users.
The issue is that the rail company do not have equality as a core value of their company culture, despite whatever waffle in on the website.
My photo today: a cycle/mobility aid space on the Belgian railway:
An alternative approach for utility cycling to mitigate demand is to have secure cycle storage at stations (like, say, Cyclehubs), so that the Dutch commuting approach of having a cycle at each end is practical, so none is needed on the train.
Brilliant yet again by Avanti West Coast - full VIP experience, bike and panniers carried onto train by two polite and energetic Gen Zers, strapped up and made safe, adjacent seats block booked for cyclists, careful coordination depending on where we are getting off.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
The problem is 20 bikes is probably the equivalent of 30 seats and that is a lot of potential revenue lost.
It's dead easy to do - you just have a larger space with fold down seats, half a carriage or a whole carriage. Priority to disabled people, booked (and paid for) cyclists (and maybe luggage), then casual users.
The issue is that the rail company do not have equality as a core value of their company culture, despite whatever waffle in on the website.
My photo today: a cycle/mobility aid space on the Belgian railway:
That looks like that one person has managed to spread their stuff all over six seats. Not a very efficient use of space.
Comments
And even if they did they then have to have the House of Lords on side and then even change many other laws. It's a herculean task. That would take at least a decade. And very skilled politician and lawyers. And I don't think Nigel is up to the job. He runs Reform like a cult, anyone more talented than him is cut off. How then can there be a democratic solution.
And it hurts the peaceful Muslim/minorities the most because the population will drift ever further right. The liberals think they are helping but in not having robust controls are hurting the ethnic minorities that are already here! Aghhhhh!!!
Civilians should be able to seek refuge in neighbouring states until the war is over, but unless/until Hamas surrender unconditionally, the war continues. The war should continue until Hamas is dead or surrenders, like happened with the Tamil Tigers.
https://unherd.com/2025/07/will-the-epping-protests-spread/
Israel should do the same.
Hamas need to be eliminated. What's bad is you wanting to just let Hamas survive.
We have 7,400 life prisoners (and aiui murder means an automatic life sentence)
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024
Anyway the point is that Farage is mindlessly aping Trump with a number he has plucked out of thin air. This is not a serious policy.
Shocking, isn't it?
To defeat a terrorist insurgency, you have to address its political causes, helping moderates and isolating hardliners. Just focusing on a military solution, as Netanyahu is doing, mostly to keep his government together and himself out of jail, will simply create a successor organisation and another generation or two of violence.
- things aren't that bad for young people, pay is low but so is rent
- the media are very consent-manufacturing, they've been hammering some of Sanseido's bullshit pretty hard unlike UK media who either like the far right or consider it their job to amplify their bullshit so as not to look biased. Even if you get most of your news from TikTok some of the media stuff trickles through
- there haven't been that many foreigners in Japan. I know xenophobia doesn't need much of an actual factual basis it's easier to run against foreigners if the voters have occasionally seen one. This is changing a bit: There are now more foreign workers in Japan than there used to be, and loads more foreign tourists because the yen is so weak and more Chinese people are getting rich enough to travel
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/articles/c8rpnj078pyo
Last October, she broke the marathon world record by nearly two minutes. In March. a masking agent was found in a sample of hers at 190 times the accepted level...
In 2018 a World-Anti Doping Agency (Wada) report titled 'Doping In Kenya', external found 138 Kenyan athletes had tested positive for prohibited substances between 2004 and 2018, but a lowly 14% of those were caught in an out-of-competition test.
"For a very long time, Kenyans were not tested at home," says Watta.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/66223437
Right. Got it.
Labour minority government or Coalition of Chaos remains my 2029 prediction atm.
[The Conservatives could spring back out of nowhere to c.25%+ if there's a sovereign debt crisis and they change leader, btw]
However, Labour might be starting from a lower place than 22%. If the next four years are like the last 12 months, there will be a lot of people desperate to vote for anybody but Labour.
The other issue is if Reform beat the Conservatives in the next three rounds of local elections, the latter might be seen as a wasted vote, and then one could see the Reform vote heading into the mid thirties.
Which is not to say that the defeat of the LTTE was not a good thing. It was.
WRT Gaza, I can readily discount what Hamas say, or the UN agencies, or Special Rapporteurs. Of course, they come out with bullshit.
But, I don't think one can so readily discount the things that Jonathan Sumption, Ehud Olmert, Daniel Levy, or the Israeli left are saying. These are not people who have an axe to grind against the West.
Then again, it's possible people simply get to a stage where they don't care about the details.
Sometimes, Britain really works. The only issue is there are only 4 spots, rather than the 20+ you need on a service this size.
It should be that if you are found guilty of doping, any record you have held in the past is no longer a record. Though I expect that might lead to athletes getting a record and then immediately retiring.
There are confounding issues: athletes are generally getting faster for a number of reasons: improved training techniques; better knowledge about the effects of nutrition; and tech like carbon shoes. So an athlete smashing a previous world record does not automatically mean they are doping.
As an example, a son's friend felt as strongly as you about the Russia/Ukraine war. He volunteered to drive civilians out of the war zones and did this for a while before he was able to volunteer to join the army. (It didn't end that well). Have you thought about practicing rather than preaching and coming back with your informed view?
If you don't already have it on your list, take a trip there. It's a really strange place for western eyes and still welcoming. Spain ... not so welcoming now.
All of the long distance train journeys I've done this year have been fully booked for cyclists. It's why I'm on a £60 train rather than the £20 one RIP.
Transferring the same facts to the British context, I think there would be less of a Farage if
- The EU had never existed
- The entire media wasn't constantly trying to elevate him
- It was legal to build houses
- There were hardly any immigrants
I think Sanseito performance also shows just how drastically sakoku you would have to get to get rid of him with *only* the "hardly any immigrants" plank.
Why do all the media outlets who jump on current government costings always assume Farage has his numbers right?
Televised hangings and floggings live from Wembley or Villa Park on the other hand might be a real money spinner.
I am glad I didn’t vote for them.
Take a look at the hatred on his face when reminded of that.
Flashback to the absolute LEGEND who held up a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump and at his rally in Duluth Minnesota.
https://x.com/BlueATLGeorgia/status/1947070518202425736
All together now:
No. Shit. Sherlock.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/rachel-reeves-wealth-tax-kl6zj9kvz
It's unlikely to be pretty.
NEW THREAD
Got it!
The issue is that the rail company do not have equality as a core value of their company culture, despite whatever waffle in on the website.
My photo today: a cycle/mobility aid space on the Belgian railway: