When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
A Tory MP says he has reported a deepfake video depicting him announcing he had joined Reform UK to the police.
George Freeman said he remained "the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and have no intention of joining Reform or any other party", denouncing the video circulating on social media as "an AI-generated deepfake".
I have mentioned this before there is a YouTube channel pumping out AI generated music videos that are generally pro Reform / anti government, which I am rather suspious about.
It's almost weird that this isn't a bigger problem than it already is.
I'd sort of expected by this point that it would just be a major operation debunking viral deep fakes of prominent politicians saying faked shit pretty much every other day, but it doesn't seem to be going like that (yet, anyway - unless I'm not residing in enough sewer sections of the internet, which is possible). Is the theory that going after big names is still too easy to immediately debunk, so go after smaller fry whom no-one really knows so it's harder to judge if what they're saying is obviously bullshit or not?
The sewer (and just regular small/private FB/whatsapp) groups are rife with fake videos. Usually shared with a 'omg - don't share this outside the group, but you need to see this....' style messages. Occasionally one surfaces out of those bubbles and I think 'who would believe this?'. Sadly, "lots of people" seems to be the answer.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
I see Taco has lived up to his name and won't be letting Ukraine buy Tomahawks.
Orange is the new yellow.
He wants Putin to win.
I think he wants Putin to pay him and/or support his bid for overlordship of the world.
Zelensky he mainly wants to just pay, and if it happens to be the EUs money, all the better.
Trump hates Zelensky, because Zelensky refused to invent dirt on the Biden family too have then prosecuted during Trump's first term.
At the same time Trump has a weird love affair with Putin. A lot of his pronouncements with respect to Putin can be best understood as those of a spurned lover, desperate for any sign of affection.
All the talk about Tomahawks, and sanctions or tariffs before, are just a means to defuse or deflect pressure from those Republicans who want to help Ukraine win. They're intended just to string them along, and almost everyone (including me) mostly falls for it most of the time.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Remarkable lack of ambition for the country. Tony Blair's 'reforms' have made Britain ungovernable. George Osborne was instrumental in the Government that failed to overturn Blair's toxic legacy. What would either of them do to address the problems the country faces?
It's centrist article of faith that if only someone reasonable, centrist, 'in' with the rich and powerful, and with the gift of the gab, gets in, all will be well. The endless quest for 'the grown ups back in the room'. The recent results of that search are Sunak, and now Starmer. It's the same mentality that thinks Mandelson was a genius pick for US Ambassador. Centrist hires will keep being as shit as that, and centrists will keep thinking they need to just kiss a few more frogs. It will not be long before there are calls for Mark Carney to be our PM - I can see it now.
Thoughtfully, my browser (Opera) has a free inbuilt VPN, which I have now been forced to switch on so everything still works. It's probably telling the Chinese everything I look at, but such is life....!
It is owned by a CCP-adjascent company in mainland China, so yes - you are.
A Tory MP says he has reported a deepfake video depicting him announcing he had joined Reform UK to the police.
George Freeman said he remained "the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and have no intention of joining Reform or any other party", denouncing the video circulating on social media as "an AI-generated deepfake".
I have mentioned this before there is a YouTube channel pumping out AI generated music videos that are generally pro Reform / anti government, which I am rather suspious about.
It's almost weird that this isn't a bigger problem than it already is.
I'd sort of expected by this point that it would just be a major operation debunking viral deep fakes of prominent politicians saying faked shit pretty much every other day, but it doesn't seem to be going like that (yet, anyway - unless I'm not residing in enough sewer sections of the internet, which is possible). Is the theory that going after big names is still too easy to immediately debunk, so go after smaller fry whom no-one really knows so it's harder to judge if what they're saying is obviously bullshit or not?
The sewer (and just regular small/private FB/whatsapp) groups are rife with fake videos. Usually shared with a 'omg - don't share this outside the group, but you need to see this....' style messages. Occasionally one surfaces out of those bubbles and I think 'who would believe this?'. Sadly, "lots of people" seems to be the answer.
Ah interesting. Maybe I am just too naive then in where I am internetting!
Thoughtfully, my browser (Opera) has a free inbuilt VPN, which I have now been forced to switch on so everything still works. It's probably telling the Chinese everything I look at, but such is life....!
It is owned by a CCP-adjascent company in mainland China, so yes - you are.
Never ever use a free VPN....even paid ones you have to be very careful which you choose, but free ones are an instant no no.
I can’t believe that George III had anything like the direct personal power over the lives of people in the now US than Trump has. They would be better with a constitutional monarch than an all powerful President.
There's a perfectly well functioning constitutional monarchy a couple of hundred miles north of the protest lol
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Remarkable lack of ambition for the country. Tony Blair's 'reforms' have made Britain ungovernable. George Osborne was instrumental in the Government that failed to overturn Blair's toxic legacy. What would either of them do to address the problems the country faces?
It's centrist article of faith that if only someone reasonable, centrist, 'in' with the rich and powerful, and with the gift of the gab, gets in, all will be well. The endless quest for 'the grown ups back in the room'. The recent results of that search are Sunak, and now Starmer. It's the same mentality that thinks Mandelson was a genius pick for US Ambassador. Centrist hires will keep being as shit as that, and centrists will keep thinking they need to just kiss a few more frogs. It will not be long before there are calls for Mark Carney to be our PM - I can see it now.
We don't have anyone actively involved in politics in this country that is even close to having the skills, intelligence and judgment of Mark Carney. I wish we did.
I see Taco has lived up to his name and won't be letting Ukraine buy Tomahawks.
Orange is the new yellow.
He wants Putin to win.
No, he has said he wants a ceasefire along current lines, he just doesn't want US missiles sent into Russia leading to an escalation, especially as Putin has nukes.
He could though allow Tomahawks to be used within Ukranian territory as a defensive weapon by Zelensky admittedly
They would be almost completely useless - and certainly pointless - on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has all manner of other weapons to do that.
The whole point about them is their range, which would allow Ukraine to hit military targets in Russia (drone factories, for example).
Not just their range. Ukraine has weapons with similar range now.
It's a combination of things - their ability to evade air defences (we laugh at Russian air defences, but Ukraine often sends large numbers of drones in order to hit a single target once - if you send a large number of Tomahawks at a target you hit that target a large number of times); their navigation system is similarly much more advanced.
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
You never quite know who is doing what with the inner-machinations of the Tory Party, but was Cummings not team Kemi?
No, he was Team Gove, then Team Boris, then Team Rishi, then Team Jenrick and now it seems Team Farage. He was never Team Kemi
Is this not a little simplistic? Cummings was instrumental in the removal of Boris, with his favoured candidate being Sunak. Kemi was also on team Sunak, and was donated votes by his campaign as a spoiler candidate, allowing her to develop her profile. She was then widely touted as Sunak's successor (Dorries said that 'they' - which I assume includes Cummings -would replace him with Kemi). How integral Cummings has been to Kemi's leadership bid, and whether he fell out with her, I don't know, but certainly was on her team.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Why would they?
FWIW, I think Tony Blair is now to the right of George Osborne.
I wouldn't go that far, Blair is now arguably right of David Cameron and on economics even Boris Johnson and Theresa May but not Osborne.
Socially though he is still much more liberal than the likes of Farage and Jenrick and Badenoch, much as Osborne is too
I would go that far.
I think on social liberalism, tax and immigration Blair is clearly to his right.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
I found it fascinating how the English were always having bonfires at that point in history. Any sort of celebration or protest - bonfire. They were mad for them.
The Irish remember. I'm sure that explains why garden fires are illegal in Ireland.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Please. Can someone, somewhere can tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Yes, it's a deliberate humiliation of Zelensky. As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
Please. Can someone, somewhere can tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Yes, it's a deliberate humiliation of Zelensky. As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
That is what it looks like, but I'm not counting it as sane.
Please. Can someone, somewhere can tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Yes, it's a deliberate humiliation of Zelensky. As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
My hope is that Europe will get its act together, and when Ukraine wins the war Trump won't be invited to the victory party.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Why would they?
FWIW, I think Tony Blair is now to the right of George Osborne.
I wouldn't go that far, Blair is now arguably right of David Cameron and on economics even Boris Johnson and Theresa May but not Osborne.
Socially though he is still much more liberal than the likes of Farage and Jenrick and Badenoch, much as Osborne is too
I would go that far.
I think on social liberalism, tax and immigration Blair is clearly to his right.
It was Blair who first opened the floodgates to immigration with free movement from the Eastern European nations from 2004, Cameron and Osborne at least had an immigration cap. Albeit Cameron and Osborne introduced same sex marriage with Clegg while Blair just went for civil unions.
On tax and spend Osborne wanted to get spending as a percentage of gdp down to just 35% after the Tories 2015 general election win with the tax take falling to that level too, much as Blair proposes today
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
You never quite know who is doing what with the inner-machinations of the Tory Party, but was Cummings not team Kemi?
No, he was Team Gove, then Team Boris, then Team Rishi, then Team Jenrick and now it seems Team Farage. He was never Team Kemi
Is this not a little simplistic? Cummings was instrumental in the removal of Boris, with his favoured candidate being Sunak. Kemi was also on team Sunak, and was donated votes by his campaign as a spoiler candidate, allowing her to develop her profile. She was then widely touted as Sunak's successor (Dorries said that 'they' - which I assume includes Cummings -would replace him with Kemi). How integral Cummings has been to Kemi's leadership bid, and whether he fell out with her, I don't know, but certainly was on her team.
No it was Dougie Smith behind Kemi not Cummings.
Cummings favoured Sunak to replace Boris initially, then grew disillusioned with the Sunak government and in the last Tory leadership election favoured Jenrick over Badenoch and Cleverly. He has since met with Farage and backs him for PM
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
Give the man a cigar.
I always liked the point that the marker thrower was himself, expended like a throw away piece of plastic.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
Give the man a cigar.
I always liked the point that the marker thrower was himself, expended like a throw away piece of plastic.
He spoilt the fun of the wargame by acting outside the box, crashing his ASW flying boats onto the ice and doing the sonar through holes thereof.
Please. Can someone, somewhere can tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Yes, it's a deliberate humiliation of Zelensky. As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
My hope is that Europe will get its act together, and when Ukraine wins the war Trump won't be invited to the victory party.
His "65 year old heart" will have long stopped working.. reality overcomes lies, every time.
Please. Can someone, somewhere tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Russia has stuff on Trump....
People keep saying this but what the hell could Russia have that could possibly make any sane person think less of Trump than we do right now? The facts are out there and are not even seriously disputed (apart from the election he lost, obvs). Anything, anything is just more of the same.
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
You never quite know who is doing what with the inner-machinations of the Tory Party, but was Cummings not team Kemi?
No, he was Team Gove, then Team Boris, then Team Rishi, then Team Jenrick and now it seems Team Farage. He was never Team Kemi
Is this not a little simplistic? Cummings was instrumental in the removal of Boris, with his favoured candidate being Sunak. Kemi was also on team Sunak, and was donated votes by his campaign as a spoiler candidate, allowing her to develop her profile. She was then widely touted as Sunak's successor (Dorries said that 'they' - which I assume includes Cummings -would replace him with Kemi). How integral Cummings has been to Kemi's leadership bid, and whether he fell out with her, I don't know, but certainly was on her team.
No it was Dougie Smith behind Kemi not Cummings.
Cummings favoured Sunak to replace Boris initially, then grew disillusioned with the Sunak government and in the last Tory leadership election favoured Jenrick over Badenoch and Cleverly. He has since met with Farage and backs him for PM
Please. Can someone, somewhere can tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Yes, it's a deliberate humiliation of Zelensky. As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
My hope is that Europe will get its act together, and when Ukraine wins the war Trump won't be invited to the victory party.
Trump wants Europe to contribute more. We should source some long range missiles for Ukraine to use.
I hear from informed sources that these #NoKings rallies are more than twice as big as last time, making them easily the largest protests in US history. Thanks to everyone and especially organizers.
Anecdote which will make Leon ecstatic: Hull City fans singing SKS was a w**ker today against Birmingham City. Hearing that has convinced me and reluctantly to think SKS can't build a coalition which can stop Farage and needs to go. I'm not sure any football fans in 'Labour since 45' constituencies sung what I heard today against a Labour PM, even Blair at his lowest point.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
I found it fascinating how the English were always having bonfires at that point in history. Any sort of celebration or protest - bonfire. They were mad for them.
The Irish remember. I'm sure that explains why garden fires are illegal in Ireland.
We don't even have a Bonfire of the Quangos any more.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
Give the man a cigar.
I always liked the point that the marker thrower was himself, expended like a throw away piece of plastic.
He spoilt the fun of the wargame by acting outside the box, crashing his ASW flying boats onto the ice and doing the sonar through holes thereof.
Which is exactly the mentality of “the markers are expendable”. Which then got applied to him.
Perhaps decency and truth can become 'great again' at some point?
Well it does make the case for claiming selective prosecution (which is very tough to prove in court to the required legal standard) that bit less difficult.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
What did the inhabitants of Southern Thule do to you?
South Georgia is uninhabited and needs a Governor.
I hear they have a very high tariff rate however. Possibly Trump would give them a break if Andrew went there I suppose. For some totally random reason not related to Epstein blackmail or Russia.
I'm no classicist like Boris Johnson but didn't one of the famous Greek philosophers deplore writing on the grounds it would ruin people's memories?
I seem to remember something along those lines with arguments amongst papyrus vs. clay tablets, or manuscripts copied by scribes vs. the new-fangled 'movable type'. Latin vs. localised bible has a little history to it too. If we just let the simple folk of the land get the word, then... well... where will be then?
I sometimes feel it's the people telling us 'the new thing will make you stupid' who might have some sort of vested interest in the way things were. But I'm an old cynic I guess.
On the "No Kings" protest: When the Loser came on the political scene, I quickly noticed that he was a monarchist at heart. He cozied up to the Saudis, to North Korea's Kim, and to the UK's monarchs. These three nations have little in common, but they are all monarchies of a sort.
And his promotion of his children is almost universal in monarchies.
So, by attacking him with "No Kings", they are attacking a central part of his thinking -- such as it is.
(Moreover, as your Walter Bagehot observed, monarchies are often attractive to low-information voters.)
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
What did the inhabitants of Southern Thule do to you?
South Georgia is uninhabited and needs a Governor.
Southern Thule seems ideal.
It had some rogue Argentinians on it for a while (what a posting that must have been). They were cleared at the end of the Falklands war, so perhaps a permanent presence would discourage them from doing that again.
South Georgia has a Post Office in the summer so if he needs anything he can row across.
Please. Can someone, somewhere tell me that there's a sane explanation for this.
Russia has stuff on Trump....
People keep saying this but what the hell could Russia have that could possibly make any sane person think less of Trump than we do right now? The facts are out there and are not even seriously disputed (apart from the election he lost, obvs). Anything, anything is just more of the same.
I'm not sure that the thoughts of 'any sane person' are what troubles Trump. Just an unflattering photo of his tiny hands might weigh more with him. Sod Ukraine.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
On the "No Kings" protest: When the Loser came on the political scene, I quickly noticed that he was a monarchist at heart. He cozied up to the Saudis, to North Korea's Kim, and to the UK's monarchs. These three nations have little in common, but they are all monarchies of a sort.
And his promotion of his children is almost universal in monarchies.
So, by attacking him with "No Kings", they are attacking a central part of his thinking -- such as it is.
(Moreover, as your Walter Bagehot observed, monarchies are often attractive to low-information voters.)
Most kings are highly constrained and aren't nearly as despotic as Trump. But I guess "No tinpot dictators" lacks the resonance of "No Kings"
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The Non-Fiscally Incontinent Party, dedicated to improving public services by a small, achievable amount each year, while growing the private sector to create a tax base for same?
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
Spy Story by Len Deighton? Not read that in 20 years but it seems familiar.
I have "Declarations of War" by Len Deighton. It's not a genre I usually read, but he does have a very nice style: spare, simple, very readable.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The SDP still exists, and it has some sort of informal alliance with Reform UK. That's why the latter didn't stand in some seats in Leeds and Sheffield at the last GE.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
It's simple really. If you don't have to think for yourself because a computer can do it for you, most people are not going to bother to think for themselves. Thanks for the article.
It's simple really. If you don't have to think for yourself because a computer can do it for you, most people are not going to bother to think for themselves. Thanks for the article.
If you're using AI to think for you, then you weren't thinking in the first place.
AI shouldn't do the thinking for you, not well at least. What it can do well is some of the menial busy work, leaving you free to do more higher-order thinking, at least if you're using it well.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
On the "No Kings" protest: When the Loser came on the political scene, I quickly noticed that he was a monarchist at heart. He cozied up to the Saudis, to North Korea's Kim, and to the UK's monarchs. These three nations have little in common, but they are all monarchies of a sort.
And his promotion of his children is almost universal in monarchies.
So, by attacking him with "No Kings", they are attacking a central part of his thinking -- such as it is.
(Moreover, as your Walter Bagehot observed, monarchies are often attractive to low-information voters.)
Most kings are highly constrained and aren't nearly as despotic as Trump. But I guess "No tinpot dictators" lacks the resonance of "No Kings"
"No Kings" is a really stupid slogan, because as you say it completely ignores the existence of constitutional monarchies, and anyway Trump has never claimed to be a king. Presidential systems tend naturally towards dictatorships, and America (or France for that matters) would actually be better as a constitutional monarchy with a Parliamentary system, but then they'd basically be Canada or Australia, and have to question the whole revolution thing.
What they actually mean is "No Dictators", which I think we can all sign up to. Trump has actually said he'd be a dictator, albeit only on Day One, which was a transparent lie, so I think it makes much more sense as a slogan, even though it has a three syllable word, which is probably at the limits of most Americans' comprehension.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
On the "No Kings" protest: When the Loser came on the political scene, I quickly noticed that he was a monarchist at heart. He cozied up to the Saudis, to North Korea's Kim, and to the UK's monarchs. These three nations have little in common, but they are all monarchies of a sort.
And his promotion of his children is almost universal in monarchies.
So, by attacking him with "No Kings", they are attacking a central part of his thinking -- such as it is.
(Moreover, as your Walter Bagehot observed, monarchies are often attractive to low-information voters.)
Most kings are highly constrained and aren't nearly as despotic as Trump. But I guess "No tinpot dictators" lacks the resonance of "No Kings"
"No Kings" is a really stupid slogan, because as you say it completely ignores the existence of constitutional monarchies, and anyway Trump has never claimed to be a king. Presidential systems tend naturally towards dictatorships, and America (or France for that matters) would actually be better as a constitutional monarchy with a Parliamentary system, but then they'd basically be Canada or Australia, and have to question the whole revolution thing.
What they actually mean is "No Dictators", which I think we can all sign up to. Trump has actually said he'd be a dictator, albeit only on Day One, which was a transparent lie, so I think it makes much more sense as a slogan, even though it has a three syllable word, which is probably at the limits of most Americans' comprehension.
No Kings is an utterly brilliant slogan. It's a slogan not analysis, they don't need to worry about constitutional monarchies or whatever. The proof that it's doing it right is that they've just mobilized the biggest nationwide demonstration since the Vietnam War and kept it almost entirely peaceful.
1. It references the founding myth of the nation 2. It allows for fun fancy dress 3. It negatively polarizes the other side into saying "Yes, we want Trump to be King" which is a good thing to have out on the table
Nothing quite like spotting a large spider in a tricky position and then having it flee your noble attempt to capture it.
Oh well.
F1: need to write up the pretend race and qualifying, then see if the markets are up properly. I hope so, I don't want to have to faff about in the afternoon.
F1: Betfair has Norris third favourite for the title, 3.8 to 3.4 for Verstappen and 1.9 for Piastri.
I know at least Mr. Eagles recently backed Verstappen at around 12 (I, not very cunningly, backed Verstappen at around 4 some months ago). If you did, then a bet on Norris may be worthwhile.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Or, two adults over the age of consent freely engaged in intercourse. The lack of consent seems to be vague. Dirty old man, clearly, but teenage sex abuser seems a stretch.
Sequence: 1. Ukrainian drones fly to attack a Russian fuel depot in occupied Crimea. 2. Russian Su-30 fighter jet dispatched to shoot down the Ukrainian drones. 3. Russian air defense shoots down the Russian aircraft. 💥 4. Ukrainian drones strike the Russian fuel depot. 💥
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Or, two adults over the age of consent freely engaged in intercourse. The lack of consent seems to be vague. Dirty old man, clearly, but teenage sex abuser seems a stretch.
The issue with that suggestion is that however we look at it, Giuffre had been trafficked. Which changes the equation with regard to consent.
Sequence: 1. Ukrainian drones fly to attack a Russian fuel depot in occupied Crimea. 2. Russian Su-30 fighter jet dispatched to shoot down the Ukrainian drones. 3. Russian air defense shoots down the Russian aircraft. 💥 4. Ukrainian drones strike the Russian fuel depot. 💥
Just think what they could do if Mushroom Shaped gave them Tomahawks...(although it should be noted Biden didn't either).
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Or, two adults over the age of consent freely engaged in intercourse. The lack of consent seems to be vague. Dirty old man, clearly, but teenage sex abuser seems a stretch.
The dirty old man formerly known as Prince paid ca £10 million to avoid that stretch being made.
The Trump team’s grown up response to No Kings, Trump flying a military jet whilst wearing a crown bombing the protesters with shit. It’s funny how they can rant about Zelensky not wearing a suit being an affront to the dignity of the President when the President and his team have no concept of dignity.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Or, two adults over the age of consent freely engaged in intercourse. The lack of consent seems to be vague. Dirty old man, clearly, but teenage sex abuser seems a stretch.
The issue with that suggestion is that however we look at it, Giuffre had been trafficked. Which changes the equation with regard to consent.
It also said abuse accuser, as opposed to abuser. Making it clear it was an accusation not a fact.
Prince Andrew tried to smear his teenage sex abuse accuser by passing her confidential information to police, it has been claimed.
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
Or, two adults over the age of consent freely engaged in intercourse. The lack of consent seems to be vague. Dirty old man, clearly, but teenage sex abuser seems a stretch.
The issue with that suggestion is that however we look at it, Giuffre had been trafficked. Which changes the equation with regard to consent.
It also said abuse accuser, as opposed to abuser. Making it clear it was an accusation not a fact.
Oh, the Creepy Old Duke of York He had ten thousand women He marched them up to the top of his hill And he marched them down again
And while they were there he was up And when they were gone he was down. And when he was only halfway up He sent for a teenage girl because he was a fucking clown.
When I was a very young lad, not yet old enough to have voted in a GE, 4 political giants, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers set up a new party with new ideas at a time when politics seemed to offer very few ways forward. I joined the SDP as a founder member in 1981 and had real hopes that a much better way to do politics had been found. Those hopes were ultimately dashed but I can't help thinking we are a point right now where we need something similar.
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
The SDP still exists, and it has some sort of informal alliance with Reform UK. That's why the latter didn't stand in some seats in Leeds and Sheffield at the last GE.
The SDP of Jenkins et al. still exists in that it officially merged into the Liberal Democrats. A legally distinct party of the same name was formed in 1988 by Owen. That party dissolved itself in 1990, and a third party of the same name was formed by some of its former members in 1990. That third party moved right wards on social issues. They have 3 councillors.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
I found it fascinating how the English were always having bonfires at that point in history. Any sort of celebration or protest - bonfire. They were mad for them.
The Irish remember. I'm sure that explains why garden fires are illegal in Ireland.
We don't even have a Bonfire of the Quangos any more.
Village bonfires - just something else that's gone up in smoke.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
I found it fascinating how the English were always having bonfires at that point in history. Any sort of celebration or protest - bonfire. They were mad for them.
The Irish remember. I'm sure that explains why garden fires are illegal in Ireland.
We don't even have a Bonfire of the Quangos any more.
Village bonfires - just something else that's gone up in smoke.
Blimey, I'm sorry to hear your village has gone up. Does that affect your new house? (How is that going by the way?)
Clive Lewis is who I would like to see leading the Labour party. He’s considered, has ideas which could coalesce into a vision, is a good communicator and understands the need to unite as much of the left as is possible.
With all due respect,Corbyn united the left and look how that ended up. Throughout my lifetime whenever the left has controlled the Labour Party it has led to the electoral abyss
With all due respect, you have to accept that the natural vote for a centrist labour party is about 20-25%. We live in an age of retail politics. You either build alliances or you accept electoral doom. During the Corbyn era neither Corbyn and his mob nor the Southam Observer tendency were prepared to make compromises. And whilst the SO tendency ultimately won the battle, it now appears they may have lost the war. Lewis or possibly someone else of the soft left (for Lewis is no Corbynite) would be the best route to a degree of unity.
Comments
I have to accept that the Macron Renaissance party is not a particularly inspiring example either but we so need something different, something better. I would not hesitate to join such a party once again.
Spencer Hakimian
@SpencerHakimian
·
2h
I have never seen a protest this large in New York in my entire life.
I've lived here my entire life.
https://x.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1979594998627860936
At the same time Trump has a weird love affair with Putin. A lot of his pronouncements with respect to Putin can be best understood as those of a spurned lover, desperate for any sign of affection.
All the talk about Tomahawks, and sanctions or tariffs before, are just a means to defuse or deflect pressure from those Republicans who want to help Ukraine win. They're intended just to string them along, and almost everyone (including me) mostly falls for it most of the time.
It's centrist article of faith that if only someone reasonable, centrist, 'in' with the rich and powerful, and with the gift of the gab, gets in, all will be well. The endless quest for 'the grown ups back in the room'. The recent results of that search are Sunak, and now Starmer. It's the same mentality that thinks Mandelson was a genius pick for US Ambassador. Centrist hires will keep being as shit as that, and centrists will keep thinking they need to just kiss a few more frogs. It will not be long before there are calls for Mark Carney to be our PM - I can see it now.
Its a hell of a lot bigger crowd than turned up for you know who's inauguration.
It's a combination of things - their ability to evade air defences (we laugh at Russian air defences, but Ukraine often sends large numbers of drones in order to hit a single target once - if you send a large number of Tomahawks at a target you hit that target a large number of times); their navigation system is similarly much more advanced.
So many villages, towns and schools have pulled the bonfire- what it's actually about, due to insurance and liability concerns - that kids now will have absolutely no idea of the significance of the fireworks or understanding of our history.
I think on social liberalism, tax and immigration Blair is clearly to his right.
DEPT OF WTF: Are there NO senior NCOs at the Pentagon on the @thejointstaff
who would nut up and say …
“MAJOR! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? TAKE THAT COMMIE RUSSKIE TIE OFF AND FUCKING ACT LIKE AN ADULT!”
I would’ve said that in less than half a fucking second & taken the court martial gladly.
Has everyone turned into cows over there?
https://x.com/MalcolmNance/status/1979492604048806321
The Irish remember. I'm sure that explains why garden fires are illegal in Ireland.
While treating the *subjects* of His Majesty with a modicum of respect? Rather than
‘As far as I’m concerned,’ said Ferdy, ‘you’re just a bag of plastic markers.’ He picked up one of the plot markers that gave the strength, direction, and identity of a naval force steaming past the Jan Mayen Island. Gently he tossed it into the air and caught it. Then he hurled it into the far corner of the room where it landed with the noise of breaking plastic.
As they've done before.
This time they made him fly all the way to Washington to tell him he wasn't getting the requested weapons, and should make concessions to the Russian dictator who invaded Ukraine.
In return for nothing.
No doubt the Trump fluffers and sanewashers will come up with some bullshit excuses.
On tax and spend Osborne wanted to get spending as a percentage of gdp down to just 35% after the Tories 2015 general election win with the tax take falling to that level too, much as Blair proposes today
Cummings favoured Sunak to replace Boris initially, then grew disillusioned with the Sunak government and in the last Tory leadership election favoured Jenrick over Badenoch and Cleverly. He has since met with Farage and backs him for PM
I always liked the point that the marker thrower was himself, expended like a throw away piece of plastic.
I was honored as U.S. Pardon Attorney to have played a small role in @POTUS granting
@MrSantosNY clemency. Thank you, Mr. President for making clemency great again.
https://x.com/EdMartinDOJ/status/1979310821487579440
EXCLUSIVE w/
@ManuMidolo
Nigel Farage’s partner is embroiled in a criminal fraud investigation
Lauren Ferrari ran a eurosceptic group, which, auditors said, spent up to €200K in public funds in breach of rules
“Serious irregularities” were passed to OLAF, EU anti-fraud office, which launched a parallel probe into a sister entity of which Farage was member
Now, it can be revealed, OLAF secretly passed the case involving the groups to law enforcement
A Brussels court will deliver a judgement on the case within weeks
https://x.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1979653548850721004
Timothy Snyder
@TimothyDSnyder
·
58m
I hear from informed sources that these #NoKings rallies are more than twice as big as last time, making them easily the largest protests in US history. Thanks to everyone and especially organizers.
Hearing that has convinced me and reluctantly to think SKS can't build a coalition which can stop Farage and needs to go. I'm not sure any football fans in 'Labour since 45' constituencies sung what I heard today against a Labour PM, even Blair at his lowest point.
Karoline Leavitt on what she expected for today’s demonstrations: “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, violent criminals.”
Scott Bessent: “Most unhinged in the Democratic Party”
Mike Johnson: “The pro-Hamas wing, the antifa people.”
NYPD: More than 100,000 protesters; zero arrests.
https://bsky.app/profile/bgrueskin.bsky.social/post/3m3inwd5zjc2r
Notice how none of us broke into a federal building and rubbed shit on the walls, either
https://x.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1979635146656813552
https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3439
The Prince asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate Virginia Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number, a leaked email revealed.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/10/18/prince-andrew-tried-to-dig-up-dirt-on-giuffre/
South Georgia is uninhabited and needs a Governor.
I sometimes feel it's the people telling us 'the new thing will make you stupid' who might have some sort of vested interest in the way things were. But I'm an old cynic I guess.
And his promotion of his children is almost universal in monarchies.
So, by attacking him with "No Kings", they are attacking a central part of his thinking -- such as it is.
(Moreover, as your Walter Bagehot observed, monarchies are often attractive to low-information voters.)
It had some rogue Argentinians on it for a while (what a posting that must have been). They were cleared at the end of the Falklands war, so perhaps a permanent presence would discourage them from doing that again.
South Georgia has a Post Office in the summer so if he needs anything he can row across.
Tim "nice but dim" is us getting off lightly for next king, but we will run out of luck eventually.
Southern Thule, at the south end of the island chain, is the southernmost land on Earth outside the area covered by the Antarctic Treaty.
AI shouldn't do the thinking for you, not well at least. What it can do well is some of the menial busy work, leaving you free to do more higher-order thinking, at least if you're using it well.
By Rob Lownie"
No surprises as to who the Labour MP is. It's Graham Stringer.
https://unherd.com/newsroom/labour-mp-the-establishment-parties-have-no-connection-to-electorate/
What they actually mean is "No Dictators", which I think we can all sign up to. Trump has actually said he'd be a dictator, albeit only on Day One, which was a transparent lie, so I think it makes much more sense as a slogan, even though it has a three syllable word, which is probably at the limits of most Americans' comprehension.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/18/chocolate-biscuit-club-penguin-mcvities-cocoa-prices
1. It references the founding myth of the nation
2. It allows for fun fancy dress
3. It negatively polarizes the other side into saying "Yes, we want Trump to be King" which is a good thing to have out on the table
Nothing quite like spotting a large spider in a tricky position and then having it flee your noble attempt to capture it.
Oh well.
F1: need to write up the pretend race and qualifying, then see if the markets are up properly. I hope so, I don't want to have to faff about in the afternoon.
I know at least Mr. Eagles recently backed Verstappen at around 12 (I, not very cunningly, backed Verstappen at around 4 some months ago). If you did, then a bet on Norris may be worthwhile.
https://x.com/igorsushko/status/1979312427205591275
Sequence:
1. Ukrainian drones fly to attack a Russian fuel depot in occupied Crimea.
2. Russian Su-30 fighter jet dispatched to shoot down the Ukrainian drones.
3. Russian air defense shoots down the Russian aircraft. 💥
4. Ukrainian drones strike the Russian fuel depot. 💥
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-truth-social-no-kings-ai-video-b2847976.html
It’s like all the frat boys and jocks and idiot sorority girls from every American film suddenly got put into power.
He had ten thousand women
He marched them up to the top of his hill
And he marched them down again
And while they were there he was up
And when they were gone he was down.
And when he was only halfway up
He sent for a teenage girl because he was a fucking clown.