To be fair to TSE, the polling all says "18 Months", and the dates on the polling all refer to January.
It is therefore fair to say it is a snapshot from last month, when the Starmer government was 18 months old.
Can we stop bickering now?
Point of order, TSE (before I heroically and selflessly pointed out his mistake) wrote this in the final paragraph:
Today is the eighteenth month anniversary of Sir Keir Starmer becoming Prime Minister
Which is, shall we say, inaccurate.
And also, as Blanche has already pointed out, horrible English.
Nah, the OED has said the common usage of anniversary has meant in no longer means annual.
For example, in relationship, tomorrow is our third month anniversary.
*shudder* Words like violence. Who would inflict a sentence like that on the world's ears when 'tomorrow marks three months since the start of our relationship' is available?
I know but what I can say most of the women I have fallen in love with are from the North West, I want the relationship to continue, I can’t tell people from Salford their language and grammar sucks.
I remember the little trill.of excitement early in my courting of my wife when she used the words 'fewer' and 'whom' correctly. This was the one.
(She is from the NW, by the way!)
These little things are important. When I started dating my girlfriend now wife I was pleased to find that she liked peas. But not, it later transpired, mushy peas. By the time this came to light it was too late - we were already married.
To drag things back to the man of the moment, how does your missus feel about guacamole?
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
A good way to hole Starmer below the high tide line if it went ahead?
How many holed below the waterline events does one Prime Minister need to experience before he sinks?
I think he needs to go now.
One interesting snippet from my Chagos research. One example of what happened under the Conservative 14 years in power, exploring and negotiating the inherent problems in the Chagos situation throughout those 14 years, the resettlement of Chagossians had finally been agreed in 2023 in the 11 rounds of top level negotiations the Conservative Party had negotiating this deal, but in January 2024 UK went back on that agreement. This manoeuvre in January 2024 from Cameron is interesting - because Cameron had, what they call in cop shows, “previous” on blocking return of Chagossians.
In a key earlier attempt to keep this dispute out of the international courts, Prime Minister Cameron purchased an independent report if return of Chagossians was feasible and could be done. The report said yes, return of Chagossians is feasible. But the moment Cameron decided in 2016 not to go further with this, is the moment it created certainty of UK being taken into the courts.
Although surrender of sovereignty stands out as most controversial in the deal, the arguments around the of return of Chagossians has played a crucial role over more than half a century, in getting us to where it is today. And on this particular element of it all, I’m not at all convinced it’s all over.
Right, so after some 'research' you now acknowledge that Cameron parked the deal, which is exactly what I said happened - a statement that you were posting infantile rolleyes smilies about earlier.
No. Cameron’s DID NOT PARK THE DEAL. Quite the opposite.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum on reaching a deal before General Election, but rounds of negotiating actually carried on right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives leaving so much of the deal we see today already agreed, so much plan and agreement already in place, the incoming government only needed two further rounds of talks before everything was settled by 3rd Oct 2024.
Apart from issue of resettlement, that had been agreed, but in 2024 Cameron ripped that agreement up. I don’t know if the chapter was simply un-ripped up, or re-negotiated final deal.
The key bit of my argument, an agreement ceding Chagos sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base, this was an agreed part of the plan the incoming UK government INHERITED.
Until you prove me wrong, Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum
Right OK, glad we got that straightened out.
It’s good we are back on the same page. 🙂
Cameron never put a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating. Cameron presided over rounds of negotiating right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives in all. Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty. It was basically done, two months later it was on Biden’s desk.
Which makes the Conservative Party position now all the more bizarre. When this truth is more widely known, all the Conservatives can say is - we didn’t sign anything! We did not surrender the Chagos!
What was actually going on under Cameron’s time as Foreign Sec, a general election was coming and transferring sovereignty for a lease, and allowing return of Chagossians, was going to be a difficult sell - hence, certainly with the tacit approval of the US and India, carry on negotiating rather than walk away from negotiation table {in eyes of world}, but tactically slow the negotiations down, so it becomes a matter for other side of the election.
In negotiating reality, the deal we have today, or something almost like this, could have been signed by the UK government in 2023. Cameron may have rowed back the agreed bit of plan for resettlement, but he didn’t rip up the planned lease back, he bequeathed it to the next government still in the plan.
You have all the freedom to say you don’t believe a word of this account, because this sounds so outlandish - the Conservative Party certainly don’t explain it like I do for sure. Apart from me, who does?
But if you want to to say - as someone said yesterday - my argument is not coherent, just a collection of tangential to irrelevant facts and suppositions, you have to take that up with my resources, referencing across all them gave me the insight. Here are some links, starting with an actual written statement in Parliament, and finishing with exactly where it’s at today.
Sorry, we're not on the same page, that was sarcasm highlighting your rhetorical contortions - I suppose I should have used a rolleyes smilie.
Most of the sources you've provided are indeed irrelevant, they contain things that I've never disputed.
Where you've come really unstuck is that more or less all of your punchier claims come from a single article by 'Charlie Bealby' (must be an established journalist - he has 42 Twitter followers), whose 'Factual Breakdown' (always a bit of a red flag that you're getting an opinion piece when the word 'factual' begins the headline) seems to be a work of his own imagination.
The "11 rounds of negotiations" piece comes from an unnamed Labour briefing to the London Economic that is totally unverifiable but also calls them 'failed' negotiations' - which doesn't really support your notion that the final deal was a Tory one - it supports my argument that Starmer was prepared to pony up the cash when the Tories, even Cleverly, were not. I think most sensible British people would have liked them to carry on failing.
For this part:
These talks were continued and refined under Lord Cameron’s tenure as Foreign Secretary. The final round of Tory-led negotiations took place just weeks before the 2024 general election. By the time the government changed hands, the framework for ceding sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base was already the established “Plan A” for the British state.
Ben doesn't offer any form of back up at all. He links to the October 2024 announcement, presumably expecting (rightly in your case) that most would not enquire further.
Easy to get taken in by a semi professional opinion piece with lots of links and stuff - we have all been there.
More 2024 Labour voters think Starmer should stay than resign though as do 2024 LDs, it is 2024 Tories and 2024 Reform voters who massively want the PM to go, 66% and 83% respectively.
A plurality of Greens want Starmer to go, though 27% want him to stay, so Greens are ironically closest to the UK average on booting Sir Keir out
To put it in context could you imagine 37% of conservatives wanted their PM to resign
Yes, indeed when Truss was PM most 2019 Tories wanted her to resign
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
In the long term this pyramid scheme is worse than worthless. It has a massively negative value. The costs of running crypto vastly, by many orders of magnitude, exceed any intrinsic value it may have.
The long term can take a very long term to arrive though. But eventually there will be a limit and then a lot of people holding nothing of value but paying a lot of cost.
May be sooner than later if AI displaces crypto as the next big thing people don't understand but want to invest in.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
Crypto as a whole should never be completely valueless - it's great for niche use cases of various forms of illegality.
(Illegality doesn't have to be a bad thing. Even if you are one of the 90% of the population who incorrectly thinks drugs should remain illegal, do you fell the same way about gambling? Evading elite-favouring currency controls? Getting assets out of a despotic regime? Rewarding intelligence assets?)
That doesn't necessarily mean that bitcoin has to have a value, but so much of the crypto universe is tied up with it that it's the best equivalent to gold atm.
I am not saying buy it at anything like these prices... bottom pickers get smelly fingers and all that... but there is a price that I would (highly speculatively) - probably around 10k and averaging down...
Gold has a real value as it is consumed, in not just jewellery but electronics, medicine and much, much more.
Yes it holds value as a "safe" commodity, but that commodity is underpinned by intrinsic value. If people stopped investing in gold today, it would still be consumed and have a value tomorrow.
Crypto has no such intrinsic value. Worse, it has a massive cost of overheads instead.
You know who else supported Jeremy Corbyn and served loyally in his Shadow Cabinet? Tbf Barry was more than a touch on the histrionic side last night.
Ian Austin @LordIanAustin · 9h You don’t have to be Keir Starmer’s strongest supporter to roll your eyes at Barry Gardiner’s performative, amateur dramatics.
Or to recall how he supported Jeremy Corbyn and served loyally in his Shadow Cabinet when the Labour Party was poisoned by racism and extremism.
If your position at The Washington Post was recently eliminated, please consider applying to write for The Babylon Bee. We are seeking applicants experienced in writing fictional content presented in the tone and style of a legitimate news organization.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he regretted 'every minute' he had spent with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and added that their association was confined to philanthropy-related discussions
i just turned on ITV for Emmerdale and it is the first Six Nations Match, on a Thursday? Though scrolling down threads I see has been commented on
There are so many internationals now that the Six nations is lessened in value. 20.mins highlights or record and fast forward thro the dross and get to the scores is best. From.next year one will have to cut out the adverts too. Won't be long before its interrupted like You Tube and you'll have to pay to avoid it.
Tickets are approaching.200 quid.. my local Rugby club gives more entertainment and value.
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
In the long term this pyramid scheme is worse than worthless. It has a massively negative value. The costs of running crypto vastly, by many orders of magnitude, exceed any intrinsic value it may have.
The long term can take a very long term to arrive though. But eventually there will be a limit and then a lot of people holding nothing of value but paying a lot of cost.
May be sooner than later if AI displaces crypto as the next big thing people don't understand but want to invest in.
There have been a few mumblings about the need for the Fed to bail out some crypto institutions and investors. Maybe I have missed something, but I thought the whole point about Bitcoin et al was that they were proudly outside the constraints of financial orthodoxy - in which case, let them all go under. That's the iron-clad law of the markets - if you're bust, you're bust.
I will join any demo outside the Bank of England and/or the Treasury if HMG tries to bail them out.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he regretted 'every minute' he had spent with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and added that their association was confined to philanthropy-related discussions
Certainly lots of philanthropic benevolence towards Russian young ladies from that association if you believe Epstein's messages
tbf this does accord with what Rory said on TRiP about Epstein's networking style, that he'd go to a university, museum and whatever and offer them a bazillion dollars but insist on working on a matched basis with existing donors. The recipient would put them in touch, which expanded Epstein's network and meant everyone saw him as a generous and public-spirited guy.
Trump: "Mike Johnson is a very religious person. He does not hide it. He'll say to me sometimes at lunch, 'Sir, may we pray.' I'll say, 'Excuse me? We're having lunch.'"
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
A good way to hole Starmer below the high tide line if it went ahead?
How many holed below the waterline events does one Prime Minister need to experience before he sinks?
I think he needs to go now.
One interesting snippet from my Chagos research. One example of what happened under the Conservative 14 years in power, exploring and negotiating the inherent problems in the Chagos situation throughout those 14 years, the resettlement of Chagossians had finally been agreed in 2023 in the 11 rounds of top level negotiations the Conservative Party had negotiating this deal, but in January 2024 UK went back on that agreement. This manoeuvre in January 2024 from Cameron is interesting - because Cameron had, what they call in cop shows, “previous” on blocking return of Chagossians.
In a key earlier attempt to keep this dispute out of the international courts, Prime Minister Cameron purchased an independent report if return of Chagossians was feasible and could be done. The report said yes, return of Chagossians is feasible. But the moment Cameron decided in 2016 not to go further with this, is the moment it created certainty of UK being taken into the courts.
Although surrender of sovereignty stands out as most controversial in the deal, the arguments around the of return of Chagossians has played a crucial role over more than half a century, in getting us to where it is today. And on this particular element of it all, I’m not at all convinced it’s all over.
Right, so after some 'research' you now acknowledge that Cameron parked the deal, which is exactly what I said happened - a statement that you were posting infantile rolleyes smilies about earlier.
No. Cameron’s DID NOT PARK THE DEAL. Quite the opposite.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum on reaching a deal before General Election, but rounds of negotiating actually carried on right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives leaving so much of the deal we see today already agreed, so much plan and agreement already in place, the incoming government only needed two further rounds of talks before everything was settled by 3rd Oct 2024.
Apart from issue of resettlement, that had been agreed, but in 2024 Cameron ripped that agreement up. I don’t know if the chapter was simply un-ripped up, or re-negotiated final deal.
The key bit of my argument, an agreement ceding Chagos sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base, this was an agreed part of the plan the incoming UK government INHERITED.
Until you prove me wrong, Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum
Right OK, glad we got that straightened out.
It’s good we are back on the same page. 🙂
Cameron never put a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating. Cameron presided over rounds of negotiating right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives in all. Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty. It was basically done, two months later it was on Biden’s desk.
Which makes the Conservative Party position now all the more bizarre. When this truth is more widely known, all the Conservatives can say is - we didn’t sign anything! We did not surrender the Chagos!
What was actually going on under Cameron’s time as Foreign Sec, a general election was coming and transferring sovereignty for a lease, and allowing return of Chagossians, was going to be a difficult sell - hence, certainly with the tacit approval of the US and India, carry on negotiating rather than walk away from negotiation table {in eyes of world}, but tactically slow the negotiations down, so it becomes a matter for other side of the election.
In negotiating reality, the deal we have today, or something almost like this, could have been signed by the UK government in 2023. Cameron may have rowed back the agreed bit of plan for resettlement, but he didn’t rip up the planned lease back, he bequeathed it to the next government still in the plan.
You have all the freedom to say you don’t believe a word of this account, because this sounds so outlandish - the Conservative Party certainly don’t explain it like I do for sure. Apart from me, who does?
But if you want to to say - as someone said yesterday - my argument is not coherent, just a collection of tangential to irrelevant facts and suppositions, you have to take that up with my resources, referencing across all them gave me the insight. Here are some links, starting with an actual written statement in Parliament, and finishing with exactly where it’s at today.
Sorry, we're not on the same page, that was sarcasm highlighting your rhetorical contortions - I suppose I should have used a rolleyes smilie.
Most of the sources you've provided are indeed irrelevant, they contain things that I've never disputed.
Where you've come really unstuck is that more or less all of your punchier claims come from a single article by 'Charlie Bealby' (must be an established journalist - he has 42 Twitter followers), whose 'Factual Breakdown' (always a bit of a red flag that you're getting an opinion piece when the word 'factual' begins the headline) seems to be a work of his own imagination.
The "11 rounds of negotiations" piece comes from an unnamed Labour briefing to the London Economic that is totally unverifiable but also calls them 'failed' negotiations' - which doesn't really support your notion that the final deal was a Tory one - it supports my argument that Starmer was prepared to pony up the cash when the Tories, even Cleverly, were not. I think most sensible British people would have liked them to carry on failing.
For this part:
These talks were continued and refined under Lord Cameron’s tenure as Foreign Secretary. The final round of Tory-led negotiations took place just weeks before the 2024 general election. By the time the government changed hands, the framework for ceding sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base was already the established “Plan A” for the British state.
Ben doesn't offer any form of back up at all. He links to the October 2024 announcement, presumably expecting (rightly in your case) that most would not enquire further.
Easy to get taken in by a semi professional opinion piece with lots of links and stuff - we have all been there.
Okay. I’ll take it very slowly and apply pure logic on this then.
Would negotiation, making and writing a deal like this take at least two years?
Was the deal on Joe Biden’s desk in the summer of 2024 for his approval?
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
You know who else supported Jeremy Corbyn and served loyally in his Shadow Cabinet? Tbf Barry was more than a touch on the histrionic side last night.
Ian Austin @LordIanAustin · 9h You don’t have to be Keir Starmer’s strongest supporter to roll your eyes at Barry Gardiner’s performative, amateur dramatics.
Or to recall how he supported Jeremy Corbyn and served loyally in his Shadow Cabinet when the Labour Party was poisoned by racism and extremism.
Cut Sir Keir some slack. You can't expect an ex-DPP to be forensic enough to spot that his leader is a raging anti semite and his Ambassador was bezzie mates with the world's most infamous paedophile
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
One of the interesting things about Bitcoin is how illiquid it is - if you have a billion dollars of bitcoin, you can’t sell it quickly.
You try, and it would completely crash the price.
Ask the Russians in the sandpit, who turned up over the last 3-4 years with gold bars and bitcoin because regular banking wasn’t going to work. They quickly realised that you can’t liquidate large amounts of either for anywhere close to the published prices. Certainly not to the satisfaction of authorities tracking payments.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
How many known pals of convicted paedo traffickers would Boris have had to have appointed for Starmer to have demanded his resignation?
A fair point. I think that Starmer, in opposition, would have regarded a PM being in the circumstances he now is in as being right to resign. And he would have been correct.
Starmer may of course be doing the decent thing and hanging on till May so that his successor need not cope with the local election aftermath. But I have doubts.
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
How many known pals of convicted paedo traffickers would Boris have had to have appointed for Starmer to have demanded his resignation?
A fair point. I think that Starmer, in opposition, would have regarded a PM being in the circumstances he now is in as being right to resign. And he would have been correct.
Starmer may of course be doing the decent thing and hanging on till May so that his successor need not cope with the local election aftermath. But I have doubts.
Given the Labour Party's historic sentimentality and complete lack of ruthlessness in removing its leaders, Starmer can certainly bet on carrying on until May, if Labour come second on the NEV ahead of the Tories he may even last beyond the local and devolved elections.
If he was Tory leader though Starmer would likely be facing a VONC this week
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
Regarding the Epstein story, it seemed to be quite widely accepted that Epstein was an agent of Israel. The story that he may have been a Russian asset seemed to come in not really as a contradiction of the original story, more an addition.
But in the last couple of days the coverage seems to have dropped all mention of Israel and just be focusing on the Russian connection. If it's based on nothing more than Russia being a better avatar for evil, that's unfortunate. If current events are teaching us anything it's that we need less polite concealment of inconvenient truth.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
Crypto as a whole should never be completely valueless - it's great for niche use cases of various forms of illegality.
(Illegality doesn't have to be a bad thing. Even if you are one of the 90% of the population who incorrectly thinks drugs should remain illegal, do you fell the same way about gambling? Evading elite-favouring currency controls? Getting assets out of a despotic regime? Rewarding intelligence assets?)
That doesn't necessarily mean that bitcoin has to have a value, but so much of the crypto universe is tied up with it that it's the best equivalent to gold atm.
I am not saying buy it at anything like these prices... bottom pickers get smelly fingers and all that... but there is a price that I would (highly speculatively) - probably around 10k and averaging down...
Gold has a real value as it is consumed, in not just jewellery but electronics, medicine and much, much more.
Yes it holds value as a "safe" commodity, but that commodity is underpinned by intrinsic value. If people stopped investing in gold today, it would still be consumed and have a value tomorrow.
Crypto has no such intrinsic value. Worse, it has a massive cost of overheads instead.
Agreed. Although the investment value of gold is much higher than its value from practical uses.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
I suppose it's to her credit that she didn't ask Lord Alli for a Mandelsloan
Where can you get this stuff? I need to... compete in a ski jumping competition
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
In January, German newspaper Bild, external reported that jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid before being measured for their suits.
Hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, can be used to increase penis circumference by one or two centimetres.
This would increase the surface area of their suits during competition, which, according to FIS, the international ski and snowboard federation, could increase their flight in the air.
"Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a 5% bigger surface area, you fly further," said FIS ski jumping men's race director Sandro Pertile.
It is the same stuff used for the fashionable "trout pout" lips. Any dodgy cosmetic filler place on the High st should be able to do it.
How did the trout lips ever become fashionable?
Do any men find that look in any way attractive?
There must be those who want to fuck a big fish...
We once had a bunch of secondary school kids come in to our work to 'experience the internet' (it was quite a while ago and we had 'fast' internet for the time...). We set up a web proxy with some blocks on the already proliferating 'known bad' sites, keywords etc.
But one determined kid still managed to find a 'how to have sex with fish' website (not the dolphin one - this was their own niche).
Probably gone on to great things. Or been arrested. Or both, if they went into politics.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
It's a tricky market to say the least. If Rayner is cleared, I think one possibility is that it becomes almost a one horse race.
The other chance is that the party goes for gravitas and super decency/experience. There is something about Rayner's aura which tells you she isn't Yvette Cooper (possible PM) or Anneliese Dodds (not possible) and would be happier in Blackpool than at a seminar on the chemicals industry in Armenia. She just isn't boring enough.
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
In the long term this pyramid scheme is worse than worthless. It has a massively negative value. The costs of running crypto vastly, by many orders of magnitude, exceed any intrinsic value it may have.
The long term can take a very long term to arrive though. But eventually there will be a limit and then a lot of people holding nothing of value but paying a lot of cost.
May be sooner than later if AI displaces crypto as the next big thing people don't understand but want to invest in.
There have been a few mumblings about the need for the Fed to bail out some crypto institutions and investors. Maybe I have missed something, but I thought the whole point about Bitcoin et al was that they were proudly outside the constraints of financial orthodoxy - in which case, let them all go under. That's the iron-clad law of the markets - if you're bust, you're bust.
I will join any demo outside the Bank of England and/or the Treasury if HMG tries to bail them out.
Yes, but what if Trump’s friends or, god forbid, Trump’s family lose out? Then there’ll be a strong argument for the Fed to bail out investors.
If the French fought wars like they do this rugby they might actually get somewhere.
I loved being a rugby fan in the south of France. Their fandom is on another level. I got asked about Le Crunch as soon as some people realised that I was English
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
This is reminding me of the latter days of Brown as the iceberg steadily approached and all the Labour MPs were briefing he was doomed, done for, they needed to change their leader, it was hopeless, challenges would be incoming….
If the French fought wars like they do this rugby they might actually get somewhere.
I loved being a rugby fan in the south of France. Their fandom is on another level. I got asked about Le Crunch as soon as some people realised that I was English
Tbf, the way they sing La Marseillaise is incredible.
The video from 2024 is pretty bad for Sir Keir really
"The answers given.. were intentionally intended to create the impression that Mandelson barely knew Epstein.. I had no reason at that stage to think that was anything other than the truth"
Because we've all stayed at the mansion of a billionaire we barely know, right Keir?
A good way to hole Starmer below the high tide line if it went ahead?
How many holed below the waterline events does one Prime Minister need to experience before he sinks?
I think he needs to go now.
One interesting snippet from my Chagos research. One example of what happened under the Conservative 14 years in power, exploring and negotiating the inherent problems in the Chagos situation throughout those 14 years, the resettlement of Chagossians had finally been agreed in 2023 in the 11 rounds of top level negotiations the Conservative Party had negotiating this deal, but in January 2024 UK went back on that agreement. This manoeuvre in January 2024 from Cameron is interesting - because Cameron had, what they call in cop shows, “previous” on blocking return of Chagossians.
In a key earlier attempt to keep this dispute out of the international courts, Prime Minister Cameron purchased an independent report if return of Chagossians was feasible and could be done. The report said yes, return of Chagossians is feasible. But the moment Cameron decided in 2016 not to go further with this, is the moment it created certainty of UK being taken into the courts.
Although surrender of sovereignty stands out as most controversial in the deal, the arguments around the of return of Chagossians has played a crucial role over more than half a century, in getting us to where it is today. And on this particular element of it all, I’m not at all convinced it’s all over.
Right, so after some 'research' you now acknowledge that Cameron parked the deal, which is exactly what I said happened - a statement that you were posting infantile rolleyes smilies about earlier.
No. Cameron’s DID NOT PARK THE DEAL. Quite the opposite.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum on reaching a deal before General Election, but rounds of negotiating actually carried on right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives leaving so much of the deal we see today already agreed, so much plan and agreement already in place, the incoming government only needed two further rounds of talks before everything was settled by 3rd Oct 2024.
Apart from issue of resettlement, that had been agreed, but in 2024 Cameron ripped that agreement up. I don’t know if the chapter was simply un-ripped up, or re-negotiated final deal.
The key bit of my argument, an agreement ceding Chagos sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base, this was an agreed part of the plan the incoming UK government INHERITED.
Until you prove me wrong, Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty.
There was never a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating, there was a slowing of momentum
Right OK, glad we got that straightened out.
It’s good we are back on the same page. 🙂
Cameron never put a freeze on negotiating, never a pause on negotiating. Cameron presided over rounds of negotiating right up to the 2024 General Election, 11 rounds under the Conservatives in all. Labour inherited a plan agreed from the 11 rounds of negotiation under the Conservatives, for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia after ceding sovereignty. What Labour inherited was called Established "Plan A": containing and describing the agreement for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia while ceding sovereignty. It was basically done, two months later it was on Biden’s desk.
Which makes the Conservative Party position now all the more bizarre. When this truth is more widely known, all the Conservatives can say is - we didn’t sign anything! We did not surrender the Chagos!
What was actually going on under Cameron’s time as Foreign Sec, a general election was coming and transferring sovereignty for a lease, and allowing return of Chagossians, was going to be a difficult sell - hence, certainly with the tacit approval of the US and India, carry on negotiating rather than walk away from negotiation table {in eyes of world}, but tactically slow the negotiations down, so it becomes a matter for other side of the election.
In negotiating reality, the deal we have today, or something almost like this, could have been signed by the UK government in 2023. Cameron may have rowed back the agreed bit of plan for resettlement, but he didn’t rip up the planned lease back, he bequeathed it to the next government still in the plan.
You have all the freedom to say you don’t believe a word of this account, because this sounds so outlandish - the Conservative Party certainly don’t explain it like I do for sure. Apart from me, who does?
But if you want to to say - as someone said yesterday - my argument is not coherent, just a collection of tangential to irrelevant facts and suppositions, you have to take that up with my resources, referencing across all them gave me the insight. Here are some links, starting with an actual written statement in Parliament, and finishing with exactly where it’s at today.
Sorry, we're not on the same page, that was sarcasm highlighting your rhetorical contortions - I suppose I should have used a rolleyes smilie.
Most of the sources you've provided are indeed irrelevant, they contain things that I've never disputed.
Where you've come really unstuck is that more or less all of your punchier claims come from a single article by 'Charlie Bealby' (must be an established journalist - he has 42 Twitter followers), whose 'Factual Breakdown' (always a bit of a red flag that you're getting an opinion piece when the word 'factual' begins the headline) seems to be a work of his own imagination.
The "11 rounds of negotiations" piece comes from an unnamed Labour briefing to the London Economic that is totally unverifiable but also calls them 'failed' negotiations' - which doesn't really support your notion that the final deal was a Tory one - it supports my argument that Starmer was prepared to pony up the cash when the Tories, even Cleverly, were not. I think most sensible British people would have liked them to carry on failing.
For this part:
These talks were continued and refined under Lord Cameron’s tenure as Foreign Secretary. The final round of Tory-led negotiations took place just weeks before the 2024 general election. By the time the government changed hands, the framework for ceding sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base was already the established “Plan A” for the British state.
Ben doesn't offer any form of back up at all. He links to the October 2024 announcement, presumably expecting (rightly in your case) that most would not enquire further.
Easy to get taken in by a semi professional opinion piece with lots of links and stuff - we have all been there.
You are asking us to believe to believe, from scratch, incoming Labour Government and Mauritius created and agreed this deal, and put it on the US Presidents desk in little over 8 weeks? Ah, here’s that rolling eyes emoji you mentioned 🙄
Who are you saying the Chagos Deal was negotiated and written by?
I am saying the new government picked up a document the previous government had left them, unfinished to a degree for sure, but must have been at least 80-90% negotiated and agreed already, how else could they have done it in just 8 weeks?
If the French fought wars like they do this rugby they might actually get somewhere.
I loved being a rugby fan in the south of France. Their fandom is on another level. I got asked about Le Crunch as soon as some people realised that I was English
Tbf, the way they sing La Marseillaise is incredible.
Like any True Brit it Gauls me. The French have the worlds best national anthem.
If the French fought wars like they do this rugby they might actually get somewhere.
I loved being a rugby fan in the south of France. Their fandom is on another level. I got asked about Le Crunch as soon as some people realised that I was English
Tbf, the way they sing La Marseillaise is incredible.
Like any True Brit it Gauls me. The French have the worlds best national anthem.
Land of Hope and Glory or Rule Britannia would easily hold their own, but we're far too squeamish these days to belt them out.
Anyway, my evening's entertainment is watching Bitcoin slowly, but also quite quickly, collapse in real time.
A lot of people are 'worth' a hell of a lot less than they thought they were 4 months ago.
It's a very interesting moment.
I have no direct exposure to crypto, nor would I ever have, but the spillover of BC=0 might be significant. My very long term view is that these are valueless things, but I've been wrong on the very long term so far, and really entirely expect to continue to be wrong.
Crypto as a whole should never be completely valueless - it's great for niche use cases of various forms of illegality.
(Illegality doesn't have to be a bad thing. Even if you are one of the 90% of the population who incorrectly thinks drugs should remain illegal, do you fell the same way about gambling? Evading elite-favouring currency controls? Getting assets out of a despotic regime? Rewarding intelligence assets?)
That doesn't necessarily mean that bitcoin has to have a value, but so much of the crypto universe is tied up with it that it's the best equivalent to gold atm.
I am not saying buy it at anything like these prices... bottom pickers get smelly fingers and all that... but there is a price that I would (highly speculatively) - probably around 10k and averaging down...
Gold has a real value as it is consumed, in not just jewellery but electronics, medicine and much, much more.
Yes it holds value as a "safe" commodity, but that commodity is underpinned by intrinsic value. If people stopped investing in gold today, it would still be consumed and have a value tomorrow.
Crypto has no such intrinsic value. Worse, it has a massive cost of overheads instead.
Agreed. Although the investment value of gold is much higher than its value from practical uses.
Not least because it cannot be destroyed or created and has been valued throughout human history.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
It's a tricky market to say the least. If Rayner is cleared, I think one possibility is that it becomes almost a one horse race.
The other chance is that the party goes for gravitas and super decency/experience. There is something about Rayner's aura which tells you she isn't Yvette Cooper (possible PM) or Anneliese Dodds (not possible) and would be happier in Blackpool than at a seminar on the chemicals industry in Armenia. She just isn't boring enough.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
It's a tricky market to say the least. If Rayner is cleared, I think one possibility is that it becomes almost a one horse race.
The other chance is that the party goes for gravitas and super decency/experience. There is something about Rayner's aura which tells you she isn't Yvette Cooper (possible PM) or Anneliese Dodds (not possible) and would be happier in Blackpool than at a seminar on the chemicals industry in Armenia. She just isn't boring enough.
But even many sympathetic voices seem to be losing patience. Speaking to Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, said Starmer should “stop blaming Mandelson”, take responsibility for the appointment and undertake a “reset” of his No 10 team.
She added: “I don’t think it’s inevitable that it will bring him down, but it will bring him down unless he takes the action, which is really necessary for him to take.”
But even many sympathetic voices seem to be losing patience. Speaking to Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, said Starmer should “stop blaming Mandelson”, take responsibility for the appointment and undertake a “reset” of his No 10 team.
She added: “I don’t think it’s inevitable that it will bring him down, but it will bring him down unless he takes the action, which is really necessary for him to take.”
But even many sympathetic voices seem to be losing patience. Speaking to Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, said Starmer should “stop blaming Mandelson”, take responsibility for the appointment and undertake a “reset” of his No 10 team.
She added: “I don’t think it’s inevitable that it will bring him down, but it will bring him down unless he takes the action, which is really necessary for him to take.”
Eh? You can throw a ton of shite at Mandelson for all sorts of things obvs but the idea that he came into politics for the wrong reasons seems very odd. He was a Labour councillor way back in 1979 when he was about 25 years old. His grandfather was a Cabinet minister.
These in game adverts better GTF during the world cup, can't be doing with sport turning into Americanised nonsense with breaks every 5 minutes
What moron at ITV went to the US on holiday and went you know what British TV needs....it will earn us a few quid and it definitely won't piss anybody off.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
They should probably do something about it in that case
Which makes perfect sense until you consider the top 6 runners and riders in the betting for this novice stakes:
Rayner - under investigation Streeting - from the Mandelson stable Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
Rayner - under investigation for not paying some tax that would have to be refunded 6 months later - it's a nothingburg..
It's a tricky market to say the least. If Rayner is cleared, I think one possibility is that it becomes almost a one horse race.
The other chance is that the party goes for gravitas and super decency/experience. There is something about Rayner's aura which tells you she isn't Yvette Cooper (possible PM) or Anneliese Dodds (not possible) and would be happier in Blackpool than at a seminar on the chemicals industry in Armenia. She just isn't boring enough.
Dear Mr. Prime Minister — I’m assuming your thoughtful and well-articulated message was sent to me by mistake, because surely you intended it for the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who’s despicable, disrespectful and insulting comments about President Trump @POTUS were so potentially damaging to your government.
Mr. Prime Minister, I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for your lifetime of bold leadership and for your decades of contributions that strengthened the U.S.–Poland relationship. You Sir have truly been a model ally and great friend of the United States.
And I know you agree that insulting and degrading the @realDonaldTrump President of the United States— the greatest friend Poland has ever had in the White House, is the last thing any Polish leader should do.
"If the Six Nations experiment is a success, there is a possibility that ITV could sell in-game commercials for its coverage of the World Cup this summer, when all matches there will feature a three-minute water break in the middle of each half to help players to cope with the extreme heat."
Dear Mr. Prime Minister — I’m assuming your thoughtful and well-articulated message was sent to me by mistake, because surely you intended it for the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who’s despicable, disrespectful and insulting comments about President Trump @POTUS were so potentially damaging to your government.
Mr. Prime Minister, I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for your lifetime of bold leadership and for your decades of contributions that strengthened the U.S.–Poland relationship. You Sir have truly been a model ally and great friend of the United States.
And I know you agree that insulting and degrading the @realDonaldTrump President of the United States— the greatest friend Poland has ever had in the White House, is the last thing any Polish leader should do.
Your position that you will not maintain relations with Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who was elected by a parliamentary majority representing the majority of Poles, is simply outrageous. The times when ambassadors dictated to Poles who should hold what office in Poland are over and will never return. We want good relations with the United States, but your representatives will not choose the authorities of the Republic of Poland for us.
I have never been a fan of Włodzimierz Czarzasty, but in this matter, as a Member of Parliament, I stand firmly behind him. Your President first insulted Polish soldiers and then demands support for his dreams of receiving the Nobel Prize. The times when Nero, under threat of punishment, demanded recognition for his musical talents have been regarded as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. From the Polish perspective, Donald Trump’s efforts to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while at the same time hanging a photograph of himself with the greatest criminal of our times—Putin—are similar to Nero’s demands for awards and praise.
Comments
95% public cut through on Mandleson story
Most of the sources you've provided are indeed irrelevant, they contain things that I've never disputed.
Where you've come really unstuck is that more or less all of your punchier claims come from a single article by 'Charlie Bealby' (must be an established journalist - he has 42 Twitter followers), whose 'Factual Breakdown' (always a bit of a red flag that you're getting an opinion piece when the word 'factual' begins the headline) seems to be a work of his own imagination.
The "11 rounds of negotiations" piece comes from an unnamed Labour briefing to the London Economic that is totally unverifiable but also calls them 'failed' negotiations' - which doesn't really support your notion that the final deal was a Tory one - it supports my argument that Starmer was prepared to pony up the cash when the Tories, even Cleverly, were not. I think most sensible British people would have liked them to carry on failing.
For this part:
These talks were continued and refined under Lord Cameron’s tenure as Foreign Secretary. The final round of Tory-led negotiations took place just weeks before the 2024 general election. By the time the government changed hands, the framework for ceding sovereignty in exchange for a long-term lease of the military base was already the established “Plan A” for the British state.
Ben doesn't offer any form of back up at all. He links to the October 2024 announcement, presumably expecting (rightly in your case) that most would not enquire further.
Easy to get taken in by a semi professional opinion piece with lots of links and stuff - we have all been there.
The long term can take a very long term to arrive though. But eventually there will be a limit and then a lot of people holding nothing of value but paying a lot of cost.
May be sooner than later if AI displaces crypto as the next big thing people don't understand but want to invest in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYFSfwAzL_s
It's such a convincing li
neBut do it with sincerity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkmzmqCCIaM
Yes it holds value as a "safe" commodity, but that commodity is underpinned by intrinsic value. If people stopped investing in gold today, it would still be consumed and have a value tomorrow.
Crypto has no such intrinsic value. Worse, it has a massive cost of overheads instead.
Tbf Barry was more than a touch on the histrionic side last night.
Ian Austin
@LordIanAustin
·
9h
You don’t have to be Keir Starmer’s strongest supporter to roll your eyes at Barry Gardiner’s performative, amateur dramatics.
Or to recall how he supported Jeremy Corbyn and served loyally in his Shadow Cabinet when the Labour Party was poisoned by racism and extremism.
https://x.com/LordIanAustin/status/2019356555498656214?s=20
If your position at The Washington Post was recently eliminated, please consider applying to write for The Babylon Bee. We are seeking applicants experienced in writing fictional content presented in the tone and style of a legitimate news organization.
Do any men find that look in any way attractive?
'He lied to me' lol
This is possibly a bigger surprise than your Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps watching.
20.mins highlights or record and fast forward thro the dross and get to the scores is best. From.next year one will have to cut out the adverts too.
Won't be long before its interrupted like You Tube and you'll have to pay to avoid it.
Tickets are approaching.200 quid.. my local Rugby club gives more entertainment and value.
I will join any demo outside the Bank of England and/or the Treasury if HMG tries to bail them out.
"The majority of Labour MPs don't think Starmer should carry on as PM".
it is literally his job to work out that Mandelson was lying then don't appoint the idiot with a long history of lying.
Would negotiation, making and writing a deal like this take at least two years?
Was the deal on Joe Biden’s desk in the summer of 2024 for his approval?
Penny dropped yet?
He's managed to impose himself on three consecutive Labour Prime Ministers over thirty years, and disgrace all of them
And countless other Labour figures have relied on his support
Will anyone ever dare to be backed by him again?
Starmer may of course be doing the decent thing and hanging on till May so that his successor need not cope with the local election aftermath. But I have doubts.
If he was Tory leader though Starmer would likely be facing a VONC this week
But in the last couple of days the coverage seems to have dropped all mention of Israel and just be focusing on the Russian connection. If it's based on nothing more than Russia being a better avatar for evil, that's unfortunate. If current events are teaching us anything it's that we need less polite concealment of inconvenient truth.
Rayner - under investigation
Streeting - from the Mandelson stable
Miliband (E) - form weak, others preferred, last outing best forgotten, brother of better horse
Burnham - failed to enter but unaccountably still in the betting
Mahmood - little known, keep a eye on the betting, veers to the right
Powell - hard to see her winning on the evidence, best watched
But one determined kid still managed to find a 'how to have sex with fish' website (not the dolphin one - this was their own niche).
Probably gone on to great things. Or been arrested. Or both, if they went into politics.
Ref 31% (+2)
Grn 18% (-1)
Con 18% (+1)
Lab 16% (-1)
LD 11% (nc)
Implied turnout 55%
https://x.com/FindoutnowUK/status/2019450794664243292
The other chance is that the party goes for gravitas and super decency/experience. There is something about Rayner's aura which tells you she isn't Yvette Cooper (possible PM) or Anneliese Dodds (not possible) and would be happier in Blackpool than at a seminar on the chemicals industry in Armenia. She just isn't boring enough.
… and then sod all happened.
'@reformparty_uk
Nigel Farage and Matt Goodwin enjoy fish & chips in Denton, Manchester. '
https://x.com/reformparty_uk/status/2019478272304656743?s=20
"The answers given.. were intentionally intended to create the impression that Mandelson barely knew Epstein.. I had no reason at that stage to think that was anything other than the truth"
Because we've all stayed at the mansion of a billionaire we barely know, right Keir?
https://x.com/saulstaniforth/status/2019405933286420496?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
I just wanted to make everyone aware I fully endorse
@danny__kruger
as MP for East Wiltshire.
Danny is huge former Tory talent, well educated, well researched, and very well spoken.
He's an absolute star!!!
Danny, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you for your public service, you're an amazing man.
You have my full support.'
https://x.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/2019175087681712170?s=20
Ah, here’s that rolling eyes emoji you mentioned 🙄
Who are you saying the Chagos Deal was negotiated and written by?
I am saying the new government picked up a document the previous government had left them, unfinished to a degree for sure, but must have been at least 80-90% negotiated and agreed already, how else could they have done it in just 8 weeks?
Bitcoin on the other hand has not.
If you came into politics for the wrong reasons, you have no business being in it.
🎥 @Channel4News interview on Mandelson
Edit - Kruger's losing East Wilts though anyway
She added: “I don’t think it’s inevitable that it will bring him down, but it will bring him down unless he takes the action, which is really necessary for him to take.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/05/no-10-defies-calls-to-sack-morgan-mcsweeney-over-mandelson-appointment
Somebody is going to have to be thrown under the bus.
Who entered Epstein's jail tier the night of his death? Newly released video logs appear to contradict official accounts.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-jail-cell-death-video-logs/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=903657594
They can find a scapegoat but the buck stops with Starmer .
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/22/jeffrey-epstein-trust-fund-will-damages?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Very odd indeed.
DAN HODGES: Ruthless, cynical and cunning - why Mandy is the perfect choice as US ambassador
https://x.com/DailyMail/status/1870296811325247570
He's probably right.
*Without actually winning it, despite the adulation they’ve had from the BBC
Poland isn't doing poodle, but the US ambassador continues with the asshole schtick.
Mr.Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture, each other. At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.
Panie Ambasadorze Rose, sojusznicy powinni się szanować, a nie pouczać. Przynajmniej tak w Polsce rozumiemy partnerstwo.
https://x.com/donaldtusk/status/2019437938350989348
Dear Mr. Prime Minister — I’m assuming your thoughtful and well-articulated message was sent to me by mistake, because surely you intended it for the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who’s despicable, disrespectful and insulting comments about President Trump @POTUS were so potentially damaging to your government.
Mr. Prime Minister, I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for your lifetime of bold leadership and for your decades of contributions that strengthened the U.S.–Poland relationship. You Sir have truly been a model ally and great friend of the United States.
And I know you agree that insulting and degrading the @realDonaldTrump President of the United States— the greatest friend Poland has ever had in the White House, is the last thing any Polish leader should do.
As I’m sure you also know, I will always defend my President without hesitation, exception or apology.
https://x.com/USAmbPoland/status/2019456359880650905
"If the Six Nations experiment is a success, there is a possibility that ITV could sell in-game commercials for its coverage of the World Cup this summer, when all matches there will feature a three-minute water break in the middle of each half to help players to cope with the extreme heat."
Your position that you will not maintain relations with Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who was elected by a parliamentary majority representing the majority of Poles, is simply outrageous. The times when ambassadors dictated to Poles who should hold what office in Poland are over and will never return. We want good relations with the United States, but your representatives will not choose the authorities of the Republic of Poland for us.
I have never been a fan of Włodzimierz Czarzasty, but in this matter, as a Member of Parliament, I stand firmly behind him. Your President first insulted Polish soldiers and then demands support for his dreams of receiving the Nobel Prize. The times when Nero, under threat of punishment, demanded recognition for his musical talents have been regarded as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. From the Polish perspective, Donald Trump’s efforts to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while at the same time hanging a photograph of himself with the greatest criminal of our times—Putin—are similar to Nero’s demands for awards and praise.
If you do not like the Polish authorities, please change your job.
https://x.com/GiertychRoman/status/2019441160280850671