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Who will be the official opposition after the next election? – politicalbetting.com

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  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 73,278
    kle4 said:

    Taz said:
    I believe talking is going on, but how can he even believe his own words? He says serious negotiations 'are now taking place' - so what has all the talking for weeks now been about?
    It is not even worth commenting on frankly. America is no longer a serious country.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016
    Taz said:
    We've been on this treadmill for so long now and still the Strait of Hormuz is not open.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,653

    kle4 said:

    Taz said:
    I believe talking is going on, but how can he even believe his own words? He says serious negotiations 'are now taking place' - so what has all the talking for weeks now been about?
    It is not even worth commenting on frankly. America is no longer a serious country.
    I wonder how things would be if Trump was a serious person.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 25,829

    DavidL said:

    IanB2 said:

    https://x.com/SamCoatesSky/status/2056434647827935456

    YouGov Labour members polling

    If there is a leadership contest, your first preference:
    Burnham 47%
    Starmer 31%
    Rayner 8%
    Streeting 4%
    Miliband 3%
    Cooper 3%
    Mahmood 1%
    Carns 0%

    Head to heads:
    Burnham 59% v Starmer 37%
    Burnham 80% v Streeting 10%
    Miliband 58% v Streeting 28%
    Rayner 70% v Streeting 19%

    Doesn’t look like Wes has done himself any favours over recent weeks?
    Astonishing that Starmer is still at 31%. In many ways it must reflect the quality of the alternatives.
    I don't know how much more use I'm going to get out of this placard, so can I wave it now? It says:

    "Starmer isn't much cop, but he's better than the alternatives."
    "Down with this Burnham kind of thing"
    "Careful now" would be an excellent manifesto title, in my view.
    "That would be a democratic socialist matter"

    Or for Reform:

    "The money was just resting in my account"
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,644


    ..
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 57,532

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 40,950
    I think the best two options for Labour members are Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting. So of course those are the two that they don't like.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 23,238
    edited May 18
    This is fun. An important ciongressional race. Trump has spent a fortune trying to keep this man out. The most expensive in history. Some of his tweets have been unbelievable in their vileness. It seems to have caught everyone's imagination Massie's crime; trying to get the Edleson files out

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8PBQg28u2A
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 17,570
    Today’s best Lib Dem parliamentary performance:

    https://x.com/haggis_uk/status/2056419905692418287?s=46
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 64,439
    kle4 said:

    Taz said:
    I believe talking is going on, but how can he even believe his own words? He says serious negotiations 'are now taking place' - so what has all the talking for weeks now been about?
    How shall I put this?

    Hmmmmm

    Ah yes

    image
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    Nigel Farage’s claim that he paid for a £1.4mn house with his fee from a reality TV show has been challenged by corporate accounts that appear to show that the income remained on his company’s balance sheet after the property purchase.
    https://x.com/FT/status/2056356147376865625
  • Eabhal said:

    Dopermean said:

    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    MaxPB said:

    https://x.com/alexwickham/status/2056403137380917508

    ***EXCLUSIVE*** Andy Burnham fully rules out changing Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules if he becomes PM

    At the weekend his team had left it open whether he might change them in future

    But tonight his spokesperson tells Bloomberg he is explicitly ruling out any changes to the existing fiscal rules

    AND crucially Burnham is now also ruling out exempting defence spending from the fiscal rules to spend more on the military

    No change with the EU relationship and no change to the economy, exactly what is Burnham going to do differently?!
    His one policy of significance is regional devolution of power.
    The extent of that is unclear, but it goes against forty years of centralisation which was economically disastrous for the regions, so I'll give him credit there for a policy of some significance.

    No doubt PB's London residents will be sceptical, but that's their problem.
    No, I love the place but I do think the country is too London centric.
    You're an old lefty prepared to make concessions.
    I suspect some of our regular will differ.

    As I recall, even the much lamented Alistair Meeks believed London investment came before everything.
    The problem is the cost benefit analysis isn't it?
    when the beancounters run the predictions investment in London results in higher bang/£
    whether that is correct is another thing
    It's because 1% growth in London is equivalent to 7% in the NE of England, in how they contribute to overall UK growth. So any project in the NE needs to demonstrate much higher returns to attract the same kind of investment.

    The first thing I would change is how we report economic stats - give politicians the opportunity to crow about 10% wage growth in Teesside.
    “No serious person, these days, pays any attention to GDP, in any form”
  • Burnham has a communication style that despite the wishy washyness of it, I must say comes across very well indeed.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,549

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    You've surpassed yourself there. It's a new benchmark.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 57,532
    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    OK. I lied about the Nigel Farage thing.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    The price volatility of the world's fifth most common element is curious.

    Sulfur prices soar 184% YoY on geopolitical supply cut 🇨🇳
    https://x.com/minenergybiz/status/2056325609983299992
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 60,314
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1527z272lyo

    Jewish man 'kicked like animal' in Golders Green attack
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 64,439
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    OK. I lied about the Nigel Farage thing.
    Ok. So you will be sending the 5 Bernies in crypto back, then?
  • FossFoss Posts: 2,927
    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1527z272lyo

    Jewish man 'kicked like animal' in Golders Green attack

    I am ashamed to be British
  • Robert Jenrick(Reform MP): "& where are we."

    Backbencher: "You're in a different party.... you used to be there." 🤣

    https://x.com/haggis_uk/status/2056419905692418287

    Proper banter from the Lib Dems
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 64,439
    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    It's all been done before

    "No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full."
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932
    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 80,187
    Foxy said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    Its on its last Lapp.
    Perhaps it will be Santa new role, as a Claus of its demise?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932

    DavidL said:

    IanB2 said:

    https://x.com/SamCoatesSky/status/2056434647827935456

    YouGov Labour members polling

    If there is a leadership contest, your first preference:
    Burnham 47%
    Starmer 31%
    Rayner 8%
    Streeting 4%
    Miliband 3%
    Cooper 3%
    Mahmood 1%
    Carns 0%

    Head to heads:
    Burnham 59% v Starmer 37%
    Burnham 80% v Streeting 10%
    Miliband 58% v Streeting 28%
    Rayner 70% v Streeting 19%

    Doesn’t look like Wes has done himself any favours over recent weeks?
    Astonishing that Starmer is still at 31%. In many ways it must reflect the quality of the alternatives.
    I don't know how much more use I'm going to get out of this placard, so can I wave it now? It says:

    "Starmer isn't much cop, but he's better than the alternatives."
    "Down with this Burnham kind of thing"
    "Careful now" would be an excellent manifesto title, in my view.
    "That would be a democratic socialist matter"

    Or for Reform:

    "The money was just resting in my account"
    We can still reach for numerous Father Ted memes - even though they were crafted some 30 years ago.

    Where are the same quality of memes from the last ten years say?

    Comedy is largely dead.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932
    edited May 18

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    It's all been done before

    "No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full."
    He vanguished Rome's enemies and got awarded... a grass crown.

    Am I alone in thinking that is a bit of a shitty reward?
  • rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Do you not have access to any of the edge servers located in the UK or Ireland?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 73,278
    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932
    Arsenal may live to regret not putting 3 or 4 past Burnley...
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 137,632

    A Reform-Burnham love in.

    https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/2056408799049547942

    🚨 WATCH: Reform UK Mayor of Hull Luke Campbell says he thinks Andy Burnham would be a champion for the North as PM

    "He seems like a really nice guy to me"


    https://x.com/AndyBurnhamGM/status/2056445699424682037

    And I would say the same about Luke. We need a bit more decency in politics and much less vitriol. 👏🏻

    Farage will not be happy with Luke Campbell
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932

    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762

    When he puts his hands in his pockets and flaps his jacket at the start, I can't help but thinking:

    "Ain't Makerfield BRILLLLLLIANT!!"

    (And idly wondering if they got approval to use Elbow....)
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 19,998

    Taz said:
    We've been on this treadmill for so long now and still the Strait of Hormuz is not open.
    Hormuz won't be reopened unless and until it's in Iran's interest to do so, which means money to put it bluntly. All the havering is the Trump administration refusing to accept this reality.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,856

    Arsenal may live to regret not putting 3 or 4 past Burnley...

    Nah - they will win the last match.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,549
    HYUFD said:

    A Reform-Burnham love in.

    https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/2056408799049547942

    🚨 WATCH: Reform UK Mayor of Hull Luke Campbell says he thinks Andy Burnham would be a champion for the North as PM

    "He seems like a really nice guy to me"


    https://x.com/AndyBurnhamGM/status/2056445699424682037

    And I would say the same about Luke. We need a bit more decency in politics and much less vitriol. 👏🏻

    Farage will not be happy with Luke Campbell
    One of Burnham's themes is hands across the water.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932
    ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    Its on its last Lapp.
    Perhaps it will be Santa new role, as a Claus of its demise?
    We can blame Elf and Safety...
  • londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,925

    Arsenal may live to regret not putting 3 or 4 past Burnley...

    Nah - they will win the last match.
    They need to win this first...
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 9,668

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,932

    Arsenal may live to regret not putting 3 or 4 past Burnley...

    Nah - they will win the last match.
    They need to win this first...
    Bournemouth will not be a pushover for City either - their type of European football at stake (if any).
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 73,278

    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762

    When he puts his hands in his pockets and flaps his jacket at the start, I can't help but thinking:

    "Ain't Makerfield BRILLLLLLIANT!!"

    (And idly wondering if they got approval to use Elbow....)
    Guy is probably one of his best mates.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,881

    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762

    When he puts his hands in his pockets and flaps his jacket at the start, I can't help but thinking:

    "Ain't Makerfield BRILLLLLLIANT!!"

    (And idly wondering if they got approval to use Elbow....)
    Am I right to think the only policy pronouncement that we've had from him so far is that he intends to get rid of VAR? Admittedly, I haven't listened as closely to what he has to say as some, my tolerance for vacuous platitudes being strictly limited.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 64,439

    ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    Its on its last Lapp.
    Perhaps it will be Santa new role, as a Claus of its demise?
    We can blame Elf and Safety...
    https://www.instagram.com/p/DSR_DPOl7FF/
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,881
    And Arsenal stagger across the line.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,549
    FF43 said:

    Taz said:
    We've been on this treadmill for so long now and still the Strait of Hormuz is not open.
    Hormuz won't be reopened unless and until it's in Iran's interest to do so, which means money to put it bluntly. All the havering is the Trump administration refusing to accept this reality.
    They have a case for money given the damage caused by the bombing. And any recompense would be more than covered by the $$$ benefit to the world of the Straits reopening. So there's a deal there just begging to be done by Donald 'Transactional' Trump.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824

    And Arsenal stagger across the line.

    "One-Nil to the Arsenal..." (to the tune of Go West)
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,881
    rcs1000 said:

    And Arsenal stagger across the line.

    "One-Nil to the Arsenal..." (to the tune of Go West)
    Arteta is just a Spanish George Graham.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824

    rcs1000 said:

    And Arsenal stagger across the line.

    "One-Nil to the Arsenal..." (to the tune of Go West)
    Arteta is just a Spanish George Graham.
    I mean, it could be worse.

    He could be a Spanish George Galloway.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    See you all on the other side.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 18,694
    eek said:

    eek said:

    eek said:

    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    MaxPB said:

    https://x.com/alexwickham/status/2056403137380917508

    ***EXCLUSIVE*** Andy Burnham fully rules out changing Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules if he becomes PM

    At the weekend his team had left it open whether he might change them in future

    But tonight his spokesperson tells Bloomberg he is explicitly ruling out any changes to the existing fiscal rules

    AND crucially Burnham is now also ruling out exempting defence spending from the fiscal rules to spend more on the military

    No change with the EU relationship and no change to the economy, exactly what is Burnham going to do differently?!
    His one policy of significance is regional devolution of power.
    The extent of that is unclear, but it goes against forty years of centralisation which was economically disastrous for the regions, so I'll give him credit there for a policy of some significance.

    No doubt PB's London residents will be sceptical, but that's their problem.
    No, I love the place but I do think the country is too London centric.
    You're an old lefty prepared to make concessions.
    I suspect some of our regular will differ.

    As I recall, even the much lamented Alistair Meeks believed London investment came before everything.
    London investment comes before everything else because the Treasury's Green Book is written to make it that way.

    We really need a concerted effort to transform Manchester / Leeds / Birmingham / Nottingham into the equivalent of Munich / Hamburg / Frankfurt / Cologne so that the UK isn't focused purely around London.
    Two easy options:

    1) Go back in history and split England into a multitude of kingdoms, dukedoms, free cities etc for a few hundred years.

    2) Partition England into a free market, democratic Midlands/North and an oppressive, communist South for forty years.

    3) Give regional mayors some actual tax raising ability so they can build the Metro lines every other city with a population over 1 million has.
    Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and the West Midlands all have metro / tram systems

    I don't think our current problems can all be caused by Leeds being overly reliant on buses.
    The only one of those with a light railway is Newcastle and that is a single tunnel attached to existing lines that were repurposed.

    A lot of our problems relate to number high quality jobs / employees (depending on what side you are looking at) within a reasonable commuting distance.

    Underground systems solve that issue by vastly increasing the number of people within a sensible commuting time..
    Two double tunnels, intersecting at Monument. Or three if you account for the fact there are tunnels at each end of the bridge across the Tyne!
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,445
    rcs1000 said:

    See you all on the other side.

    Are we there yet?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824

    rcs1000 said:

    See you all on the other side.

    Are we there yet?
    No :-)
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016

    DavidL said:

    IanB2 said:

    https://x.com/SamCoatesSky/status/2056434647827935456

    YouGov Labour members polling

    If there is a leadership contest, your first preference:
    Burnham 47%
    Starmer 31%
    Rayner 8%
    Streeting 4%
    Miliband 3%
    Cooper 3%
    Mahmood 1%
    Carns 0%

    Head to heads:
    Burnham 59% v Starmer 37%
    Burnham 80% v Streeting 10%
    Miliband 58% v Streeting 28%
    Rayner 70% v Streeting 19%

    Doesn’t look like Wes has done himself any favours over recent weeks?
    Astonishing that Starmer is still at 31%. In many ways it must reflect the quality of the alternatives.
    I don't know how much more use I'm going to get out of this placard, so can I wave it now? It says:

    "Starmer isn't much cop, but he's better than the alternatives."
    "Down with this Burnham kind of thing"
    "Careful now" would be an excellent manifesto title, in my view.
    "That would be a democratic socialist matter"

    Or for Reform:

    "The money was just resting in my account"
    We can still reach for numerous Father Ted memes - even though they were crafted some 30 years ago.

    Where are the same quality of memes from the last ten years say?

    Comedy is largely dead.
    That's only because it's hard to make a written meme out of a Sister Michael look.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,445
    geoffw said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

    One of the few European languages that is not Indo-European.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,445
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    See you all on the other side.

    Are we there yet?
    No :-)
    Well, good luck!
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016
    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 14,628
    edited May 18

    Eabhal said:

    Dopermean said:

    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Nigelb said:

    MaxPB said:

    https://x.com/alexwickham/status/2056403137380917508

    ***EXCLUSIVE*** Andy Burnham fully rules out changing Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules if he becomes PM

    At the weekend his team had left it open whether he might change them in future

    But tonight his spokesperson tells Bloomberg he is explicitly ruling out any changes to the existing fiscal rules

    AND crucially Burnham is now also ruling out exempting defence spending from the fiscal rules to spend more on the military

    No change with the EU relationship and no change to the economy, exactly what is Burnham going to do differently?!
    His one policy of significance is regional devolution of power.
    The extent of that is unclear, but it goes against forty years of centralisation which was economically disastrous for the regions, so I'll give him credit there for a policy of some significance.

    No doubt PB's London residents will be sceptical, but that's their problem.
    No, I love the place but I do think the country is too London centric.
    You're an old lefty prepared to make concessions.
    I suspect some of our regular will differ.

    As I recall, even the much lamented Alistair Meeks believed London investment came before everything.
    The problem is the cost benefit analysis isn't it?
    when the beancounters run the predictions investment in London results in higher bang/£
    whether that is correct is another thing
    It's because 1% growth in London is equivalent to 7% in the NE of England, in how they contribute to overall UK growth. So any project in the NE needs to demonstrate much higher returns to attract the same kind of investment.

    The first thing I would change is how we report economic stats - give politicians the opportunity to crow about 10% wage growth in Teesside.
    “No serious person, these days, pays any attention to GDP, in any form”
    Didn’t say that, did I?

    Still content that Mississippi is richer than the UK, or do you want us to demonstrate how demented you are once again?

    Or how you don’t understand what the point of HS2 was?
  • RattersRatters Posts: 2,114
    edited May 18

    geoffw said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

    One of the few European languages that is not Indo-European.
    Don't let the Welsh or Irish hear you say that...

    Edit: turns out I was wrong here... Need to go to Hungary to move away from it.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    That's all well and good, but will it make Burnham sound sincere ?
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 25,829
    Nigelb said:

    The price volatility of the world's fifth most common element is curious.

    Sulfur prices soar 184% YoY on geopolitical supply cut 🇨🇳
    https://x.com/minenergybiz/status/2056325609983299992

    Sulphur.

    I'll die in a ditch over that one.

    IIRC, there are (or were) huge mounds of blocks of sulphur in the Canadian oilsands as there is/was no use for it.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 25,829

    Burnham has a communication style that despite the wishy washyness of it, I must say comes across very well indeed.

    Ot didn't come across too well when he failed in two leadership bids.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    Jesus: he's really going after Trump.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,445
    Ratters said:

    geoffw said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

    One of the few European languages that is not Indo-European.
    Don't let the Welsh or Irish hear you say that...

    Edit: turns out I was wrong here... Need to go to Hungary to move away from it.
    Basque too, curiously.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824

    Nigelb said:

    The price volatility of the world's fifth most common element is curious.

    Sulfur prices soar 184% YoY on geopolitical supply cut 🇨🇳
    https://x.com/minenergybiz/status/2056325609983299992

    Sulphur.

    I'll die in a ditch over that one.

    IIRC, there are (or were) huge mounds of blocks of sulphur in the Canadian oilsands as there is/was no use for it.
    And in Venezuela.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    The price volatility of the world's fifth most common element is curious.

    Sulfur prices soar 184% YoY on geopolitical supply cut 🇨🇳
    https://x.com/minenergybiz/status/2056325609983299992

    Sulphur.

    I'll die in a ditch over that one.

    IIRC, there are (or were) huge mounds of blocks of sulphur in the Canadian oilsands as there is/was no use for it.
    And in Venezuela.
    And, come to mention it, in lots of sour oil production.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 104,608
    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    What an infuriatingly hypocritical thing to say.
  • FeersumEnjineeyaFeersumEnjineeya Posts: 5,386
    Ratters said:

    geoffw said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

    One of the few European languages that is not Indo-European.
    Don't let the Welsh or Irish hear you say that...

    Edit: turns out I was wrong here... Need to go to Hungary to move away from it.
    Or northeast Spain. The Basque language is unrelated to any other language.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016
    The founder of Ukrainian drone and missile manufacturer Firepoint claims that Ukraine could enforce a naval blockade halting Russian oil exports in the Black and Baltic Seas.

    Geopolitically that would be a lot easier for them to do if the Strait of Hormuz was open. I think Ukraine might be even more keen on the Strait of Hormuz reopening than any of the Gulf States.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 9,687

    geoffw said:

    Foss said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Finland?
    Pb is finished...
    You'll all have to learn the language. It's easy: no future tense, no he or she, no subjunctive, few prepositions. But 14 cases including the important partitive ..., pronunciation is as written, but take care over double consonants and double vowels ...

    One of the few European languages that is not Indo-European.
    Maltese too.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,445

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
  • Wulfrun_PhilWulfrun_Phil Posts: 5,327

    https://x.com/SamCoatesSky/status/2056434647827935456

    YouGov Labour members polling

    If there is a leadership contest, your first preference:
    Burnham 47%
    Starmer 31%
    Rayner 8%
    Streeting 4%
    Miliband 3%
    Cooper 3%
    Mahmood 1%
    Carns 0%

    Head to heads:
    Burnham 59% v Starmer 37%
    Burnham 80% v Streeting 10%
    Miliband 58% v Streeting 28%
    Rayner 70% v Streeting 19%

    What this means is that Burnham can concentrate 100 per cent on a pitch to win over Makerfield. He has no need to shift his pitch to better appeal to Labour members (eg.on Europe in response to Streeting) because the evidence of this poll means that Makerfield is now the only significant hurdle on the way to becoming PM).
  • OllyTOllyT Posts: 5,255

    And Arsenal stagger across the line.

    just be thankful you don't have to watch them every week.

    All that remains is for them to suck the joy out of the CL final
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 5,681
    edited May 18
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    OK. I lied about the Nigel Farage thing.
    I thought you meant you'd won bigly (e) on Reform at the local elections.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 40,950
    rcs1000 said:

    WARNING: SERVER MIGRATION INCOMING

    PB is about to move from California to Finland. Load times should be faster. Vanilla errors should cease. Starmer will depart Number 10. Nigel Farage will be contributing to costs.
    Have we always been in California until now?
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 23,296
    edited May 18
    REF government and LIB Opposition.

    And thus we wipe out the past 250 years and return to out Tory/Whig roots
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 8,534

    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762

    It’s a very good video and starts off with the amazing Elbow track One Day Like This , which for me is one of the greatest songs ever made.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 57,532
    Newsnight opens with Putin under pressure in Moscow.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 73,278

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    Not exactly Jeremy Isaac's Channel 4 is it?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    Well they stopped doing real weddings after the first few series, so it is no longer a legal wedding, but a sham pretendy wedding. Consequently there was one series that ended with one of the husbands proposing to his wife (they have two children now).
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 23,396
    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    Jesus: he's really going after Trump.
    And if not, can you apply to take the money off Vance?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 73,278
    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    What an infuriatingly hypocritical thing to say.
    This is the 'projection' administration.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    Jesus: he's really going after Trump.
    You know, that's how the media should report it.

    "Today Vice President Vance unleashed a stinging attack on President Trump..."

    And then do vox pops: "with Vance now clearly supporting impeachement, do you think this will sway Republican Senators?"
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 23,296
    Foxy said:

    Newsnight opens with Putin under pressure in Moscow.

    Is it wrong to hope he comes to as bad an end as those he's given to so many others? 🙏
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,695
    The BBC are on a roll with their investigative reporting and good for them to bring this horrific story to light: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,856

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    I thought the point was tha5 they are NOT actually married, but pretend to be.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    I thought the point was tha5 they are NOT actually married, but pretend to be.
    That is correct: they are not legally married.

    I mean... so I heard...
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    Jesus: he's really going after Trump.
    You know, that's how the media should report it.

    "Today Vice President Vance unleashed a stinging attack on President Trump..."

    And then do vox pops: "with Vance now clearly supporting impeachement, do you think this will sway Republican Senators?"
    It relates to this from last month.

    Trump news at a glance: president enlists JD Vance as his ‘fraud czar’, targeting Democratic states
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/03/trump-news-at-a-glance-jd-vance
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 64,824
    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Nigelb said:

    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Pretty epic kleptocracy in Trumpistan. $1.7 billion for the Jan 6 rioters and similar.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/trump-dismiss-irs-lawsuit.html

    Not so much a reparations fund, but rather an upfront payment so that they can do it all again in November.

    When you play the game of lawfare, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
    Do you think this was "lawfare" rather than prosecution of rioters assaulting the US capitol?
    Lawfare ?
    It's mass larceny.

    Trump, and a number of his coterie, including Blanche, should be in jail.
    Not just theft of taxpayers funds, but using it to reward insurrection.

    The USA is a banana republic now.
    Vance: There is a simple principle I have: If you are committing fraud against the American people you ought to go to prison. If you are a public official not fighting against fraud, you ought to have your money taken away because you should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.
    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2056437336498684018
    Jesus: he's really going after Trump.
    You know, that's how the media should report it.

    "Today Vice President Vance unleashed a stinging attack on President Trump..."

    And then do vox pops: "with Vance now clearly supporting impeachement, do you think this will sway Republican Senators?"
    It relates to this from last month.

    Trump news at a glance: president enlists JD Vance as his ‘fraud czar’, targeting Democratic states
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/03/trump-news-at-a-glance-jd-vance
    I know, but it would just be really funny if people actually pretended that Vance was sincere in going after graft at the highest levels.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 90,923
    This, from the strain of the disease for which there is no existing vaccine (unlike the other two which infect humans).

    At least 100 dead in Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, official says
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6pz60p996o

    A year ago (the lab is still closed).

    RFK Jr.’s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research
    NIAID’s Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department.
    https://www.wired.com/story/hhs-niaid-irf-ebola-disease-research-stop/
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 25,016

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    I thought the point was tha5 they are NOT actually married, but pretend to be.
    When they started the show the couples were legally married, but then they changed it to more of an entertainment/drama thing and only pretended to get married.

    The first few UK series had a vicar involved, while later series had a sex therapist, which gives some indication of how the emphasis changed.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 104,608

    This is quite the story.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

    Two women have told the BBC they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act.

    Married at First Sight always seemed a deeply dodgy premise for a TV series. How did they ever find a Registrar willing to conduct the ceremony?
    I thought the point was tha5 they are NOT actually married, but pretend to be.
    When they started the show the couples were legally married, but then they changed it to more of an entertainment/drama thing and only pretended to get married.

    The first few UK series had a vicar involved, while later series had a sex therapist, which gives some indication of how the emphasis changed.
    I'm glad I don't know these things. Or didn't.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,695

    Man of the people.


    Jessica Elgot
    @jessicaelgot
    ·
    1h
    Extraordinary launch video - never seen a by-election campaign which is such an explicit pitch to both the place and to the country

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2056455091847057762

    I think that’s pretty good!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 64,439
    Nigelb said:

    This, from the strain of the disease for which there is no existing vaccine (unlike the other two which infect humans).

    At least 100 dead in Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, official says
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6pz60p996o

    A year ago (the lab is still closed).

    RFK Jr.’s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research
    NIAID’s Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department.
    https://www.wired.com/story/hhs-niaid-irf-ebola-disease-research-stop/

    RFK = STD
This discussion has been closed.