Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th January 2022

[refitman]

Morning all.

[refitman]

[AnatolyKasparov]

Big Toddler is more like it.

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

Am I sensing a brave attempt in some of the media at, "Phew! Things aren't so bad after all. On Friday Boris Johnson was filmed strangling a puppy but today he was only caught flushing a couple of goldfish down the toilet"? There seems to be a (hopefully, failing) attempt to normalise and neutralise this (latest incarnation) of appalling behaviour. The worry is that that's proved successful in so many ways in the past although, unfortunately for Boris Johnson, this time the servile public has the (apparently requisite) Royal Seal of approval to validate their own sense of being kicked in the guts.

(I should point out that, in the instance of the funeral, I have sympathy for the Quing on a human level.

And Keir Starmer wasn't too bad earlier today. He seemed much more natural and convincing.)

[Sky'sGoneOut]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Or if you fancy a majority.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

This just made me

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Me and my brother sponsored a wolf last year for our dad. We all had a family day out to Edinburgh zoo to visit the wolves and see his name on the enclosure and get a picture with them. This proved unexpectedly difficult when it turned out they were at the Highland wildlife park.

[PorFavor]

@PaulfromYorkshire

Ah, Dominic Raab. Who, I understand, now prefers to be known as Deputy Dawg.

[frog222]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

And yet now we're led to believe he's taking isolation very seriously indeed despite the fact the current rules say there's no need for him to be isolating unless he's tested positive or has symptoms. How strange.

[AnatolyKasparov]

A bit frustrating supporting Man United right now isn't it

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Just a tad. For the first half an hour today they looked better than they have in a while but then came the lazy slack passing and terrible passive defending. For the first Villa goal a Villa player beat three United players and got into the box by simply running moderately quickly in a straight line while they all missed tackles or jumped out of the way. It's painful/hilarious to watch and does make you wonder what's gone so badly wrong when talented multi-millionaire footballers can't even get the basics right. Watching Rashford the other night making zero effort while looking utterly miserable tells me there's something seriously amiss.

[AnatolyKasparov]

There's currently an attempt to get #BackBoris trending on Twitter - hilarity will no doubt ensue.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Concern for UK security as anti-vaxxer groups evolve towards US-style militias

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... e-militias

Of chief concern is that Britain’s anti-vaxx conspiracists are moving offline, with the UK-based Alpha Men Assemble (AMA) group organising military-style training in preparation for what it has termed a “war” on the government and its Covid policies.

Recent posts from the AMA’s official Telegram channel, which has 7,000 subscribers, encourage members to adopt anti-surveillance techniques by using “burner phones” and advise people to “communicate off line” with CB and ham radios.

Other posts seen by the Observer promise supporters that “you will be taught self-defence at each AMA meeting” with “professional men” and told to “aquire [sic] a black style uniform”.

Strangely there's no mention of the right wing media and commentators egging these fools on, and Johnson and his No10 speakeasy haven't helped, some of the most popular comments under articles in the Mail about the parties claim it proves that Johnson and those working with him weren't worried about Covid because they knew it didn't exist.

Also 'Alpha Men Assemble' sounds like some really bad gay anime.

[frog222]

Awaiting caption(s)

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

Many[Conservative MPs] have congregated around the idea that the May elections, when voters go to the polls across the UK, will be the litmus test. This is a cop-out from their moral responsibilities. If he is a disgrace to the high office he holds, he is a disgrace whether the voters fiercely punish the government at the ballot box or the Tories improve on their terrible ratings. Truth to tell, most Conservative MPs are exercised by this scandal because it makes them fearful of losing power, not because of what it says about the prime minister’s ethical character. They never thought Mr Johnson was a man of sparkling integrity who would make a fine prime minister. They knew who he was. They made him their leader because they thought that winning is all that matters in politics and he looked like a winner. Far too many people in the Tory party chose to ignore his unfitness to be prime minister. If they had bothered themselves with that question before, they wouldn’t have put him in Number 10 in the first place, nor shrugged so cynically at all the squalor that has ineluctably followed. (Andrew Rawnsley, Guardian)

That just about covers all the bases, I reckon. Rotten from top to bottom, with a leader they chose to reflect, in the main, their own world-view.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Is this the most pathetic England cricket team ever?

[PorFavor]

BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

Government announcement will force broadcaster to close services and make further redundancies The BBC has already made substantial cost savings behind the scenes, meaning the next round of cuts are likely to hit on-air services. As a result the public should prepare for the BBC to provide less high-end drama and sports coverage, pad schedules with cheaper programmes, and potentially close some channels or services altogether. This could in turn erode support for the BBC if the public no longer feel they are receiving value for money from the licence fee.(Guardian, my emphasis)

The NHS is undergoing the same sort of treatment.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/ ... ing-frozen

[PorFavor]

Prince Harry files legal claim over right to pay for UK police protection (Guarddian)

No doubt Cressida Dick will be thinking, "Stop me and buy one!"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ith-family

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Anyone else see Starmer on the BBC this morning?

I thought he did all right, stuck to his guns in the face of some fairly robust questioning from Sophie Raworth, but it was typical Starmer, neither inspiring nor off-putting, like medium cheddar cheese.

Having said that the calculation was that having someone bland and inoffensive as a contrast to Johnson would eventually pay dividends and now Labour are seeing poll leads not seen since Blair. So whether you like him or not it's hard to argue Starmer isn't doing what he was put in place to do which was making Labour electable again. Of course the counter argument is those poll leads are down to Johnson being a massive arse and Starmer's merely benefiting from that, but surely that's exactly what he's there for.

I'm more of an extra-mature cheddar man myself, but if all that was on offer was a choice between a bit of medium cheddar and eating a big dog turd I know which one I would choose.

[refitman]

Anyone else see Starmer on the BBC this morning?

I thought he did all right, stuck to his guns in the face of some fairly robust questioning from Sophie Raworth, but it was typical Starmer, neither inspiring nor off-putting, like medium cheddar cheese.

Having said that the calculation was that having someone bland and inoffensive as a contrast to Johnson would eventually pay dividends and now Labour are seeing poll leads not seen since Blair. So whether you like him or not it's hard to argue Starmer isn't doing what he was put in place to do which was making Labour electable again. Of course the counter argument is those poll leads are down to Johnson being a massive arse and Starmer's merely benefiting from that, but surely that's exactly what he's there for.

I'm more of an extra-mature cheddar man myself, but if all that was on offer was a choice between a bit of medium cheddar and eating a big dog turd I know which one I would choose.

Corbyn was bland and inoffensive - the man has an allotment and makes jam FFS! However, he was a threat to the centrist mindset and was therefore deemed a 'radical' and a threat. Now that Johnson has done the dirty work of Brexit, fucking the NHS and a load of other things, he's surplus to requirements and he's being gotten rid of.

They've been sitting on ALL of this for over a year. Does anyone really think this is being reported from the goodness of their hearts and a sense of responsibility?

Starmer won't rock the boat - he's even said that anything that needs to be done to 'fix' the NHS won't involve more money, but will involve more private providers.

[PorFavor]

Jeremy Corbyn was many things but, so far as I'm concerned, bland and inoffensive weren't two of them.

[AnatolyKasparov]

And most people - I include his supporters as well as opponents here - didn't see him that way. Which is ultimately what counts.

[PorFavor]

Boris Johnson prepares a populist offensive to save his skin (Guardian)

Analysis: scandal-tainted PM hopes barrage of right-wing policy plans will provide cover for his greatest escape yet

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... e-his-skin

With a nod of acknowlegement to those amongst us who find reference to "The Princess Bride" irksome.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/968a4cf5-1 ... 039ef305fd

[refitman]

[refitman]

The fact that Corbyn's earnestness and passion for socialist policies energised people towards him, doesn't negate the fact that he himself, was a fairly boring, unexciting man.

Then again, compared to the empty suit that is Starmer, who has relaunched himself 5(?) times, with still no clear idea of his ideology, Corbyn is George Galloway.

[gilsey]

I find Corbyn fairly bland and inoffensive. Bland in the sense that he's definitely not a 'strong leader'.
Being of a left wing and pacifist persuasion myself, imo if people found his speeches offensive that says more about them than about him.


Re Starmer, I was pleasantly surprised to see him saying straight out that Johnson broke the law.

[gilsey]

England’s north-south divide is deepening, says new report

Despite Boris Johnson’s persistent levelling-up rhetoric, the figures show government has not put its money where its mouth is

Who are/were the people daft enough to think it was ever anything but rhetoric?

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Corbyn was bland and inoffensive - the man has an allotment and makes jam FFS! However, he was a threat to the centrist mindset and was therefore deemed a 'radical' and a threat. Now that Johnson has done the dirty work of Brexit, fucking the NHS and a load of other things, he's surplus to requirements and he's being gotten rid of.

They've been sitting on ALL of this for over a year. Does anyone really think this is being reported from the goodness of their hearts and a sense of responsibility?

Starmer won't rock the boat - he's even said that anything that needs to be done to 'fix' the NHS won't involve more money, but will involve more private providers.

I wouldn't agree that Corbyn was bland and inoffensive, he certainly managed to offend me with his equivocation over Brexit, but you have to take the rough with the smooth and while I didn't like the man I have to admit that under him many of Labour's policies were genuinely appealing, and for people like myself reliant on sickness benefits I've no doubt he'd have made our lives considerably easier. Which is why I voted Labour twice with him as leader. Politics is always about compromise. You're right about Starmer though, while Corbyn's policies got me to vote for him despite my misgivings, I can't imagine Starmer's Labour ever inspiring anyone to vote for them. He's a cypher leading a party that's offering more of the same but just a bit less shit. All he offers is the promise of competence and probity, which is fine against Johnson but may not work so well against someone like Sunak.

Ultimately though what I care most about is getting rid of the Tories. Johnson is only now plumbing the depths of unpopularity that Theresa May reached. Corbyn failed to defeat her when she was at her nadir while Starmer is seeing poll leads against Johnson that Labour haven't seen for decades. When he became leader the Tories were 20 points ahead, now they're 10 points behind. Whether you like Starmer or not, whether you credit him with that turnaround or not, anyone who wants to see the Conservatives out on their arses should be cheering him on.

The left of the Labour party had their chance twice, and they lost twice, the second time catastrophically, not just for them but their party and the entire country. I'm no fan of Starmer or some of the people he's brought into his shadow cabinet, but as a pragmatist I'll still vote Labour if it means seeing the look of the defeat on the faces of cunts like Patel, Rees-Mogg, Dorries, in fact the whole fucking lot of them.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Apologies Refitman for going off on one there, I did mean to answer you properly but the fag end of a migraine (mild) and wine caused me to get a bit carried away.

This is well worth reading through the entire thread.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Who are/were the people daft enough to think it was ever anything but rhetoric?

I'm not sure anyone has ever believed that levelling up shit. What matters to the working class Brexit/Johnson fans is levelling others down.

[refitman]

@Sky - no worries fella

[Sky'sGoneOut]

@Sky - no worries fella

Cheers mate.

So who the fuck is trying to assassinate Johnson? Cummings is the obvious candidate but he was long gone before that Allegra Stratton video was recorded. The picture of Cummings, Johnson et al sitting out in the garden could only have come from No11 apparently given the view.

I suspect it's more than one person, there's no honour among thieves.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

[PorFavor]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

[PorFavor]

Night night.

[Sky'sGoneOut]