FlyTheNest

Morning all.

Hola

Buen Dia !

I had to google to find this Monbiot from Tuesday, a reminder of the billionaire and 'business' supported conspiracy to take power and centralise it in the PM's Office --

Others began to copy this model. Madsen Pirie, the founder of the Adam Smith Institute, describes in his autobiography how, using funds from 20 of the UK’s biggest companies, he helped to chart the course that Thatcher took. Every Saturday, while she was in opposition, staff from the Adam Smith Institute and the Institute of Economic Affairs sat down for lunch with Conservative party researchers, and leader writers and columnists from the Times and Telegraph, to plot out her rise to power. They “planned strategy for the week ahead”, and would “co-ordinate our activities to make us more effective collectively”. Pirie describes how he devised many of the policies that defined Thatcherism.

And elsewhere too, not least in the testimony of the Brexit campaign whistleblower Shahmir Sanni, there is evidence that these lobby groups coordinate their work, creating the impression that people in different places are spontaneously coming to the same conclusions. Several of them work from the same offices, in 55 and 57 Tufton Street, Westminster.

The lobby group that Boris Johnson’s government uses most is Policy Exchange. While it claims to be a neutral educational charity, it was founded in 2002 by the Conservative MPs Francis Maude and Archie Norman, and Nick Boles, who later also became a Tory MP. Its first chairman was Michael Gove. Its proposals and personnel have been adopted by the Conservative party ever since.

Policy Exchange has played an important role in shifting power away from rival institutions and into the prime minister’s office. For several years it has been building a case for curtailing the judiciary. It provided the ammunition for the government’s current attack on judicial review ...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... y-exchange" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So we have a 'charity' that is anything but a charity, and a Charity Commission headed by a Tory stooge .

Monbiot talks some rubbish on farming/rewilding but he's good on corruption.

Also in that piece

Policy Exchange’s proposals for changing the planning system, which involve a massive removal of power from local authorities, have been adopted wholesale by the government. One of the authors of this scheme, Jack Airey, has moved from the thinktank to Downing Street, as a special adviser.

Of all the things apparently on the agenda this is the least likely to fly imo, anathema to traditional shire tories.

Sturgeon is asked about Tony Abbott. “If I had anything to do with that decision he wouldn’t be a trade envoy for the United Kingdom,” she says. “Tony Abbott … he’s a misogynist, he’s a sexist, he’s a climate change denier.” On Matt Hancock’s remark that he “also knows a lot about trade” (see 8.06am) Sturgeon says that “trade is not separate from the values and the reputation that a country wants to reflect internationally … having somebody with those views representing the UK probably does not help."

She's good, isn't she.

Good morning, everyone.

gilsey wrote:

Sturgeon is asked about Tony Abbott. “If I had anything to do with that decision he wouldn’t be a trade envoy for the United Kingdom,” she says. “Tony Abbott … he’s a misogynist, he’s a sexist, he’s a climate change denier.” On Matt Hancock’s remark that he “also knows a lot about trade” (see 8.06am) Sturgeon says that “trade is not separate from the values and the reputation that a country wants to reflect internationally … having somebody with those views representing the UK probably does not help."

She's good, isn't she.

Yes. I wish Westminster had a capable leader.

As far as Abbott is concerned, totally hilarious interview with Hancock this morning.

gilsey wrote:

Sturgeon is asked about Tony Abbott. “If I had anything to do with that decision he wouldn’t be a trade envoy for the United Kingdom,” she says. “Tony Abbott … he’s a misogynist, he’s a sexist, he’s a climate change denier.” On Matt Hancock’s remark that he “also knows a lot about trade” (see 8.06am) Sturgeon says that “trade is not separate from the values and the reputation that a country wants to reflect internationally … having somebody with those views representing the UK probably does not help."

She's good, isn't she.

It's also a little odd that we'd pick to represent the UK someone who isn't British. Presumably all our homegrown rightwing, homophobic, misogynists with a passing knowledge of trade were busy.

Matt Hancock
@MattHancock
· 6h
Over the past 6 months we've built one of the biggest testing capacities in the world
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What use is this when it's not adequately deployed preventing further infection and mortality?

Well, exactly. No point in "building" something if you are then not going to use it competently.

Hope you're all planning your No Deal stockpile, if you haven't already started on it.

U.K. Races to Fix ‘Critical Gaps’ in Brexit Border Plan

Still think a last minute "deal" will be cobbled together, though that is likely to be full of holes too.

The lies of Tony Abbott

[edit: the preview doesn't work for these types of links]

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Still think a last minute "deal" will be cobbled together, though that is likely to be full of holes too.

Deal or no deal, the border problems will be the same.

Yes, that is certainly true.

GetYou wrote:The lies of Tony Abbott
[edit: the preview doesn't work for these types of links]

49. Labor’s red carpet for terrorists
Abbott accused the Labor Opposition of "rolling out the red carpet for terrorists" in June for simply querying whether the Government's plan to strip citizenship from suspects was constitutional.

This is one of the most malicious lies on this list for two reasons. First, it is untrue. And, second, it repudiates the cornerstone Westminster tradition of bipartisanship on security matters — which Labor is honouring, to its political detriment.

Given Johnson's display at yesterday's PMQ's that 'conerstone Westminster tradition' is dead !

Turns out that Piers Corbyn wasn't the only one associated with a politician at that anti-mask demo...

Tory minister's husband blasts Covid-19 as 'mental illness' and attended anti-mask demo

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... d-22622921" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The husband of Tory minister Chloe Smith has claimed that coronavirus is a "mental illness" and attended an anti-mask demonstration to protest lockdown measures.

Sandy McFadzean, who married the Norwich North MP in 2013, has previously re-tweeted posts describing the Government as "globalist puppets" and "tyrants".

That's actually funnier than his COVID views which are just silly.

Imagine conversation over dinner...

Well, if I had to guess a Tory MP married to that type one has to confess Smith wouldn't have been near the top of the list

gilsey wrote:Hope you're all planning your No Deal stockpile, if you haven't already started on it.

U.K. Races to Fix ‘Critical Gaps’ in Brexit Border Plan

I say we Nesters charter a vehicle capable of getting us safely to the FNestLair (the N is silent in this case).

the rallying cry of my ancestors
"Flit! Flit! Run away!"

yesterday's release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

...the number of deaths registered was 5.2% above the five-year average (474 deaths higher); this is the second consecutive week that weekly deaths have been above the five-year average, however, the rise was not driven by the coronavirus (COVID-19).

...numbers of deaths in hospitals, care homes and other locations were below the five-year average...while the number of deaths in private homes continued to be higher than the five-year average (825 more deaths).

...deaths registered..138 mentioned "novel coronavirus (COVID-19)", the lowest number of deaths involving COVID-19 in the last 22 weeks...accounting for 1.4% of all deaths in England and Wales.

The number of deaths registered in the UK in the week ending 21 August 2020 was 10,967, which was 572 deaths higher than the five-year average and 390 deaths higher than [previous week] deaths registered in the UK... .

ONS
2 September 2020
Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 21 August 2020

Deaths higher than 5-year average for the second week in a row, not due to CV19 & deaths occurring highest in private homes.

I thought Question Time might have been on given the fat lying sack of shit is back in Parliament making a c*nt of himself again but apparently not.

It was good to see another side of Starmer yesterday when he'd finally had enough of Johnson's nonsense and as far as slap downs go I thought he handled himself rather well. The near silence from the tory benches was pretty telling.

As for Johnson himself I wonder if any other tory leader in modern history has managed to squander a 24 point poll lead in a matter of months. It wasn't long ago that questioning his government's handling of Covid 19 was deemed unpatriotic by the faithful but oh how the faithful have dwindled. Conservative Home now saying less than half of tory voters think he's handled it well.

Of course there will be some who will make excuses and say no government could have come out of this coronavirus crisis without scars, but a mere glimpse North over the border proves otherwise. Scotland's handling of Covid hasn't been great, it only looks good in comparison with England and the SNP have had many tough questions to answer. But instead of obfuscating, blame shifting and hiding they've actually answered them with some honesty, admitted mistakes and shown contrition. All things Johnson is incapable of.

Like a lot of others I suspect he'll be gone in February or thereabouts after acceding to EU demands at the last minute then claiming it to be a great victory. It's what he did with the Withdrawal Agreement and got away with it so I'm guessing he thinks he can do it again. And if that's the case he'll either be knifed by furious brexiters or they'll suck it up and delude themselves as they did last time and he'll saunter off before the shit really hits the fan.

Actually it doesn't get mentioned much but the Welsh administration has the best ratings for its handling of the virus.

(better than the Scottish government's, never mind Johnson's)

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Actually it doesn't get mentioned much but the Welsh administration has the best ratings for its handling of the virus.
---

(cJA edit)
I've seen some evidence of this the last couple of days going through data.

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Actually it doesn't get mentioned much but the Welsh administration has the best ratings for its handling of the virus.

(better than the Scottish government's, never mind Johnson's)

This is absolutely true. And Mark Drakeford has been excellent throughout, he's a smart and understated fellow.

I'm not sure why Labour seem utterly incapable of finding anyone like him in Scotland.

Perhaps in a taste of what is to come my latest kitchen sponge began disintegrating today so I went to Tesco and without thinking bought their cheap ones like I've always done before. Only this time when I went to open the pack to get one out I realised they were tiny. About an inch thick and smaller than the palm of my hand. When I placed this miniscule thing next to the sink it looked ridiculous, like something out of a Christmas cracker. If I took another one out and glued it on to that one the resulting sponge would still not be as big as the one it was replacing.

Tesco have done well out of Covid 19 so I can only assume these diminutive sponges are a response to brexit. Perhaps there is a sponge shortage in the UK or the sponge suppliers charge more.

I wonder what else shall be miniaturised in our quest for sovereignty.

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Who the fuck cares at this time of night?

(pulls face and then turns round and offers a glimpse of the top of his arse).

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Very peculiar.

There is a polite distance between other people's eyes.

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Night night.