Tuesday 23rd November 2021

[refitman]

Morning all.

[frog222]

Morning RFM

[gilsey]

I don't think Johnson can relate to the idea of people owning a house worth £100k.
When he said 'nobody will have to sell their house to pay for care', the inference is that if you are such a person, you're nobody.

I anticipate a u-turn sooner or later.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Well, yesterday saw Downing Street "sources" briefing against other Downing Street "sources". Wonder what today might bring?

[refitman]

[RogerOThornhill]

Good afternoon.

"I have a cunning plan"..."

UK visa scheme for prize-winning scientists receives no applications

https://www.newscientist.com/article/22 ... lications/

The number of prizes that qualify academics for this route currently stands at over 70, and includes the Turing Award, the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science International Awards, and various gongs awarded by professional or membership bodies both in the UK and elsewhere.


“Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK,” said home secretary Priti Patel when the prestigious prize scheme launched in May. “This is exactly what our new point-based immigration system was designed for – attracting the best and brightest based on the skills and talent they have, not where they’ve come from.”

But a freedom of information request by New Scientist has revealed that in the six months since the scheme was launched, no one working in science, engineering, the humanities or medicine has actually applied for a visa through this route.

[AnatolyKasparov]

You gotta larf.

[frog222]

[refitman]

Well, fancy that. Looks like "I was hacked" wasn't the whole truth.

[frog222]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Out of curiosity let's have a look at how many times 'Baroness' Mone has spoken in the House of Lords since she was made a life peer by Cameron for selling sexy knickers.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/search/Me ... ype=Spoken

Well she's certainly been a busy girl, she's spoken a whole 5 times since 2015.

This would be the same woman who went on a rant on GB news telling civil servants to get back to the office during a pandemic.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Well, fancy that. Looks like "I was hacked" wasn't the whole truth.

People already whining about him "caving in". I presume he had fairly decent legal advice about his chances in any libel action.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I actually watched some of Nadine's performance this afternoon, she may have made a few factual errors, she may have made it abundantly clear she didn't know what an algorithm was despites using the word several times, she may even have lied through her teeth about the abuse she's given people on Twitter, but the terrifying thing is she still sounded more coherent than some fool rambling on about Peppa Pig.

That's how low Johnson has sunk, he makes Nadine Dorries sound reasonable and well briefed.

[frog222]

@Sky Aaaagh !

Surprising number of good ones in the G today ,, SJ --

I wonder how many of those terrifying migrant invaders would turn down a job picking strawberries at £1500pm ? Plus living in a caravan which is quite common .

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ts-channel

Interesting Polly on how Stevens wanted to reform and this lot sabotaged it
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... vatisation

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Well, fancy that. Looks like "I was hacked" wasn't the whole truth.

A bit like that time Rod Liddle made Auschwitz jokes and posted various other racist shit on a Millwall F.C forum and claimed he'd been hacked.

I seem to recall he was forced to own up to some of it because it was so obviously him, including the Auschwitz joke, but the right wing press were fine with it because apparently it was all a witty protest at the Auschwitz visitor centre having access ramps for disabled people or some such shit.

Maybe Corbyn's 'antisemitism' just wasn't funny enough.

[frog222]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

You know, if it wasn't for the human suffering involved I'd actually be laughing at this 'migrant invasion' bollocks because the Tories have been hoist upon their own petard. Without a replacement for the Dublin regulation post brexit no EU country is under any obligation whatsoever to take any migrants back and now we're reliant on the French to police our border for a measly few million quid. They promised brexit would bring us control of our own borders, which was always a lie, but a substantial minority of the Great British Public were stupid enough to believe it and now they have to answer to them. We on the Left may be enjoying Johnson plummeting in the polls and the Tories losing their lead, but when you look at the data that shift is occuring because Tory leave voters are turning away from the Conservatives. Not to Labour but to 'don't know'. Whether we like it or not this 'migrant crisis' is damaging the Tories a lot more than anything Starmer is doing.

Still it is amusing seeing our mighty brexit government being trolled by Albania while our Home Secretary is so desperate she's proposing fighting off the armada of migrant boats with robot dolphins armed with exploding mackerel.

[PorFavor]

I hadn't noticed Keir Starmer actually doing anything, so it's not surprising. Still, Boris Johnson takes the stand tomorrow so maybe the Prosecuion has something up its sleeve for then. Or maybe not. But I hope to be pleasantly surprised - although Keir Starmer needs to be doing much more than turning in the occasional good performance at PMQs.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Gordon the Gopher World in Grimsby is awesome but I must say I found the chamber of horrors a bit disturbing.

Nobody needs to see an animatronic puppet rodent eating the dismembered limbs of Phillip Schofield, especially not kids.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I hadn't noticed Keir Starmer actually doing anything, so it's not surprising. Still, Boris Johnson takes the stand tomorrow so maybe the Prosecuion has something up its sleeve for then. Or maybe not. But I hope to be pleasantly surprised - although Keir Starmer needs to be doing much more than turning in the occasional good performance at PMQs.

Let's be fair he's taken Labour from a 20 point deficit to running neck and neck while being hamstrung by having to support the government on Covid measures for most of that time while normal politics went into suspended animation. He might be boring and wooden but isn't that what we need? The anti-Johnson? In fact he seems to have stolen Johnson's protective patina. Whatever the Tories throw at him refuses to stick, while the slightest bit of muck is adhering to our Prime Minister as if he was made of sellotape with the sticky bit on the outside.

[PorFavor]

I'll make allowances for Covid and also for being boring. But I can't make allowances for his not having said anything of great moment even if his delivery isn't flashy. In fact, I prefer non-flashy - "no style" is perfectly acceptable to me, but "no content" is a different bunch of bananas.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I agree. But at least he doesn't seem to have the ego and baggage of the last guy.

Remind me, when was the last time the Labour party had a leader you all liked?

[PorFavor]

Yes, there is that. He had ideas that I agreed with but monkeys and typewriters spring to mind.

Pass. Although Harold Wilson might have come close (I'll have to read up on him).

[PorFavor]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

[PorFavor]

Night night.