Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th January 2024

[refitman]

Morning all.

Will be interesting to see if anything happens in the US today.

[gilsey]

Good morning.


The CSJ? Really?
How has it come to this....

[AnatolyKasparov]

Had to look that one up (maybe because of its slightly misleading name)

And indeed its board are mostly Tories (including IDS) but also include some Labour and LibDem people (tokens?)

[refitman]

Had to look that one up (maybe because of its slightly misleading name)

And indeed its board are mostly Tories (including IDS) but also include some Labour and LibDem people (tokens?)

It was literally founded by IDS He used it prominently when he was W&P Secretary. It was his 'evidence' that the poor and needy were actually just shirkers, who needed more punishment to make them improve themselves.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Re the news that broke yesterday, a reminder that Chris Skidmore was one of the authors of Britannia Unchained.

If he is now regarded by many Tories as a decadent woke leftie, what does that tell us.

[gilsey]

"the British are among the worst idlers in the world"

[AnatolyKasparov]

Though that was Raab's pearl of wisdom IIRC.

[refitman]

Hopefully Labour will push back on this

[AnatolyKasparov]

The thing is, this stuff isn't even particularly popular anymore.

Jonn Elledge has been quite eloquent on how the self-contained, nepotistic right wing political-media system is now working against the Tories.

[refitman]

Yes, but it would still be nice to actually have a party push back against that kind of messaging. Otherwise, it will just seem like they don't care about the most needy and marginalised in society.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

In that Telegraph article Sunak claims that there are now 3 times as many people claiming sickness/disability benefits than in 2010. Which is true, but rather than ask why it's true and face some uncomfortable truths about the dire performance of the NHS and collapse of mental health services under the Tories, it's much more convenient to suggest it's due to malingerers gaming an overly generous system.

They're already proposing making it virtually impossible to claim ESA/UC for mental health problems from next year, so all that's left to cut are the benefits for people with physical injuries/disabilities leaving this country with essentially no safety net if you're disabled or fall ill.

This is terrifying for hundreds of thousands of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country so you would have thought a bit of reassurance from the nice cuddly Labour party would be in order. 'Don't worry, we're not going to let those nasty Tories destroy all your lives and make you destitute', something along those lines, we don't even need specifics. But instead what have we heard? Zilch, nada, fuck all. In fact the loudest complaint they're raised is about the Tories stealing their ideas.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Combine the above with this from John Harris today and it's not just burdensome (as the Tories see them) adults having their support removed, it's also kids.

As councils crumble, a new scapegoat has been found: the parents of disabled and vulnerable children

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... en-support

An election can't come soon enough but unless Starmer can pull some magic growth out of his backside the fear is we're just going to have more of the same.

Labour need to start telling us what they're going to do about shit like this and soon. We all assume they won't stand idly by while the state abrogates its responsibility for the most disadvantaged in society, but where's the evidence that they have any intention of doing anything different?

[refitman]

Combine the above with this from John Harris today and it's not just burdensome (as the Tories see them) adults having their support removed, it's also kids.

As councils crumble, a new scapegoat has been found: the parents of disabled and vulnerable children

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... en-support

An election can't come soon enough but unless Starmer can pull some magic growth out of his backside the fear is we're just going to have more of the same.

Labour need to start telling us what they're going to do about shit like this and soon. We all assume they won't stand idly by while the state abrogates its responsibility for the most disadvantaged in society, but where's the evidence that they have any intention of doing anything different?

The brass neck of fucking Harris. This is partly on him.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Fortunately, we probably are getting some growth in the next few years for various reasons.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

The brass neck of fucking Harris. This is partly on him.

Eh? How is it partly on him?

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I see Peter Bone's girlfriend has been chosen by the Tories to stand as their candidate to replace him in Wellingborough, allegedly because he blackmailed them by saying if they didn't chose her he'd run as an independent (according to the Telegraph).

Perhaps next we'll be able to test the proposition that in some areas of the country you could stick a blue rosette on a pig and it would get elected as disgraced Tories insist on being replaced by their pets.

[frog222]

The brass neck of fucking Harris. This is partly on him.

Eh? How is it partly on him?

My first guess was that he was one of the many (often Guardian) writers attacking Corbyn, and memory being jogged .. He WAS ! I can't remember the detail but google will confirm .

My bedtime, will finish this vid tomorrow --


Jonathan's interviews are nearly always worth the time, answering in depth and over the last nearly two years that initial question of Ukraine being nazis favoured by Putin and the Useful Idiot western Left . Following on that quite an education on Russian culture history and the imperialist urge.

He was in Moscow for the 1991 attempted Putsch and in 1998 for the Great Inflation when warehouses were full and next to nothing in the shops ...

Cat came in wet, and freezing forecast for all night till midday, so most pleased not to have to drive ! NN

[AnatolyKasparov]

The likes of John Harris are never happy whoever is Labour leader, remember that and you won't go far wrong.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I got rid of Amazon Prime today after the free month and amongst all the crap on there I watched one decent thing, a series with Sissy Spacek where she has a portal to another planet under her garden shed.

The problem is though last thing I remember Sissy Spacek had telekinetic powers and was having pig's blood poured over her on her prom night and now she's playing a decrepit old woman.

Why is everyone I knew from films and TV when I was a kid getting really old all of sudden? It's really weird.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

The likes of John Harris are never happy whoever is Labour leader, remember that and you won't go far wrong.

The thing is though, I bet John Harris voted Labour under Corbyn, like you and I despite our concerns.

There are legitimate grievances Corbyn supporters can raise, but they have to accept the absolute fury of the rest of us on the Left.

He lost to Theresa May, in fact he helped increase the Tory vote share despite her disastrous campaign, then got historically thrashed and handed a dangerous buffoon an 80 seat majority.

And let's not forget in between then Labour were offered the chance to form a government of national unity during the brexit votes debacle and Corbyn refused before idiotically rising to Johnson's bait and accepting a general election.

Yes Corbyn supporters have legitimate grounds for complaint, but what about the rest of us?

Doomed to suffer since 2019 because he oversaw the biggest slump in the Labour vote since the 1930's.

Maybe we have a right to be fucking angry.

[Sky'sGoneOut]