Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st May 2016 & Monday 2nd May

[refitman]

Morning all.

[rebeccariots2]

We're all chatty this morning.

[gilsey]

Good morning.

[PorFavor]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

[ephemerid]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

What's he done now, Por?

(Sorry - god moaning, all)

[rebeccariots2]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

Eh?

I have enough trouble deciphering HindleA when he goes all minimal. Please don't go all obtuse this early on PF. I need details.

[PorFavor]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

What's he done now, Por?

(Sorry - god moaning, all)

Labour Party to make explicit that it's outlawing anti-semitism and racism within its ranks (I paraphrase). Lance Price says that it's not about racism - it's about anti-semitism - implying that this is an effort to swerve round\dilute\distract from the issue.

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

[Willow904]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

Is he the one who was basically saying that criticising Israel is essentially anti-Semitic and insinuating that Corbyn was anti-Semitic because he's never stated he believes Israel has a right to exist?

After being very careful yesterday, the BBC has disappointed today.

[PorFavor]

We're all chatty this morning.

Two words and one set of initials -

Lance Price BBC.

Is he the one who was basically saying that criticising Israel is essentially anti-Semitic and insinuating that Corbyn was anti-Semitic because he's never stated he believes Israel has a right to exist?

After being very careful yesterday, the BBC has disappointed today.

And that.

[PorFavor]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

[nickyinnorfolk]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

[HindleA]

http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Di ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Disabled Cheltenham man 'left in great deal of pain' after welfare payment assessment

[nickyinnorfolk]

Just noticed how Rowson has captured the effete manner in which ZG clasped his pint glass

[PorFavor]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

I might be wrong - but I took your point to be the one that Martin Rowson was making (hence the small David Cameron and the umbrellas provided for Boris Johnson and Zac Goldsmith).

[nickyinnorfolk]

Monster of racism, including anti-semitism, lurking behind the Goldsmith and co.

[ephemerid]

Just want to say - after some of us were discussing how people think and/or engage politically - I agree with Mr.Snozers who put it much better than I ever could.
I really do think, even allowing for agency and with a certain degree of intellectual snobbery (yes, I'm sometimes guilty of that), even normally very intelligent people are prone to manipulation by our politicians and our media. I certainly am. Although I'm not always very intelligent....

PR and media soundbites work. Why else would businesses and political parties use them, often at huge expense?

I think that way we have been governed over the past few years, much as with Thatchers' governments, has caused an "I'm all right Jack" attitude among many voters. Working people, however much they might have been struggling, have been told day after day that they are the hardworking families that government supports while sick/disabled/unemployed/whatever people are unworthy, are different, are "not like us".

Now that the Tories are doing what they always do, ie. attack those who are "not like us", various groups of people who thought they were "us" are suddenly finding that they are not. The QT lady, the woman in Sidmouth who lost PIP despite being terminally ill - both Tory voters.
It won't be long before millions of people who work but rely on tax credits have to go on to Universal Credit, with it's conditions and sanctions and fines - I wonder how many of them voted Tory and thought the scrounger rhetoric wouldn't apply to them either?

People vote the way they do - and use the media they do - for all sorts of reasons; they can be tribal, they can have a loyalty to a party their parents supported, they might have a particular issue that concerns them and choose a party that subscribes to that issue.
But - however much agency they have - like everyone else, they are susceptible to manipulation. It works, and a lot of the time it's because a lot of people are too busy getting on with life (or can't be bothered) to look behind the headlines, which is not a criticism, it's just how things are.

Robert was right to highlight the thing about Labour being useless with the economy. They have been painted that way for so long that people believe it. When I was doorstepping before the GE, it was a thing that came up time and again. People believed it, and it was often impossible to convince them otherwise.
The media have a lot of responsibility here - and mostly they are not discharging that responsibility with any integrity. What was one MP doing something before she became an MP has become a massive issue, not helped by Livingstone on the one hand and Mann & Co. on the other; suddenly Labour is rife with anti-semitism.

Meanwhile, the Tories are off the front headlines - doctors' strike, refugee children, the crises in housing and steel, the racist campaign from Crosby for Goldsmith, the economy, military action being planned overseas, action for the 96 families....all being sidelined for accusations of institutional anti-semitism in a political party which is the most open and most tolerant of them all.

It's disgraceful, really.

[nickyinnorfolk]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

I might be wrong - but I took your point to be the one that Martin Rowson was making (hence the small David Cameron and the umbrellas provided for Boris Johnson and Zac Goldsmith).

The paradox being that Goldsmith has overseen the most disgustingly racist campaign, as pointed out by the likes of Peter Oborne (voting for Khan after a lifetime of voting Tory).

[ephemerid]

Re. Rowson's cartoon - (and Bell's, etc.)

The "cartoonistas", regulars like Lightacandle, PhyllidaEB, and others have taken to discussing the cartoons on Twitter when the G closes comments.

The usual fun can be had.

[nickyinnorfolk]

Letters to the Guardian:

We are Jewish members and supporters of the Labour party and of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, who wish to put our perspective on the “antisemitism” controversy that has been widely debated in the last few weeks (Labour’s antisemitism crisis as Livingstone suspended, 29 April). We do not accept that antisemitism is “rife” in the Labour party. Of the examples that have been repeated in the media, many have been reported inaccurately, some are trivial, and a very few may be genuine examples of antisemitism. The tiny number of cases of real antisemitism need to be dealt with, but we are proud that the Labour party historically has been in the forefront of the fight against all forms of racism. We, personally, have not experienced any antisemitic prejudice in our dealings with Labour party colleagues.

We believe these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership, and they have been timed particularly to do damage to the Labour party and its prospects in elections in the coming week. As Jews, we are appalled that a serious issue is being used in this cynical and manipulative way, diverting attention from much more widespread examples of Islamophobia and xenophobia in the Conservative and other parties. We dissociate ourselves from the misleading attacks on Labour from some members of the Jewish community. We urge others, who may be confused or worried by recent publicity, to be sure that the Labour party, under its present progressive leadership, is a place where Jews are welcomed in a spirit of equality and solidarity.

This letter was mentioned in an early (7.30) news bulletin on Radio 2. No surprises that all mention of it disappeared from later news.

[HindleA]

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/loc ... n-11256120" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sick and disabled Halton residents let down by Personal Independence Payments, charity says

[HindleA]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'It was life and death for us and it's the same today': Kindertransport children speak

[HindleA]

http://www.theguardian.com/education/20 ... ear-2-sats" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Over 30,000 sign petition to boycott primary school Sats tests

[AnatolyKasparov]

Well, it seems the Torygraph's front page splash didn't even last a few hours......

[HindleA]

http://thejusticegap.com/us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

‘Like Hillsborough, Orgreave cries out for justice’

[Willow904]

Why's everyone being so cryptic today? What Telegraph front page?

Btw Livingstone has apologised for any disruption he's caused Labour. Bit late now, but at least he recognises the oxygen he gave a story that had almost run its course, I suppose. Don't suppose Mann is going to apologise. Now Ken's said his piece and drawn a line under it, let's hope everyone else will let it lie for the sake of the elections.

[howsillyofme1]

Morning all

I still think Corbyn has made a good move in have an inquiry to nip this in the bud.....I don't believe ant-semitism is there in any major way (as suggested by the letter from Jewish members suggests) but some of the anti-Zionists have to be more careful with their terminology and behaviour

I would ask the question as well is anti-Zionism (i.e. opposition to the State of Israel's existence) inherently racist because it is defined as a Jewish state or is it acceptable based on the displacement of the Palestinian people to enable its formation?

On a second point, I hope Labour (I doubt McTernan, Mann and their like will) will jump as strongly on any indications of anti-semitism towards all the Semitic people coming from the Tories and UKIP as strongly! Goldsmith, to me, has run an overtly racist campaign and there are numerous examples almost as strong coming from other ranking Tories.....

[AnatolyKasparov]

Livingstone implied (even if he did not explicitly state) that "Hitler was a Zionist".

That is a gross misreading of history - to put it at its most charitable - and one frequently seen in far-right circles. And, absolutely obviously, deeply hurtful and offensive.

[nickyinnorfolk]

Re. Rowson's cartoon - (and Bell's, etc.)

The "cartoonistas", regulars like Lightacandle, PhyllidaEB, and others have taken to discussing the cartoons on Twitter when the G closes comments.

The usual fun can be had.

Ta for that. LIghtacandle points out that the monster behind the Tory contingent is Lynton Crosby. Of course!

[howsillyofme1]

Livingstone implied (even if he did not explicitly state) that "Hitler was a Zionist".

That is a gross misreading of history - to put it at its most charitable - and one frequently seen in far-right circles. And, absolutely obviously, deeply hurtful and offensive.

I agree with that and I think that Corbyn does too - it doesn't necessarily make him a racist though......it makes him look very stupid

[AnatolyKasparov]

I don't think JC has ever stated that, has he? The issue with him is his past association with some rather dubious types on the Palestinian (etc) side who may well hold such views......

[howsillyofme1]

I don't think JC has ever stated that, has he? The issue with him is his past association with some rather dubious types on the Palestinian (etc) side who may well hold such views......

I think you may have misunderstood me, I agree with your comment about KL's behaviour and that JC agrees with us, hence the suspension

[RogerOThornhill]

Morning all.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan heckled at NAHT conference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36176846

And she said an all-academy system would be consistent and give "freedom" to schools.

"The autonomy that academy status brings means putting power into the hands of school leaders," she said.

Trouble is Nicky that the 'school leaders' don't believe you. They think you mean "whoever is in charge of the MAT".

Mr Johnson [incoming NAHT chief], who is an academy head, has warned in a letter to the Daily Telegraph that the academy plan is costly.
He wrote: "I will happily persuade my colleagues of the merits of autonomy and freedom. But I have doubts about forcing every school in England to convert to academy status."
The cost of turning every school into an academy was "high" and the benefits "uncertain", he said.
"Smaller schools will surely suffer."
He told the BBC many schools had made the decision that working within a local authority structure worked for them and their community.
"Why change that? If the choice is become an academy because you know that actually you can improve the quality of what's going on, then that would seem the right thing to do.
"So give the choice. Trust in us. We do know what we're doing," he said.

Well quite.

Usual case of "we'll listen to teachers...until such time as what they're saying is inconvenient and then we'll ignore and patronise them"

She's also making up policy on the hoof about the role of the LA - this was printed on the wrong colour paper...should have been green (consultation) rather than white.

[nickyinnorfolk]

Good piece which does what it says on the tin - How to Criticise Israel Without Being a Dick.

..... Ken should have known. The more he croaked on, the redder his big round face grew, until it started shining like an enormous Stop sign. But he didn't stop. As far as I know, he isn't an anti-Semite, but his comments were crude, thoughtless, and incredibly stupid. Basically, he was being a dick. If you want to criticise Israel without being accused of anti-Semitism, not being a dick isn't a guaranteed defence – even being Jewish yourself doesn't really guarantee anything – but if the accusation is false, it's a pretty good start. Here's how.


FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP TALKING ABOUT HITLER

I get it. The cruel historical ironies, that Israeli minister threatening Palestinians with a "Shoah", the fact that Israel retains the Nuremberg Laws in its definitions of Jewishness, the enormous prison camps for African migrants they've built in the desert, the sheer rhetorical heft, the fact that nothing makes your point quite like dropping a big fat-bottomed Hitler into the conversation. Just don't do it. What got Ken Livingstone in the worst trouble was his line that Hitler was actually working with Zionists to expel Jews from Europe until he "went mad and ended up killing six million Jews". This is pretty objectionable – is a policy of mass deportation now tolerable? Was the Holocaust really just all about one person's insanity? And while it's not entirely inaccurate (there was an agreement between Hitler and Zionist groups to facilitate Jewish emigration; at the same time the Lehi, a Jewish paramilitary group in 1940s Palestine, tried to form an anti-British alliance with Germany), it's not helping anyone.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/how-to-c ... 1461926630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Willow904]

Morning all

I still think Corbyn has made a good move in have an inquiry to nip this in the bud.....I don't believe ant-semitism is there in any major way (as suggested by the letter from Jewish members suggests) but some of the anti-Zionists have to be more careful with their terminology and behaviour

I would ask the question as well is anti-Zionism (i.e. opposition to the State of Israel's existence inherently racist because it is defined as a Jewish state) or is it acceptable based on the displacement of the Palestinian people to enable its formation?

On a second point, I hope Labour (I doubt McTernan, Mann and their like will) will jump as strongly on any indications of anti-semitism towards all the Semitic people coming from the Tories and UKIP as strongly! Goldsmith, to me, has run an overtly racist campaign and there are numerous examples almost as strong coming from other ranking Tories.....

If you believe IS are wrong in seizing land they believe is their ethnic homeland, over-riding existing borders and displacing other ethnic and religious groups already living there, then you are basically expressing an opinion that zionism is wrong, as far as I'm concerned. Israel, however, has long been established so anti-zionism is obsolete in a way. You can't object to a person born in Israel wanting to continue to live in their place of birth, its not fair. So being anti-zionist is either completely reasonable or completely racist, depending on what you mean by it. Which is very convenient for those who want to smear Corbyn. My husband is a raving socialist, absolutely adores Ken Livingstone and contends he is deliberately making the minefield arguments Corbyn simply can't. I'm not so convinced Ken is helping! But I don't question the integrity of his intentions. Meanwhile, the Jewish population is very small, the Muslim population somewhat bigger. Does smearing Labour as anti-Semitic really damage them? Especially when Jewish Labour supporters seem so awake to the contrived nature of the criticism? In many ways I thought the insinuations that Khan was associated with extremist sympathisers was more damaging (if people believe it) but this anti-Semitism row has rather eclipsed that. Strange times.

[howsillyofme1]

Thank you nicky and willow - very helpful in helping my thinking

[ohsocynical]

We're all chatty this morning.

I'm distracted. I haven't written fiction in quite a few years, the brain had completely dried up, but for some reason I woke in the middle of the night with the opening to a monologue buzzing around in my head. It was so clear and persistent that in the end I got up and jotted it down. I've been working on it this morning. Slow going though. I'm out of practice.

[AnatolyKasparov]

I don't think JC has ever stated that, has he? The issue with him is his past association with some rather dubious types on the Palestinian (etc) side who may well hold such views......

I think you may have misunderstood me, I agree with your comment about KL's behaviour and that JC agrees with us, hence the suspension

Yes I did, soz

Mods - any chance of expanding this thread to take in the bank holiday Monday?

[HindleA]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

London mayoral election 2016 Opinion
The Guardian view on London’s mayoral race: elect Citizen Khan
Editorial

[nickyinnorfolk]

Morning all.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan heckled at NAHT conference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36176846

And she said an all-academy system would be consistent and give "freedom" to schools.

"The autonomy that academy status brings means putting power into the hands of school leaders," she said.

Trouble is Nicky that the 'school leaders' don't believe you. They think you mean "whoever is in charge of the MAT".

Mr Johnson [incoming NAHT chief], who is an academy head, has warned in a letter to the Daily Telegraph that the academy plan is costly.
He wrote: "I will happily persuade my colleagues of the merits of autonomy and freedom. But I have doubts about forcing every school in England to convert to academy status."
The cost of turning every school into an academy was "high" and the benefits "uncertain", he said.
"Smaller schools will surely suffer."
He told the BBC many schools had made the decision that working within a local authority structure worked for them and their community.
"Why change that? If the choice is become an academy because you know that actually you can improve the quality of what's going on, then that would seem the right thing to do.
"So give the choice. Trust in us. We do know what we're doing," he said.

Well quite.

Usual case of "we'll listen to teachers...until such time as what they're saying is inconvenient and then we'll ignore and patronise them"

She's also making up policy on the hoof about the role of the LA - this was printed on the wrong colour paper...should have been green (consultation) rather than white.

Headteachers as a breed are overwhelmingly small c conservatives, quite a few probably have voted Tory, most abhor heckling behaviour. So it takes dictatorial stupidity of staggering magnitude to get them to heckle an Education Minister as they have been doing this morning.

[ohsocynical]

Good piece which does what it says on the tin - How to Criticise Israel Without Being a Dick.

..... Ken should have known. The more he croaked on, the redder his big round face grew, until it started shining like an enormous Stop sign. But he didn't stop. As far as I know, he isn't an anti-Semite, but his comments were crude, thoughtless, and incredibly stupid. Basically, he was being a dick. If you want to criticise Israel without being accused of anti-Semitism, not being a dick isn't a guaranteed defence – even being Jewish yourself doesn't really guarantee anything – but if the accusation is false, it's a pretty good start. Here's how.


FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP TALKING ABOUT HITLER

I get it. The cruel historical ironies, that Israeli minister threatening Palestinians with a "Shoah", the fact that Israel retains the Nuremberg Laws in its definitions of Jewishness, the enormous prison camps for African migrants they've built in the desert, the sheer rhetorical heft, the fact that nothing makes your point quite like dropping a big fat-bottomed Hitler into the conversation. Just don't do it. What got Ken Livingstone in the worst trouble was his line that Hitler was actually working with Zionists to expel Jews from Europe until he "went mad and ended up killing six million Jews". This is pretty objectionable – is a policy of mass deportation now tolerable? Was the Holocaust really just all about one person's insanity? And while it's not entirely inaccurate (there was an agreement between Hitler and Zionist groups to facilitate Jewish emigration; at the same time the Lehi, a Jewish paramilitary group in 1940s Palestine, tried to form an anti-British alliance with Germany), it's not helping anyone.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/how-to-c ... 1461926630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My feelings are that he's old enough to know better. He knows the press jump on everything he says. How many times has he been at the centre of an argument? Countless!
Being so near the elections he should have thought carefully about what he was saying. He's had enough years in the job and there's always 'no comment' if you're caught off guard.

I hate to say it, but I suspect he enjoys being the centre of attention in which case Corbyn has done the right thing and put him permanently on the naughty step.

[ohsocynical]

Morning all.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan heckled at NAHT conference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36176846

And she said an all-academy system would be consistent and give "freedom" to schools.

"The autonomy that academy status brings means putting power into the hands of school leaders," she said.

Trouble is Nicky that the 'school leaders' don't believe you. They think you mean "whoever is in charge of the MAT".

Mr Johnson [incoming NAHT chief], who is an academy head, has warned in a letter to the Daily Telegraph that the academy plan is costly.
He wrote: "I will happily persuade my colleagues of the merits of autonomy and freedom. But I have doubts about forcing every school in England to convert to academy status."
The cost of turning every school into an academy was "high" and the benefits "uncertain", he said.
"Smaller schools will surely suffer."
He told the BBC many schools had made the decision that working within a local authority structure worked for them and their community.
"Why change that? If the choice is become an academy because you know that actually you can improve the quality of what's going on, then that would seem the right thing to do.
"So give the choice. Trust in us. We do know what we're doing," he said.

Well quite.

Usual case of "we'll listen to teachers...until such time as what they're saying is inconvenient and then we'll ignore and patronise them"

She's also making up policy on the hoof about the role of the LA - this was printed on the wrong colour paper...should have been green (consultation) rather than white.

Headteachers as a breed are overwhelmingly small c conservatives, quite a few probably have voted Tory, most abhor heckling behaviour. So it takes dictatorial stupidity of staggering magnitude to get them to heckle an Education Minister as they have been doing this morning.

I guess even headteachers can't ignore gormless.

[HindleA]

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/hertfordshire- ... ign=buffer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Council faces £5.6m bill for free school

[RogerOThornhill]

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/hertfordshire- ... ign=buffer

Council faces £5.6m bill for free school

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the story and could not confirm the costs because of commercial confidentiality.

Funny that - they're not usually so reluctant to voice their opinion. And "commercial confidentiality"?

The whole edu system is now utterly chaotic - no-one knows who is supposed to do what and who pays for it.

[citizenJA]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

(my bold)

Picture of Zac Goldsmith recently tweeted he's awkwardly holding a pint in pub standing behind/next to Johnson
Important this - awkwardly holding a pint so we can laugh at him a bit dilutes his caustic campaign to become London Mayor
(Dave Hill gives a tidy summation of Goldsmith's 'poisonous campaign' linked here - http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/dave ... r-campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Tory party/Zac Goldsmith have mailed election leaflets to select Londoners warning Sadiq Khan's election as Mayor will jeopardise their jewellery
Tory party/Goldsmith accused Sadiq Khan of sharing space with 'extremists', specifically naming Islamic Imam, Suliman Gani, forgetting Gani is a
Tory supporter photographed with Goldsmith at various functions

Dave Cameron recently used the floor of Commons to accuse Sadiq Khan of sharing platforms with Imam Suliman Gani, leader of the Tooting Islamic Centre
while accusing the Imam of supporting IS (Islamic State)
Gani denies this allegation and has issued a statement that Cameron's accusation he's an IS supporter is a lie, Cameron has unjustly used Parliamentary
privilege to make the allegation and he's contact legal support to clear his name following Cameron's accusations
(Peter Oborne 27 April 2016 article link
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/da ... -695528146" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Zac Goldsmith's paternal grandfather is Jewish
Zac Goldsmith is currently married to banking heiress, Alice Rothschild
The Rothschild family are Jewish
Boris Johnson/the Tory party label the Labour party anti-Semitic

[ohsocynical]

Jeanne Bartram @JeanneBartram
John Mann: Of course I could do the top job (2015)

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update ... e-top-job/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …


SupportJuniorDoctors ‏@DbAshby 24m24 minutes ago
Lol, could have been the next leader but doesn't have enough support. Not fit to be an MP never mind party leader SupportJuniorDoctors added,

[ohsocynical]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... es-cartoon

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

(my bold)

Picture of Zac Goldsmith recently tweeted he's awkwardly holding a pint in pub standing behind/next to Johnson
Important this - awkwardly holding a pint so we can laugh at him a bit dilutes his caustic campaign to become London Mayor
(Dave Hill gives a tidy summation of Goldsmith's 'poisonous campaign' linked here - http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/dave ... r-campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Tory party/Zac Goldsmith have mailed election leaflets to select Londoners warning Sadiq Khan's election as Mayor will jeopardise their jewellery
Tory party/Goldsmith accused Sadiq Khan of sharing space with 'extremists', specifically naming Islamic Imam, Suliman Gani, forgetting Gani is a
Tory supporter photographed with Goldsmith at various functions

Dave Cameron recently used the floor of Commons to accuse Sadiq Khan of sharing platforms with Imam Suliman Gani, leader of the Tooting Islamic Centre
while accusing the Imam of supporting IS (Islamic State)
Gani denies this allegation and has issued a statement that Cameron's accusation he's an IS supporter is a lie, Cameron has unjustly used Parliamentary
privilege to make the allegation and he's contact legal support to clear his name following Cameron's accusations
(Peter Oborne 27 April 2016 article link
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/da ... -695528146" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Zac Goldsmith's paternal grandfather is Jewish
Zac Goldsmith is currently married to banking heiress, Alice Rothschild
The Rothschild family are Jewish
Boris Johnson/the Tory party label the Labour party anti-Semitic

I read a statement by Gani that he is seeking legal advice over Cameron's statement.

[Temulkar]

We're all chatty this morning.

I'm distracted. I haven't written fiction in quite a few years, the brain had completely dried up, but for some reason I woke in the middle of the night with the opening to a monologue buzzing around in my head. It was so clear and persistent that in the end I got up and jotted it down. I've been working on it this morning. Slow going though. I'm out of practice.

Don't think about it, just keep writing, and go back and revise it later. First draft is always wrong, so dont waste time getting it right until you have got it all out. If that makes sense.

[citizenJA]

Wish the Graun weren't quite so nervous about this manufactured crisis and opened the comments section.

The dead cats (aka Livingstone and Mann) are clear enough, but what's going on with Johnson, Goldsmith and a tiny Cameron? They're let off the hook while the media hysteria about Labour keeps on, but why are they covered in what looks like vomit?

I might be wrong - but I took your point to be the one that Martin Rowson was making (hence the small David Cameron and the umbrellas provided for Boris Johnson and Zac Goldsmith).

The paradox being that Goldsmith has overseen the most disgustingly racist campaign, as pointed out by the likes of Peter Oborne (voting for Khan after a lifetime of voting Tory).

Exactly - Tories project

Apologies for my barging in without greeting everyone with Good-afternoon
Outstanding posts here yesterday and today - I'm still catching up, apologies if I've duplicated information

[nickyinnorfolk]

Morning all

I still think Corbyn has made a good move in have an inquiry to nip this in the bud.....I don't believe ant-semitism is there in any major way (as suggested by the letter from Jewish members suggests) but some of the anti-Zionists have to be more careful with their terminology and behaviour

I would ask the question as well is anti-Zionism (i.e. opposition to the State of Israel's existence inherently racist because it is defined as a Jewish state) or is it acceptable based on the displacement of the Palestinian people to enable its formation?

On a second point, I hope Labour (I doubt McTernan, Mann and their like will) will jump as strongly on any indications of anti-semitism towards all the Semitic people coming from the Tories and UKIP as strongly! Goldsmith, to me, has run an overtly racist campaign and there are numerous examples almost as strong coming from other ranking Tories.....

If you believe IS are wrong in seizing land they believe is their ethnic homeland, over-riding existing borders and displacing other ethnic and religious groups already living there, then you are basically expressing an opinion that zionism is wrong, as far as I'm concerned. Israel, however, has long been established so anti-zionism is obsolete in a way. You can't object to a person born in Israel wanting to continue to live in their place of birth, its not fair. So being anti-zionist is either completely reasonable or completely racist, depending on what you mean by it. Which is very convenient for those who want to smear Corbyn. My husband is a raving socialist, absolutely adores Ken Livingstone and contends he is deliberately making the minefield arguments Corbyn simply can't. I'm not so convinced Ken is helping! But I don't question the integrity of his intentions. Meanwhile, the Jewish population is very small, the Muslim population somewhat bigger. Does smearing Labour as anti-Semitic really damage them? Especially when Jewish Labour supporters seem so awake to the contrived nature of the criticism? In many ways I thought the insinuations that Khan was associated with extremist sympathisers was more damaging (if people believe it) but this anti-Semitism row has rather eclipsed that. Strange times.

Crosby, who orchestrated Johnson's campaign against Livingstone in 2012, remembered that there were accusations of anti semitism against KL that seemed to gain traction amongst some Jewish Londoners. He thinks these dog whistle tactics can work again, especially with the assistance of the Tory media.

I think he's wrong and Khan will still win.