So much for our MPs being accountable for what they say in public! I was going to respond to @AngelaRayner's post: "That was six years ago, and the country wasn't in as much shit as it is now!" but clearly Angie only lets #Labour voters comment.
And you don't believe the @BBCnews and all the other news outlets, including the UK press, are biased? You don't belive they only want you to know what they think you should know? Start reading news from other countries, you fools! #immigration #stoptheboats euobserver.com/243110/16-eu-stโฆ
I don't support Andy Burnham or the #Labour Party, for that matter, but two free meals? Are you serious? Nobody gives a toss about freebie meals. There are bigger things going on in the world right now! #politics #GutterPress thesun.co.uk/sport/40675222/anโฆ
PM ANDY Burnham was accused of covering up his links to scandal-hit Manchester City after a Sun probe rubbished his claims he had only one โsignificantโ meeting with its chairman. A deleted registeโฆ
I spoke to a couple of #ReformUK voters over the weekend. They promoted the idea of using a remote Scottish island with tents, no less! "๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ช๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ?" so that they don't land on the mainland UK. #politics #stoptheboats bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwnv0zโฆ
I'll just leave this here. Sagal Abdi-Wali โ Labour 45.0% 12,292 votes ยท Won the seat Zack Polanski โ Green Party 32.7% 8,928 votes ยท Second place Conservative candidate 7.0% 1,922 votes #politics
โ๐๐จ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง 2.0?โ Badenoch is deliberately echoing Thatcher's 1976 The Right Approach with The Right Way. But she faces very different problems than Thatcher did in 1976. So perhaps this isn't about being โthe second Thatcherโ at all. Perhaps she's using Thatcher's 1976 game plan to rebuild a Conservative Party that has lost its way. #politics
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ. Thatcher was dealing with inflation, trade-union power, nationalised industries, and the post-war consensus.
Badenoch is dealing with Brexit, mass migration, an enormous welfare state, demographic ageing, huge public debt, weak productivity, an NHS crisis, net-zero policy and a political challenger to her right.
Just finished ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐: ๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฒ by @Dennis_E_Taylor Awesome openeing even had me thinking "WTF?" Two observations about the Brazilians. Oh, and the end could very well be "Oh fuck." #bobiverse โค๏ธ๐ m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51โฆ
Is everyone stupid? Seriously, how thick do you have to be to not ask yourself: "Hang on a minute, they've been bailed? But, but, if they had a bomb, surely they'd be remanded?" So no bomb then? "Attempting to enter a military installation is surely serious, especially in these sensitive times?" Hang on, they're released on bail after a day? You watch, they're going to turn out to be flytippers! ๐คฆโโ๏ธ #RAFFairford news.sky.com/story/raf-fairforโฆ
Just to be clear, it wasn't MI5, it wasn't counter terrorism. It was a farmer who phoned the rozzers: "Erm, there are these blokes in masks messing about near the base fence." who foiled the attempted attack! ๐คฆโโ๏ธ #RAFFairford
Member of the public who contacted police after seeing โgroup of hooded and masked menโ near RAF base says she thinks โsomeone dropped the ballโ over incident
Notice how the media doesn't stomp all over #Labour when a story like this crawls out of the woodwork? Even the #BBC softens the blow with the tagline: "Unexpected". If the #Conservatives were still in power, there would be all hell and gnashing of teeth. #politics bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c68049โฆ
They've only been back in the country for two minutes, and they're up to their old tricks again. When will we be rid of this attention-seeking, entitled pair?
How thick are people? The RNLI saves lives; they don't give a toss where people come from or how they got there. They care that some poor soul is in peril on the sea!
Wadda you want them to do, throw them back in? Give me strength.
I remember the chill I felt when we were leaving London on the North Circular one dark night and I heard one of the first two UKIP MPs saying the best way to stop immigration was to bomb the boats as they left Syria. It was the first time I was sure UKIP were fascists.
I don't know what people expect. Do they want us to machine-gun boats in the middle of the channel? What we need will never happen. We need the French not to let them leave French shores, but they're never going to do that, would you?
"Hรฉ l'ami, tu crois aller oรน ? Reviens ici pour qu'on ait un sacrรฉ problรจme, pas comme ces charmants Anglais !"
Politicians have allowed themselves to be manipulated by the Far Right into addressing the wrong problems and setting silly objectives. If people are afraid of criminal gangs and child rapists coming here illegally, or people who aren't refugees, then small boats aren't the problem. Any criminal worthy of the title can get a plane ticket. Maybe we need some prisons with lower standards, for people who haven't contributed into the system and only came here to crime.
I remember the chill I felt when we were leaving London on the North Circular one dark night and I heard one of the first two UKIP MPs saying the best way to stop immigration was to bomb the boats as they left Syria. It was the first time I was sure UKIP were fascists.
What an utter joke the .GOV One login blah, blah blah is!!!
So I had to renew my driving license (That's a joke too! I'll have to do this all again in five years' time). My passport is expiring soon; luckily, I could use my still-valid driver's license. That was a bit of a faff, but I thought it was funny that it offered to use a 2016 photo of me on file for the registration. ๐คฏ
What you learn is that you're registering for One Logon, which is basically the government's version of Authenticator. Then, having registered with One Login you've got to register with the GOV website. It wanted my passport number, but hang on- that's expired? And I told you I didn't want to use it? No. I had to put my number in. Unbelivably it told me the quickest way to register was to use the ten year old photo on my passport! So all these security checks and it's happy to use old photos. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
Word of caution: If you give the wrong year you moved into where you live your account will be locked, there's no second chances.
Remember, children. This is where it starts: #Labour Spend, spend, spend until the money runs out. Wait, I thought it had run out? What happened to this ยฃ22 billion black hole? #Politics
That free bus pass isn't free, you know. The government reimburses transport companies for free passes. I would put money on transport operators applying peak-fare prices to their reimbursement.
They already get free bus travel, like me (if I ever get around to applying) but I don't need to travel at peak hours because I don't work. This isn't an extra cost. It's to remove a barrier to disabled people working and paying tax.
I don't actually think anything should be free, just discounted because people waste free stuff. It should be cheaper than me using my car, to keep old people off the roads at peak times .
If you want me to use the bus, I only want a few things. 1. Don't overcharge me; I'm happy to pay a fair price. 2. Ensure it's safe. Buses are dangerous environments these days. 3. Make sure they're clean and inviting. Maybe local radio playing or something. 4. Make sure they keep good time: TBH, for example, the X51 is a pretty frequent bus.
I agree with everything but local radio making them more inviting. I consider that cruelty to bus drivers. They have WiFi so listen to whatever you like, as long as it's THROUGH HEADPHONES! Phone speakers should have a kill-switch that's triggered by public transport. It could save lives.
And here's gaffe number one from St Andy Burnham. Of course, the official line will be: "No secrets were divulged." I bet they weren't; the Americans, Russians and Chinese already know all our secrets. ๐คฃ #Politics bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyvj5โฆ
He's already said he's not Sinn Fรฉin and would take the seat.
I expect he'd just get on with case-work and probably be one of the best local MPs in the country because there's no shuffling for position in the party or taking up ministerial roles or campaigning for the future to worry about.
Opposite of Farage really, who is only in Clacton at all for party and national reasons.
In interview he does appear to be saying that in the unlikely event he won he'd take the job seriously and do his best for Clacton.
He certainly won't be lining up ministerial positions or flying to America to make deals with foreign parties or thinking about campaigning for the next election.
He could of course either be lying or just be shit at it or even just decide after a month that he can't be bothered and quit. But from what he's saying in interview, his plan would just be to try and be a good independent MP.
A month or so ago, I was asked to quote on installing an agent on 18 machines. I sent the price, and I could tell they weren't happy. A couple of weeks later, I got a new request to install it on 6 machines. I sent over a revised price and silence for another week or so. I then got an angry email demanding to know how I justified the price for a "six-minute job!" I explained how we have highly skilled technicians with a wealth of knowledge and experience and that our resources, too, come at a cost.
I then received yet another request for 2 laptops. My first thought was: ๐ง "Don't tell me, there's a problem with these, isn't there?"
Lo and behold, nobody can install because the laptops' firewall is enabled and we can't give the user the admin password. We sorted it in the end, but this demonstrates why IT services come at a premium.
So I've extensively played with #ChatGPT, #Copilot, and, most recently, everyone's wet dream, #Claude. I have to say, they're all pretty much the same. I think the reason everyone is cooing over Claude is that it shows you what it's doing as it cogitates, and it integrates well with SharePoint.
What I don't like is that, for freebie accounts, ChatGPT and Claude are very stingy about how much interaction you can have. Waiting one or two days to complete a task is pretty annoying. Copilot seems slightly more generous IMO. #AI
I watched the England game last night, and we clearly need Brian Clough back! WTF was that pissing about near our own goal, twice! Get it up the other end! And is this how we play football now, on our arse? Was that the tactic? To get as many penalties or free kicks as possible? I said to the missus. "Whoa! Look! Kane is actually on his feet!" #Football #worldcup2026
I don't believe weather forecasters, I honestly don't. This morning I asked Google what the weather would be where I live, and it told me it would be cooler than yesterday, at 26 degrees. The radio said within two minutes that the weather would be hot in Birmingham and 29 degrees!
My computer says it is 26C for my current location, while Chrome says it's 27C 2026, and they still can't get it right. #ukweather #MetOffice
Disband the Paras. Airborne warfare is a thing of the past. The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and The Yorkshire Regiment. Disband 23 of the 25 Military bands. Create a Robot-AI regiment. (Drones - RAF) Build one carrier to match the Nimitz Class (Ideally two) We really should have some bombers. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gy2eโฆ
You make a fair point about parachutes. A warm body hanging from a slowly descending canopy is far too predictable a target if there are drone defences. There would be slaughter.
I can't see large-scale conventional wars happening again. Troops will be used to guard and police occupied territory. There will always be small-scale actions, but the Russian experience should have taught us that massed tanks and infantry are a thing of the past.
The reason we need bombers is that if Europe is overrun, fighter-bombers can't reach Moscow. That is, if Moscow still exists, if we're brave enough to push the button?
You know, you can't blame the officers in the #HenryNowak case. The police simply can't do their job these days. Imagine being shit scared of not acting on a claim of racism. The politicians just want everyone to shut up and make it go away by accusing people of "Division." bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77yx8โฆ
They had 3 people (members of one family) telling them one story and 1 person telling them he'd been stabbed. On the bodycam recording a police officer says, "I don't think you have mate" because they are used to being lied to. They know there are many white racists who start fights. They assessed the probabilities and guessed wrong. If they can be criticised for anything, it's not checking more carefully for a stab wound. If anyone is responsible for the death, it's not the police.
I think "I've been stabbed" takes precedence over anything. My original knee-jerk reaction to the video was "WTF!" After speaking with a number of people, I've changed my opinion to: "It certainly looks like arresting him for a race crime seemed to be the main objective." I mean, think about it. There's a bloke on the floor who's only crime at that stage was supposedly racially abusing someone, and the course of action is to cuff them? When you get stopped for speeding, etc., do they slap the bracelets on? No, they sit you in the back of the car and have a chat.
There are lots of questions, and we're not going to get the answers. Henry Nowak is going to have died for nothing, and nobody apart from his family cares because the world we live in is more worried about upsetting people's feelings than telling it like it is. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
You have to take your hat off to Sir Kier Starmer. He's proven that ignoring everyone works! He's had way more than most Prime Ministers' failures, and yet he's still there! And still doing nothing. #Politics bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vyxzโฆ
Have you noticed the LibDems slow rise in popularity since the media almost stopped reporting on them? If media attention is negative, it seems better not to have it.
I still think votes for the Liberals are "parking votes" People want to vote, but they can't (Yet) bring themselves to vote for ReformUK, and (imo) they think a vote for the Greens is a wasted vote. I fully accept the Conservatives have no chance for at least another seven or eight years, so that leaves the Liberals or one of these fringe parties. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
If the votes are parked awaiting the return of a viable Centre-Right party, that is the Lib Dems' Right Wing. I thought it might be Labour but they're too authoritarian for libertarian Cs. The Conservatives either aren't conservative or are too afraid to admit they are, which is equally useless for attracting the 'sensible middle'. Being tribal about a label that has lost its meaning is pointless.
British politics has stagnated. Nobody wants to do anything, stand out or rock the boat. Other than prices going up, which has nothing to do with the UK government or Brexit, for that matter, I've not seen this government achieve anything. The problem with that is there has been nothing as such where the electorate stands up and says, "This government must go!"
I think these local election wins for ReformUK will not translate to votes in a general election.
(if I ever get around to applying) but I don't need to travel at peak hours because I don't work. This isn't an extra cost. It's to remove a barrier to disabled people working and paying tax.
Andy Wootton
in reply to dick_turpin • • •dick_turpin
in reply to Andy Wootton • •I don't know what people expect. Do they want us to machine-gun boats in the middle of the channel? What we need will never happen. We need the French not to let them leave French shores, but they're never going to do that, would you?
"Hรฉ l'ami, tu crois aller oรน ? Reviens ici pour qu'on ait un sacrรฉ problรจme, pas comme ces charmants Anglais !"
Andy Wootton
in reply to dick_turpin • • •Andy Wootton
in reply to dick_turpin • • •morph [TEMP]
in reply to dick_turpin • • •dick_turpin likes this.