A Political Thread pt. 2

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Which Tyler]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The Guardian view on Belarus: a line has been crossed | Editorial

Editorial: The abduction of an opposition blogger from a commercial Ryanair flight sends a chilling message to dissidents. The west’s response must be swift and robust

www.theguardian.com

UK airlines told to avoid Belarusian airspace after journalist arrest

Britain says carriers should by-pass Belarus after a flight was diverted to Minsk and a journalist held.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

The EU right about now when firm action is required:

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Trump in his comfort zone with OAN. Still moaning and complaining about a lost election.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Trump in his comfort zone with OAN. Still moaning and complaining about a lost election.

Worryingly 25% of the US electorate and over 50% of self-identified Republicans still believe that the election was 'stolen'. This is providing the momentum for the restrictive voting bills being promoted in a number of 'Red' states.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Yesterday the Culture Secretary was quoted as saying that the BBC should 'project British values'. There is something IMHO profoundly 'un-British' about a government minister telling a public broadcaster what 'values' it should 'project' and there are other aspects of this government's approach that seem very different from Britishness as I understand it. The obsession with the flag, for example, is not the understated form of patriotism that I associate with this country, where flags (whether the Union Flag or flags of constituent UK nations) were used only for royal, sporting or commemorative events. Equally un-British is the 'hostile environment' and the readiness to send refugees (including children and young people) back to places where they are not safe. The rhetoric of 'sovereignty', 'independence', 'world-beating', etc. seems more reminiscent of South America; I use that example because I went there for postgrad. research a few decades ago and remember well the delusions of grandeur that some of the very corrupt regimes had. I'm not making an equation here, merely noticing alarming aspects in common.

Overall, the more ultra-nationalist and populist the 'British' government sounds, the more alien it actually feels.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Florida governor signs bill to ban Big Tech 'deplatforming'

The Florida measure will fine companies that violate the rules up to $250,000 per day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Florida essentially trying to make it illegal for tech firms to choose who can use their platform and avoid having to follow any of the rules. This follows on from another Republican trying to pass a bill that would make fact checkers need a licence with the possibility of huge fines if politicians deem the fact check to be false (note, they only have to deem it false, they don't actually have to show it is the case). In essence what this would do is allow a politician to make a blatantly false statement and any media source that calls them out on their lie will be fined.

Can someone remind us how the Republicans are the party of individual liberty again? This is advocating full on government censorship. The right wing in the west is becoming more dictatorial by the day, banging the nationalism drum, lying through their teeth, trying to put roadblocks on the democratic process and introduce punishments and limits on free speech, all the while daring to whine about "cancel culture". The gaslighting is ridiculous and the worst part is it is working, huge numbers of people are swallowing the lies wholesale. The enemy has been created (Europe and "socialist" Labour here, Mexicans and "socialist" Democrats in the USA) and that persistent, completely fabricated threat is being used as justification to **** all over the electorate in both countries.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Florida trying to appeal to the trumpers whilst simultaneously trying to market themselves to tech firms as the new silicon valley to try and claw back the money they've lost through lack of tourism

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Just buy a theme park or
Entertainment complex and you'll be exempt from the law. Lol.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

"There's a very profound question about the nature of our political system that means we got at the last election a choice between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson.

"Any system that ends up giving a choice between two people like that as people to lead is obviously a system that has gone extremely badly wrong. There are so many thousands of wonderful people in this country who could provide better leadership than either of those two."

DC is a prick, but I do agree with this.

 

[McTallshort]

Like the comment about Mr Cummings looking to be part of a Sunak administration

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Finally reconciled that Bojo was Not fit to be PM by October 2020. Took him that long did it?

 

[duncanb]

Have to say have enjoyed the Cummings hearing, reminds me of the spitting image caricature of Norman Tebbit "there something about the night in him"
Bojo, Cummings, Blair , Corbyn et al. I'm 60 soon can't think of an honest truthful politico.
Doubt in my lifetime I will see one.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Have to say have enjoyed the Cummings hearing, reminds me of the spitting image caricature of Norman Tebbit "there something about the night in him"
Bojo, Cummings, Blair , Corbyn et al. I'm 60 soon can't think of an honest truthful politico.
Doubt in my lifetime I will see one.

'Something of the night about him' was Ann Widdecombe's comment about Michael Howard, after serving as his deputy at the Home Office. It made her something of a star for a while, until she went completely mad and joined Nigel Falange. (I mean Nigel Farage, of course: damned spellcheck!)

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

'Something of the night about him' was Ann Widdecombe's comment about Michael Howard, after serving as his deputy at the Home Office. It made her something of a star for a while, until she went completely mad and joined Nigel Falange. (I mean Nigel Farage, of course: damned spellcheck!)

Can't stand Widdecombe. Ignoring the fact she sounds like an old woman going through make puberty, her views are archaic. Feel free to see her in an intelligence squared debate against Stephen fry and Christopher hitches, no prize for guiding who came off worse.

 

[RedruthRFC]

Have to say have enjoyed the Cummings hearing, reminds me of the spitting image caricature of Norman Tebbit "there something about the night in him"

See above for a correction. My favourite description of him is "a pound shop Nosferatu".

 

[duncanb]

As always stand corrected, however still think all a pile of poo.

 

[RedruthRFC]

As always stand corrected, however still think all a pile of poo.

Back to Spitting Image, have you seen the new series. I thought the Cummings (and Patel) characters were very good.

The series wasn't that warmly received, but I really enjoyed it. BritBox are still doing a free trial if you haven't got an account, I'd recommend signing up to watch it, even if you're not interested in the rest of their content.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Can't stand Widdecombe. Ignoring the fact she sounds like an old woman going through make puberty, her views are archaic. Feel free to see her in an intelligence squared debate against Stephen fry and Christopher hitches, no prize for guiding who came off worse.

I agree - she has grotesquely reactionary views. I can't take her seriously: she's part Prisoner Cell Block H, part Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. Her Parliamentary nickname was Doris Karloff!