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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The one way for LAB to close down it’s antisemitism crisis is

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited April 2018 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The one way for LAB to close down it’s antisemitism crisis is for Corbyn to go but that is not going to happen

The ongoing narrative over anti-semitism within the Labour Party has now gone beyond the point when the former spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, said that a bad news story should have been closed down. Tony Blair’s spin doctor used to observe that if one was running more than a week after it started then it was serious.

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,921
    First, like Mrs May.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    I think @GeoffW's "For the money, not the Jew" was better tbh.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    Second.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,401
    I don't suppose the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, next month - and the protests, remembrances, celebrations etc going along with it, both here and in the Middle East - is likely to help.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    tlg86 said:

    Second.

    At least according to Diane.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,564
    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    Second.

    At least according to Diane.
    Nah - far too close.

  • If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,392
    Eddie Izzard's appointment to the NEC will give an opportunity for those posting anti-semitic messages online to post transphobic messages instead.

    Real progress.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Nigelb said:

    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    Second.

    At least according to Diane.
    Nah - far too close.

    He'll just have to wait until one of the first 2 is eliminated by a negative drug test. Hopefully @Mortimer.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    Second.

    At least according to Diane.
    I was second in a parallel universe.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765
    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.
  • DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    tlg86 said:

    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    Second.

    At least according to Diane.
    I was second in a parallel universe.
    I've always had reservations about parallel universes. I find this one complicated enough.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Interesting point.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    Didn't Gladstone spend his evenings wandering the back streets looking for lost souls?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Interesting point.
    Presumably the copy editor has now been sacked. Colon followed by capital letter. O tempora, o mores. In the NYT of all places.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,564
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Just what is 'the global left' ?
    FWIW, I might loosely describe myself as a 'progressive' (I'd certainly vote Democrat in the US), and I have only contempt for both men.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Eddie Izzard's appointment to the NEC will give an opportunity for those posting anti-semitic messages online to post transphobic messages instead.

    Real progress.

    Equality of opportunity, inn'it
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    Nigelb said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Just what is 'the global left' ?
    FWIW, I might loosely describe myself as a 'progressive' (I'd certainly vote Democrat in the US), and I have only contempt for both men.

    Ditto.

  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    It is the counterpart to my point about the Leave campaign. That meets with a lot of consumer resistance in these parts.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Sean_F said:

    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.

    I was the Crown Junior in the trial of Angus Sinclair for the murder and rape of Mary Gallacher. We didn't talk much.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    Didn't Gladstone spend his evenings wandering the back streets looking for lost souls?
    And remarkably largely found them in young women. Weird coincidence really.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,748
    Sean_F said:

    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.

    Did you find him ideologically sound?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 113,957
    edited April 2018
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Interesting point.
    Presumably the copy editor has now been sacked. Colon followed by capital letter. O tempora, o mores. In the NYT of all places.
    They'll never outdo the New Yorker for crimes against the English language.

    https://twitter.com/mikecolton/status/884843351479992321?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-correct-punctuation-of-donald-trump-jrs-name

    Edit - This is the New Yorker defending their crime.

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-correct-punctuation-of-donald-trump-jrs-name
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765
    DavidL said:

    Sean_F said:

    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.

    I was the Crown Junior in the trial of Angus Sinclair for the murder and rape of Mary Gallacher. We didn't talk much.
    Some cases must be appalling for Judges, barristers, and jurors to have to sit through.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    In case anyone missed this gem. April Fool? Or more evidence of Jezza's unfitness for office:

    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/980399830529961984
  • MJWMJW Posts: 1,282
    The other big problem is that he and his most high profile supporters will not accept any personal responsibility. He could put it behind him if he made a personal apology and explained what he got wrong in his past and present and why that's encouraged the racists. For those who'd question it:

    1. In the years before he became leader, while campaigning for Palestine, he associated and failed to distance himself from the worst kinds of anti-Semites - becoming someone they viewed rightly or wrongly, as friendly or at least not outright opposed to them as beyond the pale. This is well documented.

    2. When asked about this when running for leader, all these associations were blithely dismissed as politically motivated 'smears', and providing excuses when admitting they were true and just blithely avowed his anti-racism - without addressing the problematic issue he embodied - that his own anti-imperialist leftwing strand had found itself intertwined with these racists, and hadn't put a barrier up to say what was unacceptable.

    3. Those who supported him accepted his explanations wholesale to the point where almost all criticism of anti-Semitism on the left became an 'anti-Corbyn smear', especially when he did nothing substantial to combat it - and MPs complained. Resulting in the situation where vile people could get away with being vile because they were pro-Corbyn.

    4. So we are where we are, where the racist attitudes that were probably shared only by a few Palestine obsessives who weren't much liked even by that movement, have spread much wider and are now excused even by mainstream Corbyn supporting commentators - who like the leader denounce the problem in general and then repeat the claim it's exaggerated or a smear - which the racists then use to say, "Who me?"

    You can't solve a problem until you admit what it is. Corbyn, Owen Jones and co are no closer to admitting that by initially defending the leader's past associations and then excusing them, they've created the monster.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,008
    FPT - I can recommend both Billions (which I love) and The Man in The High Castle, even if the latter is a little slow in parts.

    I really like the sound of 1864.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Sean_F said:

    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.

    Did you find him ideologically sound?
    A bit too right wing for me.
  • Billions is amazing.
  • MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382

    I don't suppose the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, next month - and the protests, remembrances, celebrations etc going along with it, both here and in the Middle East - is likely to help.

    Interesting has been the low-key reaction in the UK to what has been happening in Gaza over the weekend. I wonder if people feel intimidated by the current Corbyn saga
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    Meanwhile in Bristol:

    "Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire has said she is ‘just sad’ after she faced being summoned by her own party members to ‘explain herself’ as Labour’s bitter civil war over antisemitism arrived in the city."

    https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-mp-faces-censure-motion-1406909
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    Nigelb said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If you take Jeremy Corbyn at his word, then the leader of Britain’s Labour Party is no anti-Semite. It’s just that, like the Wild West preacher who keeps accidentally wandering into Fannie Porter’s house of ill repute, Corbyn has an odd knack for stumbling into the arms of the Hebraically disinclined.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semite.html

    Looking for lost souls perhaps?

    Is Hebraically actually a word?
    My OED says it is a word, an adverb.
    Never come across it before. Like the ending of that piece though:

    "The election of Donald Trump has caused waves of justified fear about the unique threat he poses to civil liberties in the free world. Yet Jeremy Corbyn may be the next prime minister of Britain, much to the delight of progressives on both sides of the Atlantic. What happens now will be a test for the global left: If it is willing to let Corbyn off the hook, it can have no honest case against Trump. No claim to moral respect, either."
    Just what is 'the global left' ?
    FWIW, I might loosely describe myself as a 'progressive' (I'd certainly vote Democrat in the US), and I have only contempt for both men.
    I'd vote democrat too, but I don't really know what progressive means, or if it means the same thing on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a party called the progressive Conservatives in Canada for crying out loud.

    My general impression is that progressive is a euphemisn for 'good' since you might conservatives here being relatively liberal in the usa, so people on left or right over here should be wary if assuming the left or right over there are their brethren.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    Sean_F said:

    FPT, box sets, I'd recommend Gomorrah.

    FPT, serial killers, I met Limbs in the Loch murderer, Ian Beggs, at the Young Conservatives' Conference in 1987. It turned out he'd committed his first killing, a couple of days previously.

    I was the Crown Junior in the trial of Angus Sinclair for the murder and rape of Mary Gallacher. We didn't talk much.
    Some cases must be appalling for Judges, barristers, and jurors to have to sit through.
    It was academically interesting because it was one of the first "cold cases" in Scotland where an unsolved crime was solved by the use of DNA which was not available as a technique in 1978. We spent almost all of the trial establishing that the productions had been safely stored and not subject to contamination in the intervening 25 years.

    But Sinclair was a monster. We actually had an eye witness. His witness statement said he had met Sinclair on the railway bridge immediately after the murder. He had no idea what had just happened but he said he would never forget his eyes. I must confess when I read that I laughed out loud. And then I saw him. I noticed he was very careful not to look at the Jury for the whole trial.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    DavidL said:

    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?

    Nope - Labour membership surged after the election. Those now leaving are old timers. They can see what's happening. Corbyn is going nowhere, the far left is entrenching its control, anti-Semitism is institutionalised, the leadership is pro-Brexit, with ideas that are based squarely in the 1970s and the Labour party is lost. Why pay money to be frustrated and angered when you can have it all for free?

    For me now, the issue is not what happens to the Labour party - I lost my love for it as an institution years ago - but how the hell we will ever get an opposition to the tired, utterly mediocre and entirely clueless government we now have running the country on little more than a day to day basis. There are huge structural issues in the UK that need to be sorted out and not one minister gives any sign that they have the first idea about how to tackle them; but they look across the floor of the Commons, see there is no-one holding to them account and just go on their merry way.

    I have three adult kids, two with degrees from good universities. They all live at home and have little hope of finding the kind of work they need to earn enough money to allow them to build lives of their own. There are millions of others like them. This situation is not sustainable.

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 113,957
    edited April 2018
    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Eagles, are those all Netflix?

    I do wonder if the BBC is going towards a funding crisis. Still suspect they'll try and get the licence fee to cover any device that can watch TV, rather than just ye olde television and radio, otherwise the licence fee base will surely diminish over time.

    Hmm. What if a TV set was created that couldn't receive TV signals (ie Freeview) but *was* internet-connected and could stream through the internet. Would such a device be liable for the licence fee?
  • Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    I'd recommend The Witcher series, all but one of which are available in paperback. However, one has to read the short stories first, in order for the novels to make sense.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    Meanwhile in Bristol:

    "Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire has said she is ‘just sad’ after she faced being summoned by her own party members to ‘explain herself’ as Labour’s bitter civil war over antisemitism arrived in the city."

    https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-mp-faces-censure-motion-1406909

    Bristol is, I'm told by friends including at least one with a Corbynistas husband, extremely pro Corbyn. He really is the messiah there. It's hard to know where to start with that though. Seeking censure for attending a demonstration against anti semitism? Calling the concerns unsubstantiated when Corbyn himself says there is a problem?

    More than one motion, too, the other less angry and seeking censure but still seems to be based on the same point, just not as strongly.
  • MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,921

    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

    Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    edited April 2018
    Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    I don't suppose the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, next month - and the protests, remembrances, celebrations etc going along with it, both here and in the Middle East - is likely to help.

    Interesting has been the low-key reaction in the UK to what has been happening in Gaza over the weekend. I wonder if people feel intimidated by the current Corbyn saga
    It would be a good opportunity to demonstrate what criticism of Israeli policy without getting antisemitic looks like, and would probably flush out some genuine anti semites from hiding
  • Mr. Eagles, are those all Netflix?

    I do wonder if the BBC is going towards a funding crisis. Still suspect they'll try and get the licence fee to cover any device that can watch TV, rather than just ye olde television and radio, otherwise the licence fee base will surely diminish over time.

    Hmm. What if a TV set was created that couldn't receive TV signals (ie Freeview) but *was* internet-connected and could stream through the internet. Would such a device be liable for the licence fee?

    Only Suits is on Netflix.

    Lucifer and Man in the High Castle are on Amazon Prime

    Billions, Westworld, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, and The Blacklist are on Sky/NOWTV
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730
    Oh yes. The review in The Times was hilarious.

    Screaming "what is this plastic?" when sandwiches were produced covered in cellophane; hiring people to remove slugs by night from his garden; bringing his own lavatory seat when staying with other people; taking 43 pieces of luggage to a religious retreat. This is our future king.
  • SlackbladderSlackbladder Posts: 9,704

    DavidL said:

    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?

    Nope - Labour membership surged after the election. Those now leaving are old timers. They can see what's happening. Corbyn is going nowhere, the far left is entrenching its control, anti-Semitism is institutionalised, the leadership is pro-Brexit, with ideas that are based squarely in the 1970s and the Labour party is lost. Why pay money to be frustrated and angered when you can have it all for free?

    For me now, the issue is not what happens to the Labour party - I lost my love for it as an institution years ago - but how the hell we will ever get an opposition to the tired, utterly mediocre and entirely clueless government we now have running the country on little more than a day to day basis. There are huge structural issues in the UK that need to be sorted out and not one minister gives any sign that they have the first idea about how to tackle them; but they look across the floor of the Commons, see there is no-one holding to them account and just go on their merry way.

    I have three adult kids, two with degrees from good universities. They all live at home and have little hope of finding the kind of work they need to earn enough money to allow them to build lives of their own. There are millions of others like them. This situation is not sustainable.

    I agree. To paraphase 'The Wire' 'You come at the King, you best not miss'

    The moderates went for the King. they failed. None of them as yet chose to leave Labour, or what Labour has now come.

    I want a opposition which i could think about voting for if I want a change as well. New Labour was that, I could cope with Blair, Brown, hell even Miliband. I wouldn't like it, but I could see it.

    Corbyn's Britain. No. I don't want that, or even to consider it an option.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,673

    I don't suppose the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, next month - and the protests, remembrances, celebrations etc going along with it, both here and in the Middle East - is likely to help.

    Interesting has been the low-key reaction in the UK to what has been happening in Gaza over the weekend. I wonder if people feel intimidated by the current Corbyn saga
    Just crap media we have in this country, they are selective in their reporting. Much more important than Corbyn cannot make out people in a mural compared to real crimes.
  • Mortimer said:

    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

    Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!
    It is available to download via Sky Box Sets
  • MortimerMortimer Posts: 13,921

    Mortimer said:

    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

    Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!
    It is available to download via Sky Box Sets
    Ta!
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    DavidL said:

    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?

    Nope - Labour membership surged after the election. Those now leaving are old timers. They can see what's happening. Corbyn is going nowhere, the far left is entrenching its control, anti-Semitism is institutionalised, the leadership is pro-Brexit, with ideas that are based squarely in the 1970s and the Labour party is lost. Why pay money to be frustrated and angered when you can have it all for free?

    For me now, the issue is not what happens to the Labour party - I lost my love for it as an institution years ago - but how the hell we will ever get an opposition to the tired, utterly mediocre and entirely clueless government we now have running the country on little more than a day to day basis. There are huge structural issues in the UK that need to be sorted out and not one minister gives any sign that they have the first idea about how to tackle them; but they look across the floor of the Commons, see there is no-one holding to them account and just go on their merry way.

    I have three adult kids, two with degrees from good universities. They all live at home and have little hope of finding the kind of work they need to earn enough money to allow them to build lives of their own. There are millions of others like them. This situation is not sustainable.

    I agree with almost all of that. Good governments have good oppositions who keep them up to the mark. There is no need for rigour when your opponent is an incoherent prat who can't be bothered to learn their brief and is on a carousel of appointment and resignation anyway.

    My reservation is that employment is at an all time high. I remember in the late 70s chronic youth unemployment drove me to taking the safe option of law at University instead of something interesting because I was reasonably confident there would be a job at the end of it. Whilst too many get trapped into the insecurity of the gig economy and casual employment there are more opportunities for our young now than there was then.
  • Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

    It's a great book.

    Tom Bower has produced many great biographies, he did one on Gordon Brown and it was clear then that Brown was going to be an awful Prime Minister.

    Oooh, there's an idea for a thread, is Prince Charles the Royal Gordon Brown?
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    edited April 2018
    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).
  • Sean_F said:

    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-prince/tom-bower/9780008291730
    Oh yes. The review in The Times was hilarious.

    Screaming "what is this plastic?" when sandwiches were produced covered in cellophane; hiring people to remove slugs by night from his garden; bringing his own lavatory seat when staying with other people; taking 43 pieces of luggage to a religious retreat. This is our future king.
    A friend of mine hosted an event which Prince Charles attended.

    It was a nightmare, he was given 14 page list of the Prince's requirements, such as the sandwiches must be cut horizontally not diagonally.

    A certain brand of toilet paper must be provided, and how the toilet paper must be positioned in the holder.

    Etc
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
    https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    In case anyone missed this gem. April Fool? Or more evidence of Jezza's unfitness for office:

    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/980399830529961984

    Harry Cole used to be one of Guido’s team. It quite clear there’s a whole virtual filing cabinet of things Corbyn has said in the past, just waiting to be dripped out over the coming months and years.

    There’s probably an intern sitting somewhere in the British Library, reading old copies of the Morning Star from before it went online, and all the old pamphlets politicians used to publish.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    Bristol West was a seat the Greens had targeted as a potential gain. In the end all the left vote went to this invigorated labour, hence the stonking great majority.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    It's interesting that the Queen seems much more down to earth, despite not going to university. Having royals mingle with the public more through education may not necessarily work.
  • houndtanghoundtang Posts: 450
    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Mr. Eagles, are those all Netflix?

    I do wonder if the BBC is going towards a funding crisis. Still suspect they'll try and get the licence fee to cover any device that can watch TV, rather than just ye olde television and radio, otherwise the licence fee base will surely diminish over time.

    Hmm. What if a TV set was created that couldn't receive TV signals (ie Freeview) but *was* internet-connected and could stream through the internet. Would such a device be liable for the licence fee?

    Only Suits is on Netflix.

    Lucifer and Man in the High Castle are on Amazon Prime

    Billions, Westworld, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, and The Blacklist are on Sky/NOWTV
    The Sinner from HBO is good as well
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    It's interesting that the Queen seems much more down to earth, despite not going to university. Having royals mingle with the public more through education may not necessarily work.

    She seems much more acutely aware of the need not to annoy people, even if she is regarded as dull as a result. Temperamentally she seems almost purpose built for the role.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

    It's a great book.

    Tom Bower has produced many great biographies, he did one on Gordon Brown and it was clear then that Brown was going to be an awful Prime Minister.

    Oooh, there's an idea for a thread, is Prince Charles the Royal Gordon Brown?
    He's worse. More like Joffrey.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

    It's a great book.

    Tom Bower has produced many great biographies, he did one on Gordon Brown and it was clear then that Brown was going to be an awful Prime Minister.

    Oooh, there's an idea for a thread, is Prince Charles the Royal Gordon Brown?
    First review on Amazon has the heading "Long live the Queen". Well, quite.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    Bristol has shifted very far left, even as its suburbs have moved right.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765
    DavidL said:

    Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

    It's a great book.

    Tom Bower has produced many great biographies, he did one on Gordon Brown and it was clear then that Brown was going to be an awful Prime Minister.

    Oooh, there's an idea for a thread, is Prince Charles the Royal Gordon Brown?
    First review on Amazon has the heading "Long live the Queen". Well, quite.
    I'm sure she wants to outlive him.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?

    Nope - Labour ?

    For way.

    I not sustainable.

    I agree with almost all of that. Good governments have good oppositions who keep them up to the mark. There is no need for rigour when your opponent is an incoherent prat who can't be bothered to learn their brief and is on a carousel of appointment and resignation anyway.

    My reservation is that employment is at an all time high. I remember in the late 70s chronic youth unemployment drove me to taking the safe option of law at University instead of something interesting because I was reasonably confident there would be a job at the end of it. Whilst too many get trapped into the insecurity of the gig economy and casual employment there are more opportunities for our young now than there was then.

    Not from where I am standing. There are jobs, but none of them pay what is needed to even get a flat-share in a town like Leamington - the cheaper accommodation is all taken by students. The one job that seems to be available and decently paid is teaching. But not everyone can be a teacher, especially when job opportunities in education are contracting. I imagine at least two of my three will end up in London. That's where the action is at. The capital is the UK's land of opportunity, but really that isn't sustainable either.
  • oxfordsimonoxfordsimon Posts: 5,831

    Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
    https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

    I think that really does bring the mess that is Corbyn's Labour into sharp relief

    The fact that an MP is facing censure for having protested anti-Semitism is so not what Labour used to stand for.

    All of this can only be laid at Corbyn's door. He has set the mood music for the Party and the Party is now suffering as a result.

    The membership might still support him - but the voters will be less inclined to go to the polling stations to support a Party that is indulging in such in-fighting and presenting such an unpleasant face.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

    Even the trailers need to be watched that way...latest one has a QR code that leads to another video, which itself has a puzzle that leads to another video which explains a little bit of the trailer...
  • Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

    If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
    https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

    Bristol is West Country Islington...
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 15,543
    FWIW I don't think Corbyn is particularly anti-Semitic. Labour's anti-Semitism problem is complicated by potentially legitimate criticism of Israel, where many Jews identify with that country. The main issue is that by singling that country out for unique and sometimes exaggerated opprobrium, they may be motivated by anti-Semitism. For their part a lot of critics of Corbyn and Labour, including many on this board focus on anti-Semitism as an evil while being perfectly comfortable with other forms of casual racism.

    I don't personally think Corbyn is a good leader for Labour, but anti-Semitism isn't a reason to get rid of him. Labour does need to address the problem however.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    DavidL said:

    Not a fan of Corbyn, think he is ridiculously thick to hold the position he does and that his apparent reputation for honesty and integrity is massively overstated but is it not likely that the current fall in Labour memberships is caused by those who joined in the run up to a general election and are still just a bit bewildered that they lost? Don't most parties see a boost at election times and a subsequent fall off?

    Nope - Labour membership surged after the election. Those now leaving are old timers. They can see what's happening. Corbyn is going nowhere, the far left is entrenching its control, anti-Semitism is institutionalised, the leadership is pro-Brexit, with ideas that are based squarely in the 1970s and the Labour party is lost. Why pay money to be frustrated and angered when you can have it all for free?

    For me now, the issue is not what happens to the Labour party - I lost my love for it as an institution years ago - but how the hell we will ever get an opposition to the tired, utterly mediocre and entirely clueless government we now have running the country on little more than a day to day basis. There are huge structural issues in the UK that need to be sorted out and not one minister gives any sign that they have the first idea about how to tackle them; but they look across the floor of the Commons, see there is no-one holding to them account and just go on their merry way.

    I have three adult kids, two with degrees from good universities. They all live at home and have little hope of finding the kind of work they need to earn enough money to allow them to build lives of their own. There are millions of others like them. This situation is not sustainable.

    I agree. To paraphase 'The Wire' 'You come at the King, you best not miss'

    The moderates went for the King. they failed. None of them as yet chose to leave Labour, or what Labour has now come.

    I want a opposition which i could think about voting for if I want a change as well. New Labour was that, I could cope with Blair, Brown, hell even Miliband. I wouldn't like it, but I could see it.

    Corbyn's Britain. No. I don't want that, or even to consider it an option.
    Very much agree, it’s good for people to have a choice of who to vote for in an election.

    I joined the Conservatives on 12th September 2015, the day Corbyn was elected and I realised I no longer had that choice.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    Mortimer said:

    Shows to binge watch

    Lucifer, Suits, Billions, Westworld, Man in the High Castle, Pretty Little Liars, Britannia, The Good Doctor, Babylon Berlin, The Blacklist.

    Note, Westworld has to be watched without distraction, there are such little nuances you might miss.

    Is babylon Berlin available to stream? I keep hearing it mentioned!
    Its excellent! Brings Weimar Germany vividly to life - and stunning production values - lets hope they go beyond two series.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    Silicon Valley and billions are back and both still good.

    My guilty pleasure, starring for one season Eddie izzard, the good wife, which now has a spin off the good fight. If you like suits, you will probably like this.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,673

    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    MD , my favourite ever book is Kidnapped and its follow up Catriona. From history types , The Civil War: A Narrative By Shelby Foote , a Trilogy is brilliant and Wellington: The Iron Duke by Richard Holmes is also excellent.
    A very personal one is Mountain and flood: The history of the 52nd (Lowland) Division, 1939-1946 by George Blake. My father fought in this division as member of the 4/5th Royal Scots Fusiliers. They spent 2 years doing mountain training but never got to fight in the mountains.
  • Silicon Valley and billions are back and both still good.

    My guilty pleasure, starring for one season Eddie izzard, the good wife, which now has a spin off the good fight. If you like suits, you will probably like this.

    Yes, I loved the Good Wife, but the Good Fight is even more fun.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 5,414

    It's interesting that the Queen seems much more down to earth, despite not going to university. Having royals mingle with the public more through education may not necessarily work.

    I think her experiences in wartime gave her more awareness, alongside the fact that she was brought up in a very loving, close family unit, one that she was herself unable to emulate - partly, probably, because of the pressures of being a young queen. Though that doesn’t explain Margaret to be fair (although I believe it has always been reported that she was the spoilt one).
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765

    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

    If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?
    I doubt if he'll betray us. But, all the evidence is that he is very selfish, very self-pitying, and totally lacking in self-awareness.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    Mr. Eagles, just the kind of nonsense I should expect from a scallywag such as yourself. Good day, sir!

    Mr. F, ah, yes, I remember you et al. suggesting that before. I'll have a browse (if there's a short story collection I might be able to get that and another book).

    Edited extra bit: The Last Wish seems to fit the bill. (Annoyingly, but for anyone else who might want it, it's under £3 (paperback) on Amazon).

    It's a great book.

    Tom Bower has produced many great biographies, he did one on Gordon Brown and it was clear then that Brown was going to be an awful Prime Minister.

    Oooh, there's an idea for a thread, is Prince Charles the Royal Gordon Brown?
    First review on Amazon has the heading "Long live the Queen". Well, quite.
    I'm sure she wants to outlive him.
    And so do we all.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    It's not an unfair point I suppose. Most, though not all, on here, left and right, do not like Corbyn, but his party is at worst a few points off the tories, or even doing better.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    Silicon Valley and billions are back and both still good.

    My guilty pleasure, starring for one season Eddie izzard, the good wife, which now has a spin off the good fight. If you like suits, you will probably like this.

    Yes, I loved the Good Wife, but the Good Fight is even more fun.
    I am enjoying it, although I miss the recurring clients from the good wife like that crazy guy who killed his wife (but got off) and is constantly in trouble.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762

    Speaking of Bristol and daft far leftwingery:
    https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/980739661869015041

    I think that really does bring the mess that is Corbyn's Labour into sharp relief

    The fact that an MP is facing censure for having protested anti-Semitism is so not what Labour used to stand for.

    All of this can only be laid at Corbyn's door. He has set the mood music for the Party and the Party is now suffering as a result.

    The membership might still support him - but the voters will be less inclined to go to the polling stations to support a Party that is indulging in such in-fighting and presenting such an unpleasant face.
    So you are predicting Tory gains next month? Brave, very brave.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 5,414

    Mr. Eagles, are those all Netflix?

    I do wonder if the BBC is going towards a funding crisis. Still suspect they'll try and get the licence fee to cover any device that can watch TV, rather than just ye olde television and radio, otherwise the licence fee base will surely diminish over time.

    Hmm. What if a TV set was created that couldn't receive TV signals (ie Freeview) but *was* internet-connected and could stream through the internet. Would such a device be liable for the licence fee?

    The ambit of the licence has already been expanded so that it’s required for iPlayer.

    I do think, news perhaps aside, the BBC should move to a subscription model. It is getting harder to justify the licence every time a review rolls around.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    tlg86 said:

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.
    40% of the country are not bad, no more than the 40% voting Tory can all be bad.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    tlg86 said:

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.

    In which case we're still buggered as they are nearly half the country. But I am a bit more generous than you. I think a lot of voters see a Tory party led by incompetents who have no interest in anything except personal advancement, who merrily dogwhistle to get the votes of racists, xenophobes and bigots, who are nostalgic for a time that has gone and will never come again and who have no idea how to tackle the country's problems. They choose to vote against such a party.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    kle4 said:

    tlg86 said:

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.
    40% of the country are not bad, no more than the 40% voting Tory can all be bad.
    I’m still waiting for my baby to eat after voting Tory for the first time last year....
  • Sean_F said:

    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

    If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?
    I doubt if he'll betray us. But, all the evidence is that he is very selfish, very self-pitying, and totally lacking in self-awareness.
    He's going to do wonders for the republican movement, I suspect he'll fracture the Commonwealth as well. Take back control from unelected foreign rulers might be a useful slogan in plebiscites on removing the British monarch as head of state across the Commonwealth.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,765
    kle4 said:

    tlg86 said:

    houndtang said:

    Labours travails would be almost funny if these clowns hadn't got - and continue to poll - a still unbelievable 40% of the vote last year.

    That's how bad the Tories are. They cannot be ensured of a majority even when faced with an institutionally anti-Semitic party nostalgic for the 1970s, led by a quasi-Marxist who backs any murderous regime or cause as long as it is anti-US, anti-UK or anti-Israel. God help us!!

    Nah, it shows how bad the people who would still vote Labour are.
    40% of the country are not bad, no more than the 40% voting Tory can all be bad.
    Agreed. There are loads of people who are just tired of austerity, however necessary it was to balance the books.
  • Silicon Valley and billions are back and both still good.

    My guilty pleasure, starring for one season Eddie izzard, the good wife, which now has a spin off the good fight. If you like suits, you will probably like this.

    Yes, I loved the Good Wife, but the Good Fight is even more fun.
    I am enjoying it, although I miss the recurring clients from the good wife like that crazy guy who killed his wife (but got off) and is constantly in trouble.
    Colin Sweeney was a great character.
  • TheWhiteRabbitTheWhiteRabbit Posts: 12,387

    Mr. Eagles, are those all Netflix?

    I do wonder if the BBC is going towards a funding crisis. Still suspect they'll try and get the licence fee to cover any device that can watch TV, rather than just ye olde television and radio, otherwise the licence fee base will surely diminish over time.

    Hmm. What if a TV set was created that couldn't receive TV signals (ie Freeview) but *was* internet-connected and could stream through the internet. Would such a device be liable for the licence fee?

    The ambit of the licence has already been expanded so that it’s required for iPlayer.

    I do think, news perhaps aside, the BBC should move to a subscription model. It is getting harder to justify the licence every time a review rolls around.
    To me, it is a subscription.

    Most of the video content I watch is YouTube (free) and Netflix (£3/mo) and therefore it makes no sense for me to opt in to pay three or four times that for the occasional programme or piece of live sport.

    Obviously it is not like that for everyone.

    It is absolutely terribly enforced. It would not be difficult, in respect of BBC TV-via-website and in respect of iPlayer, to require a login tied to your TV licence.

    Those people that might find such a system more difficult wouldn't have a problem, because watching via an actual TV wouldn't be required to login (although they would still be required to pay).

  • YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382
    edited April 2018
    malcolmg said:

    I don't suppose the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, next month - and the protests, remembrances, celebrations etc going along with it, both here and in the Middle East - is likely to help.

    Interesting has been the low-key reaction in the UK to what has been happening in Gaza over the weekend. I wonder if people feel intimidated by the current Corbyn saga
    Just crap media we have in this country, they are selective in their reporting. Much more important than Corbyn cannot make out people in a mural compared to real crimes.
    Totally agree.The terrible fire in Russia in a shopping complex, was hardly covered .Just one example.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,762
    malcolmg said:

    Well, quite.

    Off-topic: got a small amount to spend from a Christmas Waterstones card. If I had a thousand pounds I'd be able to buy all the things I want... as an aside, astounded by the absolute predominance of WWII in the Military History section. Must be 95% from the last century (in bestseller's).

    I am open to suggestions, incidentally, if anyone has particularly fantastic books they've enjoyed.

    MD , my favourite ever book is Kidnapped and its follow up Catriona. From history types , The Civil War: A Narrative By Shelby Foote , a Trilogy is brilliant and Wellington: The Iron Duke by Richard Holmes is also excellent.
    A very personal one is Mountain and flood: The history of the 52nd (Lowland) Division, 1939-1946 by George Blake. My father fought in this division as member of the 4/5th Royal Scots Fusiliers. They spent 2 years doing mountain training but never got to fight in the mountains.
    I absolutely adored Kidnapped as a child. We went on a family holiday and my late Dad used to read us a chapter every night. I could not wait to get to bed! This generation has so much more with the internet and social media but they miss a lot too. I look back on those times with great fondness.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Eagly, incidentally, as I was enjoying my sandwiches it occurred to me your biography suggestion might have been serious (my first thought was that you were taking the piss). If so, I do apologise for calling you a scallywag.

    If not, then you retain your scallywag status.

    Mr. G, cheers, I'll give those a look.

    Mr. Twelve, astute thinking on Charles. On the BBC as subscription: nice idea, but I'll believe that when I see it.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    Sean_F said:

    Mr. kle4, isn't Bristol a very Green city? If so, it'd suggest there's a strong pool of far left persons who may be swayed by daft ideas.

    Mr. Eagles, cheers for that answer (as you may've gathered, this isn't my area). Not a single BBC series amongst them...

    Edited extra bit: Mr. Eagles, buying the biography of a living person is not something I would do (except as a present for another).

    It is very useful to know about the man who will soon be ruling us.

    If he can betray his wife, what's to stop him from betraying us?
    I doubt if he'll betray us. But, all the evidence is that he is very selfish, very self-pitying, and totally lacking in self-awareness.
    He's going to do wonders for the republican movement, I suspect he'll fracture the Commonwealth as well. Take back control from unelected foreign rulers might be a useful slogan in plebiscites on removing the British monarch as head of state across the Commonwealth.
    I think the Republicans might be less successful than they think. There'll be some successes, I'm sure, with the once in a lifetime chance to reconsider their sysyems, but If Charles can be reined in and not be as bad as some think, it might not be an exodus.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Eagles, my main concrete concern is the rumoured desire of Charles to change Defender of the Faith to Defender of Faith, which is utterly idiotic and unnecessary.
This discussion has been closed.