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[Hiberno-Britannic Politics] Stay Alert Home Alert Stay Household

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    CasualCasual Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
    TryCatcher wrote: »
    Jesus. They are completely delusional.

    I mean, they're not. They know Corbyn is to blame otherwise they wouldn't be working so hard to push the narrative that he isn't.

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    ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Casual wrote: »
    TryCatcher wrote: »
    Jesus. They are completely delusional.

    I mean, they're not. They know Corbyn is to blame otherwise they wouldn't be working so hard to push the narrative that he isn't.

    After meeting some of the 'inner circle', genuinely they think in this delusional way.

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    BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    Christ. Trying to pin blame on Watson after he’s out the door is especially pathetic.

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    AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Bad-Beat wrote: »
    Fucking hell, Labour. That is pretty close to the worst possible response to a resounding election defeat.

    Just... Fucking hell. Labour deserve to be nothing more than a fringe think-tank rather than a major political party if this is how they're going to behave.

    Momentum knows that if they lose power, that's it - they will never be given the reins again. So they would rather destroy Labour then surrender control.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
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    ChanusChanus Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster Apocalypse The Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User regular
    kinda be nice if everything about UK politics wasn't in one form or another a suicide pact

    Allegedly a voice of reason.
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    ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    We lost, but we did so preserving our precious bodily fluidspurity, and in the end, isn’t that the real victory?

    The answer is no.

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    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
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    AlphaRomeroAlphaRomero Registered User regular
    Chanus wrote: »
    kinda be nice if everything about UK politics wasn't in one form or another a suicide pact

    Technically it's a murder suicide

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    Mr.WangtangMr.Wangtang Registered User regular
    If "extending working class power" means sending the traditional labour vote to the tories so they will have to throw the plebs a bone every now and then, then that is some genius 4D thinking.

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    surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    on the bright side surveys of labour membership suggest right now keir starmer is v much in the lead

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    EuphoriacEuphoriac Registered User regular
    I wouldn't worry too much about Labour, guys. They've pulled themselves out of shit-heaps in the past. Hell, the Tories were 'dead' during the New Labour years and came back. Right now Labour are shit, but it won't last and defeatism doesn't help anyone, least of all ourselves.

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    ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    Euphoriac wrote: »
    I wouldn't worry too much about Labour, guys. They've pulled themselves out of shit-heaps in the past. Hell, the Tories were 'dead' during the New Labour years and came back. Right now Labour are shit, but it won't last and defeatism doesn't help anyone, least of all ourselves.

    Until Momentum are purged from the party, then expect this outcome for the foreseeable future.

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    PerduraboPerdurabo Registered User regular
    Labour last won power without Tony Blair in 1974.

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    surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    Perdurabo wrote: »
    Labour last won power without Tony Blair in 1974.

    so what you are suggesting is that they exhume tony blair and reanimate him using the combined energy of both millibands and alastair campbell

    it seems the chosen strat for anti-keir starmer types will be targeting cases he was involved in while at DPP which i imagine will be mostly too tenuous and technical to sway many

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    SharpyVIISharpyVII Registered User regular
    So it seems that we were kept completely in the dark about the US plans to assassinate General Qassem Suleimani despite the UK having military assets in the country who are now more at risk.

    That bodes well for our special post Brexit relationship.

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    eEK!eEK! Registered User regular
    Perdurabo wrote: »
    Labour last won power without Tony Blair in 1974.

    so what you are suggesting is that they exhume tony blair and reanimate him using the combined energy of both millibands and alastair campbell

    it seems the chosen strat for anti-keir starmer types will be targeting cases he was involved in while at DPP which i imagine will be mostly too tenuous and technical to sway many

    Seems to be another case of activists forgetting that prosecutors are actually popular outside of justice reform groups, either way I don't think they'll have much luck with the membership, as Starmer was careful not to pick any public fights with Corbyn.

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    ArchangleArchangle Registered User regular
    Perdurabo wrote: »
    Labour last won power without Tony Blair in 1974.

    so what you are suggesting is that they exhume tony blair and reanimate him using the combined energy of both millibands and alastair campbell
    We'd have to kill and bury him first, but I'm sure Corbyn would be eager to volunteer for the job.

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    CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    Perdurabo wrote: »
    Labour last won power without Tony Blair in 1974.

    so what you are suggesting is that they exhume tony blair and reanimate him using the combined energy of both millibands and alastair campbell

    Could just bloody run him again, he’s alive, only 66 and not doing anything. LOL.

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    tzeentchlingtzeentchling Doctor of Rocks OaklandRegistered User regular
    SharpyVII wrote: »
    So it seems that we were kept completely in the dark about the US plans to assassinate General Qassem Suleimani despite the UK having military assets in the country who are now more at risk.

    That bodes well for our special post Brexit relationship.

    To be fair, it seems that most of the US people (including Congress!) were also kept in the dark about this plan, let alone anyone else.

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    ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    But the rich scum who are members of Sooper Speshul Buds of the Prez club at Mar A Lago apparently knew weeks ago because Trump was bragging about it.

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    TryCatcherTryCatcher Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    From two official newspaper twitter accounts.

    The UK, on the assassination of General Suleimani:



    Also the UK, less than 24 hours later:



    Welp, buckle up your seatbelts.

    TryCatcher on
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    CasualCasual Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
    TryCatcher wrote: »
    From two official newspaper twitter accounts.

    The UK, on the assassination of General Suleimani:



    Also the UK, less than 24 hours later:



    Welp, buckle up your seatbelts.


    Eh, we were doing that anyway after the tanker incident. This probably has nothing to do with the assassination.

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    jothkijothki Registered User regular
    It's consistent with Brexit, I guess.

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    TryCatcherTryCatcher Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    Johnson stopped his vacation to give his thoughts on it:


    "Calls for de escalation" is what people say when they do not want to get involved but have to say something.

    TryCatcher on
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    danxdanx Registered User regular
    Boris has no good choices here so it's best for him if it just goes away while he tries not to antagonise Trump.

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    tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    danx wrote: »
    Boris has no good choices here so it's best for him if it just goes away while he tries not to antagonise Trump.

    Well. He does have a good choice. He could scrap brexit, rejoin Europe and condemn pointless acts of US aggression on foreign soil and demand a return to respecting the life and safety of foreign leaders regardless of their policies.

    But yes, he wont use his good choice.

    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
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    ProhassProhass Registered User regular
    It drives me nuts when the response to the situation is “well I for one thought the general was a dick”

    Yeah lots of people are dicks, but if you fired a missile at Putin for example you can see why maybe that might not be a good thing to do.

    Nobody is saying the General wasn’t a bad dude, but we don’t kill foreign nationals based on their moral standing.

    It’s such a strawman dodge to paint people with legitimate concerns as defending the individual targeted because they thought he was such a great guy.

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    TryCatcherTryCatcher Registered User regular
    Prohass wrote: »
    It drives me nuts when the response to the situation is “well I for one thought the general was a dick”

    Germany also said the same, even when talking about meeting with Iran to try to negotiate a de-escalation, FWIW.

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    shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    It's a fine comment to make and Johnson's stance there is basically the one you should go with. I mean, Soleimani is not a guy we have any reason to mourn except for the context of his death in the greater scheme of things. And the important thing is that everyone needs to calm the fuck down right now.

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    CasualCasual Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    It's a fine comment to make and Johnson's stance there is basically the one you should go with. I mean, Soleimani is not a guy we have any reason to mourn except for the context of his death in the greater scheme of things. And the important thing is that everyone needs to calm the fuck down right now.

    TBH this. I know real politik isn't popular here but given that we had no knowledge or input in this decision and all we can do now is deal with the aftermath, threading the diplomatic needle of not publicly falling out with the Americans while making it clear we have no intention of going to war is the only pragmatic play we can make.

    I mean the guy was a legitimate target, he's been the guiding hand of attacks against western interests for years, so it's fine to say "I won't be shedding any tears". It doesn't have to be taken as tacit support for a strike right now unless you're feeling uncharitable. It's basically how I feel even though I completely agree the strike was misguided and probably lacked proper consideration for the consequences.

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    BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    Having an unstable madman in the White House means Johnson has to mince his words or risk public excoriation by Trump and difficult diplomatic relations. Obviously, this would not, if he were a braver or more moral man, stop him from criticising this insanity, but mealy mouthed statements aren't surprising considering the circumstances. Not strong enough to stand up to Trump, too weak to influence him.

    There's very little he can do, I think. Trump won't listen to a voice of reason even if Johnson were prepared to be that voice. Our geopolitical influence is little to nil right now. I think mostly other Western leaders are going to tread water, tutting mildly, and hope he doesn't kick off a full blown war before he's voted out this year.

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    CasualCasual Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
    Bogart wrote: »
    Having an unstable madman in the White House means Johnson has to mince his words or risk public excoriation by Trump and difficult diplomatic relations. Obviously, this would not, if he were a braver or more moral man, stop him from criticising this insanity, but mealy mouthed statements aren't surprising considering the circumstances. Not strong enough to stand up to Trump, too weak to influence him.

    There's very little he can do, I think. Trump won't listen to a voice of reason even if Johnson were prepared to be that voice. Our geopolitical influence is little to nil right now. I think mostly other Western leaders are going to tread water, tutting mildly, and hope he doesn't kick off a full blown war before he's voted out this year.

    Well there's the rub really, there's no guarantees he will be voted out. Frankly the safer assumption is that we will be dealing with trump's America until 2024. Outside of fantasy land I don't see what else anyone could have said, as shown by the fact most of the other European leaders said the same thing.

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    BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited January 2020
    HuffPo contributor. Probably as strong as any statement's going to get for the forseeable.

    Bogart on
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    ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    "Yeah, he was a very bad person. He killed a lot of people. So what? So did Saddam Hussein. Waging a war to kill one bad guy doesn't suddenly become a good idea if you kill the guy first and then the war breaks out as a consequence."

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    evilthecatevilthecat Registered User regular
    This Iran thing is bleeding into every thread.

    That tweet is pointless.
    There need to be consequences, otherwise this is something that's going to eat away at the Iranian psyche for decades.
    Either
    a) a lot of Americans die
    b) the international community imposes sanctions on the us. you know, like they do for other despots/tyrants/war criminals.

    I can't deny a morbid interest on how this is going to play out regarding Boris' brexit strategy but this, in its entirety, is just so incredibly stupid.

    tip.. tip.. TALLY.. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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    BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    I mean a) might happen but b) definitely won't.

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    klemmingklemming Registered User regular
    The neo-con take on that tweet is 'the current cycle of violence must be stopped by any means necessary (fuel up the bombers)'
    tbloxham wrote: »
    danx wrote: »
    Boris has no good choices here so it's best for him if it just goes away while he tries not to antagonise Trump.

    Well. He does have a good choice. He could scrap brexit, rejoin Europe and condemn pointless acts of US aggression on foreign soil and demand a return to respecting the life and safety of foreign leaders regardless of their policies.

    But yes, he wont use his good choice.
    Not that it'll ever happen, but if he did actually scrap brexit because it's proven to be completely undoable, what would happen to him, politically? He's successfully turned up the rhetoric so high that he'd essentially be committing treason (it's how he'd frame it if anyone else was in charge, so I assume someone will be ready to be standing behind him with a knife).

    Nobody remembers the singer. The song remains.
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    evilthecatevilthecat Registered User regular
    Bogart wrote: »
    I mean a) might happen but b) definitely won't.

    I suppose there is
    c) the people in power in Iran do nothing and say goodbye to whatever authority they have

    but I'm going to bank on a).

    It all depends on the timing, but if Boris has to choose between
    a) getting dragged into the middle east, but getting perhaps a more favorable trade deal
    b) realigning domestic policies to conform to the WA

    which do you think he'll pick?
    What will the average Brexiteer value more?

    tip.. tip.. TALLY.. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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    shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    The idea of anyone imposing anything on the US is ridiculous. That's not the way hegemony works.

    The UK's only real play is to try and de-escalate the situation and as much as possible avoid getting hit by blowback from the US's insane flailing.

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    BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    Various news sources claiming that the "supporters" voting access to the Labour leadership contest shakes out like this:

    - Cost will be £25 to register to vote
    - 48 hours period to do so
    - Corbyn voted to reduce cost to £12, but was outvoted

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    PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    SharpyVII wrote: »


    Kevin is an editor of policticshome.com and previous political editor at various papers.

    Glad to see Labour have their priorities in order and will definitely learn the right lessons.

    I love how point e is contradicted by point d

    List of Gen elections this century
    2001 - Blair Labour 167 seat majority
    2005 - Blair/Gordon Labour 66 seat majority
    2010 - Gordon Labour 258 seats Cameron led coalition Gov
    2015 - Miliband Labour 232 seats Conservative with a 12 seat majority
    2017 - Corbyn Labour 262 seats Conservative minority government
    2019 - Corbyn Labour 202 seats Conservative with 80 seat majority

    2019 is pretty clearly the worst result. That is probably followed by 2015, and then 2010 and 2017 are pretty close. Hard to say the at best3rd and 6th out of 6 can be described as "two of the best" out of that set.

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    QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
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