Anything Political

[DJ360 6,730]

On 3/14/2024 at 1:08 PM, Brew said:

Hopefully Farage will simply fade away, but the present appalling state of politics in the UK is opening doors that should remain closed.

 

The mess made by the present lot and the abysmal Labour lack of direction and passive opinions can make strident voices like Farage and Anderson seem attractive. They're are seemingly offering a positive view and certainty in an uncertain world. I've noted before we should not side-line or ignore him.

 

Those who cry it's just 'populism politics' need to reconsider what that actually means.

 

I'm in general agreement, but I don't recall anyone saying 'it's just Populism'..which sort of implies it doesn't matter.  Of course it matters, because employing 'populist' tropes, around things like immigration, race, religion etc., to unite an electorate behind a 'Saviour' (Read: Trump, Farage, Mosley, Galtieri, Putin, Hitler, Mussolini, Tice etc,etc.) against a common, albeit imaginary enemy, is the classic method employed by Fascists and Dictators the World over.

[DJ360 6,730]

On 3/12/2024 at 11:40 PM, Brew said:

Leaving a party for another or 'crossing the house' is not so unusual, morally reprehensible, but not unusual.

 

Agreed, and yes, lots have done it, including, as I recall, Churchill. But just because it's been done, doesn't mean it should.

 

I'd be in favour of insisting on a by election for anyone wishing to change party allegiance, or even anyone who has 'the whip' permanently removed by their party.

[Brew 5,420]

26 minutes ago, DJ360 said:

I'm in general agreement, but I don't recall anyone saying 'it's just Populism'..which sort of implies it doesn't matter

I can't remember where but the gist of what I read was 'populist' policies and those proposing them are  offering unrealistic  and over optimistic messages. To dismiss them was to me a failure to recognise the attraction to voters.

Farage and Anderson got where they are by simply saying the right things, things a lot of people wanted to hear, and when said with enough conviction carried the day.

[DJ360 6,730]

If you read the Reform Manifesto, it is full of superficially attractive proposals and even some, such as Proportional Representation, which I agree with.  But when you dig deeper, there are some worrying ideas.

[trogg 2,016]

 

3 hours ago, Cliff Ton said:

If you liked the candidate as a person, but didn’t agree with their party politics, which way would you vote ?

 

I have had that situation before, knowing the Independent candidate   I would have voted for them, but there was no way they would be in the majority party. So I voted for the party most aligned to my views.  Without being the majority Party there is very little chance of much changing.                                      

[Brew 5,420]

A valid view trogg, but only voting for the majority party will only ever serve to maintain the status quo and thus  nothing will change.

I would suggest voting in sufficient numbers against the trend, a protest vote if you like, can send messages of discontent or a desire for change. Then again maybe not...

[Brew 5,420]

I've read it in detail and as I said it's saying all the right things (some of it quite unrealistic), but has kerbside appeal. Farage is by his own admission "good at selling things".

The Guardian calls it "populist politicians spreading discord and misinformation".

 

[Oztalgian 3,298]

6 hours ago, Brew said:

I would suggest voting in sufficient numbers against the trend, a protest vote if you like, can send messages of discontent or a desire for change. Then again maybe not...

At the last Federal election in Australia many of the population did what you suggested, and many seats went to the so called "Teal Factor" who are mainly independent candidates. This came as a shock to the two major parties and has necessitated some deals on aspects of legislation in the upper house but in the lower house it changed very little as they still held a workable majority. in the lower house 12 seats were held by Indpendents versus 78 Labor and 54 Opposition seats. To get legislation through our upper house the Government has to rely on support from the Independents and minor parties who hold 19 seats as it does not have a majority having only 26 seats versus the oppositions 31.

[Brew 5,420]

12 hours ago, Brew said:

A major plank of her rather vague plan is bringing big business and investment on board. she wants to 'leverage' private investment in her green policy, something the rest of the talking heads are strangely quie

 

I said this earlier and now think her reference to private finance and leveraging big business is a veiled reference to PFI... again...or have I got it wrong ?

[DJ360 6,730]

I didn't  hear what she said, but I would hope that she doesn't  mean PFI.

[Brew 5,420]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001x7h6/sunday-with-laura-kuenssberg-how-would-labour-handle-the-economy

 

Maybe you will have a different take?

[Oztalgian 3,298]

Our glorious state leader has today announced that the government is using state major events attraction funding (taxpayer monies) to bring the British and Irish Lions Rugby Union touring team to Adelaide in July 2025. Tickets go on sale from today, this means that the promoters have the punters money for 16 months interest free.  Of course, as usual, he won't tell us how much it is costing, claiming commercial confidentiality. It may have escaped their notice but South Australia is not a "rugby union state". We do not have a team represented in the top level competition. The best teams are in NSW and Queensland. Why the heck they are spending our money in this way, for one game of rugby union is beyond me.

I am getting thoroughly sick of the largesse of these plonkers when our medical system is teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Me thinks yet another letter to our local member is being penned right now.

[DJ360 6,730]

Oz. Follow the money...

[DJ360 6,730]

Meanwhile.. I have just watched a segment on BBC News in which a Surgeon from the Oxford University  Hospitals Trust spoke about Gaza.

I think his name was Nick Mason or similar.  He said he has worked in Gazan hospitals for many years though he isn't  there at present.

He claims he has never seen any evidence whatever of Hamas fighters basing themselves in hospitals. Furthermore, he claimed that when IDF troops enter hospitals they routinely destroy vital systems and kit such as scanners, oxygen supplies etc, which are of no military value.

He is apparently due to give evidence to the UN.

[DJ360 6,730]

On 3/17/2024 at 10:46 AM, Brew said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001x7h6/sunday-with-laura-kuenssberg-how-would-labour-handle-the-economy

 

Maybe you will have a different take?

 

I can't open that link but will watch it on iplayer later

[letsavagoo 963]

5 hours ago, DJ360 said:

Meanwhile.. I have just watched a segment on BBC News in which a Surgeon from the Oxford University  Hospitals Trust spoke about Gaza.

I think his name was Nick Mason or similar.  He said he has worked in Gazan hospitals for many years though he isn't  there at present.

He claims he has never seen any evidence whatever of Hamas fighters basing themselves in hospitals. Furthermore, he claimed that when IDF troops enter hospitals they routinely destroy vital systems and kit such as scanners, oxygen supplies etc, which are of no military value.

He is apparently due to give evidence to the UN.

US military intelligence says otherwise. 
 

The US says it has intelligence that Hamas has a command centre under Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

National Security spokesman John Kirby said the group stored arms there and were prepared for an Israeli attack.

This is the first time the US has independently backed claims by close ally Israel that Hamas uses hospitals to hide its bases. Hamas denies this.

 

 

[Brew 5,420]

Didn't someone once say the first casualty of war is the truth? But Israel is at war, why waste men and resources attacking a target of no military value?

Mason claims he has not seen any evidence, but also admits he's not there. Setting up a command post takes hours not days or weeks so maybe he didn't see anything, doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

Will this guy also give evidence?:

 

The director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabaliya has revealed that his northern Gaza hospital was turned into a military facility under Hamas’s control and that at one point, it had housed a kidnapped soldier.

In footage published on Tuesday by the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces, hospital director Ahmed Kahlot could be seen telling an Israeli interrogator that Hamas had offices inside the hospital and used it as a base for operational activity.

According to Kahlot, who said he has been a lieutenant colonel in Hamas since 2010, some 16 members of the hospital’s staff — including doctors, nurses and paramedics — were Hamas operatives serving in the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terror organization... there's more...

 

The difference is of course he is under interrogation and we don't know what that means, but at least he was actually there in the hospital and not pontificating from a distance.

 

Basically which version you believe depends on your view of the Arab/Jew conflict.

[DJ360 6,730]

Speaking of truth...

Quote

 

Dear Colin,   You don’t need a complex regulatory code to question GB News’ political impartiality (but it helps). Since its inception as a media outlet, it’s been a hub of partisan talking points, culture war babbling, and divisive nonsense. If you’re fortunate enough not to have seen their programming, imagine three hardline Conservative MPs shaking hands and patting each other on the back for eighteen straight hours a day.   Ofcom, bound by such codes, determined today that GB News has in fact breached impartiality rules. Five of their programmes included active politicians acting as newsreaders or reporters – including Jacob Rees-Mogg’s blatant propaganda programme. While it’s (somehow) the first violation of these specific rules in the code (5.1 and 5.3), this is the twelfth time they’ve broken the broadcasting rules more broadly in their short 3-year existence.   Surely this time, there should have been real consequences. Instead, Ofcom is putting GB News “on notice”. Any further breaches of rules 5.1 and 5.3 could, they claim, result in a sanction (such as a requirement to apologise and correct a claim, pay a fine, or at worst, have their license revoked). Apparently twelve breaches in three years isn’t enough of a trend to convince them.   Media regulation – and our calls to reform it – may seem complicated, but it’s dead simple. It all boils down to the fact that real accountability is harder and harder to come by, less and less likely to be enforced. Bad actors, whether in Westminster, Tufton Street, or Riverbank House, no longer fear breaking the rules. They think they can get away with it. Increasingly, they’re right.   At a time like this, the country can’t afford to have propaganda networks spreading lies with impunity and presenting it as “news”. Undermining the very integrity of democratic debate deserves more than a mild scolding or a slap on the wrist. As we lay out in our Functional Democracy Goals report, we need real media reform with real teeth.   Check out recommendations #9, #10, and #11 for our thoughts on how to get started, and check out the work of our friends (and report contributors) at HackedOff for more info on what needs to be done to get press reform moving. In the meantime, we’ll keep fighting to call out the lies where we seem and push for a system with real accountability.   Yours,   Open Britain Team View email in browser Open Britain · Orion House · 14 Barn Hill · Stamford, PE9 2AE · United Kingdom update your preferences or unsubscribe

 

 

 

[Brew 5,420]

There are two pages that open Col, one a  heavily biased diatribe, the second a survey so nonsensical it's laughable.  Open Britain (should ne closed mind).

[DJ360 6,730]

16 hours ago, Brew said:

The difference is of course he is under interrogation and we don't know what that means, but at least he was actually there in the hospital and not pontificating from a distance.

 

Basically which version you believe depends on your view of the Arab/Jew conflict.

 

Jim, you will note that I did not endorse or otherwise comment upon the surgeon's evidence. He was interviewed on the BBC News Channel and I simply posted a brief summary of his comments. I got the impression, but cannot confirm or deny, that he has been in Gaza recently. Did you see it?  I'm not sure 'pontificating' is an entirely fair representation of what he said.

 

16 hours ago, Brew said:

In footage published on Tuesday by the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces, hospital director Ahmed Kahlot could be seen telling an Israeli interrogator that Hamas had offices inside the hospital and used it as a base for operational activity.

 

I've not seen that on TV. so can't comment, but Shin Bet doesn't have an entirely unblemished record, to say the least.

It seems that in the current conflict, Shin Bet is largely employed in identifying targets, which the IDF then enthusiastically bombards with heavy munitions, regardless of 'collateral' damage.

 

16 hours ago, Brew said:

Basically which version you believe depends on your view of the Arab/Jew conflict.

 

I don't have any view of the 'Arab/Jew' conflict.  I see the current conflict as one between the present Israeli Government and the forces of at least two Islamist Terrorist Organisations.  Sunni Muslim Hamas in Gaza and to a lesser extent Shia Muslim Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both are Islamist organisations which have not only waged war against Israel, but also against secular populations and others within their own 'Territories'. Are they 'Freedom Fighters' or 'Terrorists'? That is an eternal conundrum.

Is there a wider 'Arab/Jew' conflict? There may well be sentiments, but are they universally translated into conflict?

 

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the actions of all armed actors, I , along with seemingly most of the world, am appalled at the loss of innocent life and the developing famine afflicting a captive population.

 

As I said a while ago, the UK Govt faced terrorism from several groups who were active in Northern Ireland and on the UK mainland.  We did not respond by keeping the NI population captive and subjecting every potential Terrorist hide out, to bombardment irrespective of 'collateral' damage.

 

[DJ360 6,730]

13 hours ago, Brew said:

There are two pages that open Col, one a  heavily biased diatribe, the second a survey so nonsensical it's laughable.  Open Britain (should ne closed mind).

 

Another of your 'Blanket Dismissals' I think.

 

There are three, pages which open, but it isn't necessary to open any of them to understand that Ofcom has found that GB News is in breach of News Broadcasting Regulations on at least FIVE occasions, by using active politicians as Newsreaders, in breach of rules on Impartiality. In fact, I didn't open any of them before posting. It wasn't necessary to open the links to share the FACTS of Ofcom's findings.

 

I'm not sure which 'nonsensical' Survey you refer to.

 

Let's be honest here.. anyone who has not yet worked out that GB News is a cynical platform for Far Right Propaganda, really needs to have a word with themselves, but to see GB News criticised, even pretty weakly, by Ofcom, is, in my view, progress.

 

The first link simply points to an 'X' post which in turn points to Ofcom's report on GB News. What's wrong with that?

 

The second link points to a summary of Open Britain's 'Functional Democracy Goals'.. in other words their identification of current failings in our democratic system, the ways in which it is being abused and ways in which it could be made to function better in terms of Fairness, Resilience and Renewal. I see little there to disagree with and much which outlines the appalling situation which currently pertains and the worrying direction of travel given the increasing power and undue influence of the Far Right.

 

The third link points to 'Hacked Off', a campaign for better press regulation:

 

Quote

We believe the press should be held to standards which protect the public, strengthen democracy and safeguard freedom of expression.

Are you opposed to those objectives?

 

[Brew 5,420]

3 hours ago, DJ360 said:

Another of your 'Blanket Dismissals' I think.

 A blanket dismissal true but it's just more left wing propaganda stating the blindingly obvious. The other two I've not read.

The survey asks who's to blame for the problems post Brexit. but only lists Tory politicians as though Labour had no say...

3 hours ago, DJ360 said:

Quote

We believe the press should be held to standards which protect the public, strengthen democracy and safeguard freedom of expression.

Are you opposed to those objectives?

 

You seriously need to ask?

 

 

 

[DJ360 6,730]

36 minutes ago, Brew said:

A blanket dismissal true but it's just more left wing propaganda stating the blindingly obvious.

 

It's not necessarily 'left wing'.  It's pro democracy and anti the far right crooks who are damaging our democracy.

As for 'stating the blindingly obvious'.  It clearly isn't blindingly obvious to anything like a majority of voters in this country, which is why Open Britain exists.

I still can't find any reference to a survey or Brexit.

[DAVIDW 1,683]

Just signed the petition for increasing the old state pension to the same rate as those on the "new" pension rate.

I still don't understand why there are two rates.

No one has ever explained the reason to me.

 

In April those of us born before April 1951 will get £169 per week , whereas those born after April 51 get £221 per week, a massive difference and if they apply a blanket percentage each year the difference in money terms will increase even more.

 

My wife missed out on the new rate by being born just 22 days too early , just so unfair. 

 

Article here on the petition that has already achieved enough numbers for Govt response.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/money/basic-state-pension-petition-response-32386871.amp

 

Direct link to petition

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656038

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

Many of us new pensioners missed out on the winter fuel allowance because we were born too late. It all seems very arbitrary. Swings and roundabouts. All the fun of the unfair.