The 2024 General Election - July 4th

[whelk]

3 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

The idiots were the ones who were asked to follow some very simple instructions and tried their hardest to disobey every single one of them, like some giant, petulant man-baby, for no other reason than, "I’m entitled to my rights!"

It is true though that ICUs were full of nearly all over weight people

[whelk]

So Labour now suspended someone over betting on election. How the fuck would they have inside info? Starmer being bottleless again?

[aintforever]

20 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

 it was still not dangerous to almost the entire population. 

We all knew that at the time because the politicians and medical experts were telling us exactly that.

[badgerx16]

17 minutes ago, aintforever said:

We all knew that at the time because the politicians and medical experts were telling us exactly that.

Alex doesn't listen to politicians or medical staff he only trusts his social media experts.

Edited June 25 by badgerx16

[egg]

6 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The whole affair was a colossal waste of money and some people made a fortune out of it at the expense of most others.

Can we all agree now that the lockdowns were too severe and went on too long? There is a generation of youngsters who will never recover from the closures of the schools and colleges.

We shall be paying for the responses for the rest of our lives.

No, because that's hindsight, and individual opinion.  No country got it right, and understandably so.

The price we're collectively paying now (and ongoing) has nothing to do with lockdowns, it's down to the give aways and dodgy deals. Sure, some people suffered a heavier financial price than others, but others lost health and loved ones and those whining about the financial impact upon themselves need a bit of perspective frankly. 

[egg]

20 minutes ago, whelk said:

So Labour now suspended someone over betting on election. How the fuck would they have inside info? Starmer being bottleless again?

This will go quite far and wide I'd imagine. Shady as fuck. 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 minute ago, egg said:

No, because that's hindsight, and individual opinion.  No country got it right, and understandably so.

The price we're collectively paying now (and ongoing) has nothing to do with lockdowns, it's down to the give aways and dodgy deals. Sure, some people suffered a heavier financial price than others, but others lost health and loved ones and those whining about the financial impact upon themselves need a bit of perspective frankly. 

The picture is much broader than simply counting deaths in hospitals. Who’s ‘whining’ about their own circumstances? The economic damage is frightening and long-lasting. we shall be paying for it collectively for a long, long time.

Some countries got it right. Or at least, more balanced.

How's that for perspective?

People die all the time.

[aintforever]

5 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The economic damage is frightening 

What are you scared of?

Edited June 25 by aintforever

[badgerx16]

3 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

 

People die all the time.

Think how much we could save on the NHS budget if the doctors and nurses didn't bother trying to treat ill people.

[badgerx16]

5 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

 

Some countries got it right. Or at least, more balanced.

Which ones ?

[Lighthouse]

Are you allowed to bet on corrupt betting? I’ve got £10 on Widdecombe being arrested next.

[Weston Super Saint]

13 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Think how much we could save on the NHS budget if the doctors and nurses didn't bother trying to treat ill people.

That's already started hasn't it?

[Weston Super Saint]

13 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Which ones ?

Sweden?

[egg]

20 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The picture is much broader than simply counting deaths in hospitals. Who’s ‘whining’ about their own circumstances? The economic damage is frightening and long-lasting. we shall be paying for it collectively for a long, long time.

Some countries got it right. Or at least, more balanced.

How's that for perspective?

People die all the time.

You're better than that. 

Re the "who's whining". You. I appreciate you got hit hard, but I know people who died of COVID and who've bene left very ill and disabled. Perspective is thinking about those poor sods, not your bank balance.

This whole episode has exposed a load of selfish and self centred people. 

[badgerx16]

49 minutes ago, whelk said:

So Labour now suspended someone over betting on election. How the fuck would they have inside info? Starmer being bottleless again?

He bet on himself to lose.

[badgerx16]

7 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Sweden?

Sweden's report into their response said action should have been taken earlier and been more extensive. Sweden also has a much less urbanised population.

[Lighthouse]

The two countries which stick in my mind as having a minimal response to Covid were Brazil and Belarus. Bolsonaro and Lukashenko were both heavily criticised for their inactivity and faced some fairly angry protests.

[egg]

9 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

The two countries which stick in my mind as having a minimal response to Covid were Brazil and Belarus. Bolsonaro and Lukashenko were both heavily criticised for their inactivity and faced some fairly angry protests.

Yep, Sweden too I think just let it do it's thing. The Aussies and Chinese clamped down hard and seemed to be stuck with it forever. In truth, no country had a clue what to do, and there wasn't (at the time) a right or wrong approach imo. 

Edited June 25 by egg

[badgerx16]

[whelk]

4 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Interesting that Melloni seen as far right but can’t get a more staunch supporter of Ukraine

[badgerx16]

10 minutes ago, whelk said:

Interesting that Melloni seen as far right but can’t get a more staunch supporter of Ukraine

Indeed, but her position has moved somewhat from 2015 when she opposed sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and had to subsequently dodge accusations that her party was funded by the Kremlin.

[pingpong]

Sweden population locked themselves down, they didn't need government reinforcement.  Their public transport usage in Stockholm dropped very similarly to London.

And to be fair, so did we, after Cheltenham, a majority of workplaces were already taking steps to wfh, and the premier league cancelled matches, all before boris johnson got his todger out of whatever hole it was in and made his lockdown speech.

[whelk]

2 hours ago, whelk said:

So Labour now suspended someone over betting on election. How the fuck would they have inside info? Starmer being bottleless again?

So wasn’t a bet on date of election but against him winning his seat. Guess he was door knocking and telling voters to fuck off?

[whelk]

16 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Indeed, but her position has moved somewhat from 2015 when she opposed sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and had to subsequently dodge accusations that her party was funded by the Kremlin.

Interesting, I had no idea that was the case

[badgerx16]

6 minutes ago, whelk said:

Interesting, I had no idea that was the case

Pragmatism in recognising her wider responsibilities in seeking and attaining her current position. There are still elements of her coalition that oppose support for Ukraine, but the more sensible elements, and support when necessary from the opposition parties, help keep them in their corner.

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, egg said:

You're better than that. 

Re the "who's whining". You. I appreciate you got hit hard, but I know people who died of COVID and who've bene left very ill and disabled. Perspective is thinking about those poor sods, not your bank balance.

This whole episode has exposed a load of selfish and self centred people. 

Just because I post an opinion doesn’t mean that it refers to me personally. For a couple of spells I was the figurehead for local businesses and this gives me an empathy that is missing in a lot of others. Lockdown did nothing to save your associates, did it?

Personally I lost my life savings and an inheritance through all this  but I kept going as long as I could because I was putting my employees before myself. How is that selfish or self centred? Where have I ‘whined’?

The hospitality and entertainment sectors have been devastated and will probably never recover.

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

Which ones ?

Sweden for one. Florida for part of one.

I appreciate that these have different social environments.

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, aintforever said:

What are you scared of?

It’s not me that’s scared. Look around you at the hospitality and entertainment sectors and look at the prices of those that are still around. Margins have to be rebuilt.

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

Think how much we could save on the NHS budget if the doctors and nurses didn't bother trying to treat ill people.

People die all the time. The NHS does not and cannot stop most of them from dying.

The NHS is not as wonderful as you seem to think.

Edited June 25 by Whitey Grandad

[badgerx16]

2 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

People die all the time. The NHS does not and cannot stop most of them from dying.

The NHS is not as wonderful as you seem to think.

So if we didn't do the lockdowns are as a consequence more people died, that is just how it has to be ?

Edited June 25 by badgerx16

[egg]

40 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

People die all the time. The NHS does not and cannot stop most of them from dying.

The NHS is not as wonderful as you seem to think.

And businesses fail all the time. Are you saying that we should have not supported them? Or is it just people that we should have left to perish?

And yep, the NHS is shite. I'm not sure anyone has suggested otherwise. 

Edited June 25 by egg

[Whitey Grandad]

37 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

So if we didn't do the lockdowns are as a consequence more people died, that is just how it has to be ?

As a consequence? Nobody knows. But that’s the way it’s been since the world began. Poverty kills too.

[Fan The Flames]

All the pubs and restaurants I went to before lockdown are still going, some shit restaurants went under or changed hands. The devastated hospitality sector is a myth, the declining pub numbers was happening before COVID.

[Fan The Flames]

2 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Just because I post an opinion doesn’t mean that it refers to me personally. For a couple of spells I was the figurehead for local businesses and this gives me an empathy that is missing in a lot of others. Lockdown did nothing to save your associates, did it?

Personally I lost my life savings and an inheritance through all this  but I kept going as long as I could because I was putting my employees before myself. How is that selfish or self centred? Where have I ‘whined’?

The hospitality and entertainment sectors have been devastated and will probably never recover.

But I bet you had some nice BBQs that summer though.

[hypochondriac]

17 hours ago, whelk said:

So wasn’t a bet on date of election but against him winning his seat. Guess he was door knocking and telling voters to fuck off?

Being charitable, it may have been an insurance bet in the same way that people bet against their football team so they get a positive out of something negative. Bad optics though. 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Being charitable, it may have been an insurance bet in the same way that people bet against their football team so they get a positive out of something negative. Bad optics though. 

It's a lot worse than that, it's like a player better against a team he's playing for.  It's essentially the political equivalent of match fixing.

It's probably legally worse than what the Tories have been doing but certainly politically not as bad (as noone really seems to care).

[sadoldgit]

57 minutes ago, Jeremy Corbyn said:

It's a lot worse than that, it's like a player better against a team he's playing for.  It's essentially the political equivalent of match fixing.

It's probably legally worse than what the Tories have been doing but certainly politically not as bad (as noone really seems to care).

I’m not sure that is the case. He does not know whether he will win or lose but probably thinks that he likely to lose. That is different to placing a bet when you know the outcome is certain. If those placing bets on the date of the election using inside information, that is much worse than betting on yourself to lose when the outcome is down to what happens in the vote.

[badgerx16]

I think Rishi needs to watch this;

 

[rallyboy]

Rishi ploughed through his normal greatest hits set tonight - nasty Labour's secret taxes, leftie open borders, Starmer murders puppies - and his new single, a promise to fly 50,000 people to Rwanda.

He seems to think that plodding out the same old lies and interrupting at every opportunity is a good look.

It's not, it's desperate and he'll regret it in a fortnight as it makes him look dishonest.

[whelk]

Don’t know what the viewing figures are for yesterday’s debate but imagine many are switching off as same old stuff.

Saw clip of that wanker asking ‘is this the best we have?’ Dumbed down bollocks. 

Edited June 27 by whelk

[egg]

10 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

I think Rishi needs to watch this;

 

I'm not sure what people think will change if we ditch the ECHR. We ain't going to start tolerating slavery, domestic violence etc. We'll still live by the principles of it. Academic anyway as Rishi is toast.

[sadoldgit]

He could have accused Starmer of many things, but having his strings pulled by some shadowy backroom Labour figures is not one of them. For better or worse he is his own man and whilst it makes sense that he would seek advice from someone like Blair about winning elections, I don’t get the impression that Blair is the power behind the would be throne.

The trouble is that we all know that the UK has been worn down over the last 14 years and people seem to want another Blairlike messiah figure to tell us they have a cunning plan and that all will be well. There is no cunning plan and all will not be well for some time. To give Starmer his due, he is not pretending to be something he is not and to offer something that he cannot deliver. What he can offer and deliver is change. Surely to God people don’t want another 5 years of this bunch of mediocre, inept, feckless chancers?

[sadoldgit]

2 minutes ago, egg said:

I'm not sure what people think will change if we ditch the ECHR. We ain't going to start tolerating slavery, domestic violence etc. We'll still live by the principles of it. Academic anyway as Rishi is toast.

It a typical Tory thing, if something becomes inconvenient, ignore it or change laws to get around it. The rules don’t apply to them, even though the UK was complicate in setting the ECHR in the first place. Like Brexit, it is a Little Englander mindset. We are Great Britain. We can do what we like, when we like, to whom we like. Like our football team, we are living on past glories and have become less relevant and are becoming more of a laughing stock. Like Rishi’s suits.  

[egg]

13 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

It a typical Tory thing, if something becomes inconvenient, ignore it or change laws to get around it. The rules don’t apply to them, even though the UK was complicate in setting the ECHR in the first place. Like Brexit, it is a Little Englander mindset. We are Great Britain. We can do what we like, when we like, to whom we like. Like our football team, we are living on past glories and have become less relevant and are becoming more of a laughing stock. Like Rishi’s suits.  

That doesn't address the question. Sure, it's bollox, but if it happened, nothing would change in reality. 

[sadoldgit]

The BBC can track down people smugglers, so why can’t the French police despite the money being thrown at them? Perhaps if Sunak was more focussed on the gangs rather than his gimmicky Rwanda “deterrent” the problem wouldn’t have become so out of control?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx77l5ej2yyo.amp

[sadoldgit]

21 minutes ago, egg said:

That doesn't address the question. Sure, it's bollox, but if it happened, nothing would change in reality. 

Wouldn’t they find it easier to ship people off to Africa?

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, egg said:

That doesn't address the question. Sure, it's bollox, but if it happened, nothing would change in reality. 

Whilst we are signed up to the ECHR it is nigh on impossible to start fraying the ends in preparation for unpicking it. If we leave, it will start with recanting a single phrase here, rewriting some words there, then, once they have the taste for it, producing a 'British version', with watered down clauses and rights eroded.

Edited June 27 by badgerx16

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, egg said:

I'm not sure what people think will change if we ditch the ECHR. We ain't going to start tolerating slavery, domestic violence etc. We'll still live by the principles of it. Academic anyway as Rishi is toast.

Agree with that it's hysterical nonsense. I think there's almost zero chance of us ditching it but plenty of liberal, free countries aren't part of it. 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, badgerx16 said:

Whilst we are signed up to the ECHR it is nigh on impossible to start fraying the ends in preparation for unpicking it. If we leave, it will start with recanting a single phrase here, rewriting some words there, then, once they have the taste for it, producing a 'British verion', with watered down clauses and rights eroded.

We might end up evil and slightly fascist like Canada. 

[badgerx16]

5 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We might end up evil and slightly fascist like Canada. 

When did Canada withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights ? The only country to leave is Russia, in 2022; the Czech Republic and Serbia and Montenegro ceased membership when they split into Czechia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Montenegro, all of which joined as independent entities.

Edited June 27 by badgerx16