[Maark Abbott]

I see that K & The Gang also offered a tribute to Bodger...

[Gorefest]

When you think it couldn't get any more revolting and vomit inducing: Jacob Reese-Mogg is now a cabinet minister. Just let that sink in. The UK cabinet now looks more grotesque than a Greatest Hits of pantomime villains from a 30-ies silent film collection. Jacob Reese-Mogg who converses with his six kids only through a nanny, has modeled his appearance on a British banker version of Dracula, who has indulged in the 'stiff upper lip' image of Britishness to such an extent that it has infected his entire face like a muscle-spasmed natural version of botulinum toxin, and who eats newborn babies for afternoon tea.

If you want an image of everything that is wrong in the world today, forget Trump, forget Johnson, forget burning forests or tsunamis. Just look on Reese-Mogg and despair. The true evil of cynical upper class fuck-the-rest-of-the-world-as-long-as-I-can-make-a-profit personified in a wet breadstick.

Sorry, I just cannot stop myself from editing. But the utter evil cynicism of it all is just too mindboggling. This poor excuse for a human being is now the UK business, energy and industrial strategy secretary. The man who is an openly brazen climate change denialist is now leading the British energy brief. This is the equivalent of putting Joseph Mengele in charge of an orphanage.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 06 September 2022 - 11:55 PM

[Maark Abbott]

 Gorefest, on 06 September 2022 - 11:39 PM, said:

When you think it couldn't get any more revolting and vomit inducing: Jacob Reese-Mogg is now a cabinet minister. Just let that sink in. The UK cabinet now looks more grotesque than a Greatest Hits of pantomime villains from a 30-ies silent film collection. Jacob Reese-Mogg who converses with his six kids only through a nanny, has modeled his appearance on a British banker version of Dracula, who has indulged in the 'stiff upper lip' image of Britishness to such an extent that it has infected his entire face like a muscle-spasmed natural version of botulinum toxin, and who eats newborn babies for afternoon tea.

If you want an image of everything that is wrong in the world today, forget Trump, forget Johnson, forget burning forests or tsunamis. Just look on Reese-Mogg and despair. The true evil of cynical upper class fuck-the-rest-of-the-world-as-long-as-I-can-make-a-profit personified in a wet breadstick.

Sorry, I just cannot stop myself from editing. But the utter evil cynicism of it all is just too mindboggling. This poor excuse for a human being is now the UK business, energy and industrial strategy secretary. The man who is an openly brazen climate change denialist is now leading the British energy brief. This is the equivalent of putting Joseph Mengele in charge of an orphanage.

Christ, that's fucking horrific. And of course he's the sort of Tory who sneers at the worker, so if he's in charge of energy in a time when bills are so high...

Where are the grassy knolls? We have severe need of them.

[Tiste Simeon]

She seems very focused on people who have firmly closed the door behind them so to speak. Daughter of an immigrant is in charge of trying to force through the Rwandan immigration policy for example.

Just terrible people.

[Maark Abbott]

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 September 2022 - 11:49 AM, said:

She seems very focused on people who have firmly closed the door behind them so to speak. Daughter of an immigrant is in charge of trying to force through the Rwandan immigration policy for example.

Just terrible people.

Didn't I see something suggesting Patel was gone? Or am I trippin' balls out here

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

 Maark Abbott, on 07 September 2022 - 11:53 AM, said:

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 September 2022 - 11:49 AM, said:

She seems very focused on people who have firmly closed the door behind them so to speak. Daughter of an immigrant is in charge of trying to force through the Rwandan immigration policy for example.

Just terrible people.

Didn't I see something suggesting Patel was gone? Or am I trippin' balls out here

Suella Braverman has taken over, and by all accounts she's even more right wing than Patel.

This is the woman who said Boris Johnson was categorically telling the truth about Partygate while she was the Attorney General. Tells you everything you need to know about her integrity (or rather, complete bypass thereof)

I was reading something this morning suggesting the first order of business from her will be working to get us out of the ECHR (because they blocked the Rwandan flight and it's "the only way to deal with it"), so not only does she lack integrity but it would seem she's also a complete sociopath.

[Maark Abbott]

 TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 07 September 2022 - 12:08 PM, said:

 Maark Abbott, on 07 September 2022 - 11:53 AM, said:

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 September 2022 - 11:49 AM, said:

She seems very focused on people who have firmly closed the door behind them so to speak. Daughter of an immigrant is in charge of trying to force through the Rwandan immigration policy for example.

Just terrible people.

Didn't I see something suggesting Patel was gone? Or am I trippin' balls out here

Suella Braverman has taken over, and by all accounts she's even more right wing than Patel.

This is the woman who said Boris Johnson was categorically telling the truth about Partygate while she was the Attorney General. Tells you everything you need to know about her integrity (or rather, complete bypass thereof)

I was reading something this morning suggesting the first order of business from her will be working to get us out of the ECHR (because they blocked the Rwandan flight and it's "the only way to deal with it"), so not only does she lack integrity but it would seem she's also a complete sociopath.

Well so much for me holding out a shred of hope that Patel fucking off would be a good sign.

I am astonished at how much the British public are prepared to accept though. This government, across the last twelve years, has shown it is categorically untrustworthy, that it does not hold the interests of the country or people, that it will act AGAINST the interests of the country and the people actively... I only hope that this government's actions are the tinder that sets the fire off (in Minecraft).

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

The overwhelming thing I hear is "they're all the same" - yes this government are catastrophically untrustworthy, but if people feel all politicians are like that then they won't be motivated by it to vote them out.

[worry]

I don't put much stock in "horseshoe theory" generally but "they're all the same" is where the dumbest people on the left and the right really come together to clink their beer mugs.

[Tiste Simeon]

I mean there is an element of truth to it in that the more extreme you get the less tolerant you are of the opposite extreme but so many people base their whole political approach to it (I kind of used to, to my shame...)

Also there are plenty of good politicians, and some of them have even survived Keir Starmer purging the Labour party of anything remotely left wing (I'm personally a fan of David Lammy and there are others I like)

But yeah, it's bleak. Like, really bleak. I might move to Finland where politicians are shocking in their brazen depravity like *checks notes* having a drink and a dance with some friends...

[Macros]

Yeah, but she was open and honest about it, I mean, who wants that kind of person in charge??

[Maark Abbott]

 TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 08 September 2022 - 07:45 AM, said:

The overwhelming thing I hear is "they're all the same" - yes this government are catastrophically untrustworthy, but if people feel all politicians are like that then they won't be motivated by it to vote them out.

 Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 08 September 2022 - 08:08 AM, said:

I don't put much stock in "horseshoe theory" generally but "they're all the same" is where the dumbest people on the left and the right really come together to clink their beer mugs.

 Tiste Simeon, on 08 September 2022 - 09:32 AM, said:

I mean there is an element of truth to it in that the more extreme you get the less tolerant you are of the opposite extreme but so many people base their whole political approach to it (I kind of used to, to my shame...)

Also there are plenty of good politicians, and some of them have even survived Keir Starmer purging the Labour party of anything remotely left wing (I'm personally a fan of David Lammy and there are others I like)

But yeah, it's bleak. Like, really bleak. I might move to Finland where politicians are shocking in their brazen depravity like *checks notes* having a drink and a dance with some friends...

The main issue there is that no one offers anything much different to the next. We've found ourselves stuck in a much more hostile version of that one Futurama skit where the two politicians are debating and their agendas are functionally identical. Every party with a passable chance at getting in seems to operate on Thatcherite principles. So the apathy is totally understandable and honestly, I think it's by design - the people won't engage with the process if there's no viable alternative. Of course, we had a potential viable alternative at one point and the public were told to reject it, and so they did.

I feel like our best hope is for the good politicians to rally together and form a new party, but I worry that there are so few of them that it'll gain no traction. As an aside I actually heard from one of my postie friends that Starmer is quite a bit more on the side of strikes / unions than he admits to in public, and ordinarily I would scoff at that - but given the said friend is directly involved in the strikes, well, I wonder if maybe he's not quite as much of a shit as he comes over as. But then again, he's a sir, so it's a slim consideration.

[Mezla PigDog]

I think Starmer is probably a decent guy. His background and career path suggest he is well intentioned. The problem is the Labour-centres obsession with the Tony Blair view that you have to be in power before you can change anything. Therefore they tread this ridiculous line of trying not give the Tories and UK right wing press any ammunition against them and makes them terrible as an opposition and ripe for accusations of "all being the same".

I had a chat with my sister who quit her Labour party membership and activism. She's massively left wing. She said she would prefer the Labour party to not be in power but to be right and decent. If Labour had spent the last 12 years of Tory government being really vocal at a basic level about workers rights and climate change, they would have a mega back catalogue of stuff to prove they were on the side of working people. Instead they caveat everything for the right wing press and the original intent is lost.

I dunno which I agree with. Is it better to have a limp wristed centre Labour government that has sold its soul but at least people aren't freezing to death or a righteous blaze of opposition glory while the Tories take us all over a cliff?

Proportional Representation is the only answer to making them all more honest.

[worry]

Looks like the Queen is ready to go out on a high note.

[Tiste Simeon]

In a slightly unrelated note, it seems the Queen is quite severely ill. The entire royal family appears to be en route to Balmoral where she is being looked after.

My theory is that she has actually died and they are holding off on announcing it yet.

And when it does happen (whether I'm right or not) it is going to be pretty insufferable. I actually don't mind the Queen (I've grown progressively less fond of the Royalty as an institution over the past few years) but I think that fairly soon it will happen and that's all anyone will talk about for weeks afterwards.

It doesn't seem good for her though. For the first time ever she actually looked properly old and frail the other day.

[Lady Bliss]

 Tiste Simeon, on 08 September 2022 - 01:04 PM, said:

In a slightly unrelated note, it seems the Queen is quite severely ill. The entire royal family appears to be en route to Balmoral where she is being looked after.

My theory is that she has actually died and they are holding off on announcing it yet.

And when it does happen (whether I'm right or not) it is going to be pretty insufferable. I actually don't mind the Queen (I've grown progressively less fond of the Royalty as an institution over the past few years) but I think that fairly soon it will happen and that's all anyone will talk about for weeks afterwards.

It doesn't seem good for her though. For the first time ever she actually looked properly old and frail the other day.

I think she actually has been holding out for the PM appointment trying to do her duty to the last. She will be missed by the world.

[Aptorian]

I'm unfamiliar with the British Royal family.

Do you think Prince Charles will stick to Royal Tradition and serve out his time as King.

Or do you think Charles will abdicate and pass the throne to his son?

[Tiste Simeon]

I don't particularly think he wants it tbh. He seems quite happy with his wife and his projects, mainly promoting environmental issues that he's quite passionate about. I suspect he will do it as he will see it as his duty though.

In theory he would not be King Charles though as I think he can choose one of his name's to be officially crowned as. One of his middle names is Arthur and I really think having a King Arthur would be cool. For a couple of minutes anyway.

The BBC has gone, predictably, nuts about this. I think they've cancelled most of their programming and have lots of different correspondents stood outside various royal properties (Buckingham Palace, Windsor and Balmoral) and talking about... Well, nothing. Like, not really any news is coming through and this is kind of what they're basically waffling on...

[QuickTidal]

 Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 08 September 2022 - 01:02 PM, said:

Looks like the Queen is ready to go out on a high note.

I think this is probably it. You don't call the family all home like this if you think she's going to make it.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Tiste Simeon, on 08 September 2022 - 04:27 PM, said:

I don't particularly think he wants it tbh. He seems quite happy with his wife and his projects, mainly promoting environmental issues that he's quite passionate about. I suspect he will do it as he will see it as his duty though.

In theory he would not be King Charles though as I think he can choose one of his name's to be officially crowned as. One of his middle names is Arthur and I really think having a King Arthur would be cool. For a couple of minutes anyway.

The BBC has gone, predictably, nuts about this. I think they've cancelled most of their programming and have lots of different correspondents stood outside various royal properties (Buckingham Palace, Windsor and Balmoral) and talking about... Well, nothing. Like, not really any news is coming through and this is kind of what they're basically waffling on...

Reminds me of this headline:


'The Queen’s Decline Has Sent Britain Into Chaos. It Will Get So Much Worse.'

Queen Elizabeth: Britain will fall into chaos when the queen is dead

... seriously? That's the big thing that's 'sen[ding] Britain into chaos' (that 'will get so much worse')?...

She's no Eliza... and even the much-ballyhooed modern royal 'equanimity' ain't shit compared to, say, Buddhist monks. As traditions go, the modern pomp and circumstance pales in comparison with fantasy (and seemingly even with much of English history---or at least Shakespeare (why not replace the royals with Shakespearean players?... or force them to become them? Players or monks... they can pick their use-value...)... though IDK, guess some people might actually be getting some comfort from the 'continuity' (possibly the fault of the education system lingering too long on the British public's traditions of royalty-exultation and obeisance?... though I've never gotten that impression from reading about the history of the UK's education system)).