Also In The News - part 3

[Jon the Hat]

On 16/04/2024 at 16:54, Zear0 said:

The unelected Liz Truss taking a swipe at the "unelected" civil servants working for the unelected Rishi Sunak is my favourite angle of the whole thing.  She's so dense it still makes me physically wince at the thought that she was ever PM.

She is (to use a phrase someone used a few years ago to describe her) thick as mince, however I don't agree at all on the "she was not elected" nonsense.  She was chosen as leader of the governing party, and under our political system that is as elected as any Prime Minister is. Whether that happens before an election, after or in the middle of it is irrelevant.

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

She is (to use a phrase someone used a few years ago to describe her) thick as mince, however I don't agree at all on the "she was not elected" nonsense.  She was chosen as leader of the governing party, and under our political system that is as elected as any Prime Minister is. Whether that happens before an election, after or in the middle of it is irrelevant.

As was Rishi.

 

And yet...

[fox_up_north]

Jon is right. We elect party not PM and the Tories, as are any party, are in their right to play musical chairs with leaders.

 

If we want that to change, such as a GE when a leader resigns/ is ousted/ dies, then we must pressure MPs.

[Zear0]

Post Office's in-house lawyer absolutely crumbling at the inquiry.  Worth a watch.

[bovril]

Love it - the Conservatives spend much time and effort going after Rayner only for...

 

[Zear0]

13 minutes ago, bovril said:

Love it - the Conservatives spend much time and effort going after Rayner only for...

 

Fascinated to know what 5 grand gets you tbh.  Definitely overpaid, or so I'd imagine

[foxile5]

23 hours ago, foxy boxing said:

Smoking is neither cool nor sophisticated. It makes your breath, skin and clothes smell and costs lots of money. It bad for your health and is linked to things like lung and heart disease. Helping people have better habits like not eating so much junk food or getting exercise is what governments should be doing to help create a more productive citizens.

This is all well and good and agreeable.

 

The concern comes when the government start saying things like 'look how better off you were not being allowed cigarettes - we're going to make it so you can't drink fizzy pop. We were right before so you can trust us'.

 

Things like these liberties being removed shouldn't be flippantly ignored. Thin edge of the wedge stuff. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

56 minutes ago, bovril said:

Love it - the Conservatives spend much time and effort going after Rayner only for...

 

Incredibly, this part of the story is a full ten years old. Still, it was a more innocent time.

 

I can't wait to find out what he's done now, seems like a lot of fun

[MonkeyTennis?]

55 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Incredibly, this part of the story is a full ten years old. Still, it was a more innocent time.

 

I can't wait to find out what he's done now, seems like a lot of fun

I was reading out lines from the paper to my family about this story this morning, its so mental:

 

'“Are you on your own?” the man said, with urgency in his voice. “I’ve got in with some bad people and they’ve got me locked in a flat and they want £5,000 to release me.” His 78 year old former campaign manager told Menzies that it was 3.15am and she couldn’t transfer any money without leaving the house. He became angry, allegedly telling her it was “a matter of life and death”, and demanding she instead lend him the money from her own savings.'

 

Then, "Three years later, Menzies was interviewed by police over bizarre accusations that he had deliberately got an acquaintance’s dog drunk and, when challenged over his actions, started a fight with the friend. A source close to the MP denied that Menzies had any involvement in the dog drinking alcohol."

 

Then, at a Katherine Jenkins concert, "One attendee said the MP “started kicking the chairs and poking the people on the front row”, creating a disturbance for ticket holders who had paid £150 each for the event. A source close to the MP acknowledged that he had had too much to drink but said he hadn’t intentionally poked anyone and may have done it by accident when waving a flag."

[LanguedocFox]

2 hours ago, Zear0 said:

Fascinated to know what 5 grand gets you tbh.  Definitely overpaid, or so I'd imagine

Asking for a friend?

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, MonkeyTennis? said:

I was reading out lines from the paper to my family about this story this morning, its so mental:

 

'“Are you on your own?” the man said, with urgency in his voice. “I’ve got in with some bad people and they’ve got me locked in a flat and they want £5,000 to release me.” His 78 year old former campaign manager told Menzies that it was 3.15am and she couldn’t transfer any money without leaving the house. He became angry, allegedly telling her it was “a matter of life and death”, and demanding she instead lend him the money from her own savings.'

 

Then, "Three years later, Menzies was interviewed by police over bizarre accusations that he had deliberately got an acquaintance’s dog drunk and, when challenged over his actions, started a fight with the friend. A source close to the MP denied that Menzies had any involvement in the dog drinking alcohol."

 

Then, at a Katherine Jenkins concert, "One attendee said the MP “started kicking the chairs and poking the people on the front row”, creating a disturbance for ticket holders who had paid £150 each for the event. A source close to the MP acknowledged that he had had too much to drink but said he hadn’t intentionally poked anyone and may have done it by accident when waving a flag."

I mean, if anything, he's TOO MUCH fun, and I didn't think that was possible, and we still know next to nothing about the exciting new chapter of his adventures.

 

It makes the efforts into giving the Rayner story legs look even more bizarre than they do already

 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

11 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I mean, if anything, he's TOO MUCH fun, and I didn't think that was possible, and we still know next to nothing about the exciting new chapter of his adventures.

 

It makes the efforts into giving the Rayner story legs look even more bizarre than they do already

 

 

She's decidedly dull by comparison.

 

Until she tips a plastic pint glass of urine over someone at a Michael Bublé gig, I don't want to hear any more about her.

[Bellend Sebastian]

31 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

She's decidedly dull by comparison.

 

Until she tips a plastic pint glass of urine over someone at a Michael Bublé gig, I don't want to hear any more about her.

Focus group says: "more relatable"

[MonkeyTennis?]

3 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I mean, if anything, he's TOO MUCH fun, and I didn't think that was possible, and we still know next to nothing about the exciting new chapter of his adventures.

 

 

Apparently his most recent transgression is that he was locked in a flat by some 'bad men' (rentboys or drug dealers?) after a 'drinking session' who wouldn't let him leave until he gave them 5 grand. He then rang his aging campaign manager and threatened her until he got the money. The next day he made another payment to the 'bad men' of a further 6 grand. All of this was taken from constituent donations to his campaign. He didn't pay it back, and when it was reported to the party, they didn't do anything. 

 

Could happen to anyone. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, MonkeyTennis? said:

Apparently his most recent transgression is that he was locked in a flat by some 'bad men' (rentboys or drug dealers?) after a 'drinking session' who wouldn't let him leave until he gave them 5 grand. He then rang his aging campaign manager and threatened her until he got the money. The next day he made another payment to the 'bad men' of a further 6 grand. All of this was taken from constituent donations to his campaign. He didn't pay it back, and when it was reported to the party, they didn't do anything. 

 

Could happen to anyone. 

Who knew that getting trapped in a flat was so expensive?

 

You can say what you like but one thing's certain is that this man isn't is a good negotiator

 

 

[westernpark]

And we wonder why Armando Iannucci felt The Thick of it was no longer feasible as a work of fiction.

[Daggers]

1 hour ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Who knew that getting trapped in a flat was so expensive?

 

You can say what you like but one thing's certain is that this man isn't is a good negotiator

 

 

He got someone else to pay his illegal immigrant blackmailing teen sex worker money on his behalf with their own savings - I’d call that a total negotiating win. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, Daggers said:

He got someone else to pay his illegal immigrant blackmailing teen sex worker money on his behalf with their own savings - I’d call that a total negotiating win. 

I take a certain pride in paying for that stuff myself (I'm just old fashioned that way!) but I really must insist that I get value for money

[Jon the Hat]

3 hours ago, Daggers said:

He got someone else to pay his illegal immigrant blackmailing teen sex worker money on his behalf with their own savings - I’d call that a total negotiating win. 

Ha, I think you’re confusing the old story with the new one. We don’t know who was demanding money this time! It adds to the mystery!

 

still that Angela Rayner almost probably certainly might have ticked the wrong box on a tax form with zero impact on her tax bill so let’s focus on the important issues shall we?

[Jon the Hat]

No scientific instrument has yet been invented with which to calibrate the precise low point of Liz Truss’s still ongoing promotional book tour, but the standout candidate, at this point, must surely be the moment she accused a supermarket lettuce of being “part of what I call the London elite”.

 

****ing elite lettuce, messing with our prime ministers.  BAN THE LETTUCE!

[fox_favourite]

42 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

No scientific instrument has yet been invented with which to calibrate the precise low point of Liz Truss’s still ongoing promotional book tour, but the standout candidate, at this point, must surely be the moment she accused a supermarket lettuce of being “part of what I call the London elite”.

 

****ing elite lettuce, messing with our prime ministers.  BAN THE LETTUCE!

Knew it!! I knew I couldn't trust a lettuce, with that vitamins and 'part of healthy eating' order. 

 

#lettuceBeSaid

[Daggers]

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Ha, I think you’re confusing the old story with the new one. We don’t know who was demanding money this time! It adds to the mystery!

 

still that Angela Rayner almost probably certainly might have ticked the wrong box on a tax form with zero impact on her tax bill so let’s focus on the important issues shall we?

Shut up, or I’ll punch you for getting my dog drunk.

[MPH]

Here we go….

 

Explosion heard near city of Isfahan - Iranian media

An explosion was heard north-west of the Iranian city of Isfahan early Friday morning, according to the country’s semi-official Fars news agency. 

Fars said that it occurred near the city’s international airport. But it offered no explanation on the possible cause. 

Isfahan province is home to a large air base, a major missile production complex and several nuclear sites.

The incident comes as tensions remain high across the Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel on Saturday.

[MPH]

This has the potential to be very bad indeed…

 

 

[Jon the Hat]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

This has the potential to be very bad indeed…