@pedant @thane16
Can I be clear(er)?

In my anecdote, when the person made the comments about the strain on local services and it being the fault of “the Poles and Lithuanians”, my family member and myself both made the point that the person’s belief needed to extend to… my family member, two other people in the conversation and others they’d…[Read more]

@thane16

uncomfortable

The preferred spelling is R.A.C.I.S.T.

@janetteb @thane16

Somebody falling in their sword when the fucked up insulation, you say?

@thane16 Finally!!! I thought of something I could contribute to this, (we are having a “music” night, something we often do on a Friday) apologies if it has already been posted but this is in honour of a real Prime Minister. (Far from perfect but the good he did outweighed the harm, with the exception of East Timor which I regard as his greatest…[Read more]

Hi folks!

Currently away, so a short post.

One question to throw into the ring: if one side says they are ‘uncomfortable’ about current levels of immigration and the other side says ‘that’s because you’re racist’, how is it possible to discuss immigration?

As @thane16 is saying dis-ease is a couple of steps away from anger. I’d also say it’s a…[Read more]

@thane16 thank you, that is very appropriate for the moment, (and I always enjoy ‘the Oils”) and as for the insulation thing, it was greatly overblown and he took the blame and fell on his sword but the right just get away with mess up after mess up never admit to being a fault and the media just turns a blind eye.

Cheers

Janette

@thane16 Your story about your Mum reminds me of my first horse riding experience when I was a kid. Mostly all I remember is sheer terror. I did go horseriding with friends in the Lakes District, back in my backpacking days and that was lovely though I was still very nervous. A year or so after that I rode a aged children’s pony around a farm in…[Read more]

@whisht  @mudlark    @thane16

Hi  – So  where I am coming from is that you got a PM that has critical thinking skills in 4 languages

We have the orange idiot that is challenged in his native tongue.  You have a guy who’s hero is Churchill.

We got a guy that never wants to read anything but yet astonishingly has read Mein Kamph and admir…[Read more]

@pedant – argh, I missed the Housemartins! You may be interested (or not!) to know that you and this forum has meant that whenever I listen to anything posted (especially by you) I tend to open up another tab for the lyrics!
And @thane16 – I also missed your Joy Division. I really need to listen to more Joy Division. I wasn’t in to them at the t…[Read more]

ooh – lots of great music here!!

@pedant
The Cocker is… amazing. I think that’s the word I’m left with.
How many do I need to buy/ download??!?
Also the Dixie Chicks – I’ll admit I’m not a fan but always good to need to listen to music I don’t think I’ll like. I need to confront my prejudices far more often and I cannot fault the sentiment in…[Read more]

@thane16

Ok I will definitely forward you post to Dr.  Thomas about your differing view of the Australian model.

@thane16

Rough Trade is probably the most famous label in punk and post-punk.

Already done.

@thane16

If you are interested in voting and the long-term impact of slavery in the US, you should read this article, just published today:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/16/north-carolina-felony-vote-law-black-woman

@thane16

Well, I suppose you could say an 12.8% rate is rare. Sorry, I didn’t know you’d lived in the States (so have I).

Look, I seem to be misreading you. Please remember that I’m dyslexic and that it’s very easy for me to miss nuances and subtleties. You asked if busy folk have time to read pamphlets and I picked up on that. Your real point…[Read more]

@thane16, @whisht, et al,

For your consideration:

The CD is regularly played in the Blenkinsop pile.

@thane16

Also, the electoral college was chosen at the insistence of slave owning states, to protect their interests.

@thane16

Further to the note upthread about anti-semitic tropes, this epic thread is a handy explainer. It is very much from the PoV of a alienated former Labour-supporting Jew, but really the tropes are universal and used by hard left and hard right alike. You should follow Sara Gibbs she is very funny and outstanding (and sometimes…[Read more]

@thane16

it’s a complicated mess.

This. Times a thousand. As you can see, Brexit brings up very strong emotions in the UK.

The main problem with Brexit is that both sides are right. But in politics, especially if you know that you are right, it can be very hard indeed to take a step back and try and see that. That, in fact, the Remainers and t…[Read more]

@thane16, @bluesqueakpip, @pedant,

Aside from the important issue of proportional representation, the other difference between the Australian and U.K. electoral systems that needs to be acknowledged is that for the best part of a century, Australia has had compulsory voting. My experience of mentioning this to friends in Canada, the US, and the…[Read more]

@thane16

if the falsity of the referendum wasn’t exposed. Are they owed the truth?

The ‘truth’ has been extensively discussed in the UK, in huge and nit-picking detail, for the last three years. And each time there’s an election, a large number of people quietly trot down to the polling stations and effectively say ‘Yup, we really, really m…[Read more]