UK Politics: Step Right Up, Step Right Up. Come Marvel At Our Amazing North Sea Snake Oil. Will Cure All Your Electoral Woes. Get It While It's Hot ;-)

[Spockydog]

 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

20 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

It's about leadership and integrity. And setting the agenda, not being led by the nose by Murdoch and the Tories. Yes, I realise that as we're talking about Starmer, this is a bit too much to expect. But we live in hope. 

Sure but showboating =/= leadership.

[A wilding]

1 hour ago, James Arryn said:

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

*Sw coast, north side (ie northern coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

*SW coast, south side (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset)

S coast, ie Jurassic to ~ plymouth

Norfolk/Suffolk coast

Se Ireland coast (ie Wicklow down to cork)

Welsh coast, any

Norhumberland coast, say Newcastle to Bamburgh area.

 

Yes, stay away from the Scottish Highlands in particular at this time of year. The midgies can be horrific.

Out of your list, I would go for the N coast of Cornwall and Devon, or the SW coast of Ireland (the latter is of course not in the UK and has a quite different feel - remote, timeless and a little primitive). Though most of the others have their points as well.

Sewage can be an issue, but you won't notice it hiking except sometimes walking along beaches. Just be careful if you want to try going swimming

[Spockydog]

Okay, Horsey doesn't think Starmer should be criticized for his North Sea Oil silence. Because it's technically out of his hands, and anything he did say would be nothing more than grandstanding. 

Well, how about this? What's Starmer's excuse for his continuation of the illegal Tory asylum seeker fiasco?

How about committing to opening, say, just one safe and legal route for refugees, anywhere in the world, that isn't for blonde-haired Ukranians..? No?

I wonder why.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Spockydog

[Heartofice]

37 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

How about committing to opening, say, just one safe and legal route for refugees, anywhere in the world, that isn't for blonde-haired Ukranians..? No?

I guess Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and Iraq and Hong Kong are just teeming with Blonde haired people? 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 hour ago, Spockydog said:

Okay, Horsey doesn't think Starmer should be criticized for his North Sea Oil silence. Because it's technically out of his hands, and anything he did say would be nothing more than grandstanding. 

Well, how about this? What's Starmer's excuse for his continuation of the illegal Tory asylum seeker fiasco?

How about committing to opening, say, just one safe and legal route for refugees, anywhere in the world, that isn't for blonde-haired Ukranians..? No?

I wonder why.

 

 

Hum?

I've said before that his  position on refugees is appalling. So I am not bothering to defend the indefensible. You can and should criticize him for that. The drilling licenses stuff is just a point of attack I find a bit nonsensical.

[Spockydog]

Resettlement schemes are not the same as asylum routes.

To apply, you first have to have been recognised as a refugee. Guess how many Afghans have come to the UK under this scheme.... Four.

What has gone wrong with the Afghan resettlement schemes?

Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, very few people have been successfully resettled in the UK under these schemes. This means that many people in Afghanistan who are at risk have no safe route to the UK. As a result, between January and March 2022, more Afghans arrived in the UK on small boats than any other nationality. 

 

[Spockydog]

Fancy not pledging to end this barbarity the moment you come to office.

Asylum seeker who escaped from Iran says Dorset barge will be another ‘jail’
 

Quote

 

An asylum seeker who was jailed in Iran for his human rights campaigning says he has not been able to sleep since receiving a notice that he is being moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge and said it would be another “jail” for him.

The man, who cannot be named for security reasons, worked as a human rights lawyer and campaigner in Iran and was imprisoned for his anti-government activities. He managed to escape from Iran and claimed asylum on arrival in the UK several months ago, citing political persecution in his home country.

The Home Office initially accommodated him in a hotel on the south coast but then issued him with a letter saying he was going to be moved to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset.

... 

Steve Smith, the chief executive of the refugee charity Care4Calais, which is supporting some of the asylum seekers who have received letters saying they are going to be moved to Bibby Stockholm, said: “Amongst those we are supporting are the survivors of torture, people with disabilities and people who have experienced trauma at sea. Housing any human on a ‘floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is unacceptable. Doing so to people like this is completely inhumane. It is causing a huge amount of anxiety.”

The asylum seeker said: “I know when other asylum seekers get letters from the Home Office saying they are being sent to Napier barracks in Folkestone, they are told how long they will stay there for. This letter gives us no information. We have no idea how long we will be kept on the barge for. We have read things about how the boat will not be safe for us. On the boat we will be out of the community.

“I worked as a human rights lawyer in Iran and I believe this plan by the Home Office is against human rights. Normal people would not go and live there. When I was in jail in Iran, I had a really hard time. All I want to do here is live a normal life, do positive things and be part of society.”

 

 

[polishgenius]

What?

What?

[BigFatCoward]

14 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

What?

What?

someone had the munchies reallllllllly bad. 

[Spockydog]

14 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

What?

What?

Jesus. I hope they don't come and look inside my munchy cupboard. They'd have me bang to rights. 

[Which Tyler]

5 hours ago, James Arryn said:

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

It's the UK that's pumping sewage into the rivers and seas; so Ireland seems the obvious option there.
As above though, I wouldn't be too worried about the smell, and there are online maps to check for specific bits to avoid. Just don't go swimming (or filling bottles) - in seas, lakes or rivers.

 

As for the midges, regular doses of Avon's Skin So Soft moisturiser will keep the worst of the buggers away.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Which Tyler

[Derfel Cadarn]

40 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

It's the UK that's pumping sewage into the rivers and seas; so Ireland seems the obvious option there.
As above though, I wouldn't be too worried about the smell, and there are online maps to check for specific bits to avoid. Just don't go swimming (or filling bottles) - in seas, lakes or rivers.

 

As for the midges, regular doses of Avon's Skin So Soft moisturiser will keep the worst of the buggers away.

Re the Avon moisturer, I’ve heard they changed the recipe a few years ago and it’s no longer as effective agaijst midges.

[dog-days]

39 minutes ago, Which Tyler said:

It's the UK that's pumping sewage into the rivers and seas; so Ireland seems the obvious option there.
As above though, I wouldn't be too worried about the smell, and there are online maps to check for specific bits to avoid. Just don't go swimming (or filling bottles) - in seas, lakes or rivers.

 

As for the midges, regular doses of Avon's Skin So Soft moisturiser will keep the worst of the buggers away.

Unfortunately, the news isn't great from Ireland either. Though it doesn't sound as if the problem is quite on the same scale as the UK.

[williamjm]

7 hours ago, James Arryn said:

I should note that my preferences were very much for Scottish highlands, Isles, Northern Ireland/Causeway trail, or possibly Yorkshire/Cumbria but have been warned midges are trips killers in this season, esp. for hikers, but if any of you have local knowledge of areas that aren’t experiencing major midge issues amongst these options, please I beg let me know.

There is a midge forecast map for Scotland https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/

I don't know how accurate it is (since it does seem to be sponsored by a midge repellent manufacturer), but in general they're at their worst in the western Highlands as the map suggests.

[Spockydog]

Dear god.

 

[Spockydog]

 

[James Arryn]

Thank you all for your responses to my appeal. Really appreciated, will address individually after I sleep; am in Rome, first time going away from my babies since they were born and of course one of them was up sick all night, and even before that it was killing me. The delayed bumpy flight and an actual fire in the airport washroom I was in upon arrival…the whole reason I’m doing this is my wife felt that I had travelled so much for so long  it was or had become an essential part of my character, and with them well into their 4th year it was by a mile my biggest drought since, dunno, twenty?

So she bought me a ticket over a month before they come over to join me at our house over here, and said to fill it up with fun and I…don’t know if it’s still an essential part of my character. I just spent the whole flight (heard she was sick just as I was boarding, wanted to cancel but my bag had been checked and apparently that’s a big deal, but anyways, my wife insisted it wasn’t too bad. I knew she was lying, of course…she would not have told me if it was minor) worrying.

 

Sorry, exhausted ramble, I’m sure I’ll get a second wind, but not convinced I’m still a traveller…travelling with kids is not travelling, neither is like resorts and such, for me…and trying to do my particular brand of make it up as you go along and ‘run like water into adventure’ travel…that’s kinda buzz killed by missing/worrying about my babies and imo the very real possibility this will be traumatic for them. Not leaving, that has to happen, but first time for 5 weeks? If she gets better you’ll probably hear a different tone, but right now I am in one of my favourite places on the planet, right on the Via Del Corso, my home base in Rome, and it’s a gorgeous day and all I am feeling is deep regret for coming. Which is just a great way to repay my wife’s extraordinary compassion (not to mention solo parenting twins for a month) isn’t it?

Edited August 7, 2023 by James Arryn

[Zorral]

Four More GB News Probes Opened By Ofcom Including Into Laurence Fox Show

https://deadline.com/2023/08/ofcom-gb-news-probes-esther-mcvey-phillip-davies-jacob-rees-mogg-laurence-fox-1235456245/

Propaganda as 'noose', and the stooges who stooges for the noose, are the same in all the countries.
 

[dog-days]

2 hours ago, James Arryn said:

Thank you all for your responses to my appeal. Really appreciated, will address individually after I sleep; am in Rome, first time going away from my babies since they were born and of course one of them was up sick all night, and even before that it was killing me. The delayed bumpy flight and an actual fire in the airport washroom I was in upon arrival…the whole reason I’m doing this is my wife felt that I had travelled so much for so long  it was or had become an essential part of my character, and with them well into their 4th year it was by a mile my biggest drought since, dunno, twenty?

So she bought me a ticket over a month before they come over to join me at our house over here, and said to fill it up with fun and I…don’t know if it’s still an essential part of my character. I just spent the whole flight (heard she was sick just as I was boarding, wanted to cancel but my bag had been checked and apparently that’s a big deal, but anyways, my wife insisted it wasn’t too bad. I knew she was lying, of course…she would not have told me if it was minor) worrying.

 

Sorry, exhausted ramble, I’m sure I’ll get a second wind, but not convinced I’m still a traveller…travelling with kids is not travelling, neither is like resorts and such, for me…and trying to do my particular brand of make it up as you go along and ‘run like water into adventure’ travel…that’s kinda buzz killed by missing/worrying about my babies and imo the very real possibility this will be traumatic for them. Not leaving, that has to happen, but first time for 5 weeks? If she gets better you’ll probably hear a different tone, but right now I am in one of my favourite places on the planet, right on the Via Del Corso, my home base in Rome, and it’s a gorgeous day and all I am feeling is deep regret for coming. Which is just a great way to repay my wife’s extraordinary compassion (not to mention solo parenting twins for a month) isn’t it?

Hope you're feeling better after a rest and a good meal. No one feels like a real traveller after a long flight!