International elections

[Wokko]

You can laugh while they vote left wing parties as a bloc to push liberal immigration policies but I don't think you'll be chortling once the conservative Islamist candidates start popping up.

[pietillidie]

^

The shock when they find out those half dozen are 2.6 million

And that equates to what percentage of the country being non-Muslim? In lived reality that means outside a few strongholds the percentage is tiny, something which is very noticeable if you travel widely enough here by car.

[David]

[stui magpie]

^

The shock when they find out those half dozen are 2.6 million

And that equates to what percentage of the country being non-Muslim? In lived reality that means outside a few strongholds the percentage is tiny, something which is very noticeable if you travel widely enough here by car.

They make up about 5% of the population of England and 12% of Greater London so yeah, there's not enough population density dispersed to make an impact at more than seats in Greater London really.

Just thought I'd call you out on your facetious 1/2 dozen comment.

[stui magpie]

[Pies4shaw]

We've survived the Christians. We can survive the Muslims.

[stui magpie]

But will we survive the Zombie lawyer apocalypse?

https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/vi ... t=articles

[pietillidie]

Forget the publication name, Simon Wren-Lewis is of the sane and sober left, so he's always worth reading on economics (his field) and UK politics:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... eak-labour

The infuriating thing is that cardigan Corbyn is the one tasked with revisiting the ideological inanity of austerity on the Tories. Way to kill a winning argument.

[pietillidie]

On the neurotic voter:

It turned out that neuroticism was indeed correlated with support for Trump. This was true even when controlling for each population’s racial makeup, education level, income, and political attitudes. In fact, neuroticism was strongly linked to the margin by which Trump outperformed the 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. The same pattern held with Brexit votes, the study also found: The more neuroticism in a given area of the United Kingdom, the more likely people were to support the country leaving the European Union.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... th/602074/

No, I don't take this very seriously. But it is true that when people say "the people are angry" I automatically expect foolish decisions to follow. However, I don't think this is a partisan phenomenon.

[pietillidie]

Forget the publication name, Simon Wren-Lewis is of the sane and sober left, so he's always worth reading on economics (his field) and UK politics:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... eak-labour

The infuriating thing is that cardigan Corbyn is the one tasked with revisiting the ideological inanity of austerity on the Tories. Way to kill a winning argument.

I will say, looking at Corbyn's 'manifesto' at least he's putting a distinctive alternative out there. Kudos. The last thing you need if you're the human beige cardigan is a platform to match.

Love or hate her, never has such a surer truth been spoken:

Impossible? Unaffordable? Labour is up against the politics of despair. Nothing works, nothing can be done; grumble and lump it. The Hansard Society’s latest survey finds that 56% of people think the country is in decline. They’re right about the precipitous downward slide in the economy, in living standards, in public services and in the quality of life people see all around them. They think Britain’s reputation has plummeted in the world. They’re not wrong. The election is framed today as a battle between ambition or managed decline.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ion-corbyn

As with Warren, contrary to the corporate welfare lobby the magnitude of spending is probably right; there is that much decay and instability, the definition of waste would in fact be to tinker about the margins.

[David]

Some chickens coming home to roost, at last:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ribery-and

Israel’s attorney general has indicted Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in a damning blow to the prime minister as he fights for his political survival.

Avichai Mandelblit charged the 70-year-old leader on Thursday in all three major corruption cases for which he was investigated. It was the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.

In the 63-page indictment, Netanyahu was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of pounds in luxury gifts from billionaire friends and for trading valuable favours with Israeli media and telecoms moguls for positive news coverage.

[pietillidie]

Forget the publication name, Simon Wren-Lewis is of the sane and sober left, so he's always worth reading on economics (his field) and UK politics:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... eak-labour

The infuriating thing is that cardigan Corbyn is the one tasked with revisiting the ideological inanity of austerity on the Tories. Way to kill a winning argument.

I will say, looking at Corbyn's 'manifesto' at least he's putting a distinctive alternative out there. Kudos. The last thing you need if you're the human beige cardigan is a platform to match.

Love or hate her, never has such a surer truth been spoken:

Impossible? Unaffordable? Labour is up against the politics of despair. Nothing works, nothing can be done; grumble and lump it. The Hansard Society’s latest survey finds that 56% of people think the country is in decline. They’re right about the precipitous downward slide in the economy, in living standards, in public services and in the quality of life people see all around them. They think Britain’s reputation has plummeted in the world. They’re not wrong. The election is framed today as a battle between ambition or managed decline.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ion-corbyn

As with Warren, contrary to the corporate welfare lobby the magnitude of spending is probably right; there is that much decay and instability, the definition of waste would in fact be to tinker about the margins.

Just to add to that, while Labour are at it they should also focus on wealth, not merely income. This is a valid criticism I've read around the traps.

Also, they ought to have expected the 3% surcharge on foreign buyers as whacking foreigners is a Tory/Brexit/Johnson reflex. Strategists asleep at the wheel there, I reckon. In any case it needs to be done, so I'd go right out and say it was a good idea and roll it straight into the reform package. It could then be turned into a ridiculous stunt which shows the platform will now more than pay for itself. Heck, put it on the side of a bus; we know that works.

Sure, the Tories are egging them on and hoping they go extreme. But given the present dismal state of affairs and Corbyn's weaknesses it's the only thing to do, anyhow. There is no spending too much to fix the sinking vessel at this point, so if people want circus then give it to them.

[Wokko]

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... u-67434963

It's official. That AG must have balls of steel or very good security.

[Wokko]

The UK goes to the polls today.

BJ holds a substantial lead in all polling and should get his clear majority to pass Brexit. With Farage only running candidates in Labor seats and the Labor leave vote split it should be a Tory cakewalk.

[David]

I suspect you're right, but I'm still holding on to a sliver of hope that the Absolute Boy can pull it off.