If you're not in the U.S., what's up in your part of the world? Showing 3,001-3,050 of 3,266

[J.]

Back before the turn of the century, I worked in a gas station, for a time. This was back when a good fraction of the population still smoked, and we sold a lot of cigs. One of my most memorable customers was a 28 years old black guy who stood about 6' 6" and weighed around 300lbs. What was truly memorable about him was that he liked Newport 100s which he would smoke through his tracheotomy.

He was a pretty cool guy. I suspect he's no longer with us.

[[deleted user]]

On the back of our nanny state, faux conservative government's legislation to ban smoking...

Ukrainian Soldiers Trained in UK Given Free Cigarettes

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-s...

😑

[[deleted user]]

Fascinating update on the political situation in the Netherlands, following Wilder's electoral success:

https://www.hungarianconservative.com...

Broader issues covered include the differences between conservatism and populism, why populism is ultimately doomed to fail, and the problem of campaigning on an anti-Islam ticket once your country has already imported a large Muslim population.

Hungarian Conservative makes the BBC look like The Daily Star.

[J.]

"Conservative" and "BBC" in the same sentence...

[Papaphilly]

J. wrote: ""Conservative" and "BBC" in the same sentence..."

Oxymoron?....8^)

[[deleted user]]

Guys, I'm on about the quality of journalism, not the level of conservatism.

Hungarian Conservative sets the benchmark.

[J.]

The House of Windsor has had a long few months.

As Charles announces a return to public-facing duties, a look at recent events involving the royals
https://apnews.com/article/britain-ki...

[J.]

I'm trying to get a grasp on some news out of Australia. Apparently, the Australian government has gotten itself tied into a knot over people posting critical and humorous stuff on social media. The MSM is characterizing it as a tiff with the evil Musk fellow, who took away their utopian Twitter. The conservative media is dubbing it a meme ban straight from Australia's prime minister.

1.) What's actually going on?
2.) What is the Australian media saying?
3.) If someone was able to hoax PM Elbow having been found deceased by apparent auto-erotic asphyxiation, would Australian TV have to put up that warning to certain aborigines about showing pictures of dead people before reporting on him?

[J.]

The imbecilic end of a stupid, stupid man:

Who is Humza Yousaf? The rise and fall of a first minister
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgx...

[Nik]

Oh, those Scots, hope they don’t need to drop their skirts when quitting 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🧑🏼‍🎨

[Ian]

We have an energy problem. Over the previous six years of Green/Labour coalition, the Greens managed to stop all further drilling for gas in potential offshore fields and as a consequence stopped electricity companies investing in further thermal power generation. The long-range weather forecasts "predicted" a warmer than usual winter. The existing gas fields are dying.

So now we are threatened with power cuts. Today is well-below expected temperature for this time of the year, parts of the limited thermal capacity is down for maintenance, and while the Greens encouraged a lot of windpower investment, today there is no wind, even in Wellngton.

[Scout]

Welcome to Biden's ignorant green world.

[Papaphilly]

That is not just Biden, that is all Green's. I wonder if they will ever admit mistakes?

[Ian]

The Greens have identified a problem and they have identified a general reluctance to do anything about it. Their problem then is they have not sat down and done the maths to work out what is needed to solve the problem, and they have this medieval idea that running around self-flagellating is a constructive contribution.

For what it is worth, I don't think Biden has any role in the NZ Green party's policies.

[J.]

Slovakia’s populist prime minister shot multiple times in attempted assassination
https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-p...

[Ian]

And he was pro-Russian. I wonder who fired the shots.

[[deleted user]]

Trump is in court on trumped up charges, Novak has been 'accidentally' hit by a bottle, the Georgian Parliament has been stormed, and now Fico has been shot.

Is the globalist deep state mafia having a hissy fit because things aren't going their way? Have they ordered their useful woke fools to attack conservatives around the world?

Is so, esteemed President Viktor Orban should put his security on high alert.

[J.]

King Charles: First official portrait since coronation is unveiled, painted by Jonathan Yeo
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainmen...

So... The new royal portrait looks like the current monarch bathed in blood or Hellfire, possibly both.

Please, tell me this is going up in every post office, government building, and school throughout Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

[Ian]

Here, I think we are just a little bemused.

[Ian]

Meanwhile, close by we have a small rebellion going on. Apparently the indigenous do not like the idea that in an election, French who have lived there for ten years should get a vote. More democracy in action.

The issue is further clouded by Air Vanuatu has been made to stop flying through bankruptcy issues so that tourists there cannot get out. It is not helped that the airport is closed and the road to it is cluttered with illegal checkpoints and rioting. Supermarkets have been looted, so food is hard to get.

[J.]

Have these French people become citizens of New Zealand?

[Ian]

Hardly. They are 2,600 km away. If you delete "these" then yes. Akaroa even has "rue"s instead of streets.

[J.]

My mistake. When you posted, "... close by..." I thought you meant in New Zealand.

Where is this happening?

[Ian]

Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Sorry, I should have been clearer. "Close by" is, well, they are close compared to just about everyone else. Flight time is a little over three hours. Most other places, apart from Australia, involve a thirteen hour flight or more.

[[deleted user]]

UK news understandably dominated by the infected blood scandal:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c...

Thousands lost their lives, with many more lives adversely affected.

Equally sickening - possibly even the worst aspect of all this - was the deception, including knowing destruction of evidence, by people in power.

Huge credit to those who fought for justice. The politicians and NHS hierarchy responsible now have nowhere to hide.

I wonder if we might see an even bigger public health scandal, involving politicians and NHS senior management, unearthed, a few years down the line?

[Ian]

I disagree with one part of the report- that patients should have been warned of the risks. From experience of my recent time in hospital, when a doctor tells you you may need a transfusion and asks for permission if surgery runs into trouble, what are you going to say? Assuming you are not a member of a religious cult, are you really going to refuse what may be needed to save your life? It is the responsibility of the medical people to ensure that blood is collected from reliable sources.

The rest of the report indicates a huge failing, and as Beau suggests, criminal acts by people in authority..

[J.]

Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran got sent to his moon god. Hopefully, he went out screaming all the way. I'll let Amnesty International explain why he deserved it.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/...

[J.]

Beau, such behavior is nothing new for His Majesy's government.

Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-567...

[Nik]

Hope putler won’t leave his mate - the Butcher of Tehran alone for long in the afterworld

[[deleted user]]

J, your belief in minimal government has been the biggest challenge to my preconceived ideas/ belief system since I joined Goodreads.

I've tried to convince myself it's been hijacked/ turned bad in recent years, but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that it's always been rotten.

Evidence of this is mounting and can't be ignored.

[Scout]

J. is logical and backs up his statements with research and examples. Good on you, J.

[[deleted user]]

In answer to Ian's question on Scout's Playbook thread, the Lib Dems are currently polling at under 10%. If they had a leader of the calibre of David Owen, Paddy Ashdown or even Nik Clegg, now would indeed be the ideal time for them to rise to prominence. Unfortunately, they have a mildly irritating, non-entity leader called Ed Davey, who has turned them into a bit of a woke joke.

By polling (SNP excluded), our 3rd party is now Reform - polling at just over 10%. This is a new party, mainly for disaffected Conservatives. Their Honoury President is the extremely charismatic Nigel Farage, but he takes a back seat. Nowadays, he appears more interested in supporting Trump in the US. The party is led by Richard Tice, who, IMO, is a bit of a slippery, unlikeable character. I expect their support to melt, and return to the Conservatives, at the GE.

Further down the polls, you have the Greens and the Workers Party of Britain.

The latter is led by George Galloway. He is an old school socialist and very much a Marmite character. He is INCREDIBLY charismatic and a brilliant orator - on this front, the only modern British politician on a par with him is Nigel Farage.

Galloway used to be a Labour MP but was expelled from the party. He then set up a party called Respect, and the Workers Party is his latest offering.

He is hated by both major parties but recently won the Rochdale by election for his Workers Party to become an MP again. They are standing a lot of candidates at the next election, and are particularly popular with the Musim vote.

Ian, you would love the Workers Party lol. They're pro Brexit, anti NATO, pro Palestine, and generally the opposite of everything to do with the modern status quo.

Love him or loathe him, if anyone doubts Galloway's brilliant oratory skills, watch this:

https://youtu.be/psUdTvnkycI?si=cABqL...

[Ian]

Thanks for the info, Beau. It seems you have a number of parties that are led by uninspiring candidates, except on the fringe. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[[deleted user]]

Here's a laugh for you...

Remember J's link to the portrait of King Charles in Dante's Inferno?

Well, it's just got even funnier. Time to admire...ahem...the latest portrait of Kate:

https://dailysceptic.org/2024/05/23/t...

[Nik]

Starmer the charmer, and Rishi who-is-she? Since you don’t have Trump somebody needs to give them names

[J.]

Upon viewing her new portrait, I first thought, "Since when is the Princess of Wales Asian?" Then I thought, " How cute, they decided to have her official portrait painted by a Welch school child."

[[deleted user]]

My first thought was that it looked like a painting by the best art student in a junior school. Then I saw the name of the artist and it quickly became apparent why Tatler commissioned her.

A week or so ago, Rishi said the next 5 years will see more change than the last 30. Coincidentally (?), so far there are 120 MPs standing down, so not even contesting their seats at the next election. This includes many senior bods, like Gove and Leadson.

The word on the UK's 'conspiracy street' is that (probably thanks to the unseen hand above UK elected politician level)) we already have special forces troops taking an active part in the Russia/ Ukraine conflict (something I can well imagine) and it is a matter of time until we become deeply embroiled in this conflict.

What with the covid fallout, zero carbon, the migration crisis, war with Russia and who knows what else to look forward to, it seems many of our elected representatives don't fancy sticking around.

J often accuses Europeans of expecting the US to bail them out of the sticky stuff. I agree with him...

Come on Donald or Robert!

Get yourself in that White House and save us all from this insanity.

[Scout]

Nobody deserves a bailout from the disrespected US. America first. Just like each of you would say about your own country.

[Sean]

In the UK, General Election announced for July 4th - I know, rude, right?

State-embedded activists ignore findings by he WPATH and Cass reports regarding the harm done by puberty blockers - rest of world also ignores

Beautiful blustery sunshine across much of the country on a Bank Holiday Monday, today

And my new (9th) book A Delicate Balance Of Reason published last week :) https://push.fm/fl/https-www-amazon-c...

[J.]

That's a normal level of rude for a posh British politician. The stunning bit is the total lack of awareness necessary for a Tory to pick a date which meant the end of Tories in the USA.

[Sean]

Ha, true. Also Rishi Sunak might be wanting not to have too much coverage of his destruction Stateside, as he'll be working here in some financial position soon after. Embarrassing!

[Papaphilly]

July 4 is big for the USA, but does the British even care?

[Sean]

Yes of course! We love the USA, particularly the ingrained 'cultural' stuff like that :)

[[deleted user]]

The only thing of importance happening on 4th July is that I'm off to a Gregory Porter gig.

[Sean]

That is important in fairness

[Sabri]

Papaphilly wrote: "July 4 is big for the USA, but does the British even care?"

I didn't even clock the coincidence until I saw it pointed out here. Not that I don't care per se, but it's not an event that gets talked about much in a normal year. Probably on the radar of those who have US connections, otherwise we might see on the news a mention of the celebrations on the day itself.

[J.]

Papaphilly wrote: "July 4 is big for the USA, but does the British even care?"

There was one time...

[J.]

Sean wrote: "Ha, true. Also Rishi Sunak might be wanting not to have too much coverage of his destruction Stateside, as he'll be working here in some financial position soon after. Embarrassing!"

I suspect that the UK has reached the end stage for the Koh-I-Noor curse. I believe that the diamond was cursed by Indian spiritual leaders so that until it is returned, each succeeding Prime Minister will be stupider than his/her predecessor by at least 10%. After Sunak's predecessor managed to set a new record for shortest tenure by being so mentally deficient that she caused a nigh immortal monarch to nope right off the mortal plain, the end game had been entered.

[Sean]

Heheh, I like it!

[Papaphilly]

J. wrote: "Sean wrote: "Ha, true. Also Rishi Sunak might be wanting not to have too much coverage of his destruction Stateside, as he'll be working here in some financial position soon after. Embarrassing!"

..."

HEY!,

If the Red Socks can beat the curse of the Bambino and the Cubs can beat the curse of the Goat, there is hope for British Prime ministers too....