POLITICS CORNER

[PanBiker]

We should completely walk away and leave them to it. Afghanistan is basically a tribal country so leave them alone. We have tried bombing them courtesy of Bomber Harris back before WWII, I think that is where he learnt the practice of area bombing which he employed again 20 years later. Russians have had a prolonged go and failed we have invaded as well, pointless. Unfortunately hundreds have had to die or be maimed to find out. It should have already been recognised that it was a lost cause before we went.

[Stanley]

You're quite right about Afghanistan being a tribal area Ian but not about Harris. He learned his trade in Mesopotamia practising on the Arab villages in the 1920s when we were 'improving' the states that made up the whole by amalgamating them and calling the result Iraq. (LINK)

[PanBiker]

I stand corrected, I knew it was one of the countries that we shouldn't mess with, both are lost causes.

[Stanley]

Quite Ian. An easy mistake to make.
Did you hear Grant Shapps on Today this morning assuring us that there was no problem in people willing to pay vast sums of money to have secret meetings with the leadership of the Tory Party as they didn't do it in the hopes of having an influence. Who does he think he is kidding? Why is it that most of them are in property or hedge funds? Are English companies being picked off at rock bottom prices during the confusion of Brexit and Covid.
The 'Advisory Board' raises questions again. Who was it who said that this was the next big scandal?

[Tizer]

I'm tempted to respond to a calamity by saying `You've made a right Grant Shapps of that!'

[Stanley]

It would work. I listened to him yesterday telling us all that we didn't understand the complexities of travel. The phrase that came to my mind was snake oil....
This government has perfected the use of spin and deflection to get them out of any tricky situation where somebody has asked the right question.

[Stanley]

See THIS report of worsening relations between Rishi Sunak and PM Johnson.
"Boris Johnson ‘threatened to demote Rishi Sunak’ over leaked letter calling for travel restrictions to be lifted.
‘Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next secretary of state for health,’ the PM is reported to have said"
Sources inside the Treasury say that Sunak is "becoming more vocal". Could the campaign for a leadership election have started?

[Tizer]

The Sunday Times points out that no UK chancellor has ever been demoted to a more junior post and Sunak would surely resign if Boris tried to make him Health Secretary. However the whole thing might be a storm in a teacup, stirred up by the news media.

[Stanley]

See THIS, whatever the cause the pot is still boiling.....

[Tizer]

And these guys are governing us!

[Tripps]

Mr Sunak who is closer to the books than Mr Johnson has realised that the nation is 'trading whilst insolvent' and action needs to be taken to rectify the situation. It won't be pleasant, and will need to start soon.

The remark about him being moved to Health and Social Care was surely flippant, from a congenitally flippant Prime Minister. To have three Health Ministers (Hancock, Javid, Sunak) in such a short time is plainly ridiculous.

[Stanley]

David, this government specialises in 'ridiculous'!
See THIS for a BBC report that the delectable Dido Harding is to step down from her current job as head of NHS Improvement (whatever that is!). In her wake she leaves the failed strategy and money pit that is test and trace. Why does her career remind me of Chris Grayling?
Question now is will her contacts come up with another sinecure for her or have they seen the light at last?

[Tizer]

I wrote about the Wagner operation and `Putin's chef' on OG in the past. There's more information about them here. It seems to have become the basic `business model' for dictators and authoritarian regimes to have these `at arm's length' small armies to do their dirty work while the national leaders deny all knowledge of it. The CIA used to do something similar of course but the new versions are on a bigger scale and with much larger and more advanced weapons. China gets up to similar tricks.
`Wagner: Scale of Russian mercenary mission in Libya exposed' LINK

[Stanley]

Are we really surprised to discover that Russia is active in Libya via funding to insurgents. Iran are doing exactly the same thing and so are others.
See THIS for the latest bad news from Afghanistan. Sacking your chief of staff during an all out attack by the Taliban doesn't bode well for the present administration in Kabul.
News that lorry parking facilities on the M20 may become permanent is in itself no big deal but illustrates something that I forecast will become a big problem. 'Mission Creep' as Covid related regulations become embedded in law and permanent.

[Stanley]

See THIS breaking news from the BBC that the army is being sent in to Afghanistan to extract any British subjects who need their help. "Ministry of Defence said the additional deployment was "in light of the increasing violence and rapidly deteriorating security environment in the country". The UK's ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, will continue to lead a small team in Afghanistan which will relocate within Kabul to a more secure location, the MoD said. As well as British nationals, the embassy will help the UK's Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which has already supported more than 3,100 former Afghan staff and their families to move to the UK, including 1,800 in the last few weeks, the MoD said. The US has also said it is sending 3,000 military troops to the airport in Kabul to help evacuate a "significant" amount of embassy staff on special flights.
Why does Saigon spring to mind? Will they get all the Taliban assassination targets out or will some be missed and be murdered?
Meanwhile Biden says he has no regrets. After all, Afghanistan is far far away.....

[plaques]

Remember President Bush with his speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln with mission accomplished. Now obviously a public relations failure. Our Mr Blair will be keeping his head down on this one. Only 454 British killed and what for?

[Stanley]

Nobody has ever succeeded in changing Afghanistan from a collection of tribes to a 'country'. That's the big mistake that modern leaders make. They can't grasp the fact it isn't a nation, it's just an area on the map that has never been unified, let alone colonised.

[Tizer]

An interesting article but I can agree with Skelton on some things but not on others...
`David Skelton: Is a new form of snobbery reshaping British politics?' LINK

[plaques]

Watch out for a surge in prices. The bottleneck in the Suez canal soon lifted the container prices simply because demand exceeded supply. Now we are doing our own Suez by not using continental lorry drivers. The government appears to have accepted the 'teething' troubles may become a permanent feature by allowing the Kent 'Operation Brock' to become a standard way of dealing with the Brexit chaos at the ports. With a shortage of 100,000 drivers and more of them going nowhere the obvious result is that demand will exceed supply and prices will rise. At the end of the food chain (pun intended) the consumer will foot the bill profits will rise and everyone will be happy. What could go wrong?

[PanBiker]

Starmer and the NEC have mounted a campaign to oust thousands of members who support socialist policy or are members of certain groups. Latest of the purges has seen Ken Loach thrown out of the party.

Ken Loach slams Labour as he is booted out of the party

Of course there is a witch hunt, can't describe the actions any other way.

[Stanley]

I agree with you Ian and it has a bearing on Skelton on snobbery as raised by Peter. Much of what Skelton says is his attempt to find an explanation for the swing to the right even though the Tories are such an unattractive and untrustworthy party. He doesn't take into full account the awfulness of Labour at the moment. As a Party they have completely lost their way, they aren't working on new principles and causes to pursue, they are chewing their own arm off with their concentration on the past and stupid ideological witch hunts. Starmer may not like Loach et al, but they have done more for the party than he has.

[PanBiker]

The knives are out, before Ken Loach there was this earlier in the week. Sydney Silverman's lad Roger received this via email:

"Mr Roger Silverman
BY EMAIL ONLY: *********
13 August 2021
Ref: removed
Case No: removed
Dear Mr Silverman,
Notification of Possible Automatic Exclusion from Membership of the Labour Party
1. We write to inform you that we have reason to believe that you are ineligible to be or remain a Labour Party member because you are a supporter of Labour Against the Witchhunt (LAW).
2. This letter sets out the relevant rules and definitions governing the criteria for eligibility to be or remain a Labour Party member, the evidence to support the claim that you are a supporter of LAW, and what action you are required to take in response to this letter..."

I have to keep telling myself that you can't do anything if you are outside of the party but it's hard. I could quite easily save the time I put in by the roles I hold and the membership fees I pay.

[Tizer]

UK politics is seriously bogged down and there's no easy way out. It'll need a very big upheaval and shake out and sadly that will probably mean a bout of extremism which will be uncomfortable no matter whether it's right or left wing.

[plaques]

To me it looks like Starmer is playing a long game and preparing the ground for the next general election. Remember the right-wing press crucified Corbyn and will adopt the same tactic on Starmer if they can make a link to him via Corbyn no matter however tenuous. Its a shame to throw overboard all those who have been the backbone of the Labour Party promoting socialist issues that benefit everyone. Our only hope that this no more than window dressing and emulating the tactics of the Conservatives have been doing for years presenting a compassionate face while still maintaining the 'Me First' policies.

[Stanley]

I would like to state publicly that I am dead against this policy of cleansing the party of 'undesirable elements'. If they want to expel me that will be fine.
They should be working on clear socialist principles and policies and presenting them to the membership and asking for support. Instead they are behaving like the Thought Police in 1984.