POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on what seems to be an insoluble problem.
The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats since Labour came to power last summer has surpassed 50,000. Home Office data shows 50,271 people have made the journey, after 474 migrants arrived on Monday. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the government "will turn this around", adding she appreciates "the frustrations that people feel". At the general election, Labour pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and reduce Channel crossing numbers. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Tuesday's figure showed that plan "was just a slogan".

[Stanley]

On a personal note. I have asked the regional HQ to process my resignation as a member of the Party. I have been very patient but Starmer has gone too far to the right for me. Enough is enough.

See THIS earth shaking report....
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has admitted he did not have a rod licence to go fishing with JD Vance and has blamed the oversight on an "administrative error". Lammy has written to the Environment Agency to tell them about the mistake and has bought a fishing licence. The agency says anglers in England and Wales aged 13 or over must have a rod fishing licence to fish for freshwater species and can be fined if they do not have one. The foreign secretary did not catch any fish when he went angling with the US vice-president at his official residence at Chevening House, Kent, last week. The two men went carp fishing in a pond near the 17th-century house before they held talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the residence during Vance's family holiday to the UK.

[PanBiker]

Vance should have had one as well and both should have had additional permission via day tickets for the water they were fishing.

[Stanley]

See THIS shocking news about the state of the housing market.
More than 11,000 households in England have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs following a no-fault eviction process since last year when the Labour government came into power. In its manifesto, Labour promised to "immediately abolish" Section 21, also known as no-fault, evictions which allow landlords to remove tenants without a reason. A bill ending the practice was announced last year and is expected to become law when Parliament returns from its summer break. Housing charity Shelter said it was "unconscionable" that "renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately".
Just think what this means in terms of family misery.......

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the Putin/Trump talks in Alaska.
Updated 31 minutes ago
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have left Alaska without reaching an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine. After an almost three-hour meeting, the leaders delivered a joint statement to the media before leaving without taking questions. Three BBC correspondents who are in Anchorage for the summit assess what it means for the US and Russian leaders as well as what happens next in the war in Ukraine.
There is much more in the article.....
All as expected, Putin is scoring heavily in this process.

[Tizer]

This photo taken at the Alaska meeting sums up the outcome. Look at the different expressions on the two faces. For all his blathering and boasting, Trump has failed and he knows it. Sadly men, women and children will continue to die or be maimed in Ukraine due to Trump's incompetence...

Trump_Putin_Alaska.jpg

[Tizer]

BBC Live 16.17
`'Shameful': Democrats pour scorn on Trump-Putin meeting' LINK

[Stanley]

I agree with the Democrats Peter. Trump isn't negotiating with justice in mid, simply to end the conflict on any terms to massage his ego. As you say, he knows he is failing. Putin is winning the diplomatic war hands down.....

See THIS BBC article this morning....
Updated 46 minutes ago
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia's refusal to agree to a ceasefire is complicating efforts to end the war. "We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation," he said in a statement on 'X'. On Monday, the Ukrainian leader travel to Washington DC, where US President Donald Trump has said he will urge Zelensky to agree to a peace deal. Trump has said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine to move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a major shift of position, the US president said on Truth Social following Friday's summit that this would be "the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine", adding ceasefires often "do not hold up". Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that "the fire must cease" and killings stop.

[Tizer]

I wonder when Americans will wake up to the fact that Trump is wrecking America's reputation worldwide. The rest of the world can see he's turning the country into a Trumpland dictatorship and he's ruining its economy. What will people be saying about this period in America's history 50 years from now?

[Stanley]

And China looks on with an inscrutable smile while the US destroys itself and Russia rises again from the ashes. We just run behind grabbing at coat tails!

[Tripps]

I heard briefly on the radio, that former Defence Secretary Sir Grant Shapps has beem given special permision to head up a startup company in Cambridge called Cambridge Hammer or some such. It is said to be concerned with defence of the UK from a missile attack.

As a former Defence Secretary not too long ago, he would normally not be allowed to take up the job, but an exception has been made - so long as he does not get involved with "defence matters" for the first two years.

I thought of filing this under "Chutzpah" . Once a chancer. . . . .

[Stanley]

I agree totally David. Grant Shapps has been a joke ever since he suddenly appeared from nowhere, became Chairman of the Party and had to answer some very searching questions about treatment of Young Conservatives.... You're right, a complete dead-leg who flitted from job to job surviving by the skin of his teeth.....

See THIS article about Jeremy Corbin.
8 hours ago
Jeremy Corbyn "capitulated" over the definition of antisemitism while leader of the Labour party, fellow MP Zarah Sultana has said. Former Labour MPs Corbyn and Sultana launched a new political party less than a month ago, saying it would change politics, and oppose government policy on Gaza. Speaking to the New Left Review, Sultana praised Corbynism's mass appeal, but said he "capitulated" to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, saying it "equates it with anti-Zionism". Facing criticism from Jewish groups, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling her words "a grave insult", Sultana posted on social media that she was a proud anti-Zionist. Asked how the new party would adapt the model of radical politics Corbynism set out a decade ago, Sultana said he had made "a serious mistake" in being too conciliatory. She said: "We have to build on the strengths of Corbynism – its energy, mass appeal and bold policy platform – and we also have to recognise its limitations. "It capitulated to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which famously equates it with anti-Zionism, and which even its lead author Kenneth Stern has now publicly criticised." Sultana added the movement was "frightened and far too conciliatory" when it was attacked and should have recognised that the state and the media "are our class enemies" because, she said, "you cannot give these people an inch". In 2018, Labour's ruling body, the National Executive Committee, agreed to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism into its code of conduct, after months of rows.
I think the lady is right, The error in equating criticism of an extreme Zionist Israeli government in Gaza with anti-Semitism carries on to this day under Starmer.
The other big mistake Jeremy made when he first became leader was in not having a 'night of the long knives' and booting his opponents out of the Shadow Cabinet. I said so at the time and still believe this.

[Tripps]

You're right, a complete dead-leg who flitted from job to job surviving by the skin of his teeth.....

Now there's a word I haven't,seen used for decades. My late step father used it regularly, and it immediately brought him to mind. Thanks.

Wiki shows it either with a hyphen or as just one word.
Noun
deadleg (plural deadlegs)

A lazy or weak person.

An isolated section of pipeline that does not usually carry a flow.
Alternative form of dead leg (injury to the upper thigh)
(sports) A movement in which the hips and knees are kept straight and stiff and the ankle is flexed.
(shipping) A vehicle that is traveling on a leg of its route in which it does not carry any cargo.




In view of "Mr Green" its target I think "Schlemiel" might be even more appropriate.

[Stanley]

See THIS morning's political headline....
4 hours ago
The High Court judgment granting a temporary court injunction to prevent asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Epping will be a political and practical headache for the government. Practically, the Home Office has less than a month to find alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers housed at the Bell Hotel. The hope – though perhaps not the expectation – is that Tuesday's judgement does not set a precedent. Epping Forest District Council has to return to court in the autumn and it is possible the temporary ban on housing asylum seekers will not be made permanent. But the Home Office's lawyers have acknowledged that this is more than a local difficulty on the outskirts of Greater London. They have said that the decision could "substantially impact" the government's ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK. The use of hotels has halved from 402 at their peak to 210 now but some contracts are in place until 2029, and pressure will grow on ministers to find alternative accommodation at a greater pace than envisaged. And although the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by 6,000 in the first three months of the year, 32,000 remain. But this practical re-housing headache could escalate into a political migraine.
I can see why this is a big problem but the thing that struck me when I saw the story and the images used to illustrate it was how my attitude to the Union Flag has changed during my lifetime.... It used to be a proud but understated symbol of the nation but when the National Front and other far-Right organisations adopted it my feelings towards it changed completely.....
Again probably a personal trait and a symptom of age but it is very powerful......