Westminstenders: From Russia with Love

[RedToothBrush]

Things just got scary.

The colony of US puppet state or a vassel state of the EU?

Why not just let market forces take their course and let Russia buy the UK?

How did we get to stories of spies and mafia who buy politicians?

Just who are our enemies and allies?

Won't someone think of the effect on house prices in Salisbury?

Try not to don your foil hat, brace yourself and resist shouting 'money laundering too loud'.

More turbulence ahead.

Brexit still seems like such a cracking idea doesn't it?

Thanks dobby . Was looking for info to write to mp, not to challenge you!!

I'm not so sure we can do nothing. Do we believe GCHQ hasn't already?

Don't worry wife. I meant it more as I hadn't picked the week on purpose!

The argument is it doesn't effect anyone currently, just new claimants. Except when areas are rolling out uc everyone becomes a new claimant eventually.

Many threads ago someone mentioned the CommonsVote app. I checked there and I think this was the vote:

Apparently when my dd has to change to uc she won't get a penny in benefits. All she gets now is working tax credit. She gets no help at all with rent and just 25% off council tax. As working tax credit is stopping she therefore won't get anything unless there's a component called something else she will be entitled to. Unless I can afford the gardener to extend my vegetable patch and raise it the food bank beckons by the end of the year for my family.

We are a little island Russia is huge especially its military power

Aren't you all looking forward to going it alone v. Russia?

We'll soon have blue passports.

Just picked up this quote on Twitter. Reality is sinking in:

Chatted with a really interesting guy today .. HGV driver. Quote " thought I was voting for more money for the NHS. But fuck it my job's on the line. What the fuck are they doing? Nobody told us this shit" They haven't got a fucking clue and that arsehole Corbyn is as bad .

sos Economically, Russia has long been a basket case, with an economy only about the size of that of Hungary,
which is one of the weaker EU members

Militarily, Russia is nothing like as strong in conventional armed forces as the USSR was,
but it has kept the USSR nukes

Its most effective weapon to project force abroad is its state-sponsored terrorism, like now
Russia may have the ultimate weapon if they have bribed / bamboozled / blackmailed POTUS into neutrality wrt their current Cold War with the West

Asymmetric warfare
Traditionally used by national liberation / terrorist groups against a state, but can also be used by weaker states vs stronger.

The classic example of one side (Russia) being too weak to wage a conventional war - its economy would collapse in weeks - but its intelligence services are trying to destabilise the much stronger West

Nobody told us this shit

That would be funny if it wasn't so tragic for all of us.

As sad as that us olivia, it's encouraging that some people are getting it. It's hard to work out what is the feeling in the wider world vs what's on twitter, particularly as most of my friends and family feel the same way as me.

This is austerity-driven asset stripping; what will it look like after Brexit?

Councils forced to sell off parks, buildings and art to fund basic services

Civic infrastructure is under threat as cash-strapped councils flog assets to balance the books

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/14/councils-forced-sell-parks-buildings-art-fund-basic-services

BCF Military hardware is state funded. They are no longer the USSR. Hence vicarious and digital shit stirring policy.

The funny side is that both britain and russia probably have some of the most pathetic military funding about, so they have to conduct international relations through corruption, unusual fatalities and twitter handbags at dawn.

it's encouraging that some people are getting it
@WhichUK
We want the government to deliver a Brexit that puts consumers first, and we are ready to help them do it.

Tomorrow, we launch our Consumer Charter for Brexit, which will set out our views on ensuring consumers get the best deal.

The difference is that we had allies we could count on which afforded some protection

(Yet another) Political bung for the DUP:
I'm still staggered at the breath-taking political cynicism by the govt wrt cutting free school meals

Also by how "British" the DUP are to take money for NI to vote to cut benefits in the rest of the UK

The income limit in NI for free school meals will be double that for rUK

http://www.theweek.co.uk/92272/children-to-go-hungry-after-free-school-meals-cuts

“In order to get the requisite amount of votes for a deeply unpopular policy,
they are reduced to exempting Northern Ireland from the fallout of that policy
so that the DUP can vote it through for other areas"

^ John Curtice poll: Remain vs Leave has only slightly changed since the EU Ref^

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43336351

"most of the movement is accounted for by the 28% who did not vote in 2016 now being much more likely to say they would vote Remain than Leave."

< when you consider some of the older Brexiters will have died, really not much overall change in those still living >

I don't mind if Brexit has made those not previously bothered/did not vote realise they do have a stake and would actually like to remain. Much like how in the US, it's turnout of those who didn't vote in 2016 that appear to be driving the blue wave and making it clear that they now have a preference.

really not much overall change
but astonishing that remain has the lead, considering the bent of all of the state media, and the conditioning that has been in place for decades.

Even if Remain has the lead, while Theresa May prattles on about implementing the 'will of the people' a.k.a the will of Theresa May to appease her right wing, it won't make any difference. What would make a difference would be Tory voters deserting the party because of her Brexit stance.

But it's the first step. It might not amount to anything but I'll take any crumbs I can.

Isn't that a risky strategy before we're actually out of the EU and Brexit is finalised, though? Putin would be mightily pissed if his attack on Britain actually led us to reconsider.

I think the turmoil a backed-out of Brexit would cause in UK politics is even more useful to anyone who wanted to neutralize the UK than actual Brexit.

A really good politician and statesperson (or businessperson) tends to ensure that whatever happens, it always benefits them. It's a hell of a lot easier than trying to influence events. Especially if people have it in mind that you are ... influencing events.

But as we can see from the prepping thread a lot of people think not much will really change after Brexit. There is an underlying current that things will work out alright in the end. If it starts being apparent that this is not the case then we will see movement. I don't think it will happen for a while yet if we get a transition deal because things will feel the same. It's when details of the trade agreements start filtering through I think.

But as we can see from the prepping thread a lot of people think not much will really change after Brexit.

Well most preppers are a little ... naive.

If the civil situation has deteriorated so that prepping was needed, the first thing you should have prepped was a weapon (that works at a distance). Otherwise you've just done other peoples prepping for them.

@BigChocFrenzy

Do you have the data for the poll? Eyeballing the graph seems to indicate a big move.

The prepping thread is quite interesting. My contribution is stocking up on HRT (manufactured in Belgium).
A pub thread regular is getting a lot of stick from people she hasn't encountered so far, isn't coping well.

My contribution is stocking up on HRT

Most medicines will deteriorate. DW is lucky that her baclofen pump lasts 6 months, but looking at our other meds, 3-4 months tops.

As with other posters, some meds are already unavailable thanks to Brexit, so goodness knows what a full blown crisis would bring.

Maybe the last act of the UK government would be to turn those Trident on ourselves, and go out in real style ?