Westminstenders: Charge!!!!

[RedToothBrush]

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

This is an interesting article about how Ireland tunes into British media and British politicians' guff is heard because of language. On the other hand, support for Ireland from continental EU media and politicians is not tuned into because of language. Giving one sided, skewed picture. Just hearing the propaganda, really.

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-british-are-deluded-about-germany-s-fear-of-a-no-deal-brexit-1.3981678

The glass cliff reminder bit in my last post should have been in quotes- just a reminder that women generally get their chances when everything is shit. Then normally a white male comes in immediately afterwards.

A bit like the TM to BJ transition except that the white male normally comes in under the “savior effect”. After a glass cliff woman leaves or is pushed out as a CEO she is replaced by a conventional white male. This is a mark of a return to the status quo. Except that normally happens when things are on the up- and they so aren't.

I like Caroline Lucas but I cringed reading her proposal. How utterly ridiculous, we need less division not more.

David Gauke @Davidgauke
Good to get away for a few days. But somehow I keep getting reminded of the Brexit debate.

The problem is identity politics. So how is a Cabinet decided on gender identity going to help? Besides since Caroline thinks women are down to gender not sex and believes in self ID all any male MP would have to do to be considered would be to declare they are a woman and we all have to accept it without question.

Unless of course Caroline has decided that self ID is a load of bollocks and that sex does exist after all.

Besides which what an utterly sexist load of tosh.

I like Caroline Lucas too and indeed all the women she is contacting i would prefer to be PM (particularly Yvette Cooper), but it's hardly reaching out and unifying to exclude all those with differing political views on brexit and have a gender based selection criteria. The white male dominated press would have a field day and the cause of equality would be set back a generation.
....and her assumption that women are better at compromise and reaching out is undermined on a daily basis by comments from people like Arlene Foster, Priti Patel etc unless these are really white men dressed in rather convincing drag

Oh there is a follow up to David Gauke and his unicorn....

General Boles @generalboles
I think I speak on behalf of the entire country when I say GET ON THE INFLATABLE UNICORN DAVID

David Gauke @Davidgauke
That’s all you’re getting. I’m not getting on board any unicorn.

Holiday over. This particular unicorn is deflated and back in its box.

Add Theresa May's name to Arlene Foster and Priti Patel. Or Esther McVey.

In Journalism, I don't see Melanie Phillips being anything but a divisive force.

She is highlighting that women in general are unlikely to vote BoZo, isn't she? Desperation perhaps and hoping for a feminist swing?

Yes re production; it doesn't seem to have occurred to Leavers that the only people seemingly investing in production in UK was EU.The idea that the rich who sold out Rowntrees give a shiny shit about recouping the workforce after Brexit is laughable to me. Thought process of Leavers appears to assume a hostile take over by EU companies rather than a gleeful sale of history by a rich Englishman. The bus went on to list how when the Romans left there were The Dark Ages; this was the part I wanted to grunt and shout out "Wait until after Brexit!" but managed to restrain myself. The idea that the rich who sold out Rowntrees give a shiny shit about recouping the workforce to "produce our own" after Brexit is laughable to me. I would understand more if the Leave thought process went 1. we cut ourselves of globally and refuse all imports 2. we either starve or set up our own everything from scratch 3. we start the terrifyingly slow process of getting everything up to a level where people are fed again 4. we wonder how to import cocoa 5. take 10 years to complete trade negotiations to get cocoa and sugar and year round oranges 6. re start the relatively small factory to feed a starving population chocolate orange It still doesn't work.

I like the optimism of the 50s that wants oranges to grow in York ;-)
(Was it York?)

Not to dampen the enthusiasm, but sooooo much of production is scattered around not only different factories but also countries. Say for instance shoes, where I come from in Italy it’s a main production. Traditionally various bits were made anyway by different companies (one guy with his tiny little factory makes only heels, one makes soles, etc, for all the local brands. They had their limited quantity workforce, but highly skilled, and quite flexible). Then they were put together in a main factory in the same area. Same like cars, in a way, but much smaller value item! Now the markets are completely different and even Italian factories have moved production to Asia or east Europe, thus losing the skills, what they do in Italy is sometimes just the finishing touches (ie stitching on the label). That wasn’t driven by government, nor the Eu, that’s driven by costs and partially the fact that no young person wants to spend 40years stitching (leather) soles so they study to do something else...
Is that the only way forward? I don’t know
But I’m not romantic and when I read about ex city traders that switch to make a business out of carpentry or wooden spoon making I cynically think “ yeah, well, that’s good, do that after you hit 30 and your first million, it’s a tad different if you’re 19 and one of the “left behind” communities”

David definitely looks better with a beard. We are the same age, sadly I do not look better with a beard, even though my chin has recently developed the ability to grow one

@Cherin yes it was York. So much history and one man with blinkers.

I do wonder if Brexit is similar to councils digging up perfectly good roads to increase employment? I think it is called something else in economics. Tory trouble is that apparently our employment is fine! Apparently people want to be on zero hours contracts working 3 jobs and still be classified The Working Poor.

Apparently The Greens are denying Nick Cohen's reporting of a pact with the LibDems?

The Chocolate firms of Rowntrees and Cadbury were Quaker firms and believed that it made good business sense to treat the workforce well, besides it being their Christian Duty to see 'that of God in every man'.

Theresa May and Rees-Mogg - take note, you are both keen to parade your religion - let's see it in your actions.

Lucas' proposal is laughable. It falls right into the hands of Cummings and his stooge Johnson.

The Lucas proposal of an all female cabinet could be a good angle to stop the Corbyn MUST lead a unity gov stance. It gives Corbyn a saving face reason to backdown. He loves to be seen to be progressive without actually being progressive.

Huge mistake from Lucas not to include BAME women. Tagging DA on the end puts DA into the "token BAME" slot and that's kinda rude. Lucas has basically gone "ladies, gentleman and all genders here for temporary meaures I give you white feminism!"

Doing the rounds of Irish media this morning. This is a bit of a reaction to badger baiting from the British political/media happy musings and threats about their actions causing damage to Ireland. However, as McWilliams points out, they can only damage Ireland not destroy it.

www.davidmcwilliams.ie/boris-johnson-is-like-an-incompetent-kidnapper-taking-ireland-hostage/

Hazardtired it is also white, middle class feminism.

Mind you, they don't care about damage to the UK itself. One comment has You give them too much credit to think they even consider Ireland. Reality is they are only taking uk hostage

Business affected will be preached at about how they just weren't good business people. It has gone past satire.

violet very true! Jess Phillips is working class maybe? I don't actually know she can be the token for that.

Without explicit intention, I reckon a common-sense ‘emergency cabinet of national unity’, if such a thing were to emerge, would be a majority of women.
But to name it and aim for it is probably self-defeating, and bound to attract criticism for reasons of gender only. Like ‘The women couldn’t do it!’ Etc etc.
Let it evolve naturally, I say. There are a lot of good women around. And also some men. (And not-so-good women.)

Peregrina, the Quaker model is the last type of business the arch Brexiteers want. Integrity, humanity and responsibility would not allow for slash and burn.

The narrative will be the undeserving poor. Not recognition of the politics giving rise to an engineered plunder.

I'd prefer Lisa Nandy to Jess Philips but why not both, working class women (and men) shouldn't just be a tokens in government. I know you said this light heartedly Hazard and I'm not having a go at you, rather the fact that there are so few people from working class backgrounds who are MPs.

Did anyone hear the piece on Andrew Carnegie on R4 yesterday ? Worth a listen if you have time.

HRT drug shortages.

Set to last until at least 2020...

Half of HRT drugs currently out of stock.