Westminstenders: Operation Shock and Awe

[RedToothBrush]

The government is launching its get ready for the end of transition campaign which has been dubbed a 'shock and awe' campaign.

In this campaign we will learn all about what Brexit means and what amazing opportunities lie for having increased customs and borders, beaucracy and increased costs. Bet you are all really excited and looking forward to this.

We will also get a 'Farage Garage' in Kent to cope with these wonderful opportunities in traffic jams. This will be something that businesses throughout the country will be super excited to plan for in their socially distanced Zoom meetings or across warehouses with their face masks on. And banks will be delighted to see an uptick in applications in CCJs and debt reconstruction plans.

It will be a super fun time for the under 30s who have zero hours contracts, worked in retail or hospitality. Or should I say 'worked'.

Meanwhile the right to a jury trial has been binned due to 'long covid delays' which are shorter than they were several years ago. The NHS isn't getting the funding it expected, and waiting lists are longer than ever with no way to clear them. The plan to build more hospitals seems to have disappeared with the Nightingales. Many councils are about to go into insolvency and be taken over by accountancy firms. The civil service is being dismantled and conservative loyalists with no experience being put in charge of important functions of state. Communications with the press are being 'streamlined' to make them incredible of holding power to account and only able to repeat government public announcements.

Anyone looking forward to Christmas? When you write a letter to Santa remember to add 'visa application form', 'a sleeping bag for use at Dover', 'tinned tomatoes' and 'packets of seeds to grow your own' to the list.

Now prettybird, I would really like to see all that coming to pass. The Tory right, being a bit hard of thinking and joining the dots, manage to get us to withdraw from the ECHR and the UN declaration of Human Rights, and then the other countries round on the UK and throw us out of the UN. Something which many countries will think is long overdue anyway.

Does anyone know when the WTO will announce their new leader?
It's not obvious from their events list, but could it be later this week?

Just think how mardy Johnson will be - he couldn't get Grayling to win a rigged election, and then all these furriners saying no to his candidate!

@Peregrina

Now prettybird, I would really like to see all that coming to pass. The Tory right, being a bit hard of thinking and joining the dots, manage to get us to withdraw from the ECHR and the UN declaration of Human Rights, and then the other countries round on the UK and throw us out of the UN. Something which many countries will think is long overdue anyway.

But would France allow her Veto to be given to the EU ?

Does anyone know when the WTO will announce their new leader?

White smoke ?

It's worth remembering that the debate on here moves quickly with a lot of well-read, well-informed contributors (thank you!).

The penny-drop seems to happen much later in the offline world and that assumes Johnson cares in the first place. He does not.

(Co ?) Incidentally there are 2 threads on here at the moment which are a fascinating hint as to where some people want to go.

1. Tenants who have done nothing wrong, but should be subjected to the heavies being sent in because it's inconveniencing a housebuyer.

2. someone who feels very strongly that they have a say over what an employee does out of work.

Even the bloody smoke's white.

Peregrina
Does anyone know when the WTO will announce their new leader?
As per this, on or before 7th November
www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_selection_process_e.htm

And do not forget what else happens in the first week of November
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election

DGR
Isn't Trump pretty much letting it seize up ?
I've not sat and read the candidate manifestos directly but the report in the Economist implied that the ladies from Kenya and Nigeria both had clear ideas how to make the body more relevant and free that logjam.

Where are those threads DGR which board?

Louise
Click "active" - you'll spot them

@LouiseCollins28

Where are those threads DGR which board?

This one is amusing

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3974142-To-be-annoyed-the-cleaner-travelled-abroad-while-we-paid-her-not-to-clean

This one less so. The level of vitriol shown towards tenants who have done nothing wrong in law, but still deserve to be shot and have the bill for the bullets sent to their families is eye-opening.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a3971381-Vendor-s-tenants-refusing-to-leave

And it's not as if the UK is particularly well known for being tenant friendly to start with.

.

@DGRossetti

(Co ?) Incidentally there are 2 threads on here at the moment which are a fascinating hint as to where some people want to go.

1. Tenants who have done nothing wrong, but should be subjected to the heavies being sent in because it's inconveniencing a housebuyer.

2. someone who feels very strongly that they have a say over what an employee does out of work.

There is also an AIBU furious that unions have issued a safety checklist for school staff How very dare they protect their members' safety at work

Of course the clothing sweat shops and the meat plants with v few union members are shining examples to aim for in Brexit Britain

We can see how workers don't need unions,
becauses those employers carefully consider the safety of their workers, their families and people in the areas they live and travel in

... and then say "Fuck 'em all"

There is also an AIBU furious that unions have issued a safety checklist for school staff How very dare they protect their members' safety at work

Fans of Beau might want to checkout his roadmap for Trumps campaign ...

"Spin" is no longer adequate to describe what is being said by ministers & SPADs

Lewis Goodall@lewisgoodall (BBC Newsnight)

Hancock adds to previous comments about date of lockdown, now saying it wasn't a date:

"the idea that lockdown as a date is wrong because what matters epidemiologically is the behaviour of people....you saw that people were going about their business less and less."

< the important fact is that mandatory lockdown is far more effective than some worried people in a haphazard way staying home,
but BJ dithered for weeks before ordering it, with consequent exponential growth of infections and one of the highest death rates in the world >

BCF - it's been clear for a while that much of the UK public has been acting on its own initiative to mitigate the effects of the virus as best it can, with the government playing catch-up. PPE, lockdown, wearing masks...same story - people call for action, take action, and then those in power do, half-assedly.
But while the catch-up happens, the people who can't afford to follow the measures not yet made obligatory are exposed to CV.

Mr Putin must be so disappointed, most people don’t have to buy their own gifts.

I imagine Putin is shrugging his shoulders wondering how on earth UK and US were so easy to manipulate to the right but his efforts for the left have been met with blank stares (eg sale of NHS to US). I imagine he at least expected a bit of a fight. Can't be much fun for the amount of money spent.

"2) someone who feels very strongly that they have a say over what an employee does out of work."

Not even an employee: she's self-employed with other clients, if it's the thread I'm thinking of.

And yes, some people really do think they own you body and soul if they pay you money to do a service. I've had clients with the same attitude.

Although it is probably confirming that "The West" is stupid and therefore Mother Russia is far superior. Has me wondering at times too, I won't lie.

@ListeningQuietly I still wonder if the Salisbury attack wasn't to prove to BozoCum that they will be found unless they toe the line. I would not be at all surprised if this was about more than just an ex agent being neutralised.

[quote JeSuisPoulet]@ListeningQuietly I still wonder if the Salisbury attack wasn't to prove to BozoCum that they will be found unless they toe the line. I would not be at all surprised if this was about more than just an ex agent being neutralised.[/quote]
But if Russia had to import two agents to carry it out, then what of the total bollocks repeated assertions that the UK is awash with dangerous radicals ? Why didn't they just put an ad in the Morning Star ? Or if they really wanted to stay under the radar the book of principles for MPs ?

DGR as we saw with poor Jo Cox, the most dangerous radicals are often already right here

@JeSuisPoulet

DGR as we saw with poor Jo Cox, the most dangerous radicals are often already right here

Sort of makes my point then ... why go through a ludicrous pantomime when you could just as easily have got the message across (in fact it's more effective as a message) by activating a home grown loony tunes ?

Unless it's a really subtle double bluff. In which was it would have been wasted on most, if not all our current politicians. Most of whom think "The Usual Suspects" was impenetrable, and "The Sixth Sense" positively Joycean.

@UltimateFoole

OK - so now that the ISC report is public the Mail online headline is 'Putin's Gangster State' - that's referring to UK just to be clear.

The Telegraph live headline is currently 'Govt failed to protect Brexit vote from Russian interference'

Bit of a change around from earlier.

It's a good example of how a dampening 'line' has been put up and spread across the press. Hearteningly the fire of the real report has burst through into the headlines - even the loyal Telegraph. But still - most people will have seen the heads this morning and now the story is framed that way in their minds. Roll on tomorrow's front pages.

The broad conclusion of the report is that the Cameron, May and Cummings-Johnson governments knew about Russian interference in British polls (IndyRef) and knew Russian meddling possible in Brexit vote - but took no known action before 2019 elex. Indeed they blocked the release of this report.

Take away line : They knowingly failed to protect our democracy from a hostile state.

Farage's response to all this follows that same no evidence of interference line.

No evidence? More like wilful blindness.

And the govt has said it will not hold an inquiry.

Tweet with an extract from report stating Govt should have known of the Russia risk from 2014 (following Democrat party Clinton hacking).

For those interested the full Intelligence and Security Committee report is here

And the full government response is here

What I am taking away is that the Uk is so scared of Russia that it doesnt even dare starting to do any investigation.

Which tells you a lot about Russia influence and the fact we have just omved from being 'under the rule of the EU' (which we never were) to being 'under the rule of Russia' which we totally are....

Tin pot democracy again.