Westministenders: Don't forget to stockpile. Again.

[RedToothBrush]

The government is telling pharmacists and drug manufactures to stockpile drugs ahead of the end of transition on 31st December.

In the middle of a pandemic.

What could go wrong?

BCF, if, as I think, you're suggesting that the Scottish Hate Crime and Public Order bill is a good thing because you're now opposed to GC feminism, then all I can say is that you are in danger of swinging to an extreme in the face of an extreme.

There is a big backlash against that bill from a number of quarters. Someone's already mentioned the police: a number of celebrities are involved, as are a media organisation, and the Law Society of Scotland www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/law-society-news/lack-of-clarity-in-hate-crime-bill-could-threaten-freedom-of-expression/

I don't know whether you'd consider the growing attacks on freedom of speech as extreme right or extreme left: extremes resemble each other. We have to re-find the centre ground.

With the lawmakers and police on it, they'll probably sort it out. Hopefully.

And I am very pleased to hear Sostenueto's DGD got through. It's a mess.

Late to the party, but we were glad of our (diminished) Brexit stash when we had to isolate for a fortnight at the start of lockdown. Thanks for the timely reminder, Red.

No, Pepperwort I now don't support GC; doesn't mean I support the TRAs
Just that I cba
The GC feminists lost me when they flirted with the far right

Since the fall of the USSR and Russia turning 180 degrees from communist kleptocracy to fascist kleptocracy,
the most imminent danger - because of the resources behind them - has moved from the far left to the far right

The far left have little power and little chance of being elected anywhere
the far right have the most powerful man in the world are trying hard to subvert most other Western democracies
The right, not the left are the ones shooting churches, synagogues, mosques and politicians

The SNP are a complete irrelevance in that, just a broad church nationalist movement which would disappear the day after Scottish Independence, because its supporters have little else in common

I suffered continual racist abuse growing up and then after the race relations laws were passed to stop this,
some white people kept whingeing that they'd lost their freedom of speech to yell "go home, you dirty wog" at me
A few are still whingeing

There have been quite a few people I know that have deferred to next year to start uni. Some because they did not get into Oxbridge and think with grades in hand they can try again (not realizing international students
will be back in force and 2021 cohort who will probably sit exams will be in competition with them so their grades will be deemed more worthy) which I cannot see point to as there won't be much travel in gap year because of Covid.
Dgd had 2 subjects downgraded and 2 of her friends by 2 grades which put them out of reach of RG unis. Those in cohort lower down could not get a decent uni at all with those predicted C's getting D's or even U! The school is bereft as being over cautious in effort to not overestimate thus hoping that cohort got predicted was in fact penalised.

If, and I do realise it's a big "If", they can get work experience over the next year, then I too would delay university for 12 months.
To pay tuition fees for a reduced course, more online than lectures, seminars would not appeal to me at all.
And popping out the other end with 12 months work experience under your belt may well be time well spent.
I agree, the gap year is a no go at present.

minars

With the probability of tit-for-tat quarantine measures for UK citizens entering France and tensions over migrants, relations between WM and Paris are not looking good.
DGR, I know you'll particularly appreciate the comment about UK negotiating tactics:

The Calais mayor on Thursday said the problem was of Britain’s own making.
“If the migrants want to cross [the Channel], it is because the British themselves put out the call. They have done so by failing to touch their legislation for 20 years,” she said.
“Therefore I appeal to Boris Johnson, saying you urgently need to calm down, and urgently need to change your methods of … dealing with migrants.”
Bouchart also had a message for Darmanin: “Do not give in, because the British don’t know how to negotiate. It’s only by standing firm that you achieve something.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/14/calais-mayor-says-it-would-be-an-act-of-war-for-royal-navy-ships-to-enter-french-waters

The SNP are a complete irrelevance in that, just a broad church nationalist movement which would disappear the day after Scottish Independence, because its supporters have little else in common

I wonder if this has been part of why they've been (generally, education is a bloody disaster) perceived as competent and pragmatic. Have they been forced by circumstance to actually do decent governance? Have the factions managed to agree to disagree in order to achieve a common goal? Why have they been able to do this and Labour has not?

Dumping 5k COVID related deaths didn't make a dent in our record as worst in EU, so new a tactic is required to aid in the re-writing of history www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/14/government-quietly-drops-13m-covid-tests-from-england-tally

That's one of the things that I have to keep on reminding people : when/if Scotland becomes independent and elections are held, people can then vote for who the fuck they like So many of the SNP haters seem surprised by this

I fully expect the SNP to break up, to a certain extent at least, post independence. Not totally, because they do have policies and ideas that are beyond just independence not that the opposition parties acknowledge this

I may even go back to voting for a rejuvenated and more relevant Scottish version of the Labour Party

It should be remembered that the SNP have now been in government since 2007 - winning a majority in the 2011 election in a voting system designed not to return an overall majority - and that there is in fact a majority within the Scottish Parliament that support independence (as the Scottish Greens are also pro-Indy). They have also made significant gains in council elections, which they see as important as proving that they are capable and competent at a local level.

I think the SNP is suffering from a lack of decent opposition . Legislation should be properly scrutinised. This is exacerbated by the fact that it is a unicameral Parliament, designed not to have majorities and the oversight committees reflect the composition of the parliament

Unicameral? Single chamber? I've not heard that word before.
DS1 was asking me recently why do some parties stop existing, what happened to the Liberal party and we were debating what would happen to the SNP if it ever achieved its goal. As you say, they just don't have any opposition currently.

Many many congratulations to your dgd SoS was so pleased to read she got what she wanted🥳

Priti Patel is the one who needs to calm down, not Boris.
It would help if she could stop acting unilaterally and illegally !

I can understand all that BCF, given the amount of sexist abuse I got growing up, the dangers it caused me then, and the attitudes I still encounter in Britain now. Attitudes and abuse which are fully legitimate in Britain, indeed seem to be growing, encouraged by extremists.

Nevertheless it seemed that you were dismissing the very real problems with that bill without knowing anything about them.

I think this - “The far left have little power and little chance of being elected” - Is a rather simplistic definition of power in large complex societies.

When it is being used, as it very demonstrably is, to justify growing levels of violence against a class of the population and their removal from economic activities, then the far left ideologies have power all right. Just because it does not yet have official sanction from the state means little. In fact this bill gives the far left that official sanction.

As I said, extremes resemble each other. How long do you think the group you are now investing all your identity in will retain favoured status, in a world dominated by the principle that the most favoured groups can walk all over another?

Yes: unicameral is the adjective that means there is just one legislating chamber.

Just an observation.

A lot of parents with children who were due to do a levels and gsces this year are in the age group who swung from labour in 2017 to Conservative in 2019.

Also we are seeing the weakness of a computer algorithm playing out on individuals.

I just wonder how much it will be remembered.

RTB
My daughter started her degree with the Brexit vote and ended it under COVID.
DD took her A levels in the module way
DS took his linear
they are very VERY aware of how much they have been shat on

and do not even start me on £3000 per term tuition fees and ZERO teaching hours in the summer term
(yes I mean zero)

Historically speaking the greatest war crimes and mass murders we’ve seen have come within societies identifying with what we call the far left. Left / right is a simplistic binary to reduce human experience too anyway.

"It is challenging times ahead with Covid, Brexit, all of that."

Guess who said that?

It's in a BBC article about NI. Johnson is intent on celebrating its centenary in 2021 (which is controversial in itself).

And yes, the quote is from BJ himself. 'Challenging' indeed.

Article here: BBC News - Boris Johnson: NI centenary to be handled 'sensitively'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53757119

Historically speaking the greatest war crimes and mass murders we’ve seen have come within societies identifying with what we call the far left.

Nazis? Don't pretend that because the name was National Socialist they were a far left group.

Hiroshima - Nagasaki - war crimes in many peoples' books, but don't pretend that the Americans were far left. Their idea of Socialism would be 1950s Conservatism to us.

Johnson and handling NI sensitively? Not possible. Don't forget chum that May's deal would not have put a customs barrier between Great Britain and NI. Your's does. That is not what I would call 'sensitive'

Double counted tests - as was predicted on here....