Just been pointed out there are 27699 replies to this thread. Only TIOON7 could make it to 27700 
Off Topic Politics Thread
- Thread starter ChilcoSaint
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I vote you stay
Me and you have had more than a few quarrels, and I look forward to a few more.
He should have posted that in blue. Best draw the line and move on. Please don't consider leaving, no vote in that direction from me.
Blimey. If you Guys couldn’t see that was tongue in cheek, I’ve lost my touch.
I’m a cyclist and always banging on about cycling.... it was said completely in jest.
I rest Billy’s case.
Edit: perhaps there is a spell that the moment people enter this thread, something dark
Happens
There is something dark. It’s called the response to Covid 19. I don’t know about others but I’m as tetchy as a sore-headed bear with a degree in tetchiness from Oxford. This combined with the fundamental flaw of any forum like this that leaves no space for nuance makes for a heady mix
My response to your post, FLT, is a case in point. It was not really aimed at your post, but the article which wanted to imply Starmer had done something wrong and was being protected by his status. I should have made that clear
I hate the use of email and SMS to do anything other than send simple instructions or confirmation of understanding. If I want to arrange to meet a friend, for example, I’ll phone. More significantly I wouldn’t get into a family dispute by text but am aware many do.
I’ve obviously got the wrong messages about this posting malarkey. I thought it was meant to be fun, and anyone had the right to be a complete arsehole. Obviously mis-read it.
Over and out
Speaking of which, @----HistoryRepeating---- we all miss you as well. The footy is back now so get your arse back here
Just had look his last post was August 2nd.....hopefully as you say he is back soon.
Archers, St.J. Thanks for your support, although as you say we don't always see directly eye to eye. I was a bit shocked yesterday to be accused of bullying Billy. In my opinion he was flying under a false flag by saying that he knew nothing of politics and then coming out with some weapons grade Wummery, in particular the " I love Pfeffel " post.
Now I get the argument that it was tongue in cheek, but then again so was my comment about right wing people being uninformed. I don't mind anyone expressing a genuinely held political opinion but when it is expressed as a method of winding people up that is, in my opinion, asking for the kind of response that I gave. We see widespread allegations of snowflakery but it just seems odd that when those people get it back they don't like it.
Finally if anything I wrote upset anyone then I apologise. I won't do a Pfeffel and qualify it by saying that it's your fault for being upset.
Now I get the argument that it was tongue in cheek, but then again so was my comment about right wing people being uninformed. I don't mind anyone expressing a genuinely held political opinion but when it is expressed as a method of winding people up that is, in my opinion, asking for the kind of response that I gave. We see widespread allegations of snowflakery but it just seems odd that when those people get it back they don't like it.
Finally if anything I wrote upset anyone then I apologise. I won't do a Pfeffel and qualify it by saying that it's your fault for being upset.
For what it’s worth, I chose to stop interacting with Billy, about four weeks ago, when he made a comment likening posters to being like “rats following the Pied Piper”. He followed that with a false accusation that I was being argumentative, simply because I asked if the comment was “dangling the bait”, meaning “was he looking for someone to bite”.
I was so pissed off that I stopped posting for a week or so.
I also considered putting him on ignore, but chose not to because I felt that the day was coming when he would get involved in a big disagreement, as he did this weekend.
I wish I could pick lottery numbers with the same amount of certainty, as I had about things kicking off.
I don’t think you bullied him, so don’t leave because of this.
Equally, if Billy wants to continue posting, that’s not an issue either.
I wasn't even considering leaving because I enjoy the interaction with informed and informative posters. Cards on the table when I offered to leave if the majority wanted me to I wasn't gambling the house on that outcome. If the majority had wanted me to leave I would not have wanted to stay anyway as that would have demonstrated their small mindedness.
It seems to me that anyone who cares about others, wants to see a better and more understanding society which has room for everyone, is labelled as some kind of left wing radical. Surely basic decency and wanting the best for everyone should be the default position for all of us. These days anyone who falls on hard times, becomes infirm or struggles to manage is pretty much discarded by our current government, and that is wrong. I feel encouraged that so many folk on this forum do care about others and feel able to speak out against the nastiness that is sweeping through politics. It might not do any good by way of changing things in the country but it's nice to know the company we keep is made up of decent people.
Frayed tempers are likely in any discussion about politics but that is no reason to ban the politics thread. That is the same crap this government try to do and it needs to be resisted. I haven't posted all that much on this thread recently because politics in general has become quite nasty and I'm sure people didn't need me pitching in with gripes and moans on top of everything else that was happening. I took a leaf out of Jeremy Corby's book and spent a lot of time at my allotment digging up weeds and planting fruit trees and bushes. I can thoroughly recommend it.
Frayed tempers are likely in any discussion about politics but that is no reason to ban the politics thread. That is the same crap this government try to do and it needs to be resisted. I haven't posted all that much on this thread recently because politics in general has become quite nasty and I'm sure people didn't need me pitching in with gripes and moans on top of everything else that was happening. I took a leaf out of Jeremy Corby's book and spent a lot of time at my allotment digging up weeds and planting fruit trees and bushes. I can thoroughly recommend it.
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FWIW I never agreed with Billy's argument on this thread but I do think that he has been a bit misunderstood too and probably felt a bit "ganged up" on and his pride kicked in.
It's probably a generational thing (he's a bit younger I think) and I have got to know his brash style of humour from his contributions on Saints and a lot of it is just banter and it would be a shame to lose him because he has genuinely made me laugh on occasions.
I hope that he doesn't leave the forum altogether as he has lots to offer to it.
It's probably a generational thing (he's a bit younger I think) and I have got to know his brash style of humour from his contributions on Saints and a lot of it is just banter and it would be a shame to lose him because he has genuinely made me laugh on occasions.
I hope that he doesn't leave the forum altogether as he has lots to offer to it.
It's come to this. Don't those responsible, all those tory MPs that voted down the extension to the program, feel any shame or remorse? Where's the campaign to stop HoP subsides?
I tried to engage intellectually and calmly with Billy - a WUM would give up, anyone else would agree or disagree.
I am not saying Billy is or was a WUM.
If we could all adopt a stricter etiquette in this thread and use blue ink or tags like <jk> or <sarcasm> it will avoid confusion. It is very hard to know if someone is being serious or not on internet forums.
As others have said this thread appears to be left leaning but I would argue it is more a commentary on the mistakes, buffoonery, or pig-headed ideology of the current government.
And , as with all internet forums it is too easy to respond with what pops into your head without too much thought on how someone else may read it.
IMHO
I am not saying Billy is or was a WUM.
If we could all adopt a stricter etiquette in this thread and use blue ink or tags like <jk> or <sarcasm> it will avoid confusion. It is very hard to know if someone is being serious or not on internet forums.
As others have said this thread appears to be left leaning but I would argue it is more a commentary on the mistakes, buffoonery, or pig-headed ideology of the current government.
And , as with all internet forums it is too easy to respond with what pops into your head without too much thought on how someone else may read it.
IMHO
This was my point, in a reply to Billy. The government, whoever they are, are there to be commented on, criticised, have their mistakes pointed out,, and even made fun of. The same would be true if there was a Labour government. For example, I have had many discussions with Farked in which I have pointed out that I still think Tony Blair should be locked up for conducting an illegal war, and I will never cease to hold that opinion. When Labour were in power I regularly wanted to rage at the likes of Mandelson but this forum wasn’t around then.
It isn’t so much that the forum is necessarily left-leaning, just that many people have had enough of the last 10 years of Tory government. Just as I would if I or anyone else was criticising a Labour government, I would expect anyone defending the current government to be given a fair hearing, and not be subjected to abuse.
Here in The Netherlands lots of gardeners are planting the weed.
This was meant to be a reply to Kaito's thread.
This was meant to be a reply to Kaito's thread.
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Whatever your feelings about him and his errors of judgement regarding Iráq, in other aspects Blair was a brilliant PM and politician. There have very few if any in his class, save perhaps Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher since the beginning of the 20th Century. I should perhaps add A.Bevan.
It’s a bit like saying that apart from causing the deaths of 60 million people, Hitler was a brilliant politician. The countless lives lost in the Iraq War, which led to the rise of ISIS, the plight of Kurdish refugees, and civil war in Syria, are all a direct consequence of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was based on the deliberate falsification of intelligence. How anyone can just shrug their shoulders like you are doing beggars belief.
Blair made a mistake getting involved but I would argue that false information was supplied by the security services on WMD, quite possibly deliberately. Imagine what would have happened had he not have acted and a chemical weapon had been used in, say, London. Had he refused to cooperate with the US then all the Tory media would have piled in and we would have had a government after the 2005 election led by IDS or some such semi fascist nonentity .
But he did get involved and became a willing partner in the slaughter of millions of people, and it has never stopped since. Because of Blair and his obsession with sucking up to Bush, people turned away from Labour. If he had concentrated on the better things Labour were doing, rather than being the great international warmonger he became, this country would look very different than it does today. I liked Blair at first but came to despise him over what happened with Iraq. Most people knew the WMD thing was utter bollocks but Blair didn't care. Like a lot of politicians, he was above all that.
We do now have a government let by a fat, useless, bumbling pseudo fascist nonentity, surrounded by some very real fascists and toffs who are hell bent on reinstating the feudal system of society where only the rich prosper and the poor are destined to become ever poorer. Blair could have changed that narrative forever but chose not to. Jeremy Corbyn would have changed this country so much for the better but the fascists and the rich buried that dream by lying and conning their way into government.
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