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In the UK there is a systemic bias towards the Tories in the Media, Establishment and possibly general public. This is the framework all Labour leaders and politicians need to work in... this bias needs to be overcome and/or circumvented if any sort of success can be achieved. How successful a Leader is depends implicitly on how they deal with this Blair as a PM did many good things but he was ulimately a failure being rightly defined as the man responsible for a disastrous war and the many crimes associated with it As a Labour leader he was wildly successful wining 3 elections. Only him and Wilson have ever done that. Before the hubris and corruption got him he was a brilliant politician. The point to all of this is elections are won and lost by the leaders and their teams. Corbyn did a lot of good things.. I voted for him twice but he will be remembered as the man who guided Labour to their worst result in 80 odd years. This is unfair and paints only half the picture but the end result is that we are now saddled with the most venal and incompetent Government of my lifetime. They have an 80 seat majority and 5 years with which to completely fuck this country in whatever way they see fit. This is a fucking catastrophe for all of us Starmer, I think, knows what he is doing. I think he can win. He's not going to be perfect and will make mistakes but I'm feeling vaguely optimistic about things for the first time in a long time

My sisters went to the same school as her. Unfortunately our paths never crossed as this was in the early 80s and it was called Notre Dame High School then and at that point she hadn’t been born.

I was listening to James O’Brien on LBC yesterday, I know he’s a sanctimonious twat but I do enjoy his disdain for the current rabble running the country. Anyway one of his callers said that he and his partner have been following events since the Coronavirus outbreak and were both in complete agreement that the Tories could not have done a worse job if they tried. They both agree that Johnson is unfit for office and that Brexit will be disastrous for the country. This guy’s partner is now retired after selling his successful business and obviously made good money from it. However the caller said that despite believing that the Tories are a shambles, his partner would still vote for them again if there was an election tomorrow as he believes Labour would come after his money. The very essence of a Tory voter that.

Cheers CT. Now I get it.

Nunavut A little less crowded that Hong King

Treated myself. Cooked a hash brown for the first time. Couldn’t be arsed cooking beans, not sure why.

Hong Kong

Might’ve shared this before. Took it on the second part of my honeymoon the day before Christmas Eve 2009. Sorting our a bunch of old photos decided to re-edit some as I’ve lost the old LR catalogue and edits.

Mance fuckin’ Rayder over here.

I thought this was an interesting read from some journalists who you wouldn’t describe as Labour or Corbyn friendly. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/killing-jeremy-corbyn The killing of Jeremy Corbyn Peter Oborne and David Hearst 5 June 2020 08:58 UTC | Last update: 4 sec ago The former Labour leader was the victim of a carefully planned and brutally executed political assassination Throughout his parliamentary career, the mild mannered, infuriatingly calm Jeremy Corbyn has never failed to excite strong emotions. For his enemies, he will go down as one of Labour’s worst leaders. He failed to unite his party. He sent too many contradictory messages on Brexit, which was the greatest issue of his time. He never dealt with Labour’s antisemitism problem. And he ultimately went down to a catastrophic defeat in the 2019 general election. For an equally vociferous and ardent army of his supporters, Corbyn tripled party membership, banished austerity, shifted the mainstream political discourse leftwards, and presented a genuinely radical alternative to the quagmire of post-industrial capitalism. Truthful journalism We don’t hold a candle for Corbyn. Neither of us are Labour Party members, and indeed one of us has worked as a political correspondent and commentator for The Spectator, The Daily Telegraphand The Daily Mail, three stalwarts of Tory opinion-making. Both of us care greatly about accurate, truthful journalism. Both of us, as British citizens, cherish the tradition of fair play and decency. That is why we believe everyone should be concerned about the picture painted of Corbyn by the British media for the four years he was leader. Corbyn was never the monstrous figure presented to the British people. He was never a Marxist. He was not hell-bent on the destruction of Western capitalism. He was a socialist. Nor was he an antisemite, and there is no serious evidence which suggests that he was, though we certainly do not absolve him of poor judgement, for instance in joining various internet forums in his years on the backbenches. And he was not a divisive figure - the claim made against him by so many of his right-wing opponents. Political assassination Indeed, one of Corbyn’s problems was that he was too soft with his internal enemies as he tried to unite the Labour Party after his shock leadership victory in 2015. He was a flawed politician who made mistakes. But he also possessed personal decency and authenticity, which has scarcely been acknowledged amidst the thousands of hatchet jobs conducted against him in the press and wider media. That is why we thought it was important to conduct the first major interview with Corbyn since he stepped down as Labour leader on 3 April this year. We wanted to give him a chance, which was largely denied him as Labour leader, to tell his side of the story. We also wanted to expose one sombre truth; Corbyn was the victim of a carefully planned and brutally executed political assassination. He was never given a chance. Not by the bulk of Labour’s parliamentary party and many officials, some of whom (we are now learning) campaigned harder against their elected leader than they did against the Tory government. Not by senior figures connected to the British state, including former spy chiefs, military officers and civil servants, all of whom should have known much better. Take the claim that Corbyn’s director of strategy Seumas Milne would not get security clearance at 10 Downing Street because he "hobnobbed" with Putin. The former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, told the Mail on Sunday: "Anyone with his sort of background could not be let anywhere near classified information. It would be out of the question," Dearlove said. "That means Corbyn could not make the judgments and decisions a PM has to make unless he stopped consulting him." Dearlove’s successor at MI6 and former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Sir John Scarlett "hobnobbed" with Putin and took his hospitality at the Valdai Club the year before Milne went. One of us had a drink in a bar in Moscow with a supremely relaxed Scarlett who evidently enjoyed his time talking to Putin and his mates. Falsehoods and misrepresentations Lie after lie was told about Corbyn, day after day, month after month. For the last four years very few journalists have bothered to do their job to fact-check the claims and report fairly on him. Jeremy Corbyn: British media waged campaign to destroy me Read More » In our review of Tom Bower’s book "A Dangerous Hero", we investigated and exposed a farrago of falsehoods and misrepresentations in what was presented as a major biography of the Labour leader published by Harper Collins, one of Britain’s most significant publishers. We showed how Bower misrepresented a meeting of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). Bower accused the PRC of being a group that blamed Jews for the Holocaust. Nobody affiliated with the PRC has ever expressed such views, as was accepted by an inquiry led by the Commissioner of Standards. Harper Collins and Bower agreed not to repeat the allegation. The Mail on Sunday, which lavishly serialised Bower’s book, withdrew the allegation and apologised. The point to note here is that when such claims face the prospect of being examined properly in a court of law by judges who are led by facts and evidence and who conduct their inquiry with due process, they tend to fall apart. Sir Keir Starmer, a barrister by training, please note: due process matters. It has been absent for the last four years in the party you now head. We showed how Bower misrepresented Corbyn’s dealings with the National Health Service (NHS). He reports that the junior doctor strikes organised by the British Medical Association (BMA) in 2016 were “under the control of Momentum”. Both the BMA and Momentum denied this. The BMA said "there is no evidence to suggest this was the case.” Bower certainly didn’t provide any. We showed how Bower misrepresented a confrontation between Labour activist Marc Wadsworthand Labour MP Ruth Smeeth at the launch for Shami Chakrabarti’s report on antisemitism in June 2016. This was another incident seized upon by the media to attack Corbyn. Bower writes that “Wadsworth snapped at her that not only was she ‘working hand-in-hand’ with the right-wing media by speaking to the journalist, but she was also a Jew”. The brief incident is recorded on video. Nowhere in the footage does Wadsworth say that Smeeth is Jewish. MEE spoke to two eyewitnesses to this event, both of whom confirmed that at no point did Wadsworth say that Smeeth was Jewish. Against all types of racism As the election loomed, much of the press presented Boris Johnson, Corbyn’s Tory opponent, as a national figure and a saviour of the nation. This – as the nation is learning the hard way – was as grievous a lie as anything told about Corbyn. By one of life’s strange ironies, Johnson, unlike Corbyn himself, has indeed been guilty of producing offensive antisemitic stereotypes. A group of Jewish academics and campaigners pointed out that one of Johnson’s novels invoked one of the most pernicious antisemitic stereotypes when he describes "Jewish oligarchs" who, in the words of the academics, "run the media, and fiddle the figures to fix elections in their favour". As Corbyn told us, and we believe he is being sincere in this, antisemitism is an evil which has been tolerated and accepted for far too long in British society. It is, however, not the only form of racism tolerated in political circles. The fight against this scourge should not be party political, nor should the fight against racism be confined to racism against Jews. Racism against any religious minority is unacceptable in our society and for that reason Islamophobia should just as ardently be hunted down and identified - wherever it appears. The two campaigns should go hand in hand. They should be in lockstep. But they aren’t. Lynch mob justice By another irony, once he had won the election, Johnson adopted a number of Corbyn’s policies which he had previously denounced as unworkable. How top Labour officials plotted to bring down Jeremy Corbyn Read More » Since becoming prime minister, Johnson has abandoned planned cuts in corporation tax, announced plans to nationalise Northern Railand announced £100bn funding for infrastructure projects. The heritage of the British press means what appears in its columns carry a weight far greater than remarks made casually in a pub or a workplace. It’s very hard to see how any decent person reading much of the newspapers or absorbing the broadcasting coverage of the last few years could have possibly voted for Jeremy Corbyn. Indeed, Corbyn said as much in his interview with MEE, noting the coverage was so hostile that even he would “not want to live on the same street” as the man he read about in some British newspapers. The media abandoned any form of the objectivity or fact-checking they apply to almost everyone else. Accusers became judge, jury and executioner. There was no due process, no independent inquiry after the facts, no suspension of judgement until the facts were uncovered. Within seconds, the accusation became the new reality. This was lynch mob justice. The mob have got their way. Corbyn is back to where he was at the start of this bizarre journey, an MP well respected locally in North Islington and on the back benches. His allies have been purged from the front benches. But this episode should concern all of us who believe in means as well as ends. The simple question that any MP of whatever political shade should ask themselves is what they would do, how they would feel, if the same tactics were used against them. They would scream foul. They would be right. This kind of mob politics threatens democracy itself because without truthful and honest public discourse, dark forces make their presence felt.

The Labour heartlands, and Scotland, being lost has been a process over several decades. It's unfair for it to be on Corbyn. Or infact Brown or Miliband. Blair took the support and good will of these areas and then spent the next decade shitting all over it which ensured future Labour leaders would have an immeasurably more difficult task than he did. He was the Mourinho. A fucking cunt that left a trail of destruction and an enormous rebuild job being required once he fucked off. The small sample size, and radically varying circumstances of every election, makes comparisons almost meaningless. This guy winner, this guy loser, etc. Starmer won't have necessarily done a bad job if he doesn't win the next election. Maybe the window lickers in the public will cherish their blue passports, maybe Scotland will clear off, maybe Boris will have a war over Gibraltar. Maybe it will be another election seemingly impossible to win.

Worrying start to the transfer season so far. We seem to be completely giving up on an approach if another team is interested. Say what you want about Arsenal, but at least they understand that they’ve got to fight for their right to Partey.

Had to have literally about 20 goes at a massive bluebottle the other week with my Executioner fly swat. Harrowing. Was flying at top speed in manic circles in the end, making noises like Stephen Hawking being crushed by a car. Your missus might be able to hide how impressed she is by your tea towel skills John, but I can’t. Felt like a member of a fucking death squad armed with a butter knife.

I managed to swat one to death with a mere flick of a tea-towel last week. Bragged about it to my bird and somehow she managed to hide how impressed she was. I’m not sure which one of us is cooler.

A mate of mine had this awesome karate kid chopsticks toy. I think most of the karate kid toys were ace.

I reckon the club knew all along about the Afcon push back so dropping Werner is looking a masterstroke.

I've had a furloughed Easy Jet pilot round to do some decorating. He's done a great job of the landing.

A fly that won't leave your house. I've opened windows and patio doors for the cunt, won't leave. Chased it around the living room and tried to intimidate the cunt, won't leave. Then it'll disappear to pull me into a false sense of security and then torment me later.

Don’t be daft, I can’t catch it twice.

I think it’s in France but this is probably still the appropriate thread given I think it’s linked to the George Floyd protests.

Q. Why did the pirate become infected? A. Because of the Rrrrrrrrr number. A. Because he and his crew weren't wearing face masks.

Basically yes. The more this goes on the more convinced I am they are in trouble, as I reported months ago. They overstretched themselves 2 years ago, breaking the transfer record twice and also paying £50m + for Fabinho and Keita. The fees will be a lot higher when you factor in the agents fees involved too. Their wage bill is unsustainable and relies upon fairly soft income from revenue and sponsorship holding up, which it won't. Klopp papers over the cracks currently. All the time they have him they will be fine. Once he goes though it will be difficult for them. One thing I will say about that lot, is they can't really cope with going backwards. They very nearly bankrupted their own club the last time they had 18 months where the tap was turned off by H & G. We are looking at a much longer reduction in spending now. Good luck selling that to the entitled bellends who've jumped on the bandwagon late and just expect massive marquee signings every season and think they're Real Madrid. They will leave them and go back to supporting United or Chelsea or whoever. The desperation is tangible. Pure projection of what he really, really wants to happen, but knows won't and is desperately putting it out there so other deluded beauts will agree with him, which then makes him feel better and makes his ramblings seem more real to him. It's quite sad to read really.

Matthew Parris in The Times

If it turns out this German bloke has killed her it will give them closure and I for one owe the parents an apology (although they were still unbelievably neglectful leaving her and the other kids in the apartment). If they rule him out, whole new can of worms!

“We’re going to need a bigger wall.”

Cheers for the thoughts, not gonna quote everyone. A good amount of time has passed now and we're lucky enough to know that we both can have children. I spent five years with a young woman who never could now, that would be hard to accept for her, I'll her over this It fucking sucks, biggest kick in the balls I've ever had, going into a 12 week scan, bouncing expecting to see our child. Lockdown hit not too long after and I finally got to the wee grave a few weeks ago. I think that helped her some what but realistically the pain will pass when we hold our future child. Worrying, I'm looking around me again, thinking it'd be a curse and not a blessing to bring a child into this shit show. A selfish act even. Once things blow over and I get to see my family and friends again, I'll be in a better place. Have a job interview coming up too that'll get me away from dealing with the public, bloody cunts everywhere.

I got stung by a bee last week, right on my forehead. Fucking things are supposed to die after that but the next day it stung my mrs on her head, so alls well that ends well.

Fuck me it'll be easier to raise the Titanic than to get him back up

Theres a load of crap spoken about concerns and safety of genetically modified food I've just done a lovely leg of salmon for our dinner

Some bellend called Jamie has just rang 606. Scouse accent, so obviously a Blue, but wouldn’t identify his team. Tried to diminish any title we win because of a two month break and the new substitute rule. They just laughed at him like he was a gobshite. Which, of course, he was.

This is the kind of in-depth, laser guided, hard hitting, 'wow factor' type post that keeps me coming back to TLW year after year. I feel as if I actually know Jodie now. Bravo.

Elite pictured next week...

Like signing a new player.

I think what I am getting at is the reaction worldwide is fueled by the realities of inequality the virus has laid bare - most of those about the government (pick one) reaction to it and the consequences of how those are being translated to the common man. So to continue a government strategy (that lets face it, was not even practiced by them) seems to be a little pointless. That seems to be a common theme through the world right now. The only thing moreso is the idea that putting a sign up in your window has ever changed anything - that is why you are seeing a global visceral reaction imo. It is a unique time in history and if we are all lucky the virus will be remembered as a catalyst to the societal changes that followed - affecting far more lives than the virus has. If we are unlucky, you will see a local spike in the areas of "protests" and you will be back to work on Monday.

The people in power will no doubt be hoping it does, because of the implications if it doesn't.

What's it like compared to Hong Kong ? Nunavut that is, not Hong King.

I think we can safely remove Southern from the thread title at this point.

Bit of an unfortunate organisational name for me Clive

Don’t. Buy. A. Ferret. You’ve been warned.

"THE MAN tried to tell us we couldn't put pensioners through concrete. Fucking lefties."

The thing is, I have come to the realisation that I’m a painfully insufferable, pretentious bellend who tries to bring my cod philosophy and pseudo intellectual musings to the widest possible Everton audience. In a moment of clarity, I have realised that this has cost me the only girlfriend I have ever had, who has stopped writing to me from Thailand. We never even got to meet. It has cost me my family, who have told me never to visit or communicate with them in any way ever again. And it has cost me my dog, which took itself to the nearby animal rescue centre and silently begged to be taken in by them. As such, I want any Liverpool fan who sees this to spread it as wide as possible. I am a painfully insufferable pretentious bellend. This is my confession. Now that he’s found some introspection I think we should leave him be.

Still proud of the fact I got a warning off Facebook years ago for starting a Million Dollar Man fan page. He'd lodged a complaint with them and wanted it for himself, so they transferred the entire account to him with all the accrued (thousands) of followers and fans. If it was anyone else I'd have felt affronted, but it's the Million Dollar Man, that's how he rolls. I do like to think that in some way, I helped make him some money.

I have only ever seen one of these twice. The first time was in a food place on Castle St. The idea is the person wanting to dispose of their shite would move their hand over a senor and the handleless bin lid would automatically open and then close. Nobody had a fucking clue it was automatic and relentless manual opening and closing fucked it up. The second time was when my dad bought the exact same one about three years ago because he liked the look of it. To this day, he has no idea it is battery operated and I can't be arsed to tell him.

This is Aldous Harding. She's mad as a box of frogs but clearly a talent