love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

sadly, all the grass snakes have been killed by ingesting small metal canisters,

at least they died laughing

Nature is buzzing

I don't understand people that go to the trouble to bag up their dog's turds and then leave it on the ground or throw them into some bushes or even throwing them up trees and leaving them hanging off the branches. They do it a park I frequent where there are seven litter bins dotted around for their convenience.

From debates on decriminalisation in a parallel Corbyn era to a twitter morning storm about laughing gas is just so where the left are at.

it's the desperation of political homelessness driving them loopy!

I got a local bin actually removed because of how much litter it was actually causing (council cuts meant the bags from it were left next to it for a couple of days after being emptied and getting torn into by foxes spilling shit everywhere). Bourgeois? Moi?!

As I said depends on the borough, a friend of mine lives on a road which has the border between Camden and Islington going right down the middle and it's true that the Camden side of the road is a lot cleaner than the Islington side.

I find it hard to be rational and calm about the current state of the Labour party and the kind of despicable wankers are the mainstream of the PLP now, it's a burning hatred I feel for them. It actually goes as far as I would celebrate if a load of them died of the Rona or went down in burning 737.

Love to listen to opinions on racism from members of the *checks notes* Henry Jackson Society?!

If you remember that killing, do you remember the stories about "suspicious behaviour" at the time? That Menezes' tool belt looked like a suicide bomb? He wasn't wearing one. That he jumped the barriers, running into the station? He went through them normally using his pass.

— James B (@piercepenniless) July 22, 2020

I genuinely didn't know this about the barriers!

pigs putting out misinformation, like who the fuck would wear a tool belt on the tube?

well at least Starmzy had their backs.

i remember the report and i wasn't aware that he'd gone thru the barriers normally but i need to read that somewehre that isn't some dude on Twitter

Given that the investigation concluded that there were too many instances of sheer incompetence, mistakes, bad planning, miscommunication, etc, for anyone to be held criminally liable, it's scandalous that Cressida Dick came out of the whole thing essentially unscathed.

ok a quick read thru the reports is even more horrific than what James B tweeted

He definitely used his Oyster card - that's part of the official report.

just read the timeline and it's unbelievable that nobody was seriously held to account

(this is nothing like the above so ..)

One time, I was coming out of WHSmiths at Reading Station, into the main concourse (not railside). Two inspector/security guys nearby.

One comes up to me and says "Can I see your ticket please?" I say no, I've just come out of the newsagents. He says "I saw you go through the barrier without putting your ticket it, and so did my colleague. Can you stand over here please?" at which point his colleage goes "NOT HIM!"

So, you know, observation is a wonderful thing.

As a mate used to say to comic effect: "I'll be a witness, what happened?"

just read the timeline and it's unbelievable that nobody was seriously held to account

Yep. I think the decision not to take criminal action against any of the officers was correct, legally - there was a chain reaction of catastrophic errors that compounded each other without any single one being grounds for a manslaughter conviction - but there should have been far more severe professional consequences for the senior commanders.

Apparently in PMQs Johnson claimed Britain "leads the world" in tackling Russia.

"This is about pressure from Islingtonian Remainers who have seized on this report to suggest Russia was responsible for Brexit."

My statement today - https://t.co/B2X0Kzf3gM

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 22, 2020

lol at Boris Johnson of Highbury Fields taking jabs at Islingtonians.

Worse, Boris formerly of Colebrooke Row.

leads the world in tackling russia the same way we lead the world in tracking apps?

i think he might have an errant 'asc' in his query

Lol this guy’s a fucking moron

Keir Starmer’s spokesman says Nicola Sturgeon should make a public statement condeming Alex Salmond for hosting a show on Russia Today.

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) July 22, 2020

is that worse than participating in a show on LBC, lol worra clown

lol we're all gonna die of embarrassment

It's bizarre and pathetic.

Imagine having a report which, if nothing else, outlines that wealthy business people are buying influence with government and this is what you, as a 'centre left' leader do with it.

warped priorities is a recurring theme with Starmer, it's almost like he overthinks every position to take - just to make it that bit more wrong. But I do think Hitler should have been condemned for his penchant for baked beans.

starmerism is starting to take shape and it’s drugs bad russia bad minorities shut up

even with intermittently sympathetic media coverage i don’t see how this is going to work. blairism took a while to get this negative & defensive

I mean RT is a blatant propaganda broadcaster full of useful idiot cranks and liars, in what way is it different from the bbc other than its funding model?

how dare you compare auntie to the enemy

James Schneider goes in

The below is my experience of self-styled whistleblower Sam Matthews' commitment to and competence in dealing with cases of antisemitism in the Labour Party.

Some journalists writing Labour antisemitism stories were aware of this but didn't include it in their reporting.

— James Schneider (@schneiderhome) July 22, 2020

I was surprised that Matthews had suspended a Jewish peace activist, who barely appeared in the report.

when you are dealing with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party don't go easy on Jewish anti-Semites

... and don't be beastly to the holocaust denier! fucking unbelievable

But I do think Hitler should have been condemned for his penchant for baked beans.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6686535/Cold-Tesco-baked-beans-sitting-floor-singing-IRA-songs.html

well there we the definitive proof that Jezza was a nazi!

Hitler was notorious for singing IRA songs too, after a few steins.

tbf some of the IRA were probably singing Adolf Hitler songs back in the day!

Extracts from Dangerous Hero: Corbyn’s Ruthless Plot For Power, by Tom Bower

is the thing here that Corbyn is seen as a sort of class traitor or something, from both angles? an embarrassment to middle class aspiration and respectability but too posh to be a proper working class hero

tbh that describes a lot of professional revolutionaries, maybe they were right to be scared

A certain crank centrist is claiming John Ware is suing Corbyn for libel, though idk over what exactly.

Hate to say it lads but it's starting to look like Starmzfront Labour might not be very good

Earlier this year, John Ware joined a consortium specifically designed to keep Stephen Pollard in his post. Pollard's star columnist Melanie Phillips helped inspire the worldview of Anders Breivik, who cited her extensively in his manifesto. https://t.co/d76aayyPYe https://t.co/tXEbNDqPdI pic.twitter.com/mI4GUZi30s

— Daniel Finn (@DanFinn95) July 22, 2020

did HIGNFY turn parliamentary politics into an establishment roast or was it already like that

Oof. PM takes aim at Starmer for having more ‘flip flops than Bournemouth beach.

But Starmer prepared this time and comes back with a zinger. “This is the former columnist who wrote two versions of every article he every published” #PMQs

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 22, 2020

By my count Keir was at least 20 zingers ahead.

— Simon Hedges (@Orwell_Fan) July 22, 2020

the hedges reply to that made me chuckle

when does he become so good at this that it becomes part of the problem all over again, but like once removed

the nuclear option that will annihilate Starmer's career will be when Boris just simply retorts "Shut up Roy!".

Oof

prepared this time