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

The Police Federation in London is calling for the suspension of the right to freedom of assembly, which is protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights https://t.co/t8CKsik7lg

— Netpol (@netpol) September 5, 2020

I haven't worked out my exact line but the optics of a targeted attack on our monstrous press barons can't be that bad, even when they are, lol. "Tell The Truth" is a slightly lame slogan though - the issue is more structural than that (i.e. the favours-for-mates cosy press racket)

Remember when a handful of lorry drivers blocked the exit to a fuel depot and brought the entire country to a standstill, prompting widespread panic buying, and the British press cheered them on?

Ban protests they spread rona
Also get back on the 8am tube you hogs

A tiny number of billionaires own vast swathes of our press.

Their papers relentlessly campaign for right-wing politics, promoting the interests of the ruling class and scapegoating minorities.

A free press is vital to democracy, but too much of our press isn't free at all.

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) September 5, 2020

She never misses. Honestly think she could be the fulcrum of a new left movement within the next couple of years.

I agree, my reservations are for her safety because you know what she will be targeted with by the press.

Absolutely. The attacks on her will arguably even more deranged and frothing than they ever were on Corbyn. At least he got the granny "aww isnt he nice" appeal.

Our free press.

And the outlets that do real investigative work are increasingly subject to state censorship https://t.co/wlbcJhlgTH

— Sita Balani (@sitainshort) September 5, 2020

I agree, my reservations are for her safety because you know what she will be targeted with by the press.

She's representing a West Midlands seat on a majority of 401, Cummings is going to ensure that everything that can be possibly be thrown at her is thrown at her.

Speaking of which I'm assuming the #scummedia mob are pretty quiet on today's events?

Just saw this on BBC from seemingly rival protests in Dover today - confusing optics.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1553B/production/_114255378_pic5.jpg

This is just objectively very funny pic.twitter.com/PQWCEzbZ7S

— 'Client Journalism' Expert (@ClientJournoExp) September 5, 2020

I take the correct position that XR are generally terrible but did a good thing today.

calzino OTM. And may I add, fuck Labour.

(breaking my 'no politics threads they do my fucking head in' guidelines because I just needed to say this somewhere, fuuuuuuuuck this Labour leadership)

(don't stab them though, please)

They're happily doing that to themselves anyway

emil.y otm, and this thread has been awful since December for obvious reasons (but is still the best politics thread imo!)

emil.y otm, and this thread has been awful since December for obvious reasons (but is still the best politics thread imo!)

emil.y otm, and this thread has been awful since December for obvious reasons (but is still the best politics thread imo!)

Hold on lads I think XR have bobbles the thread

"nobbled" ffs fuck you XR

heh! it's actually worse than violence reading spurious bullshhit tweets by soft tory dregs like Starmer and Creasy on the important matter of defending our fabled free press, it's beyond ultra-violence - they need perma-banning!

a lot of XR activists have the levels of class-consciousness where they'd put a sticker that says: "you deserve to die because you are a driver" on some poor af uber driver's car and then jet off for a hol in the Algarve the next day. Probably a very crude sketch there, but some kernel of truth in there I believe!

emil.y otm, and this thread has been awful since December for obvious reasons (but is still the best politics thread imo!)

― scampo italiano (gyac), Saturday, 5 September 2020 bookmarkflaglink

JoeBiden.jpg

Are there any good 'I support radical action against climate change (and its deniers) but XR ain't it' pieces that can be read?

https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/opinion-perspectives/room-for-change-the-problem-with-extinction-rebellion/

this isn't quite that but addresses real problems with XR. tbf it's nearly a year old and i'm sure there's change within groups like this all the time, but i have similar issues with the idea of an apolitical movement

cheers NV

This, by the out of woods collective, is probably it (from the bits I read)

http://libcom.org/blog/extinction-rebellion-not-struggle-we-need-pt-1-19072019

lol

Johnson attempted to turn the tables, suddenly suggesting the Labour leader had somehow been sympathetic to the IRA because he had worked under Jeremy Corbyn. “This is a leader of the opposition who supported an IRA-condoning politician,” said Johnson, to the bemusement of MPs on all sides of the house.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/05/desperate-boris-johnson-to-step-up-personal-attacks-on-keir-starmer

Tfw you can't tell Asian people apart

There’s a reason nobody reads Novara Media. It’s because it’s shit. https://t.co/Ag2d6EfzEG

— Nick Timothy (@NJ_Timothy) September 5, 2020

I keep mistaking that ugly bald twat for Clive Sinclair when he had let himself go a bit

Rory Stewart offering us a bit of comic relief

Why people have sex in graveyards | The Spectator https://t.co/m8Lb0ZYz5w

— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) September 5, 2020

Even the Tugmonster is getting in there

Do you, Rory? Do you?

— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) September 5, 2020

The UK government has been formally warned for threatening press freedom after it blacklisted a group of investigative journalists and denied them access to information.

The Council of Europe issued the Level 2 "media freedom alert" after Ministry of Defence press officers refused to deal with Declassified UK, a website focusing on foreign and defence policy stories.

You have to admit their comic timing was perfect.

Hopefully someone has pointed out that writing for the Spectator is a bit like fucking in a graveyard

https://www.private-eye.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/andrew-neil.jpg

I would urge you to talk to families before tweeting. To this day I haven’t met one parent who hasn’t wanted or felt the responsibility to feed their children... https://t.co/J72VyRazbF

— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) September 6, 2020

NEW: 🚨🚨🚨🇬🇧🇪🇺🚨🚨🚨UK planning legislation to override key parts of #brexit withdrawal treaty and Northern Ireland protocol - a potentially HUGE move in negotiations; major ructions in Whitehall - my latest via @FT
https://t.co/UU3VT2Yeta

— Peter Foster (@pmdfoster) September 6, 2020

The UK is planning new legislation that will override key parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, risking the collapse of trade negotiations with Brussels.

Sections of the internal market bill — due to be published this Wednesday — are expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs, according to three people familiar with the plans.

The move would “clearly and consciously” undermine the agreement on Northern Ireland that Boris Johnson signed last October to avoid a return to a hard border in the region, one person with knowledge of the plans said.

...

“It is a very blunt instrument,” said one of those familiar with the matter. “The bill will explicitly say the government reserves the right to set its own regime, directly setting up UK law in opposition with obligations under the withdrawal agreement, and in full cognisance that this will breach international law.”

BREAKING Boris Johnson statement just out:
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say today (Monday):

“We are now entering the final phase of our negotiations with the EU.

— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) September 6, 2020

The narrative's already in place: when this fails it'll be entirely down to the EU

Yup. We made entirely reasonable demands ofc.

But: not really sure that helps them much? Like what is the GBP supposed to do with all that EU-focused blame when the border is chaos/shops are empty etc? They’ve already served those Eurocrats their well-deserved Brexit, so what next? A war? Trade war?

you have to assume they believe they can stabilise before a general election comes due. the alternatives - personal profits or unhinged xenophobia eclipsing a long term plan - are too bleak and cynical to be plausible. they might even believe that they can marshall the anger into another victory against the saboteurs, remoaners and woke human rights traitors.

also it's gonna be difficult to tell the difference between economic damage from a no deal Brexit and a post-rona economy that this government has taken no steps to revitalise. at this point in history i have literally no idea how that shakes down in terms of votes.

Look, as long as no-one at any point feels the need to compare the UK to any other country, they'll be fine.

Arguably it's at least three things:

- A gun to the head of the EU to try and force concessions they would otherwise have no chance of obtaining (I mean this bit is obvious but I don't see why the EU would play ball)
- A diplomatic Falklands, a gigantic distraction from the rapidly deteriorating situation at home, whipping up a jingoistic frenzy just as the furlough scheme ends, the schools situation goes badly wrong, covid cases start spiking and there's a huge recession
- An attempt to force Starmer to even mention Brexit at all, because that's ground on which they're going to be much more comfortable

So yes, they do actually believe can marshall the anger into another victory against the saboteurs, remoaners and woke human rights traitors.

Its not an unreasonable bet, its been a successful strategy and might just have one last win left in the packet.

But also don't they kind of have to, its a star player that may be coming to the end of its career but its still a star player, they don't have a lot else really going on so what choice do they have?

For all the dire warnings of the Big Dunties, in material terms 2016-19 was plain sailing for Cummings and Johnson, they weren't really on the hook for anything that went wrong. And economically it will seem like a picnic compared with what's around the corner.

A strategy that works when you're the insurgents doesn't necessarily work when you've been the incumbents for four or five years. They're also going to have to bet on a very long lease of life for "well, they're doing the best they can under the circumstances", and I wouldn't necessarily bet against that.

But we've done all this before, surviving the next 12 months is more important than trying to second guess what's going to happen in 2024.

It is getting increasingly expensive though: pre-2019 they were just burning through Tory ministers and minority partners to keep the dream alive, now (unless this is stupid sabre-rattling) it is going to cost territory and treaties just to ... keep on owning the libs.

I worry less now that there’s a grand “make-us-Singapore and short everything” plan afoot and more that they’re the dog that caught the car.

on radio this morning they appear to have rebranded 'no deal brexit' as 'australia-style deal', less than a week after tony abbott was invited to participate...

Australia can afford an 'Australian-style deal' with the EU because it doesn't really trade much with the EU. And it's in active negotiation with the EU, so even Australia won't have an 'Australian-style deal' for much longer.

Australian exports to the EU = £10 billion

UK exports to the EU = £300 billion