"we'll change the things that need changing and that's all we'll change": the paSUKification of post-brexit politics 2021

there have been alleged developments involving Labour that are staggering in their cynicism and evil tbh, if there was any lingering doubt about whether i should have stayed and fought as a member it's gone now

I understand that all 11 Labour MPs who signed the Stop The War statement (which criticised Nato) have been written to by the Shadow Chief Whip and asked to withdraw their signatures.
Sounds like if they refuse to do so, they will all lose the whip.

— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) February 24, 2022

A Labour MP has urged the government to seize the assets of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 24, 2022

yeah those xp

if there was any lingering doubt about whether i should have stayed and fought as a member it's gone now

― imago, Thursday, 24 February 2022 bookmarkflaglink

You couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag.

oh ofc it's War Day, the day we show how hard we are

tbf i did call for the assassination of putin earlier lol

Here is who else wants to lol fight.

🚨NEW SNAP POLL🇺🇦🇷🇺

🇬🇧41% say NATO military response wld be JUSTIFIED
🇬🇧32% WANT it to happen, 38% EXPECT it
🇬🇧55% say current UK sanctions don't go far enough
🇬🇧53% want economic sanctions against Rus. leaders

1,108 UK adults, 24th Feb

Fieldwork after this morning's invasion

— Savanta ComRes (@SavantaComRes) February 24, 2022

anyway, this is atrocious from Labour, and that^ is why we don't put military action to referendum (yet)

tbf i did call for the assassination of putin earlier lol

― imago, Thursday, 24 February 2022 bookmarkflaglink

I know, massively stupid post.

A reason to stay in Lab wasn't to 'fight'. Not that you'd know anymore than online buzzwords.

just tbc i did add 'preferably by one of his own', no implied 'we'

anyway, there is little-to-no reason to stay in Labour at this point surely?

"just tbc i did add 'preferably by one of his own', no implied 'we'"

Still dumb.

ok having actually now READ the Stop The War statement, it does come across as hopelessly naive in its defence of Russia's 'security concerns'. still don't think this is a matter for withdrawing the whip - that bit is opportunistic - but a follow-up statement denouncing Putin would probably be a very good idea

Sadly they listened to you.

Labour MPs withdrawing their signatures to Stop The War letter. If you disagree with it - I have had many respectful discussions who those who do - fair enough. But to sign it, then remove your name because the you were whipped, lacks any principle whatsoever on the issue.

— Jonathon Shafi (@Jonathon_Shafi) February 24, 2022

#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/HMX2UVPM4z

— Richard Moore (@ChiefMI6) February 24, 2022

Worst Disneyland ride

When do we start clapping for Ukraine?

stop the war is an embarrassing org that no-one should have anything to do with

back in the heady days of the 00s during the Iraq war - in Glasgow anyway - it was a collaboration of actual sunni islamists and SWP folk

Really awful.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ukraine-war-refugees-uk-visas-b2022567.html

We can’t stop Putin from invading, but at least we can stop the youth from posting. Heroic https://t.co/WgDAdMOCsp

— Rory Scothorne (@shirkerism) February 25, 2022

Just spoke to a British national who travelled overland with his Ukrainian wife over the last two days and has just arrived back in the UK. He says a lot of Brits are refusing to leave Ukraine because they don't have faith the Home Office will allow their spouses to come over.

— Nicola Kelly (@NicolaKelly) February 24, 2022

*extremely British voice*
Those who commit war crimes
IN UKRAINE will face prosecution https://t.co/sWrvLbfZdF pic.twitter.com/w16dyjIB3l

— KateMcK (@TheKateMcK) February 25, 2022

This thread scheduled to die a death without xyzzz and calz posting tweets every 15 minutes.

It's funny/ sad how rapidly enthusiasm for this thread has died in Starmer era

What’s there to say? Shit’s bad, only going to get worse. Scant laughs. 2017-19 Brexit drama votes/bin Chinese era obviously the best

Welcome to the future of UK politics: a better world isn't possible

And you’ll be scolded for even thinking of such a fairy tale

Bin Chinese?

I don't know what that was!

Suggest you start here and read down, sir
PMs change and lol we're all gonna die (but brexit will never end)

Scrolled down from the heady days of Bin Chinese to the days when you could still OTM Stephen Bush, to quote-tweeted Sensibles bemoaning the "revolting behaviour" of newish unelected PM Johnson, all of whom* probably went on to give him a free pass at election while disparaging the only opposition, and all of whom have probably said at some point over the past 2 years "how could we have known before the election that the PM might behave revoltingly"

Oh well, we are where we are. (goes back to bed for the next year)

(I never did make the Rotterdam Termination Source Poing-except-it's-VONC edit but you can make your own karaoke version here)

* this star pointed at a stupid joke which got deleted as it was even less interesting than this disclaimer I'm typing now about how there isn't a joke here

It's funny/ sad how rapidly enthusiasm for this thread has died in Starmer era

Ideal situation rn would be for this thread to be dead and for the leftist organizing thread to be super active.

I think you lot should start your own US politics thread

it's depressing enough in here as it is

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said there would be “nowhere left to hide” for wealthy allies of the Kremlin. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Truss said new names added to a list of oligarchs every few weeks as ministers seek to ratchet up the pressure on the president Vladimir Putin.

“We’ve already had letters to the foreign office, from lawyers, threatening us, so we have to make sure the cases are properly prepared and that we have the right evidence before we sanction these individuals,” she said.

“That is why we’re taking it step by step, but we are working through that hit list and we will continue to sanction new oligarchs every few weeks.”

Every few *weeks*? The current Ukrainian government, and a lot of Ukrainians, probably won't exist in a few weeks.

a day later...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60558048

"Ukraine conflict: Russia blames Liz Truss and others for nuclear alert"

Dan Hodges, Chris Bryant and others coming out in favour of nuclear annihilation reminds me that while I'm not exactly glad that Boris Johnson is prime-minister at this current moment, I do feel somewhat grateful that it isn't Michael Gove

I didn’t know this but it makes absolute sense.

Before he became the posturing nitwit we all know today, Dan Hodges was a designer of single-player strategy war games. The logic he applies to every debate (the zero-sum "will you/won’t you” approach) is precisely the logic of a tabletop boardgame.

— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) March 1, 2022

reminds me, got my gf Twilight Struggle for her birthday, might be time to brave actually playing it (rather than gawping thru the rulebook/online tutorials) soon

I obviously have no sympathy for Hodges, etc but they’re extremely stupid people trying to work through an intractable problem. If you genuinely think that Russia is going to do to Kyiv what it did to Grozny and the Ukrainian government is begging the international community to start shooting down Russian planes, it’s a fairly normal human response to agree. It’s less an indictment of Hodges specifically than the elevation of inexpert comment writers to any sort of prominence.

It's a good one but at this particular historic moment I think I'd rather play Versailles 1919.

xpost

It’s also pretty tiresome to see every limited EU / US response met with ‘oh, so you want nuclear war?’ from the equally inexpert Twitter commentariat.

Wait I don't understand, I need to pick a side and argue it until I get so hungry I have to put my phone down

twilight struggle v fun but has more or less the same relationship to foreign policy in the nuclear age that magic the gathering has to magic

time for a new thread ?

"time for new threads" - MPs collecting their forced payrise

Time for new Threads (TV Movie, 1984).

unfollowing people banging on about nuclear war is the best form of self-care atm tbh

Unexpected otm, I deactivated mine & now am at relative peace tbh 💆🏻‍♀️ But that’s just not doomscrolling in general