UKMT: November

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT: November

Whitefish: May 31, 2005; After the old god has been assassinated, I am ready to rule the waves.

ReV VAdAUL posted:

Unless they're deliberately throwing the election this is dumb as hell. The public may not like Miliband but they'll hate the backstabbing lying politician that replaces him. The right wing media will make sure of that. I would guess they think they can keep their current poll standing and get a boost and a honeymoon period from a more popular leader. Instead they'll learn traitors aren't very popular.

Assuming Johnson doesn't take the position (he's had ample chance if he wants it) and they do much more damage to Miliband they're stuck with thug Balls or perhaps Blairite Burnham. If UKIP has pleased Satan sufficiently Umunna might become leader, he alienates working class whites on policy and by being black!

I can just about understand the argument that replacing Miliband with Alan Johnson might give them a boost - he's managed to create a popular profile for himself outside of politics, and that plus his background means he comes across as quite likeable and much less drone-like than Miliband and the other prominent members of the political class.

However, that plan only works if enough voters understand Johnson in that way. Is he well-known enough and perceived in that way by enough voters? Or do most voters have little idea who he is? This is one of those things it's hard to judge if you follow politics very closely.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 13:23

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 12, 2024 15:23

Venomous: Nov 7, 2011

This Heat is always appropriate on Remembrance Sunday.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 13:27

ThomasPaine: Feb 4, 2009; We have no compassion and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.

Fans posted:

It makes more sense for me to Vote Lib Dem in Brecon and Radnorshire than Labour. Labour's not done very well here the past few elections, it's usually a run between Conservatives and the Lib Dem's.

If we're doing tactical voting now you should probably check who's actually likely to win the seat then vote for the one that isn't as much of a bastard. Voting SNP might be preferable over voting Labour if you don't want the Conservatives to win.

The real question is if you're in a deeply Conservative area do you vote with your heart or thrown one at UKIP in the hope of further fracturing the Conservatives?

Ugh tactical voting makes me sick. Have some loving integrity and vote for who you want to win for gods sake. Caroline Lucas got a seat despite being from a minor party, it is possible. Patrick Harvie got a Holyrood seat the same way. Now they're being heard and Green party membership has rocketed. The more places small parties manage to chip out of the system the more their policies are heard and the more likelihood of them doing even better next time. Even voting numbers matter, because if a party gets a ton of votes across the country despite winning few individual elections they have to be taken a bit more seriously.

It's a slow process but it's the only way to break the ridiculous two party cycle we have now. Labour managed it at the beginning of the 20th C, the SNP managed it. It's possible. Just stop voting for the least worst guy who might get in over the best guy who probably won't.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 13:27

EmptyVessel: Oct 30, 2012

Venomous posted:

This Heat is always appropriate on Remembrance Sunday.

Continuing the playlist with the Banshees' Poppy Day and the Groundhogs' Soldier

# ? Nov 9, 2014 13:59

Gonzo McFee: Jun 19, 2010

Answers Me posted:

So when did the theme of Armistice Day change from 'war is hell' to 'BACK OUR BOYS '? I must have missed it

The Legion used Green Fields of France for one of their videos and cut the verses that explicitly state that WW1 was a pointless waste. They also sell "Future Soldier" T-Shirts and there's a lot of people talking about how soldiers fought for our freedoms with no mention of what freedoms were actually fought for in WW1.

Every year it's like there's an effort to change the narative around WW1 from a pointless waste to the noble and moral defence of the British Empire that totally wasn't evil you guys.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:12

bitterandtwisted: Sep 4, 2006

ThomasPaine posted:

Ugh tactical voting makes me sick. Have some loving integrity and vote for who you want to win for gods sake. Caroline Lucas got a seat despite being from a minor party, it is possible. Patrick Harvie got a Holyrood seat the same way. Now they're being heard and Green party membership has rocketed. The more places small parties manage to chip out of the system the more their policies are heard and the more likelihood of them doing even better next time. Even voting numbers matter, because if a party gets a ton of votes across the country despite winning few individual elections they have to be taken a bit more seriously.

It's a slow process but it's the only way to break the ridiculous two party cycle we have now. Labour managed it at the beginning of the 20th C, the SNP managed it. It's possible. Just stop voting for the least worst guy who might get in over the best guy who probably won't.

Tactical voting doesn't matter much in Holyrood (Patrick Harvie's a list MSP).

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:14

Breath Ray: Nov 19, 2010

Gonzo McFee posted:

The Legion used Green Fields of France for one of their videos and cut the verses that explicitly state that WW1 was a pointless waste. They also sell "Future Soldier" T-Shirts and there's a lot of people talking about how soldiers fought for our freedoms with no mention of what freedoms were actually fought for in WW1.

Every year it's like there's an effort to change the narative around WW1 from a pointless waste to the noble and moral defence of the British Empire that totally wasn't evil you guys.

The first part of this post was very interesting, but you let yourself down a bit towards the end.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:20

ThomasPaine: Feb 4, 2009; We have no compassion and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.

bitterandtwisted posted:

Tactical voting doesn't matter much in Holyrood (Patrick Harvie's a list MSP).

Yes, I know. Point stands.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:21

Gonzo McFee: Jun 19, 2010

Burqa King posted:

The first part of this post was very interesting, but you let yourself down a bit towards the end.

The British Empire was a genocidal and terrible thing that slaughtered untold millions.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:24

StoneOfShame: Jul 28, 2013; This is the best kitchen ever.

If we accept, and I almost do that we have reached a point where the majority of people vote for a party or perhaps in particular the party leader rather than voting for the local MP they favour then we can see where the problem is with Milliband. I mean this really should be an election Labour walk but this isn't looking to be the case and a lot of that seems to be because Ed isn't a particularly charismatic or rememberable fellow, so you can see why the party may want shot of him. However ditching him with less than a year to go before the election is totally absurd it leaves no time for a new leader to establish themselves and reeks of the party throwing the election, perhaps they fear the next governmental term will be a horrific one that leaves whoevers in charge unelectable for years and are trying to avoid that or they could just be dumb, who knows really.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:41

Renaissance Robot: Oct 10, 2010; Bite my furry metal ass

Gonzo McFee posted:

The British Empire was a genocidal and terrible thing that slaughtered untold millions.

Yeah, but it was our etc etc (Jingo was a good book and I really need to catch up on the Watch novels I haven't read)

It is awful, but hardly surprising that it's going in this direction. It would be pretty hard to hold a correct remembrance day whilst also reserving the right to get involved in foreign military action when it suits us.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:44

Peel: Dec 3, 2007

Problem with trying to find a charismatic and credible labour leader is that they can only be so if they are right wing, because they are presented to the public by the media.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 14:49

Goldskull: Feb 20, 2011

I wonder if Lily Allen got together with David Cameron to discuss how best to use their dead children for publicity, given she's been weeping about her stillborn at every opportunity she can get this week. She got a new single out or something?

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:08

Gonzo McFee: Jun 19, 2010

Goldskull posted:

I wonder if Lily Allen got together with David Cameron to discuss how best to use their dead children for publicity, given she's been weeping about her stillborn at every opportunity she can get this week. She got a new single out or something?

Jesus Christ, dude.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:10

Junior G-man: Sep 15, 2004; Wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma

Meet UKIP's new bestest buddy in Europe - the one's helping them get a shitton of funding:

quote:

Nigel Farage�s new friend in Europe: �When women say no, they don�t always mean it�

Korwin-Mikke, the far-right Polish leader whose deal gave Ukip more power in Brussels, reveals his views on Hitler and rape

Dapper in bow tie and blazer, Nigel Farage�s new European ally likes to welcome a woman to his grey-walled, grey-carpeted Brussels office by stooping to kiss her hand. There is a danger, though, that he will follow up this display of old-fashioned courtesy by sharing some old-fashioned views about her inferiority.

Janusz Korwin-Mikke is the eccentric head of Poland�s Congress of the New Right. With his agreement, a member of the party, Robert Iwaszkiewicz, has just joined Ukip�s parliamentary alliance, Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), pushing it over a threshold of 25 parliamentarians from seven countries and thus securing more than �1m in funding for Ukip alone.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. But Korwin-Mikke has the potential to be an embarrassing ally. For instance, he thinks women�s opinions are shaped by the sperm of the men they sleep with, that they are �on average� less clever than men, and that nearly half of women who tell a man they don�t want to have sex with them are feigning reluctance and should be ignored.

�Semen probably is not wasted, because nature usually makes use of the material it has, and there is a hypothesis that the attitudes of men are passed to women by way of the semen which penetrates the tissue,� he told the Observer, in the tone a science teacher might use for a basic lesson.

Giggles only prompt an admonition. �It is not a political statement. There is a very strong argument for this hypothesis, that now when contraceptives are much more in use, the women become much more independent.�

Korwin-Mikke, 72, is an extreme libertarian. A veteran with half a century�s political experience, he throws out his bizarre views in rapid-fire sentences, broken by the easy smile of a man used to deference, which only makes them seem more disturbing. There is no proof Hitler knew about the Holocaust, he has argued for years, and he told the Observer that Mussolini, who stripped Jewish citizens of property and civil rights, then sent thousands to German concentration camps, �was trying to protect Jews�.

He would like to abolish not just the European Union but democracy altogether, replacing it with an absolute monarchy, which he considers the gold standard for government. His main objection to dictatorship is that it leaves open the question of who succeeds a leader.

He hungers for what he says is a lost Europe of dog-eat-dog economic rules, the freedom to buy arsenic over the counter by the kilo, drive without seatbelts and give free rein to the aggression that he says made the continent great. �If someone gives money to an unemployed person he should have his hand cut off because he is destroying the morale of the people,� Korwin-Mikke said, adding that the state should not give anyone a cent either. �Europeans were very aggressive and now the boys are taught not to be aggressive � Give them the pistol, give them a sword.�

Apparently practising what he preaches, this summer he slapped a leftwing Polish politician in the face. Shortly before the attack, France�s far-right Front National, led by Marine Le Pen, decided he was too extreme for an alliance. But now Korwin-Mikke�s party has come to the rescue of Ukip�s parliamentary alliance.

After a defection by a Latvian parliamentarian jeopardised access to speaking time in parliament and millions of euros in EU cash, Iwaszkiewicz joined the group, ensuring it held on to its funding. An EFDD spokesman said the Pole was invited and joined as an individual, and there was �no deal with any political party�, but both Iwaszkiewicz and his leader presented the move as a party decision, to the Observer and voters at home. �That is the only group which is organised and Eurosceptic in the parliament,� Iwaszkiewicz, a businessman-turned-politician, said in an interview in the corridors of parliament, as his aides scowled at Eurocrats tucking into a free buffet lunch. �That is why we wanted � not only me but all four MEPs of the Congress of the New Right � to help the EFDD to stay alive.�

Korwin-Mikke was gleeful about striking a deal with Ukip, although evasive about specifics, saying only that it might lead to more alliances in future. �If we create our own group, perhaps Mr Farage can lend us a member of his party also.�

Polish academic and anti-racism campaigner Rafal Pankowski dismissed the distinction between Iwaszkiewicz and his party as a false one. The MEP rode into parliament on the back of Korwin-Mikke�s outsize personality, and although he may take a slightly more moderate public stance, has never attempted to distance himself from his leader�s views.

�I have never found any indication of any kind of policy difference between them � on the contrary, he has often defended [Korwin-Mikke�s views] in public,� said Pankowski. �The bottom line is that he wouldn�t have been in the European party without the leader. People voted for the Korwin-Mikke party, hardly anyone knows Robert Iwaszkiewicz.�

Rabbi Shneur Odze, chairman of Ukip Friends of Israel and a party candidate for next year�s general election, said Korwin-Mikke was �not our responsibility� because he was not in the EFDD group. Iwaskiewicz�s only comment on Hitler �was that he was an evil man who should have been executed. Hardly a Holocaust denier,� he added.

But although Iwaszkiewicz is more circumspect, he has not rushed to repudiate his leader or clarify his own position. �I think many expressions of [Korwin-Mikke] are taken out of context and put in a bad light,� he said. Asked if he believed Hitler knew about the Holocaust, he would only say: �That is how I imagine it.�

The Congress of the New Right�s hardline economic views actually make it an uneasy bedfellow for Ukip on immigration issues. Korwin-Mikke wants all borders opened and the welfare state shut down, while Farage wants borders largely shut so at least parts of the welfare state can better serve those inside them.

The two parties share a more important goal though, both Polish politicians say. �He wants to destroy the European Union, and even Lucifer or Beelzebub who is against the European Union is our ally, because it is the greatest danger to Europe,� said Korwin-Mikke, who wants to convert part of the EU headquarters into a giant brothel.

�The building of the European commission is much better, there are small rooms,� he said, trailing off to glance around his small, dark office with a new, appraising eye.

Part of his distaste for modern Europe is driven by the position of women, who he says have replaced �privileges� with �equal rights�, a phrase Korwin-Mikke spat out as if it was an insult. Most want to stay at home to raise families, and can�t be trusted to vote, said the twice-married father of six. They are also, he claims, �less tall, less heavy, less intelligent, on the average�. And he adds: �Women usually vote for the more handsome man.�

Asked how German chancellor Angela Merkel had come to power in a country where women vote, he changed the topic to sports teams coached by men. �Women want to be led by men,� he claimed. They particularly like to be led to the bedroom, he added, saying that men should often ignore a partner who said no to sex. �Women usually pretend that they don�t want [sex]. You must be competent enough to differentiate whether she seriously doesn�t want,� he said. �The percentage of women who pretend that they don�t want to have sex, but they do want in fact, is about 30 or 40%.�

Asked how a rape trial could be prosecuted if a woman�s words were not accepted as evidence of her intentions, he said men should not be convicted unless there were two witnesses to the crime.

�If you don�t have two testimonies, he must be acquitted,� he said. �Or some proof or some visible sign of rape, but if it is only her words and his words, there cannot even be a trial.�

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/08/nigel-farage-ukip-europe-janusz-korwin-mikke

I could just bold the whole thing and cover it in :psypop:

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:10

LemonDrizzle: Mar 28, 2012; neoliberal shithead

Junior G-man posted:

Meet UKIP's new bestest buddy in Europe - the one's helping them get a shitton of funding:

I could just bold the whole thing and cover it in

now see that may sound bad but if ukip hadn't taken him into the fold they'd have lost a lot of money and access and money and money so it was for the greater good really

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:18

Spangly A: May 14, 2009; God help you if ever you're caught on these shores

A man's ambition must indeed be small
To write his name upon a shithouse wall

Goldskull posted:

I wonder if Lily Allen got together with David Cameron to discuss how best to use their dead children for publicity, given she's been weeping about her stillborn at every opportunity she can get this week. She got a new single out or something?

Yo Lily Allen is definitely a total arsehole but this is far too far, there's a huge difference between being asked about it and deciding it's worth stepping forward to let other women know they aren't alone and using a dead child as a cricket bat to knock away all criticism ffs

LemonDrizzle posted:

now see that may sound bad but if ukip hadn't taken him into the fold they'd have lost a lot of money and access and money and money so it was for the greater good really

I see you've been reading the comments section

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:40

winegums: Dec 21, 2012

Goldskull posted:

I wonder if Lily Allen got together with David Cameron to discuss how best to use their dead children for publicity, given she's been weeping about her stillborn at every opportunity she can get this week. She got a new single out or something?

I miss the stiff upper lip. I think when I'm PM I'll make public grief a crime.

I think Ed Miliband would be fine if he was himself and not the committee-made protoman the party PR machine seems to think he has to be. I feel bad for him, in the same way that Gordon Brown was heckled by the media for utterly trivial things as he entered parliament, Miliband's getting the same treatment.

I just wish someone would challenge this poo poo as it's released. Having a go at someone for the way they eat a loving sandwich? Is this seriously a metric by which we should judge parliamentary candidates?

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:51

Spangly A: May 14, 2009; God help you if ever you're caught on these shores

A man's ambition must indeed be small
To write his name upon a shithouse wall

winegums posted:

I miss the stiff upper lip. I think when I'm PM I'll make public grief a crime.

I think Ed Miliband would be fine if he was himself and not the committee-made protoman the party PR machine seems to think he has to be. I feel bad for him, in the same way that Gordon Brown was heckled by the media for utterly trivial things as he entered parliament, Miliband's getting the same treatment.

I just wish someone would challenge this poo poo as it's released. Having a go at someone for the way they eat a loving sandwich? Is this seriously a metric by which we should judge parliamentary candidates?

Miliband is legitimately crap though, "for work" and not for workers, anti-union, anti-nationalisation. He's a dreadful candidate but this coup is utterly ridiculous and it reeks of sabotage by either the media or Johnson, but I can't believe anyone in the party is organising it because it's such a bloody stupid time. He was always going to get outed because the unions hate him, but why now and not two years ago?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsMHefCD34s

# ? Nov 9, 2014 15:59

goddamnedtwisto: Dec 31, 2004; If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you; Fun Shoe

Junior G-man posted:

Meet UKIP's new bestest buddy in Europe - the one's helping them get a shitton of funding:

I could just bold the whole thing and cover it in

A libertarian who wants an absolute monarchy.

Yeah, I think we're about done here.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:06

Spangly A: May 14, 2009; God help you if ever you're caught on these shores

A man's ambition must indeed be small
To write his name upon a shithouse wall

goddamnedtwisto posted:

A libertarian who wants an absolute monarchy.

Yeah, I think we're about done here.

what's more self-made than someone who bootstrapped out of a bloodied inbred vagina and made themself monarch?

LemonDrizzle posted:

The unions and their backing are the sole reason he holds the leadership.

This ends the second they realise he's not nationalising the railways, as they've made clear on several occasions. They want him there because they think they can make him a puppet, it's not working.

I don't think we even can nationalise anything anymore, the EU has some really dodgy regulations against that.

e; Going to clarify I'm actually repeating something and I've not seen a source for that "no nationalisation" bit, because the only Brussels-related stuff I know from-source is where to get the best free lunch.

Spangly A fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Nov 9, 2014

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:09

LemonDrizzle: Mar 28, 2012; neoliberal shithead

Spangly A posted:

He was always going to get outed because the unions hate him

The unions and their backing are the sole reason he holds the leadership.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:10

Shelf Adventure: Jul 18, 2006; I'm down with that brother

goddamnedtwisto posted:

A libertarian who wants an absolute monarchy.

Yeah, I think we're about done here.

This is just typical leftist media bias reporting things that people in or related to UKIP have actually said in their own words. I mean, when someone quotes you verbatim, how is that fair??

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:13

ReV VAdAUL: Oct 3, 2004; I'm WILD about
WILDMAN

LemonDrizzle posted:

now see that may sound bad but if ukip hadn't taken him into the fold they'd have lost a lot of money and access and money and money so it was for the greater good really

A real alternative to the corrupt LibLabCons.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:27

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

goddamnedtwisto posted:

A libertarian who wants an absolute monarchy.

Yeah, I think we're about done here.

He sounds more like a Neoreactionary. The people that even Ayn Rand worshipers don't want to be associated with.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Neoreactionary_movement

# ? Nov 9, 2014 16:39

Communist Thoughts: Jan 7, 2008; Our war against free speech cannot end until we silence this bronze beast!

Wow that sperm thing is impressively insane.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:04

tooterfish: Jul 13, 2013

Gonzo McFee posted:

They also sell "Future Soldier" T-Shirts

I didn't buy a poppy last year for exactly this reason. What the gently caress?

I felt guilty about it though, and caved this year.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:17

TinTower: Apr 21, 2010; You don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.

LemonDrizzle posted:

Surely a timebomb is something that you know is bad and are setting up just out of spite, though? If Mandelson was OK with five figure fees (and if you're OK with the tuition fee/loan system in general, I don't see why you wouldn't be), then there's no time bomb, just a continuation of established policy.

Think of it electorally: Labour were leaching student supporters between 2005 and 2010, towards both the Lib Dems and Tories. By setting the review to report back after the 2010 election � which had, by that point, already been written off � you have a stick to beat the Lib Dems and/or Tories with.

Basically, NOLS are loving nasty.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:37

Ms Adequate: Oct 30, 2011; Baby even when I'm dead and gone
You will always be my only one, my only one
When the night is calling
No matter who I become
You will always be my only one, my only one, my only one
When the night is calling

quote:

He hungers for what he says is a lost Europe of dog-eat-dog economic rules, the freedom to buy arsenic over the counter by the kilo, drive without seatbelts and give free rein to the aggression that he says made the continent great. �If someone gives money to an unemployed person he should have his hand cut off because he is destroying the morale of the people,� Korwin-Mikke said, adding that the state should not give anyone a cent either. �Europeans were very aggressive and now the boys are taught not to be aggressive � Give them the pistol, give them a sword.�

Not many people watch Mad Max and think it a utopia :allears:

So I take it he would be okay with a poor person getting hold of a gun, killing this guy, and taking all this property for himself? Seems to me the exact social 'order' he is in favor of.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:40

Margaret Thatcher: Jan 2, 2013; by Cowcaster

Spangly A posted:

e; Going to clarify I'm actually repeating something and I've not seen a source for that "no nationalisation" bit, because the only Brussels-related stuff I know from-source is where to get the best free lunch.

We can absolutely renationalise the railways, as the rails work under a contract based system.

This means it's entirely possible just to wait for the current period to end, and then award all new contracts to a state company (i.e British Rail).

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:47

Communist Thoughts: Jan 7, 2008; Our war against free speech cannot end until we silence this bronze beast!

With parliamentary sovereignty would you be able to just say gently caress it and cancel all of the private contracts and renationalise everything?

I think PFI contracts have a clause stopping this but wouldn't that also be over-rideable?

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:50

Pesky Splinter: Feb 16, 2011; A worried pug.

Junior G-man posted:

Meet UKIP's new bestest buddy in Europe - the one's helping them get a shitton of funding:

I could just bold the whole thing and cover it in

It's hard to believe that a single person could hold that many objectively wrong views. :stare:

Gonzo McFee posted:

They also sell "Future Soldier" T-Shirts and there's a lot of people talking about how soldiers fought for our freedoms with no mention of what freedoms were actually fought for in WW1.

Every year it's like there's an effort to change the narative around WW1 from a pointless waste to the noble and moral defence of the British Empire that totally wasn't evil you guys.

It's like they remember Wilson's line "Dulce et Decorum est (Pro patria mori)", but forget all the horrific preceding lines about war being nightmareish death.

I recall hearing something a while back about them selling "fashionable" Remembrance jewellery, and glittery poppies (which is bad enough on its on), but I think it's the first I've heard of the Future Soldier t-shirts thing - that's pretty hosed up.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 18:57

tooterfish: Jul 13, 2013

Pesky Splinter posted:

I recall hearing something a while back about them selling "fashionable" Remembrance jewellery, and glittery poppies (which is bad enough on its on), but I think it's the first I've heard of the Future Soldier t-shirts thing - that's pretty hosed up.

Fun times.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:08

Malcolm XML: Aug 8, 2009; I always knew it would end like ｔｈｉｓ．

Gonzo McFee posted:

The British Empire was a genocidal and terrible thing that slaughtered untold millions.

Yeah what else is new in history? So was any given empire.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:16

Manic_Misanthrope: Jul 1, 2010

tooterfish posted:

Fun times.

Disturbing.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:18

Pesky Splinter: Feb 16, 2011; A worried pug.

tooterfish posted:

Fun times.

Jesus Christ.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:24

Fans: Jun 27, 2013; A reptile dysfunction

ThomasPaine posted:

Ugh tactical voting makes me sick. Have some loving integrity and vote for who you want to win for gods sake.

If our voting system let me do this I would, as is though I'm encouraged to vote against who I want to lose.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:49

Acaila: Jan 2, 2011

Gonzo McFee posted:

The Legion used Green Fields of France for one of their videos and cut the verses that explicitly state that WW1 was a pointless waste. They also sell "Future Soldier" T-Shirts and there's a lot of people talking about how soldiers fought for our freedoms with no mention of what freedoms were actually fought for in WW1.

Every year it's like there's an effort to change the narative around WW1 from a pointless waste to the noble and moral defence of the British Empire that totally wasn't evil you guys.

It feels like this has been a post-2001 thing. I did a lot of Remembrance Day services as a kid, lugging a Girl Guide flag around at local parades and church services, and it always seemed more of a "Never again" thing. Lots of Wilfred Owen and what not on the horrors of war.

I noticed just in the last few weeks that the Scottish Poppy Appeal is subtitled something like "Support Our Heroes" and got rather pissed off. For me, poor guys who got conscripted and killed are not heroes by that virtue alone. They were ordinary people who got forced into a horrible situation. And I don't see them talking about the guys who got PTSD before it was known about and got shot for cowardice when they talk about heroes either, but it's as much a day to remember them in my mind.

And I am really rather pissed about Green Fields of France (I've been listening to the Corries version for like 20+ years). It's not like it's even an old old song that they could make claims about, the guy who wrote it is still alive and says all of the verses are specifically leading up to that anti-war message as a climax!

We're turning into everything I've always shat on about America and their stupid military fetishisation and "freedom" nonsense.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:57

goddamnedtwisto: Dec 31, 2004; If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you; Fun Shoe

nopantsjack posted:

With parliamentary sovereignty would you be able to just say gently caress it and cancel all of the private contracts and renationalise everything?

I think PFI contracts have a clause stopping this but wouldn't that also be over-rideable?

Yeah they can do that. They can also legislate that profit-takers and landlords be driven into the sea. Never going to happen though.

(That's putting aside the practicalities of such legislation, as it would strike pretty much at the very root of our legal system - if a Government can decide arbitrarily not to enforce contracts, contract law itself becomes effectively worthless and we turn into Zimbabwe with worse weather)

# ? Nov 9, 2014 19:58

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 12, 2024 15:23

Communist Thoughts: Jan 7, 2008; Our war against free speech cannot end until we silence this bronze beast!

goddamnedtwisto posted:

Yeah they can do that. They can also legislate that profit-takers and landlords be driven into the sea. Never going to happen though.

(That's putting aside the practicalities of such legislation, as it would strike pretty much at the very root of our legal system - if a Government can decide arbitrarily not to enforce contracts, contract law itself becomes effectively worthless and we turn into Zimbabwe with worse weather)

That's somewhat hopeful though, the political tools are there.

I mean maybe after WW3 we'll get a new Labour party doing all the poo poo that needs to be done and then we get a good 50 years as the establishment attempts to take it all back off us.

# ? Nov 9, 2014 20:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT: November

«‹›78 »