the day after the deadline: can the union survive brexit and other deep questions

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Oh yeah, I'm not suggesting that The Man has intervened.

Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 13:13 (six years ago) link

Baffled that anyone could say we are a source of antisemitism. Jewdas has a long and proud history of fighting antisemitism on the right and left, including being the only group with a sensible solution to the Ken Livingstone saga pic.twitter.com/25l8LEMq5g

— jewdⒶs // יידהודה (@geoffreyjewdas) April 3, 2018

calzino, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 13:30 (six years ago) link

Chief executive of Porton Down research laboratory has told Sky News scientists have not been able to prove the Novichok nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal came from Russia or establish its country of origin

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) April 3, 2018

||||||||, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:33 (six years ago) link

so once again May was making misleading statements, of course the BBC will be leading with this.

calzino, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:39 (six years ago) link

Uh oh. Still Corbyn's been talking to the wrong kind of Jews, bad Jews, that's more important.

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:41 (six years ago) link

Seeing as Russia is the only country known to have made Novichok, that statement seems a bit misleading...

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:42 (six years ago) link

our great nation's future leader jeremy corbyn is on the right side of history yet again, comrades

*weeps, kisses tattered copy of das kapital*

someone’s burgling my miscellanea (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:44 (six years ago) link

Another tough day for Fred.

xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:45 (six years ago) link

Pretty sure those Porton Down chaps know their onions.

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:47 (six years ago) link

they certainly know to worry if they start smelling onions in the lab

someone’s burgling my miscellanea (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:51 (six years ago) link

https://news.sky.com/story/porton-down-experts-unable-to-identify-precise-source-of-novichok-that-poisoned-spy-11315387

Read the story. It's novichok, and it's a state actor. That means Russia. 'Not been able' is misleading, they say pretty clearly they don't consider establishing national origin part of their job.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:52 (six years ago) link

Its novichok, and its military grade. That' all - whether its Russia or not cannot be certainly proved.

xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 15:56 (six years ago) link

Really this report doesn't say anything new, it only confirms some of what we already know - and they just say, when asked, that they didn't look into how and by whom this was used as its not their job. That will be left to the British Government, the British right wing tabloid press, and to Fred at ilxor dot com. xp

xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:00 (six years ago) link

Thing is, though, that Russia is the only known country to have created military grade novichok. And even doing so would be a major violation of the modern treaties concerning chemical weapons.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:06 (six years ago) link

This unambiguously confirms that modern-day Russia, which is neither a corrupt, far-right tyrannical state nor a lingering colonial power (it's not a colony if you annexed it via land, stupid!) nor a bastion of misogyny and hatred towards sexual minorities, nor an oligarchy that plunges its citizens ever deeper into extreme poverty, nor a neo-fascist attempt at resurrecting the Byzantine Empire's symphonia, nor a troll-like entity bent on extending its influence ever further (because 17.1 million km² is not enough) is our best ally in the struggle against the Western neoliberal far-right (for they are one and the same, as RT has taught us). All of these incontrovertible truths are to be espoused if you wish to stand up to the Tories – there is simply no self-consistent alternative.

pomenitul, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:08 (six years ago) link

There have been consistent rumours that the government has put huge pressure on Porton Down to say that it came from Russia and that Porton Down has refused - sticking to the line that it is consistent with Russian manufacture but that it couldn’t be confirmed positively.

This could be semantic in the absence of any likely alternatives but the idea that the government is leaning on civil servants for go beyond terminology they’re comfortable with in order to strengthen a political case is obviously not without precedent and reflects badly, even if on the balance of probabilities they’re right.

Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:09 (six years ago) link

If the point is to avoid imperialistic warfare, then the novichok being produced in Russia is almost the best-case scenario. Almost any other conceivable producer would lead to the kind of international isolation that often leads to an opportunistic invasion down the line. Russia is big enough that peaceful measures are the likely option.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:11 (six years ago) link

I agree that if those rumors are true, it's bad, and who here would put it past May's government?

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:12 (six years ago) link

This unambiguously confirms that modern-day Russia, which is neither a corrupt, far-right tyrannical state nor a lingering colonial power (it's not a colony if you annexed it via land, stupid!) nor a bastion of misogyny and hatred towards sexual minorities, nor an oligarchy that plunges its citizens ever deeper into extreme poverty, nor a neo-fascist attempt at resurrecting the Byzantine Empire's symphonia, nor a troll-like entity bent on extending its influence ever further (because 17.1 million km² is not enough) is our best ally in the struggle against the Western neoliberal far-right (for they are one and the same, as RT has taught us). All of these incontrovertible truths are to be espoused if you wish to stand up to the Tories – there is simply no self-consistent alternative.

Nicely put, but garbage nonetheless.

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:13 (six years ago) link

I agree that if those rumors are true, it's bad, and who here would put it past May's government?

You mean, of those who actually have to live in this country?

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:15 (six years ago) link

No, of course not

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:16 (six years ago) link

‘Imperialistic warfare’ and best case scenarios are besides the point. If you are interested in international accountability, claiming to have stronger evidence than you do and being publicly contradicted by the people you say have given you that evidence is appallingly slack. It calls all the other evidence you claim to have, most of which is going to be secret, into question and creates a sliver of room for plausible deniability where none should probably exist.

Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:31 (six years ago) link

But conversely, claiming that May claimed something she didn't claim is wrong as well. When did she claim there was evidence this specific sample could be connected to Russia? Her statement said that it was 'a military grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia', none of which is contradicted by this new story.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:37 (six years ago) link

You're overplaying this, ShariVari.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:39 (six years ago) link

Important this - even though much of HMG maintained the 'highly likely' line + did not suggest that origin of Salisbury Novichok had been traced to Russia, some overstated their case so there could now be a political price to pay https://t.co/aBUJUv9rNo

— Mark Urban (@MarkUrban01) April 3, 2018

The Foreign Secretary claimed that Porton Down confirmed Russian origin. It’s almost inconceivable that they would be making these statements had he not.

Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:40 (six years ago) link

just as well he’s unsackable or he’d probably go over this

||||||||, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:42 (six years ago) link

Johnson has been characteristically appalling in all of this and should be beheaded I mean be more level headed. Also fired. Also beheaded.

nashwan, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:42 (six years ago) link

Well, fuck Boris Johnson. But discussing whether or not something he said is appalling is like discussing if something Trump said is a lie. But yeah, he should totally go over this. And so much else.

Frederik B, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link

Boris got peeved because the Russians were offhand and mocking, refused to approach a serious matter with any gravity or dignity and seem to be treating it all as an opportunity for jokes and sledgehammer wit - irony, anyone?

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:46 (six years ago) link

iconic pic.twitter.com/jDpC6Mzd63

— George (@gexrgem8) April 3, 2018

||||||||, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:47 (six years ago) link

"No xx" is some cold female-chromosome hatred

imago, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:49 (six years ago) link

It’s also (kiss)(kiss), obvs.

suzy, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:56 (six years ago) link

(((kiss)))(((kiss)))

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 16:58 (six years ago) link

A callback, ladies and gents, and others

imago, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 17:03 (six years ago) link

Is the Jewdas haggadah available for purchase? I need it for next year

while my dirk gently weeps (symsymsym), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:02 (six years ago) link

this news story just makes me feel
incredibly fucking hungry

plax (ico), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 21:18 (six years ago) link

lol

imago, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 22:39 (six years ago) link

leadership contest now

Sources close to Jeremy Corbyn say he did not join chants of "f*** the police" at a far-left Passover celebration https://t.co/jirS60fiql

— The Times of London (@thetimes) April 4, 2018

||||||||, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 07:46 (six years ago) link

of course he didn't join them, he led them

someone’s burgling my miscellanea (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 08:17 (six years ago) link

I've been trying not to pay too much attention to this consistently depressing story but am I right in thinking the Tories have been relatively quiet about this?

Matt DC, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 08:18 (six years ago) link

More eerily, conservativehome.com has been quiet on it, which is odd as they pump out 6 posts a day.

Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 08:46 (six years ago) link

Violent crime epidemic - caused by social media.
4000 disabled children without a school place - nothing to report here.
Emaciated school children sneaking food into their pockets - a WW2 story, meh hyperbole.

May pays lip service to "burning injustice" - yay !

calzino, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 08:47 (six years ago) link

The Jewdas story slowly curled up and died as the day progressed and yet the BBC still had it as 2nd or 3rd item on the evening news, ahead of the Porton Down story, which didn't even make the headlines.

Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 08:59 (six years ago) link

Don’t interrupt your opponents when they’re fucking up? Although Tories and right-wing sites aren’t exactly free of same; shire Tory dog whistles about Jewish people are Daily Mail fuel and always have been. Today’s Mail is a bit DOG KLAXON obvs.

I do feel like Theresa May’s shoe-horney citation of Labour antisemitism at PMQs the other week, before the mural comment was discovered, was a FLY, MY PRETTIES moment of sorts. In reading around the issue I was amused (read: appalled) to discover a guy who used to contribute to Edgy Style Mags in the early ‘90s is now something big at the JC. This guy used to combine writing with dealing pills and was the subject of much mirth when he lost a huge bag of pills on a staff trip; the editor of a different ESM hauled him over the coals in an editorial without naming him when he joined a tabloid and began splashing on celebs who used drugs. He was also suspected but never conclusively proven to have participated in phone hacking, but left his paper under a cloud. I saw his byline at the JC last week and did a little vom in my mouth.

suzy, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 09:04 (six years ago) link

The government can keep their hands clean and have obviously delegated it to friendly media in the meantime. That Guido is ‘friendly media’ is worth noting. They’re all scum.

suzy, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 09:06 (six years ago) link

This whole story dragging on is weird to me because I feel like the public in general don't care about this at all, and immediately switch off whenever it comes up

cherry blossom, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 09:10 (six years ago) link

Would it be controversial on here to suggest that May's opportunist Stop and Search cessation (where she dressed it up as progressive, rather than part of the cuts) is the reason lots of people are dead in London? I know Stop and Search was probably executed in a very discriminatory way that violated the space of many innocent people. But if I lived in an area where fools are firing weapons with impunity, I'd want a stop and search policy.

calzino, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 09:14 (six years ago) link


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