Alexander Griboyedov, deceased.
@griboyedov1.bsky.social
For the first few minutes, I was genuinely wondering if he was going to announce an election or his resignation.
May 22, 2024 at 6:35 PM
For the first few minutes, I was genuinely wondering if he was going to announce an election or his resignation.
Things can only get wetter.
May 22, 2024 at 6:24 PM
Things can only get wetter.
Oh, I share your disgust at the quality and morals of the Tory leadership in 2010-12. But they, and the voters, would have been facing a different context after two years of C&S- one in which 'this is a crisis so throw lots of things overboard' might not have been as easily sold to the electorate.
March 19, 2024 at 4:19 PM
Oh, I share your disgust at the quality and morals of the Tory leadership in 2010-12. But they, and the voters, would have been facing a different context after two years of C&S- one in which 'this is a crisis so throw lots of things overboard' might not have been as easily sold to the electorate.
Entirely true, but Osborne wasn't the only voice in Cameron's Tory leadership clique: the single most important voice after Cameron himself, yes, but not the deciding factor.
March 19, 2024 at 1:42 PM
Entirely true, but Osborne wasn't the only voice in Cameron's Tory leadership clique: the single most important voice after Cameron himself, yes, but not the deciding factor.
Possibly. In 2010, there was massive alarmism about the UK's inability to pay for govt programmes- from (eg) Mervyn King, most media outlets, etc. Two years of confidence and supply would probably have meant a modest recovery and much less belief that the government must cut everything.
March 19, 2024 at 1:31 PM
Possibly. In 2010, there was massive alarmism about the UK's inability to pay for govt programmes- from (eg) Mervyn King, most media outlets, etc. Two years of confidence and supply would probably have meant a modest recovery and much less belief that the government must cut everything.
'Can you please stop turning in your gyre? And what the fuck is a gyre anyway?'
March 19, 2024 at 1:20 PM
'Can you please stop turning in your gyre? And what the fuck is a gyre anyway?'
Least damaging to the entire public realm. Possibly there was a way to implement major public spending cuts without causing massive long-term problems in all sorts of fields. Possibly making such cuts was imperative in the economic circumstances of 2010-12 (very dubious). But the cuts we got...
March 19, 2024 at 12:58 PM
Least damaging to the entire public realm. Possibly there was a way to implement major public spending cuts without causing massive long-term problems in all sorts of fields. Possibly making such cuts was imperative in the economic circumstances of 2010-12 (very dubious). But the cuts we got...
But surely in 2010 they had the options of either 'enter coalition with the Tories, but make "no austerity" a demand, rather than "referendum on AV"'- or 'support confidence and supply, on the grounds that it's the least damaging option available'.
March 19, 2024 at 12:53 PM
But surely in 2010 they had the options of either 'enter coalition with the Tories, but make "no austerity" a demand, rather than "referendum on AV"'- or 'support confidence and supply, on the grounds that it's the least damaging option available'.
Sorry, Stephen, I clearly got the wrong end of the stick. I remember you praising her policing stuff several times but had clearly not read or forgotten what you said about the other things. I do apologise- I wasn't trying to straw man you there.
March 19, 2024 at 12:51 PM
Sorry, Stephen, I clearly got the wrong end of the stick. I remember you praising her policing stuff several times but had clearly not read or forgotten what you said about the other things. I do apologise- I wasn't trying to straw man you there.
Surely the Lib Dems *should* 'want to mitigate against the coalition thing'? It passed gay marriage, yes, and some education reforms. You admire May as Home Sec (I think Windrush is unforgiveable). But on the other side of the ledger, the coalition hugely damaged this country with austerity.
March 19, 2024 at 12:47 PM
Surely the Lib Dems *should* 'want to mitigate against the coalition thing'? It passed gay marriage, yes, and some education reforms. You admire May as Home Sec (I think Windrush is unforgiveable). But on the other side of the ledger, the coalition hugely damaged this country with austerity.
This is all rather rebar-bative.
March 15, 2024 at 5:22 PM
This is all rather rebar-bative.
'Nothing good' in the sense that 'the post-Election UK right is going to be a horror show of Trumpian nutters competing to be the most bigoted'? Or in the sense that 'there are a lot of right-wing votes out there and a smart Tory leader will be able to corral them'?
March 14, 2024 at 11:08 PM
'Nothing good' in the sense that 'the post-Election UK right is going to be a horror show of Trumpian nutters competing to be the most bigoted'? Or in the sense that 'there are a lot of right-wing votes out there and a smart Tory leader will be able to corral them'?
I also think Kemi Badenoch would be better placed to do that than Mordaunt. That seems true even though Badenoch has made some terrible recent screw-ups, and has some pretty revolting views.
March 13, 2024 at 7:56 PM
I also think Kemi Badenoch would be better placed to do that than Mordaunt. That seems true even though Badenoch has made some terrible recent screw-ups, and has some pretty revolting views.
Agree, but also this is a newish thing. John Major (eg) genuinely disliked Powell-style racism- Chris Patten even more so. But their Tory party had the support of a genuine electoral coalition. The current party sees ageing racists as its core vote, and daren't lose them.
March 13, 2024 at 7:55 PM
Agree, but also this is a newish thing. John Major (eg) genuinely disliked Powell-style racism- Chris Patten even more so. But their Tory party had the support of a genuine electoral coalition. The current party sees ageing racists as its core vote, and daren't lose them.
Hmm, but what's the ceiling for an explicitly 'we're mainly about nativism'* party in the UK? Perhaps 25%? Ukip's best ever GE vote share was 12.6%, and they'd need to double that.
*Subtitle: 'and OF COURSE we're not racists, dear me no.'
*Subtitle: 'and OF COURSE we're not racists, dear me no.'
March 13, 2024 at 7:48 PM
Hmm, but what's the ceiling for an explicitly 'we're mainly about nativism'* party in the UK? Perhaps 25%? Ukip's best ever GE vote share was 12.6%, and they'd need to double that.
*Subtitle: 'and OF COURSE we're not racists, dear me no.'
*Subtitle: 'and OF COURSE we're not racists, dear me no.'
No, he knows exactly who I am. We and some other acquaintances DMed each other on Twitter to buy something for an old friend. Why, it's almost as if people are complicated, and do good as well as bad things- exactly the opposite of that ridiculously simplistic Evans obit of Stone.
March 3, 2024 at 4:14 PM
No, he knows exactly who I am. We and some other acquaintances DMed each other on Twitter to buy something for an old friend. Why, it's almost as if people are complicated, and do good as well as bad things- exactly the opposite of that ridiculously simplistic Evans obit of Stone.
That's the best reply you've got? Childish.
March 3, 2024 at 4:09 PM
That's the best reply you've got? Childish.
Chris Williams knows who I am. I used to worry that I did lack guts, then I had to risk my life for others, and now I'm fine on that. Alas, I'm not bothered about your opinion, especially not for something as trivial as a pseudonym (I don't want my employers knowing everything I say and think).
March 3, 2024 at 4:04 PM
Chris Williams knows who I am. I used to worry that I did lack guts, then I had to risk my life for others, and now I'm fine on that. Alas, I'm not bothered about your opinion, especially not for something as trivial as a pseudonym (I don't want my employers knowing everything I say and think).
You were found by an Employment Tribunal to have acted in concert with a group of others in ways that tended to 'humiliate' a colleague- who, btw. is disabled and female. And the same Tribunal said, in as many words, that it did not believe your evidence. But you are the victim. Of course you are.
March 3, 2024 at 3:48 PM
You were found by an Employment Tribunal to have acted in concert with a group of others in ways that tended to 'humiliate' a colleague- who, btw. is disabled and female. And the same Tribunal said, in as many words, that it did not believe your evidence. But you are the victim. Of course you are.
You're a very brave man, Chris, I must say. Shall we get to the paragraphs were the Tribunal talks about you behaving in ways that tended to 'humiliate' (its term) your colleague Jo Phoenix? That must have taken some guts.
March 3, 2024 at 3:46 PM
You're a very brave man, Chris, I must say. Shall we get to the paragraphs were the Tribunal talks about you behaving in ways that tended to 'humiliate' (its term) your colleague Jo Phoenix? That must have taken some guts.
'Online harassment'? Nope. I quoted the Employment Tribunal's ruling- a document in the public domain. Here's more: 'We considered all the Respondent’s witnesses’ evidence who were asked about this point and found all the witnesses to be evasive and resistant to providing the truth to the Tribunal.'
March 3, 2024 at 3:36 PM
'Online harassment'? Nope. I quoted the Employment Tribunal's ruling- a document in the public domain. Here's more: 'We considered all the Respondent’s witnesses’ evidence who were asked about this point and found all the witnesses to be evasive and resistant to providing the truth to the Tribunal.'
that it 'simply did not believe'. It found that Chris Williams had also acted with others in ways likely to 'humiliate' his colleague Professor Jo Phoenix. So I might not take Chris Williams's opinion on matters of academic ethics all that seriously.
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...
March 3, 2024 at 3:27 PM
that it 'simply did not believe'. It found that Chris Williams had also acted with others in ways likely to 'humiliate' his colleague Professor Jo Phoenix. So I might not take Chris Williams's opinion on matters of academic ethics all that seriously.
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...
to say Stalin's mass murders were without justification. Anyone applauding the Evans obit is either ignorant of this, or is an unpleasant tribalist who doesn't care about intellectual honesty. An Employment Tribunal recently ruled that Dr Chris Williams, of the Open University, had given evidence...
March 3, 2024 at 3:23 PM
to say Stalin's mass murders were without justification. Anyone applauding the Evans obit is either ignorant of this, or is an unpleasant tribalist who doesn't care about intellectual honesty. An Employment Tribunal recently ruled that Dr Chris Williams, of the Open University, had given evidence...
... stands as an example of massive emotional under-development. It's a gleeful stream of insults trotted out because someone from The Other Tribe has died. Stone was all bad, according to Evans. That's the Evans who has bent over backwards finding justifications for Eric Hobsbawm's refusal...
March 3, 2024 at 3:20 PM
... stands as an example of massive emotional under-development. It's a gleeful stream of insults trotted out because someone from The Other Tribe has died. Stone was all bad, according to Evans. That's the Evans who has bent over backwards finding justifications for Eric Hobsbawm's refusal...