Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Virtually every leader in the Western world was returned to office triumphantly during the 80s boom years. Thatcher, Mitterrand, Gonzales, Kohl, Hawke off the top of my head. Even the most clueless shit head could portray themselves as a financial wizard.

Yeah, provided you didn't have an election in the early 80s recession, it was a cakewalk.

Here's a good thread on Carter's farewell address which highlights his strengths and weaknesses

One of his weaknesses is he needed a decent sub-editor to make it snappy like Ronnie. But doesn’t have to be sunny as Reagan as he’s leaving office. Voters like straight talking home truths when it’s about cutting other people’s welfare payments but not about the necessity to dump the gas guzzlers. Here we are 45 years later and everything Carter said about the environment is even more prescient. I hope the citizens of the Western world having their lives destroyed by fire and floods aren’t blaming the politicians. Because you got what you voted for and this is your reckoning.

Concerned to see Ron Perlman trending this morning but don’t worry, he’s very well and you’ll like him even more if you don’t already

Veiled threat, or what ? I mean, I know it's the land of free speech and all, but fuck a duck.

Threat responding to a threat?

Seems Ron’s a passionate man.

War. War never changes.


(This being a recurring line in Ron's opening narration to the Fallout series of video games and something of a hook line for same, M'learned friends)

Heartbreaking isn’t it?

A bit sad, but hardly dangerous as the strapline claims.

True entrepreneurs and risk-takers would be exploring alternate use.
Now the USA is massive for land zoning, and I don't know whether slices of skyscrapers are as enthusiastically policed.

It's worth noting that several tall office buildings include viewing levels, eateries with views, and occasionally accommodation.

Youngian wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:14 pm Heartbreaking isn’t it?

OK I found my way to the article.

The danger appears to be the city requiring on the American equivalent of rates to keep the borough's functions going.

Maybe a new generation of businesses will be able to afford Manhattan as result. Young Warhol and Velvet Underground wanabees can squat the buildings.

I'm guessing the Kennedy name isn't going to help this bright lad into the White House.



But he's not prejudiced. At all.

Philip Marlow wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:37 am I'm guessing the Kennedy name isn't going to help this bright lad into the White House.

Is this some laborious joke set up for a piss poor US stand up? “We’re going to have to eat bagels on a rickshaw to avoid the virus.”

Democrats must be egging Kennedy to stand as a third party spoiler candidate to dampen the GOP vote. Ross Perot for MAGA nutters.
The Kennedys have some fuck ups in the family but they’re generally serious middle of the road politicians. WTF happened to this guy?

Thought it was only Jeremy Corbyn supporters who define publishing someone’s words recorded on camera as a smear. He has white coat and stethoscope so he must be a real doctor

Youngian wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 7:17 amIs this some laborious joke set up for a piss poor US stand up? “We’re going to have to eat bagels on a rickshaw to avoid the virus.”

Jr's been a stalwart anti-vaxxer for a while, but this particular level of wackiness is a step up from his usual rhetoric on the subject.

American progressives have this habit of coming up with some really idiotic ideas.

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/refusing- ... will?sd=pf

And meanwhile, the idea that teaching kids less math will create “equity” has spread far beyond the Golden State. The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts recently removed algebra and all advanced math from its junior high schools, on similar “equity” grounds.

It is difficult to find words to describe how bad this idea is without descending into abject rudeness. The idea that offering children fewer educational resources through the public school system will help the poor kids catch up with rich ones, or help the Black kids catch up with the White and Asian ones, is unsupported by any available evidence of which I am aware. More fundamentally, though, it runs counter to the whole reason that public schools exist in the first place.

The idea behind universal public education is that all children — or almost all, making allowance for those with severe learning disabilities — are fundamentally educable. It is the idea that there is some set of subjects — reading, writing, basic mathematics, etc. — that essentially all children can learn, if sufficient resources are invested in teaching them.

Before public education — one of the key crusades of the original Progressive movement — only private actors invested resources in educating children. Families taught their kids skills, rich families hired tutors, companies trained their workers, churches provided some classes, etc. But it was a threadbare, uneven patchwork. Worse, it was highly unequal — if you weren’t born to a family with lots of time and/or money to spare, you didn’t get nearly as much education. This led to inequality throughout society, as well as the preservation of intergenerational wealth. Furthermore, it wasted much of society’s productive potential, because the unlucky kids weren’t learning as many useful skills as they could have been.

For those who are un or de-Twittered:

John Simpson
@JohnSimpsonNews
A number of valuable ancient clay lamps, sent from Israel to an exhibition in Washington DC in 2019, were stranded in the US because of Covid. They’ve turned up at — guess where? — Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The Israelis are having problems getting them back.

So, on top of everything else, the bright orange shitgibbon is also a common thief. How charming.