Rayvin

It's not exactly set up for that though, is it? China is heavily reliant upon international trade and the impact of releasing a virus as infectious as this is more or less what we have seen. The whole world shuts down because no one can contain or control it., leading to active harm to China itself. So we can take from that, that the virus was not developed to be targeted. If this is a manmade virus, it is one that was developed with a view to infecting the entire world, not just a single enemy. Moreover, it's kill rate isn't actually that high. If it's manmade they get a 3.5 out of 10 from me. Poor targeting, zero control over the effects, not potent. Must do better.

I think the crucial point here is whether you, Trump, or anyone else had any evidence upon which to base the claim. Certainly Trump didn't or else it would have been shared. I recall you mentioned a doctor who made some kind of claim to this point but I also recall that I read the claim and found insufficient evidence to trust it. Having lived in China I am fully, fully prepared to believe that the CCP are capable of creating a killer virus (not that I would entirely see an obvious reason as to why they might have done it), in the same way that I am fully prepared to believe they've actively committing genocide in Xinjiang, that they have a really low concern level around human rights and indeed life in general, and that they're pretty much capable of anything. I mean, I also believe this last point about our government but that's an aside. The ultimate fundamental in all of this though, is that we need actual proof. And at the moment, neither you or Biden himself have any actual proof of this. I don't think accusing the Chinese government of these things is racist btw - it just could be baseless.

Sunak was basically handpicked for the Chancellorship by Cummings himself iirc. And Gove idk, he's not exactly been altogether visible throughout this anyway. I couldn't even tell you what his position in the government is at the moment.

Ah ok, yes - I can see that. I thought you meant some kind of grand plot to get back into power. Yes, presumably at least part of this is coming from the desire to stick it to those who shafted him, absolutely. Still though, this is some length to go to.

The only point I struggle with a bit on that, is what it is that he wants. I really don't think he's a politician in any sense. I'm not at all clear on what he stands to gain from this, it certainly doesn't make him look good even by his own admission.

For the good of the country though. Cummings finally doing the right thing, albeit I'm dubious on whether or not its for the right reasons.

Johnson wanted chaos because it meant he was in control. Johnson actively opposed closing borders because he prioritised the economy over people's lives. All of this is stuff we knew but to hear it thrown back like this as undeniable truth is somehow even more painful. You think in the back of your mind sometimes that maybe you're a conspiracy theorist and the Tories aren't that bad, that they must have their reasons, but this is 100% the picture that many of us had for the past year, writ large by one of its chief architects. This is appalling.

Hancock is, apparently, one of those guys who will say anything to hold onto power and not get shown up. He strikes me as perpetually deathly afraid of making decisions or getting anything wrong, to the extent that he was prepared to fabricate reality to ensure he wasn't "found out". If what Cummings says is true, he should be publicly annihilated for this.

Hmm I guess so - even as a scapegoat it's too late to pull the trigger on him I guess.

Aye it's hard to see how Hancock emerges from this unscathed, but it has at least confirmed that he is every bit as servile and incompetent as we had suspected.

I'm starting to despise Starmer for being so ineffective at this but I do agree that it's hard to imagine what more he could do when the issue really is that people just don't want to hear it. If it was me I would probably hang my entire leadership of the party on one extremely well prepared, truth bombing speech about what I really thought of Johnson and the Tories, resign on the spot citing an absolute and total lack of faith in our democratic process, give everyone in Parliament the finger and then go outside and tell the press that they're a bunch of cunts and at least partially responsible for this utter shitshow. Ideally, I would have every single other member of my party resign with me. The Tories would be about as 'opposed' as they presently are anyway, and it would underline how ridiculous this country has become. We are a one party state that functions in the same ways as authoritarian regimes do when it comes to information, truth and decency. I have zero expectation that any of this would change anything, but I would enjoy it in the moment. Childish maybe, but nothing like a good power fantasy

Honestly I think he'll be forced out from within or throw the towel in himself, go on to have a lucrative book deal as the man who 'got brexit done' and ultimately get a knighthood for his services to queen and country. He will eventually die, will be given a state funeral, and most likely we'll have a statue of him erected. I genuinely believe this country is now ridiculous enough for all of the above to happen.

Daily Mail comment section is calling him a snake and a liar, so yes, I agree with you No one cares anymore, all the matters is the purity of your religious denominatio--I mean political party.

I honestly think he's taken the view that he has nothing to lose from this as he's not a politician and doesn't appear to aspire to be one. So given that, and the fact that the Tories fucked him over for the sake of Boris' missus, I can see why he's rather disinclined to do them any favours here I mean who cares ultimately, he's effectively shooting down every single argument that the Tories actually did a good job with this, in one fell swoop. You would hope Labour will be all over this.

Cummings says there was a meeting where Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, told Boris Johnson that he should go on TV and explain that the herd immunity plan was like chicken pox parties. Cummings says he told Sedwill not to use that analogy. Sedwill queried why. Cummings says he said coronavirus was not like chicken pox, it was spreading exponentially, and thousands of people were dying. "Coronavirus is not like chicken pox... thousands of people are dying" The fact that our government ministers needed basic shit like this spelling out to them is utterly painful.

The Guardian has said he has apologised multiple times, but every single time it seems to be "I'm sorry that I didn't sufficiently manage this group of incompetents" or "I'm sorry I didn't chase them up to do their job" It's beautiful tbf

I think at this point, everyone on all sides is frustrated at everyone else on all sides. Being frustrated isn't unique to the centre That said, we're really talking about the centre right and centre left for the most part. The extremes of left and right hardly ever come into the picture at all. Johnson is moderate right I guess, and Corbyn was moderate left. But Starmer is soft left.

I don't wish death on Johnson but I would ultimately say he was more deserving of being killed off by COVID than a lot of the people it actually killed.

It's only ever right wing commentators who think the left prides itself on being tolerant, man Many left wingers I speak to are now fully murderous over political issues!

Diego knows more about the England set up than I do, apparently

Crow-d of raven lunatics. Robin me of my desire to keep reading.

I am wondering if woke culture has also contributed. I was surprised to see HF basically ignore those comments from Parky and I feel like overall we might have been pushed towards greater sensitivity in language choices over the past ten years, across the board.

So you went from all that kind of rhetoric to me not picking up on antisemitism in a mural that depicted rich people oppressing the world I think it's safe to say that I'm not in that bracket I've had a read through this and can see the consistency of your arguments here over the years, which indicates obviously it's something you feel strongly about. Good points too, interesting to re-read. Can also see my own which I would say are a little more nuanced now in the sense of having a broader understanding of the issue than I once did. I still basically feel the same way though, and blame Western imperialism for having gotten us to where we are.

It is incredibly important that we continue to identify that on the Israeli side of this, the actors in favour of continued aggression are Israeli politicians, and not "the Jews". In the same way that on the other side we consider that Hamas are Palestinian politicians, and not "the Muslims". I'm sure I saw something in the news the other day about people in London driving around and yelling antimisemitic nonsense. How is that helping, seriously. It does need to be a combined solution, and IMO that should mean all citizens as equals, all voting freely, combined Israeli/Palestinian parliament, etc. Let people get on with their lives and relegate the whole issue to history.

He's already had a pop at them for calling for Johnson to be sacked from what I remember seeing on RTG. I wonder how long before he regrets his decision.