No idea, 21 days seems fairly random, especially given you'd expect pressure to fade rather than build, on balance.Why have they chosen such a relatively distant date?
normally the questions go to the minister and then they call on an expert if they want them to answer the questionI wonder if, the next time Whitty or Vallance are at a daily briefing, they will be asked if they support Cummings decisions.
I'd be surprised if we see them there until this blows over.I wonder if, the next time Whitty or Vallance are at a daily briefing, they will be asked if they support Cummings decisions.
but the political experts think Cummings will be gone in the middle of June.
Well the Chinese government part I have no clue about but my instinct is it sounds more like a nice story to tell to fit with their subsequent claim rather than it actually having been a systematic aspect of Chinese propaganda as they imply - happy to be corrected on this though if that indeed was the case.
As for the latter part about it all being a calculated power grab by Cummings after which dissenting historians will be shot...as I said, are we supposed to take that seriously?
Well the Chinese government part I have no clue about but my instinct is it sounds more like a nice story to tell to fit with their subsequent claim rather than it actually having been a systematic aspect of Chinese propaganda as they imply - happy to be corrected on this though if that indeed was the case.
As for the latter part about it all being a calculated power grab by Cummings after which dissenting historians will be shot...as I said, are we supposed to take that seriously?
You're quoting me as saying that, when I was just relaying a press release. Next big scandal incoming- Cummings flouts related persons betting rules!I thought Cummings was the Political expert??
What odds are being quoted?
DC could make a killing here... fill your boots!
Just a thought Dom, wonder if you have considered buying any shares in any local Barnard Castle enterprises, you've certainly put them on the tourist map! "Every cloud etc..."
You're quoting me as saying that, when I was just relaying a press release. Next big scandal incoming- Cummings flouts related persons betting rules!
'They will tell you what justice is.'It's certainly a feature of totalitarianism and from the books I've read on Mao and the Nazis it is very much one aspect they practiced. I've not read it in ages but the Origins of Totalitarianism would be a much more uncomfortable read these days. An obvious lie isn't meant to instil a false truth it's meant as an act of domination to stamp where the power is and erode peoples integrity because by repeating such lies it makes them complicit and binded to them.
Senior cabinet members were out in force demeaning themselves repeating Doms lie because of the power he has over them. As were all the hard right journalists and Tory bots. I don't think Dom expected that lie to work but he expected Leave voters to sing to his tune which is a win. The fact he got them to deny the initial claim and then repeat a new lie is all the more totalitarianism 101.
The final part of that post is obviously bollocks though.
I think we need the press or the police to make another move before further resignations.Why have they chosen such a relatively distant date?
It's certainly a feature of totalitarianism and from the books I've read on Mao and the Nazis it is very much one aspect they practiced. I've not read it in ages but the Origins of Totalitarianism would be a much more uncomfortable read these days. An obvious lie isn't meant to instil a false truth it's meant as an act of domination to stamp where the power is and erode peoples integrity because by repeating such lies it makes them complicit and binded to them.
Senior cabinet members were out in force demeaning themselves repeating Doms lie because of the power he has over them. As were all the hard right journalists and Tory bots. I don't think Dom expected that lie to work but he expected Leave voters to sing to his tune which is a win. The fact he got them to deny the initial claim and then repeat a new lie is all the more totalitarianism 101.
The final part of that post is obviously bollocks though.
Exactly what I was going to say but couldn't find a way of saying it so concisely
I can't see it having been a coordinated policy, more something that someone analysing it after the fact comes up with as a narrative that fits neatly with the events
People always assume that Governments are acting in a coordinated, rational and calculated manner with each decision and each public announcement geared towards achieving some higher-aim but in reality they are probably just blundering around reacting to random events like the rest of us!
Which only goes to show how hidebound and stale such ways of thinking are. And how idiotic the 'strong leader' concept is.If he shows any doubt, or as others would say show 'weakness' now, then all his future intentions, whether it be Brexit of anything else, will go up in flames, he will become a lame-duck barely 12 months into his premiership
Exactly what I was going to say but couldn't find a way of saying it so concisely
I can't see it having been a coordinated policy, more something that someone analysing it after the fact comes up with as a narrative that fits neatly with the events
People always assume that Governments are acting in a coordinated, rational and calculated manner with each decision and each public announcement geared towards achieving some higher-aim but in reality they are probably just blundering around reacting to random events like the rest of us!
Which only goes to show how hidebound and stale such ways of thinking are. And how idiotic the 'strong leader' concept is.
True but its popularity doesn't guarantee that it's worth anything besides its use in gaining the cheapest kind of victories.On the contrary, if you look around the world such concepts are in vogue.
True but its popularity doesn't guarantee that it's worth anything besides its use in gaining the cheapest kind of victories.
As said earlier in this thread, it’s difficult for any politician to recover when their image becomes the focus of ridicule which is the case with almost all the current cabinet.
Rubbish. All through Thatcher's reign we had Spitting Image yet the pols were fine. They all loved the attention.
Certainly David Steel is on recording as stating his Spitting Image caricature as a tiny man in David Owen's pocket had a significant impact on his careerIt depends on the nature of the ridicule, always. You can bet your life that Mrs Thatcher relished being portrayed as the only strong man in her government...that is, if she'd ever looked at a television screen.
Yeah. I have a poor memory yet even I can remember 'killer' lines from those Steel/Owen sketches, none of them flattering to Steel.Certainly David Steel is on recording as stating his Spitting Image caricature as a tiny man in David Owen's pocket had a significant impact on his career
The difference with the big red bus lie was that Cummings and Boris had a large BrExit seeking constituency hoping he’d be right as well as it being an amazing benefit if it were true.The truth is somewhere in between. The reason Cummings has got so far is because he's been able to control media narrative to political advantage in the past. Gove credits him with twice saving his career in the early days by doing so. The infamous big red bus lie was Cummings's strategy. The primary aim of it wasn't to convince people that we could better fund the NHS if we left the EU but to cause a media shitstorm and really light a fire under the Brexit debate. Cummings admits that it worked much better than even he anticipated.
They do have calculated strategy, if it works in the case is a different matter. I guess it depends on what the end is. If Boris really believes that he needs Cummings for Brexit no matter what and is balancing that against a short term battering in public confidence then they might just get away with it.
The difference with the big red bus lie was that Cummings and Boris had a large BrExit seeking constituency hoping he’d be right as well as it being an amazing benefit if it were true.
This context of this recent set of lies is totally different: there is no pro Covid19 vote base, 99% of the population have suffered by taking opposite decisions to his, with a vocal minority seriously suffering from emotional or psychological trauma because of that. And IF Cummings did have the rights to trust his ‘instincts’, then that must mean the other 99% are worse parents for not having done the same.
Cummings decisions cannot garner empathy with a large enough constituency. Plus he also further antogonised the media in his excuses, and they won’t ever forget that.
Lies are a dangerous business because you have to tell increasingly bigger ones to defend to original lie. As those require others to lie for you. Tory Ministers, MP’s and media outriders already sound ridiculous trying to defend him. That is not sustainable under ferocious and sustained scrutiny.
As social distancing measures relax, I can see families and friends of those who died (including Tory and Leave voters) attending protests, sharing more tragic stories and becoming further entrenched in their outrage. Their shared experience will unify them. It actually the perfect project for a group like Momentum to organise and propagate.
Even if Cummings survives a few weeks, is he able to perform his role as belligerent enforcer amongst Tory Government and civil service any more? He becomes a lame duck. Which in turn makes Boris one too. Cummings position has become untenable.
Rightfully getting slammed in the replies. Beyond tone death.
Rightfully getting slammed in the replies. Beyond tone death.
Hunt laying into Johnson at the moment.
