Starmer's vision quest

[briantrumpet]

Maybe this will seal McSweeney's fate, though a pity it casts Glasman in a better light 🤣

 

[Rusty Nails]

Jesus, when did Anne Diamond cross over to the dark side?

Probably the only job she could get, even if it is on something remotely resembling TV.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[monkers]

If in doubt, copying and pasting a photo into Google Gemini is a quick way to check, and seems pretty reliable. I think it behoves all of us to be cynical and on guard against these kinds of things.

Actually I didn't choose Gemini (or Grok) or anything else, but whatever AI that is that seems to come up whenever you Google something these days. It seemed to think it real (at that point in time).

I remember a photograph of Trump shaking hands with Gerry Adams at a fund raising event in the US. People defended Trump robustly claiming it was fake - but at the same time saying the one with Corbyn was real. As it turned out, both were real.

 

[briantrumpet]

I fear that Ed Davey is turning into the Lib Dem equivalent of Badenoch, with his facile social media postings, the latest one being a call for a vote of confidence. Refreshingly, the replies on Bluesky, mostly from Lib Dem supporters, is telling him to stop it and grow up.

 

[First Aspect]

Jesus, when did Anne Diamond cross over to the dark side?

Shortly after she did the colonic irrigation in live TV. Her career options were a bit shït after that.

 

[TailWindHome]

Thank you for playing US Foreign Policy
We'll play again next week

 

[Psamathe]

Maybe this will seal McSweeney's fate, though a pity it casts Glasman in a better light 🤣

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At this point can we trust anything any of Starmer/his advisors are saying? If (big if) Gassman did send such a note, is he now asking 3rd parties to "leak it" to protect his own reputation. Or does Glasman see all Starmer's advisero being tarred with the same brush so wants to extricate himself from being part of that group? And then McSweeney can't admit or deny ever getting such a note as he's not allowed a public platform (part of his job description, like Civil Servants).

Maybe they are all playing politics, typing to position themselves, trying to minimise damage, trying to improve standing and they are playing us as their target gullible suckers ready to lap it all up..

 

[secretsqirrel]

Thank you for playing US Foreign Policy
We'll play again next week


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I’m waiting for Badenough to proclaim “It was the tories wot dunnit”.

 

[briantrumpet]

Maybe they are all playing politics

It's Westminster. It's what they do, and have always done.

 

[briantrumpet]

Just reflecting on Starmer's apologies for getting it wrong over Mandelson, and his statement that referenced Mandelson's "lies" and "deceit". I assume he can back that up, or knows that Mandelson can't (or won't) counter that statement, as I'd assume that Starmer wouldn't risk Mandelson having proof that he had been candid with Starmer. Given the ease with which Mandelson betrays confidences (e.g. the immediate forwarding of private emails about UK economic positions), I suspect that Mandelson's deceit to Starmer is probable, and Starmer knows he's on firm ground.

And reflecting on other news, the Chagos Islands aren't exactly Falklands War territory, but I suspect that the vague parallel won't be lost on Starmer, and it's been resolved with no fighting or deaths.

I would imagine Starmer's quite pleased to have got near to the end of today, although there's still over three hours to go before it's another day.

 

[briantrumpet]

If one were cynical, one might think that people with axes to grind might be taking advantage of the moment.

Obviously I'm not in the least cynical.

 

[Psamathe]

Just reflecting on Starmer's apologies for getting it wrong over Mandelson, and his statement that referenced Mandelson's "lies" and "deceit".

Starmer seems to be trying to pass the blame over to Mandleson trying to argue he made the right decision based on what he was told.

To me blindly accepting the words of somebody with Mandleson's known track record and with the widespread knowledge that Mandleson had maintained contact with Epstein after conviction is what beggars belief.

Beyond stupid to just blindly accept the words of somebody with Mandleson's history particularly when answering one way gets him his dream job and answering the other sends him to political oblivion.

Starmer trying to be the victim just shows his desperation to cling on.

 

[secretsqirrel]

Just a couple of things from the last couple of days that are puzzling….🤨

Starmer sacked Mandelson last September 10th 2025 - The same discussion took place then as have been going on today and yesterday.
This link shows the real time reporting from the BBC on that day https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/czewp16k6k6t and it is interesting because it could have been from this week.

More details of Mandelson’s treachery have been disclosed in the Epstein files released last week, which show that Mandelson‘s history was even worse that we thought.

So, does that make Starmer more incompetent now than he was last September or when he first appointed Mandelson to the ambassador role last February, due to Mandelson being a bigger rogue than was known?

 

[briantrumpet]

Starmer seems to be trying to pass the blame over to Mandleson trying to argue he made the right decision based on what he was told.

To me blindly accepting the words of somebody with Mandleson's known track record and with the widespread knowledge that Mandleson had maintained contact with Epstein after conviction is what beggars belief.

Beyond stupid to just blindly accept the words of somebody with Mandleson's history particularly when answering one way gets him his dream job and answering the other sends him to political oblivion.

Starmer trying to be the victim just shows his desperation to cling on.

Let's call it, I dunno, 'politics'. I'd prefer naïveté to duplicitousness/lying. Serious question: did you watch the BBC's 'House of Cards'? Politics has always been a dirty business.

He was being employed as a clever manipulator, but I'd suggest that it wasn't an entirely unreasonable hope that Mandelson, as a Labour Party member and peer wasn't going to use his manipulative/deceptive skills on the government that was employing him, despite the security services' question marks.