Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Yes, the "Brighton pier" policy from Rachman and Hoogstraten, facilities management services.

Marina Hyde, on form as ever.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... s-election

As Rishi Sunak tooled around Disneyland last week on his family holiday, I tried to imagine his government as a theme park. Instead of a rollercoaster, there would be a sign reading “Keir Starmer doesn’t want you to have a rollercoaster”. Instead of a log flume, there would be an artlessly defensive attempt to convince you that “the blob” says you can’t even not have a log flume any more. There would be no foot-long churros; foot-long churros are woke. The wrong type of visitors would be invited to “fuck off back to Disneyland Paris”.

Living in permanent campaign mode was one of the many diseases gifted to our politics by Boris Johnson, whose sole political philosophy was “I should be prime minister”. Once he became prime minister, he didn’t have a thought in his head as to what he wanted to do with the job, and anyway wasn’t any good at it. Yet Johnson’s sole political philosophy became “I should stay prime minister”. These days, his sole political philosophy is “I should be prime minister again”.

There is a similar failure of imagination at the heart of this entire current government, whose intellectual and ideological underpinnings these days amount to asking: “Don’t you realise Labour would be worse?” I’m sure we all hate to break it to the Conservatives, but the British people are well into the “so what?” phase of their engagement with that particular question.

John Crace doing what he does best

RishGPT recycles old soundbites as last vestiges of credibility crumble
John Crace

It was never going to be pretty. Even if school buildings hadn’t been found to be collapsing all around us, the first prime minister’s questions of the new session was always likely to be brutal for Rishi Sunak. The government’s attempts to seize control of the news agenda over the summer had backfired badly. Small boats week, NHS week and crime week had all left ministers trying to explain why nothing was going as planned. It was as if the idiots had taken over the asylum. Which of course, they have. Only the idiots are left. To be a halfwit in the current Conservative party is a status symbol. Most are far dimmer than that...

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ty-crumble

Now read on

Oh god here's this drivel from Zoe Williams

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -be-banned

Yes Zoe wanting to ban a dog breed that has literally killed people is classist.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 4:34 pm

Yes Zoe wanting to ban a dog breed that has literally killed people is classist.

Where does she say she wants to ban them? I got the opposite impression.

I absolutely subscribe to "no bad dogs, just bad owners", which, of enjoying, makes her take more classist than the dog ban.

I'm afraid I subscribe to 'bad owners choose bad dogs'. I see her point that ownership of some sorts of dogs may lead to classist assumptions, but I don't see where she advocates a ban, or how that is classist.

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:27 pm

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 4:34 pm

Yes Zoe wanting to ban a dog breed that has literally killed people is classist.

Where does she say she wants to ban them? I got the opposite impression.

That isn't what I meant I was pointing out how ridiculous her claims of wanting to ban XL Bullys was classist is ridiculous.

All owners have to beware of their dog’s inner wolf. Even my sweet little whippet has his Joe Pesci moments and has squared up to Rottweilers and Alsatians as well as taken down deer three times his size. Not kids ever but could easily cause a lot of damage if it happened.

MisterMuncher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:29 pm I absolutely subscribe to "no bad dogs, just bad owners", which, of enjoying, makes her take more classist than the dog ban.

That's like when gun owners in America say guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people. The XL Bully is simply too dangerous to be kept as a pet.

XL Bully. The clue's in the fucking name.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:54 pm

MisterMuncher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:29 pm I absolutely subscribe to "no bad dogs, just bad owners", which, of enjoying, makes her take more classist than the dog ban.

That's like when gun owners in America say guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people. The XL Bully is simply too dangerous to be kept as a pet.

Nah.

A gun doesn't become aggressive in and of itself because it's owned by a cunt.

No they're dangerous and too many people have been hurt or even worse killed by these dogs.

MisterMuncher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 6:34 pm
Nah.

A gun doesn't become aggressive in and of itself because it's owned by a cunt.

It appears quite a few own XLs. Good bit of balanced reporting on the subject

A surge in American Bully XL dogs arriving at their shelter has been reported by Stoke-on-Trent's City Dogs Home. https://www.itv.com/news/central/2023-0 ... esert-them

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:47 pm

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:27 pm

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 4:34 pm

Yes Zoe wanting to ban a dog breed that has literally killed people is classist.

Where does she say she wants to ban them? I got the opposite impression.

That isn't what I meant I was pointing out how ridiculous her claims of wanting to ban XL Bullys was classist is ridiculous.

Then please do us the honour of writing what you mean.

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 5:40 pm I'm afraid I subscribe to 'bad owners choose bad dogs'. I see her point that ownership of some sorts of dogs may lead to classist assumptions, but I don't see where she advocates a ban, or how that is classist.

Well, that's the other side of it, isn't it? It's quite hard to separate it all out, and the ban approach is something of a blunt instrument, inevitably catching some perfectly decent people with completely agreeable dogs.

Much like I'm sure there's some perfectly pleasant folks of even temperament and courteous disposition driving old-model white Audi A4s

The classist assumptions are very often bang-on, though, aren’t they ? When’s the last time you spotted the Honourable Henry Fuckpigg-Smythe giving his XL American Bully a run out ?

Quite.

What are 'roadmen'?

Is TikTok now a major polling organisation?