[Youngian]

I thought Mandelson resigned the second time because he phoned up Mike O'Brien about the Hinduja's passport, and the first time for not declaring a (very soft) loan on a mortgage application.

Saying that's the same failing as sharing confidential government information with Epstein and encouraging JP Morgan to lobby against the government, is really quite the stretch. Not just similar, "exactly" the same apparently.

Neither has Mandelson been accused of sex crimes but is an obsequitious loose lipped mug who's a danger to national security. Its not Andrew that comparisons should be made but Boris Johnson and the Lebedevs.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The UK has certainly been one of the ones moving fast on Defence. France was rumored to have been chief pissabouter on the negotiations.

See how its homegrown videoconferencing software works. Is it up to the job or is like using the Dailymotion instead of Youtube?

[kreuzberger]

France was rumored to have been chief pissabouter on the negotiations.

That pissaboutery was the Frogs throwing fish on to the dead cat table, to mix a meta-seven, many moons ago.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Labour MPs say Starmer’s days as PM are numbered amid fury over Mandelson
MPs say release of papers on Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador could trigger leadership challenge

Shortly to be followed by tumbling pound and spiking debt costs, most probably.

This is ridiculous. None of these MPs seriously think that Starmer knew any of this stuff. The appointment of Mandelson is exactly as bad as it was a few days ago.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I may have been harsh on Rayner. Perhaps she does want Starmer to survive, and felt that her suggestion was the only way to ensure that.

[Youngian]

Any country can clone video conferencing software but harsh post-war experience points to joint venutres being the norm for medium sized countries competing with superpowers. France would be foolish to retreat to economic nationalism in new tech.
More of this instead.

Joint project with Eutelsat promoted by French president during G7 summit

A company largely owned by the French and U.K. governments is pitching Canada on a roughly $250-million plan to provide the military with secure satellite broadband coverage in the Arctic, CBC News has learned.

Eutelsat, a rival to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink, already provides some services to the Canadian military, but wants to deepen the partnership as Canada looks to diversify defence contracts away from suppliers in the United States.
https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic ... perations/

[The Weeping Angel]

Ben here sums up a lot of how I'm thinking.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Child poverty reduction? Funny, I read today that the Government wasn't doing anything worth voting for, and was just "threatening" people they had to vote for them to stop Reform winning.

When rightwing Labour MPs were dismissive of Corbyn it was because they genuinely thought he had cranky views on the economy, foreign policy etc. The reaction of the liberal left to Starmer seems less (to use their own word) principled, and more personal.

[Boiler]

Not that it matters, but it seems Starmer's lost James O'Brien.

[The Weeping Angel]

I thought Mandelson resigned the second time because he phoned up Mike O'Brien about the Hinduja's passport, and the first time for not declaring a (very soft) loan on a mortgage application.

Saying that's the same failing as sharing confidential government information with Epstein and encouraging JP Morgan to lobby against the government, is really quite the stretch. Not just similar, "exactly" the same apparently.

I reckon a lot of the heat from journalists on Bluesky is because Mandelson told the FT to fuck off.

[mattomac]

I think it’s more due to the fact they don’t generally get exclusives