*** OFFICIAL BREXIT SUNLIT UPLANDS and #MEGA THREAD ***

[Poopadoop]

This is a little simplistic.

I'm talking about the countries who are prioritising whether to make a deal with us or with the EU.

We didn't vote for more red tape.

I think you're confusing the Brexit lie that we'd be getting rid of all the EU red tape with the reality that if we trade with the EU from outside the EU, there's going to be more red tape.

The EU is notoriously bureaucratic, understanding and abiding by EU regulations requires significant time and investment for companies that want to trade with EU partners. More so now, which isn't a surprise when it comes to the EU because we still have to deal with their red tape

We voted to leave the EU, we were told, partly because of all the red tape. Now we're out, but we still want to trade with the EU. Except now there's extra red tape because we're no longer in the EU.

[OngBonga]

I'm talking about the countries who are prioritising whether to make a deal with us or with the EU.

Ok, but this is going to depend on what they want to buy. If they want cars, they'll deal with the EU. If they want salmon or whiskey, they'll deal with us.

I think you're confusing the Brexit lie that we'd be getting rid of all the EU red tape with the reality that if we trade with the EU from outside the EU, there's going to be more red tape.

The "less red tape" argument doesn't apply to the EU. It applies to non-EU. How can there be less red tape if there are two sets of regulations to abide by?

We voted to leave the EU, we were told, partly because of all the red tape.

Partly, yes. But that should mean a shift of focus from EU to non-EU markets.

[Poopadoop]

Partly, yes. But that should mean a shift of focus from EU to non-EU markets.

Right.

How many free trade deals do we have with other countries right now, do you know? I mean ones with no red tape. Is it worth 47% of our exports yet?

[OngBonga]

I don't care. Really I don't. I never really gave a fuck about red tape and all that crap. All I care about is sovereignty. I know that's not something you understand, perhaps you wouldn't care if Canada got absorbed into USA for the economic benefits. I wouldn't either, that's Canada's business. But that's the crux of the issue for me. No amount of economic benefit makes political integration worth it.

Everything you have said on this topic ever implies you see the EU as nothing more than an economic union. If that's all it was, I don't think I'd have been quite so quick to vote to leave. But it's not just an economic union. It started off as one, and grew into something more... a political union. Where does it stop? Your guess is as good as mine.

[Poopadoop]

EU Imperial Army headed for Moscow?

[OngBonga]

I mean, I care about democracy too. If our democratic will is to be a member of the EU, so be it. I have no choice but to accept it. But it's not. We don't want it. Frankly I wish the remainers would finally accept it and stop fucking whining. That isn't a dig at you, I don't know if you're all over Twitter shouting this stuff or if it's reserved for our little club of four or five people. I'm quite happy to talk about it with you for years on end, it's not like we're trying to appeal to an audience. But if you're on social media telling any Brexit voter who will listen that they're an idiot or whatever, well I guess that dig does apply to you.

[OngBonga]

EU Imperial Army headed for Moscow?

idk about an Imperial army, but Merkel has talked about a common army, and a common foreign policy might happen too. No thanks. Our foreign policy is dreadful enough as it is, but at least we fucking vote for it.

[Poopadoop]

#MEGA #democracy

https://twitter.com/gameoldgirl/stat...64752234065921

[OngBonga]

We vote for this shitshow every five years. We are able to hold government to democratic account. We just don't. This is why I think the British public are basically morons. Well, lots of other reasons, like queueing up for Primark from 6am on end-of-lockdown day. But failing to use our democratic power to shape our society into something to actually be proud of, that does it for me.

I'm not sure why so many people are in meltdown because of Prince Phillip getting so much attention. What the fuck do people expect? We did the same for Diana, for Margaret, for the Queen Mother, we'd do the same if the Prime Minister died, certainly when the queen dies, USA would do the same if the president dies, maybe even ex presidents, this is kinda standard for any country. It's not North Korea batshit leader worship or die. I don't give a fuck about an old man I've never met dying, but I don't give a fuck either if it's all that's on TV. We live in an age where we can watch what the fuck we like, it's not like when I was a kid when we had four channels of TV.

There is a lot of hate out there. The Duke fought actual Nazis, and people are calling him a Nazi because nobody knows what the word fucking means anymore. And these people think they're on the right side of history. Thick as pigshit.

[Poopadoop]

Yeah I don't care about Philip beyond it being a bit sad the Q lost her husband of 500 years or w/e. I just ignore the hoopla, but it does seem a bit excessive the way the royals are respected so much. It's not like they earned their jobs.

As for the shitshow in gov't, I have to agree people must be morons or seriously brainwashed. There has been a ton of Trump level shady shit going on since Boris got in charge, a disaster with the pandemic up to now, and people support him because the last thing he did was give the vax rollout to professionals instead of to one of his mates, like that's some kind of heroic move. I mean the standards can't get any lower if one decent thing makes up for ten bad things as long it happens last.

[OngBonga]

Boris is no worse than May, Cameron, Brown or Blair. I'll leave it there because I was too young when it comes to Major and Thatcher. They're all corrupt as fuck, Cameron is being exposed right now. The difference with Boris is simply he's a bit of a buffoon, he looks silly and talks like he's trying to be posher than he is. Oh and he's being corrupt during a pandemic, which makes him even easier to hate. But he's no more or no less worthy of hate than the aforementioned prime ministers. He's just the next in a long line of cunts. There are similarities with Trump, he was disliked largely because of how he presented himself rather than any specific policy. People hated him before he even got voted in. Same with Boris, he was roundly mocked when he was Mayor of London, nobody seriously believed he would ever be PM when he had that job.

I find it easy to dislike Blair, but that's because he took us to war based on a pack of lies. He was PM when I was starting to understand how fucked up politics is in this country.

People support Boris because while he's easy to mock, he's also quite easy to like. He's funnier than previous leaders, he has a certain charm about him. But he's still a grade A arsehole. People also support Boris because a lot of people do not trust Labour economics. This is the sorry state of British politics. If there's no viable alternative, then the corrupt aren't challenged democratically.

It takes a long time for society to become this moronic. idk if it's getting worse or I'm getting more cynical, but I don't see a solution to this in my lifetime.Next government will be abysmal too. And the one after. The chances of the British public forming and then voting in a competent and uncorruptible government is close to zero.

[Poopadoop]

I don't buy this "they're all bad" defense of Boris. He is on a whole other level of corruption and incompetence. He has absolutely no sense of responsibiity. He fucked off on holiday when things were getting serious with the pandemic. He filled his cabinet with sycophants, and won't sack any of them no matter what they do wrong. He lied about the Irish border, said there wouldn't be one. He cheats on all his wives. He's basically a Britain Trump. He's going to whitewash this whole Cameron thing, watch.

Boris has no positive qualities other than charisma. I want a PM who does their fucking job, not just one that I'd enjoy having a pint with. Thatcher, Blair, Brown, May, at least they all took the job seriously. You didn't see Thatcher fucking off on holiday when the Falklands got invaded, or May making shit up about Brexit.

[Poopadoop]

a lot of people do not trust Labour economics.

10 years of austerity and real-value wages have dropped every single year since the Tories took over. I would worry about their economics if I were Joe Public, not labour's.

[OngBonga]

He's going to whitewash this whole Cameron thing, watch.

Let's say he does. Who's the corrupt bastard? Boris or Cameron? The answer, of course, is both. In 20 years or whatever, you'll be hating whoever the current Tory PM is, especially when he whitewashes the Boris corruption accusations.

Of course, you're entitled to your opinion, I just don't see him as worse or better than previous PMs, at least going back as far as Blair. Blair and Brown both corrupt as fuck, Cameron too, these guys have wars on their hands too, Perhaps May can be left out of this conversation, but probably not. She was a fucking idiot, at the very least.

10 years of austerity and real-value wages have dropped every single year since the Tories took over. I would worry about their economics if I were Joe Public, not labour's.

This comes back to our disagreement about "competence". I think they have very skilfully convinced the public that such measures are necessary. People think they have a choice between austerity or magic money tree. Of course the irony there is that we've created more money out of thin air these last 18 month than probably the rest of our history.

[Poopadoop]

This comes back to our disagreement about "competence". I think they have very skilfully convinced the public that such measures are necessary. People think they have a choice between austerity or magic money tree.

Think you're giving them too much credit for being 3D chess masters here. Rupert Murdoch is the one convincing people the Tories are good. It's no different than Fox News convincing 40% of Americans Trump was their saviour. It's not anything they're doing themselves obviously. Part of it too is like you say Boris can come across as a likeable guy, and none of his predecessors had any charisma whatsoever.

[OngBonga]

Part of it too is like you say Boris can come across as a likeable guy, and none of his predecessors had any charisma whatsoever.

I don't think this is irrelevant. All of our leaders since Thatcher have been dull as dishwater. Thatcher, the utter cunt she was, at least had a personality.

Sure, the likes of Murdoch, and Soros, Kissinger, Rothschild, these familiar names are relevant. But for the most part, I strongly suspect the people pulling the strings are names we won't even have heard of. The media plays a very important role, but they're just doing what they're told. Murdoch is rich and powerful because he's compliant.

[MadMojoMonkey]

I just ignore the hoopla, but it does seem a bit excessive the way the royals are respected so much. It's not like they earned their jobs.

I thought the British royals pay out the ass to the British gov't and people. I mean... it's typical to think of a class of royals to be mooching off the taxation of its people to support a lavish lifestyle, but I thought the British did away with that a long time ago. I mean... the royal family actually gives a lot of money to the UK gov't for various things; it doesn't collect a bunch of money from the gov't.

As such... I'd argue that whatever else they're doing, they are earning their right to be respected - at least by some - or at least more than other monarchies which are a net negative to the economy.

Am I wrong about that?

[MadMojoMonkey]

I don't think this is irrelevant. All of our leaders since Thatcher have been dull as dishwater. Thatcher, the utter cunt she was, at least had a personality.

Sure, the likes of Murdoch, and Soros, Kissinger, Rothschild, these familiar names are relevant. But for the most part, I strongly suspect the people pulling the strings are names we won't even have heard of. The media plays a very important role, but they're just doing what they're told. Murdoch is rich and powerful because he's compliant.

IDK... we're talking about the biggest egos in the world. I find it difficult to imagine that particular group of people is just a bunch of sheep following some hidden power cabal and none of them are iconoclastic enough to break the mold and give the finger to that group, nor to expose the group.

[Poopadoop]

Uh no, the royal family is supported by the taxpayer, not the other way around.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmc...h=6196e5df4d6d

[MadMojoMonkey]

Oh... well ... why don't you try cutting the squatters off? or even charging them rent?

It's 2021 after all.


Unless... what does your $100 million a year buy you?

Maybe I'm being too hasty to see a monarchy as an anachronistic symbol of an era that, frankly, despite it's good points, the world is kinda better off without.

[OngBonga]

I'd be interested to know how much they're worth as a tourist attraction. $100m isn't a huge target. Tourism is worth £100b+ a year for England alone.

[OngBonga]

I found an article from 2018 claiming they where then worth £550m in tourism, against a cost of £50m, but who knows if that's true?

[OngBonga]

Haha someone trolled Nigel Farage into wishing Hugh Janus a happy birthday on camera.

[OngBonga]

[Poopadoop]

I found an article from 2018 claiming they where then worth £550m in tourism, against a cost of £50m, but who knows if that's true?

Is it them people come to see or their properties? I bet you could put a puppet of the Queen in a window in Windsor Castle and there'd still be the same number of tourists going to see it.

[OngBonga]

Is it them people come to see or their properties? I bet you could put a puppet of the Queen in a window in Windsor Castle and there'd still be the same number of tourists going to see it.

I'm sure if you asked a bunch of tourists in London you'd get mixed answers. I take that £550m figure with a heavy pinch of salt, but at the same time I don't doubt they do have a significant value.

[Poopadoop]

I'm sure if you asked a bunch of tourists in London you'd get mixed answers. I take that £550m figure with a heavy pinch of salt, but at the same time I don't doubt they do have a significant value.

I think you've been watching too much BBC. I wonder how many tourists they have to ask to find one that says they came here to see the royal family. Sure, see the history and castles and all that, but get a glimpse of Lizzy or Chuck? That's gotta be pretty low on the list of tourist attractions.

[OngBonga]

I think you'd be surprised. It's not just about the buildings. The Royal Family interests people. You might find it surprising, I do too really but I also get it, it's British history happening right now. People around the world are interested in British history. People look at our island on a map and think "they had the world's biggest empire?". We have a long and interesting history. Many foreigners, in particular Chinee and Japanese, probably know more about British history than I do. They find us interesting and respect our colonial, industrial and scientific achievements. They enjoy learning about it. The Royal Family represents a living relic of that history. That definitely brings a boost to tourism.

[CoccoBill]

I'll refrain from speaking for everyone else, but personally I've been to London maybe ~20 times, and don't think I've ever seen Buckingham Palace up close. Like I'm sure there are people that are interested in the royal family, though whether those extend outside the UK and the former colonies, I'm not so sure. I'd wager that if the palace with the whole family just disappeared, its effect on the tourism in London would be percentage points, but since my personal view is probably skewing that downwards, let's say a few percent.

[Poopadoop]

I think you'd be surprised. It's not just about the buildings. The Royal Family interests people. You might find it surprising, I do too really but I also get it, it's British history happening right now. People around the world are interested in British history. People look at our island on a map and think "they had the world's biggest empire?". We have a long and interesting history. Many foreigners, in particular Chinee and Japanese, probably know more about British history than I do. They find us interesting and respect our colonial, industrial and scientific achievements. They enjoy learning about it. The Royal Family represents a living relic of that history. That definitely brings a boost to tourism.

None of that suggests people want to come and look at Lizzy or Chuck.

And big lols that anyone, especially Chinese and Japanese, "respect our colonial achievements." Have you ever heard of the Opium Wars? Britain tried to get all of China hooked on opium, they resisted, so we attacked them. Twice. Then we helped ourselves to Hong Kong. You think that encourages respect? Fuck me, read a book.

[Poopadoop]

I'll refrain from speaking for everyone else, but personally I've been to London maybe ~20 times, and don't think I've ever seen Buckingham Palace up close. Like I'm sure there are people that are interested in the royal family, though whether those extend outside the UK and the former colonies, I'm not so sure. I'd wager that if the palace with the whole family just disappeared, its effect on the tourism in London would be percentage points, but since my personal view is probably skewing that downwards, let's say a few percent.

Yeah I'm with you. If people come to the Palace or one of the castles, it's to see the buildings not look at a bunch of inbred royals.

You could take the royals out of those places, leave the places there, and I bet the drop in tourism would be less than 0.01%

[OngBonga]

And big lols that anyone, especially Chinese and Japanese, "respect our colonial achievements."

Again I think you'd be surprised. I knew you'd pick at this, but I think it's true. You can respect something you morally object to.

Have you ever heard of the Opium Wars? Britain tried to get all of China hooked on opium, they resisted, so we attacked them. Twice. Then we helped ourselves to Hong Kong. You think that encourages respect?

I would imagine that yes, a Chinese individual interested in history will look at an island the size of the UK and think it an awesome achievement for a relatively small island nation in the Atlantic Ocean to win a war against China in China.

[OngBonga]

You could take the royals out of those places, leave the places there, and I bet the drop in tourism would be less than 0.01%

Your guess is as good as mine. And my guess will be so bad I'm not even going to bother trying.

[Poopadoop]

Again I think you'd be surprised. I knew you'd pick at this, but I think it's true. You can respect something you morally object to.



I would imagine that yes, a Chinese individual interested in history will look at an island the size of the UK and think it an awesome achievement for a relatively small island nation in the Atlantic Ocean to win a war against China in China.

I'm sure there's lot of people worldwide who have a grudging respect for the UK's colonising of half of them. I'm just not seeing how that makes them want to come here to try to catch a glimpse of the royal family, especially when there's so many more interesting things to see and do.

I've been to Windsor Castle. I don't remember anyone in the queue showing any interest at all in whether the Queen was around at the time or not. Sure, if she'd poked her head out a window and yelled "peasants, get off my lawn!" people would have looked and probably taken pictures, but it's not like she's the attraction there. The castle is.

[OngBonga]

I'm just not seeing how that makes them want to come here to try to catch a glimpse of the royal family, especially when there's so many more interesting things to see and do.

I doubt a living Royal Family is a dealbreaker for too many tourists. But the Queen's fame plays a role in promoting the UK in the first place.

I've been to Windsor Castle. I don't remember anyone in the queue showing any interest at all in whether the Queen was around at the time or not.

If I said this you'd be immediately giving me shit for using my experiences as examples.

I've been to Windsor Castle too, fairly recently I had lunch in Windsor right next to the castle while the Queen was present. I couldn't help but give regular glances to the windows on the off chance I caught a glimpse. I don't even give a fuck about her, and even I subconsciously wanted to see her.

but it's not like she's the attraction there. The castle is.

The castle is such an attraction because it's the Queen's second residence. Without the Royal family, it's just a castle. We have lots of castles. Windsor is of course one of the finest, which is precisely why it's still used by the Royal Family. Of course the castle itself is an attraction, but so too is the Royal Family, or at the very least the Queen. I just found a figure of nearly 1 million visitors in 2007. In 2001 Warwick Castle got around half a million. Can't be arsed to find better figures, but Windsor Castle is getting more visitors than probably the finest castle in the country, which is exclusively used for tourism.

The Royal Family interests tourists. You can pretend it's just about the castles if you want, but I don't believe that to be the case.

[Poopadoop]

How close is Warwick Castle to Heathrow? To other tourist places nearby? I'm impressed it gets half of many as Windsor based on location alone.

I'm sure you wanted to see the Queen because you're a #MEGA guy and it would give you a hardon for the empire days that you're so impressed by. Non-MEGA people from other countries give much less of a shit, trust me.

[Poopadoop]

Ah, but 600k came to be a part of the wedding of Harry and Megan. That is substantial.

Fuck, a lot of people are idiots.

[OngBonga]

I'm sure you wanted to see the Queen because you're a #MEGA guy

I love how you disingenuously pretend to not have read the many caveats I've added such as "I don't give a fuck about the Queen" and other such comments. On the off chance you blinked through those sentence, let me make it clear once again... I am not a monarchist.

This is why I often have to point out you don't argue in good faith. All I have done here is point out they might have a value to tourism greater than the cost to the taxpayer, and it's triggered you to the point you have to make up bullshit like "you're a #MEGA guy". It triggers you to think that people might come here as tourists because of our colourful history. It triggers you that we're not as hated as you think we should be for the sins of our ancestors.

MEGA is just a term you made up to belittle people you politically disagree with and it's become a signature of your insincerity.

[OngBonga]

Oh and Windsor is a little close to London. It's about 1 hr 15 mins, while Warwick is 2 hours. Both easily reachable for a day trip, and also both too far to not plan it.

[OngBonga]

^That's wrong, Windsor is 25 minutes from Heathrow. I did think that seemed a bit much. Not sure what error I made there on maps. Maybe it's an hour from central London, given traffic.

edit - yes I think that's it. It's given me 1 hr 15 again from London to Windsor Castle.
Got Warwick down to 1 hr 30 mins from Heathrow.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Is tourism the only thing they do for the UK?

I guess I just assumed they'd be commissioning buildings - building hospitals or theaters or something. Maybe some other random shit that may or may not be actually useful, but is at its base a contribution to the culture.

Is there nothing like that?


I can say that for whatever reason, the tabloids in the US do like to talk about the monarchy from time to time.

[OngBonga]

They certainly have links with a lot of charities, but I don't think they directly pay for that kind of stuff. There's £11.4m spent on "other", can't seem to find what that relates to.

[Poopadoop]

I love how you disingenuously pretend to not have read the many caveats I've added such as "I don't give a fuck about the Queen" and other such comments. On the off chance you blinked through those sentence, let me make it clear once again... I am not a monarchist.

I was joking, you bowl of strawberry icecream snowflake.

[Poopadoop]

^That's wrong, Windsor is 25 minutes from Heathrow. I did think that seemed a bit much. Not sure what error I made there on maps. Maybe it's an hour from central London, given traffic.

edit - yes I think that's it. It's given me 1 hr 15 again from London to Windsor Castle.
Got Warwick down to 1 hr 30 mins from Heathrow.

It's funny that you needed a map to figure out which is closer. It's not exactly a trick question. Windsor is right outside the M25, Warwick is up by B'ham.

[Poopadoop]

Is tourism the only thing they do for the UK?

I guess I just assumed they'd be commissioning buildings - building hospitals or theaters or something. Maybe some other random shit that may or may not be actually useful, but is at its base a contribution to the culture.

Is there nothing like that?


I can say that for whatever reason, the tabloids in the US do like to talk about the monarchy from time to time.

Yeah they do stuff like that all the time. One of the princesses came and dedicated one of our buildings on campus when it was built, so the legend has it.

[OngBonga]

It's funny that you needed a map to figure out which is closer. It's not exactly a trick question. Windsor is right outside the M25, Warwick is up by B'ham.

I knew which was closer, obviously. I know where Warwick is, I'm from Solihull. I wasn't sure how close geographically Windsor is to London, I thought it was a little further out. I was just curious how long it would take, in the sense I didn't think it was close enough to just hop on a bus.

[Poopadoop]

Well I had no idea where Warwick was, so I guess we're even. I just knew it wasn't close to where I live.

[OngBonga]

I can't even remember what I was doing in Windsor, other than having lunch with my Mother. I can only assume she decided she wanted lunch in Windsor and took me with her. I can't remember there being another reason for that drive. It's quite a drive from my Mother's for lunch, she's near Worcester.

[Poopadoop]

Maybe she wanted to test her eyesight.

[OngBonga]

How dare you call my Mother corrupt.

[Poopadoop]

How well do you know her?

[OngBonga]

She did nip to the loo at some point. I can't say I was with her the entire time.

I'm pretty sure if she was up to dodgy stuff though she'd cut me in.

[Poopadoop]

It's always the ones you least suspect. She was probably meeting a defense contractor in the can.

[Poopadoop]

Cliffs: Boris gets his mates to do a report on race in the UK. Their conclusion: everything's great. The UN: meh, nice try.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/w...mid=tw-nytimes

[Poopadoop]

lol, this guy is blaming the leader of the opposition Starmer for how the gov't handled the pandemic. Fuck me.

[Poopadoop]

Good old Boris, what a fun guy.

Spent £2.6m on a white house style press briefing room, has now cancelled the plans to use it to hold press conferences.

Told everyone 2 months ago the vaccine meant we'd never go in lockdown again. Now saying to "expect a third wave," and that we'll have to learn to "live with the virus." But, the good news is that he expects there to be a pill available in four months that will make CV a mild illness if you do catch it.

Britain Trump.

[Poopadoop]

Turns out ol' Boris is a lockdown skeptic. Would rather see thousands of dead than make people stay home. Not really the kind of leader you want during a pandemic.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ces-claim.html

[Poopadoop]

Lolz.

https://twitter.com/JimMFelton/statu...25834514096136

[OngBonga]

Turns out ol' Boris is a lockdown skeptic. Would rather see thousands of dead than make people stay home. Not really the kind of leader you want during a pandemic.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ces-claim.html

You're lapping up what the Daily Mail tells us Cummings said?

I don't believe either Boris or Cummings. They're both pathological liars. I'm just ignoring this shitshow.

[Poopadoop]

It's just another example of his bad behavior. The fact that you can imagine him saying it is enough. We already knew he resisted lockdowns every time until it was far too late.

In the end, it doesn't matter if it's literally true or not really. The larger significance of it is that the Daily Mail is the paper all the right-wing loonies read. Once they turn on a Tory PM, he's in deep shit.

Taking a longer view, if this is part of a power play by Gove to take over, that would be great news for the country. Not only would dipshit Boris be out of office, but it will be a lot easier to defeat goldfish face than that lovable scamp adulterer Britain Trump.

[Poopadoop]

Milk and meat going off on the sunlit uplands.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1837528.html

[OngBonga]

Taking a longer view, if this is part of a power play by Gove to take over, that would be great news for the country. Not only would dipshit Boris be out of office

Gove is a shameless Zionist. He believes boycotting Israeli goods in protest of their policy towards Palestine is anti-Semitic. Why would you prefer a neocon warhawk like him in charge than mophead? Because he looks better presented in a suit?

[Poopadoop]

Gove is a shameless Zionist. He believes boycotting Israeli goods in protest of their policy towards Palestine is anti-Semitic. Why would you prefer a neocon warhawk like him in charge than mophead? Because he looks better presented in a suit?

Don't get me wrong, Gove is the next worse thing to Boris. But he's not popular and he won't get re-elected by brainless idiots just because they like his style. He has no style.

[OngBonga]

I do find it amusing that you hate Boris so much yet choose to use an image of him for your avatar. I wouldn't want to look at Tony Blair every time I posted on here, even if he was pulling a "I'm a dumbfuck" face. In fact, if you chose an image of Blair, I'd probably abuse my mod tools to fix it.

[Poopadoop]

I don't hate the guy personally. He's just an awful PM and generally awful person besides. My avatar is there to mock him obviously.

But if it makes you feel better, I find it funny you have a picture of an asian woman as your avatar. Does this mean you identify as asian and/or a woman?

I also find it funny Oskar has a fat woman and Mojo has a monkey. It's almost as if avatars are meant to be taken lightly.

[OngBonga]

You think my avatar is an Asian woman? You must be trolling me.

That's me about five years ago.

[OngBonga]

Here, I'll prove I'm not an Asian woman...

Hereeeeeee's OngBonga

[MadMojoMonkey]

Mojo has a monkey.

Don't let my name distract you. Chimpanzees are apes.

[Poopadoop]

You think my avatar is an Asian woman? You must be trolling me.

That's me about five years ago.

Sorry but you all look the same to me.

[Poopadoop]

Boris saying he preferred thousands of deaths to a lockdown now being picked up by BBC and ITV. And the Times, another Tory paper.

"Multiple sources" confirm it.

[OngBonga]

From what I can tell off random twitter comments (I'm really not that interested in this "story") the press have known about this for six months. Why are they only telling us now?

I mean, I don't give a fuck if he said it. It's hyperbole, in the heat of argument. We all say stupid things in private when arguing with people. We're all guilty of that. It's a non-story.

[Poopadoop]

Oh well twitter is the place to go to get to the bottom of the story for sure.

And no, it's not a non-story. You can't be the PM of a country and say you'd rather let thousands of people die than have a lockdown, and then go on to do that very thing by being late with the lockdowns. If you do, you're a cunt. Being angry at the time you say something is no excuse if you then go on to do it.

Interesting that you're not even a Boris fan but you're so quick to jump on the Tory bandwagon that this isn't news. Try to imagine if a leader in any other country had said that. It's definitely news.

[OngBonga]

I think every leader in the world probably says things that would outrage the public if such comments were known.

[Poopadoop]

How many of them say they'd rather let their own citizens die than impose a lockdown to save their lives? There's only one other leader I can think of who would say something like that.

"Nothing to see here folks. There's another scandal right around the corner, you'll soon forget this one."

Britain Trump.

[MadMojoMonkey]

When in the timeline did he say that?

Well into June-July last year, there were a lot of discussions about the balance in harm done to the economy by a lockdown balancing against the harm of a pandemic that may or may not be cripplingly fatal to the world. People were still arguing whether or not the COVID death rate was relevant, since it's lower than death rates to the flu.

Thousands of deaths on a national scale is not going to affect the economy or overflow hospitals or cause a need for mass graves. It's an ugly truth, but there is a balance where someone has to consider that there may not be enough death to justify a national lockdown.


I mean... Boris isn't exactly the kind of leader that gives me the impression he gives a fuck about improving the lives of his nation, but I'm not all that tuned in.