Jon

15 hours ago, VillaChris said:

Honestly this McConnell bloke is a total idiot

Christian?

Also this has just recently been released. Can't find it on digital download anywhere, so I've bought the CD. Yet to get it and give it a listen, but have heard one of the tracks and it's very good. The album has had very good reviews though. I believe it's the KLF comeback, as the FLK. 

MC Soom T:

Micachu:

Doug Hream Blunt:

Jamie XX:

8 minutes ago, blandy said:

The flip side is also true. All those ones who were telling corbyn off for rebelling in the past are now rebelling themselves...hypocrisy on both sides.

and crucially, Jez was never in the cabinet, or shadow cabinet. He did, to a good degree, have licence to rebel (given his successive GE constituency wins). If Blair had tried to deselect him, one could assume that Jez could have stood independently, and won. 

However, at the moment, he can't even get his shadow cabinet 'on message' (probably because he hasn't stacked it with Corbynites). But it would at least be a start, to have your cabinet all signing from the same hymn sheet.

15 hours ago, maqroll said:

I'm looking for the word "most" in my post, and I can't seem to find it....

Didn't say you did. I apologise if it came across that way. I was trying to diffuse your somewhat crude attempt at classifying male mental health issues, as you had obviously struck a nerve with JB.

Carry on .... 

6 hours ago, maqroll said:

Could today's event be the Franz Ferdinand-style trigger?

Hope not. Don't want any more of their music inflicted upon the masses. Best to stick with FFS I think.

9 minutes ago, blandy said:

True. I don't think they do and I doubt they would, seeing as they are very well paid. For the sake of devil's advocacy, the same should apply to Corbyn. The MPs have just recently been selected by their CLPs and elected on the last manifesto by their voters, so they can claim democratic right to defend and stand for those policies - that's what they promised to do.

This is why it's so complicated to resolve. The leadership election is not the overriding trump card that some people seem to think it is. That's the reality, IMO.

Interesting point that Pete. The mandate of Jez vs the mandate of the MP's who were elected just 6 months ago. I would argue that the level of political interest and knowledge would be far greater amongst the membership of a political party than they would be for the vast majoprity of those turning up to vote at a polling booth, who oiften don't really know what exact policies or political stance they are voting for. "I vote Labour cuz I always vote Labour", "I hate the tories", "that Miliband is a bit of a goon so I'm not voting for him" type sentiments will often affect GE voting behaviour. Members of a political party would tend to be more clued up on policy and party politics, IMO.

Having said that, a strong constituency mandate is exactly that, and an MP with a strong mandate at the GE may feel they have the backing of their voters to do what they see as the right thing, in their eyes, irrespective of a new party direction.

So, yes, tricky.  

1 hour ago, blandy said:

They have a leader and they have MPs and the two are not aligned in viewpoint on most stuff. That's their party political big problem. And for as long as that remains the case, they will be unelectable.

If there are Labour MPs who feel that is in the interests of the country to resign the Labour Whip, they should do so IMO. Whether they crops the floor to their more natural home (Kendall, Hunt etc), or stand as Indys or whatever. I also think the ones that do that should have the decency to call a By Election (if they are allowed, I'm not sure of the constitution/practice on this one), and then we could see what the people, and Labour voters, think.

I think the vast majority of Labour MPs still can't get their head around the fact that Jez won, and won so commandingly. They're struggling to adjust to the new Labour order. I don't think they'd be doing themselves any favours if they tried to oust him TBH. The strength of feeling (Momentum ;-) ) behind Jez is certainly there. 

4 minutes ago, BOF said:

Is suicide always automatically the result of an underlying 'mental illness' though?  I don't think so.  Surely circumstances can be bad enough that someone takes the drastic pragmatic approach that 'this'll fix everything'.  No chemical imbalance required.  No childhood trauma or ticking time bomb.  Just a flashpoint in their life where the decision-making processes all come together with one solution.

Indeed Bri. You don't HAVE to be 'mentally ill' to kill yourself (though it is often a contributory factor).

34 minutes ago, JB said:

WTF?! That's a gross generalisation that seems to write-off the experiences of the thousands of educated, skilled and trained men suffering from genuine mental health issues.

Indeed. Whilst I'm sure he didn't mean to do that, to seek to classify 'most' mental health issues as being suffered by ageing men people with poor education/training/life chances etc does really oversimplify mental health problems ion general. They may well be the most prone demographic, but there are a multitude of reasons for people/men to suffer mental health problems, not simply socio-economic ones.

Just look at our own Stanley Victor Collymore for but 1 example.

5 minutes ago, blandy said:

The labour man I think pointed out that "labour's policy on trident as agreed and voted on at their conference is.... Corbyns opinion on it is different, but..."

So you have a democratically chosen policy v the democratically chosen leader's view. That's the pigging problem, there in a nutshell, for the electorate  generally.  Conflict.

Well yes, that does seem somewhat nonsensical. Although who votes on policy at conference? It's not the full party membership, obvs. They have to resolve this (and 1 or 2 other, but this is the main one) issue ASAP, and have to oppose the tories as a united party.

18 minutes ago, blandy said:

 There is no message

Well, there clearly is. It's just that the PLP don't want to run with Jez's message, a message that, within the party membership itself, he has a clear ands massive mandate for. So, the message (party line) that the leader, and his leadership team, want to put forward, is not one shared by many of the PLP. What should one do in that situation. Jez has been elected, and has a clear mandate to put forward his anti nuclear weapons stance as party policy. Loads of PLPs don't agree.

I think he has to start to crack the whip. If some don't agree, then they can leave, or keep quiet and tow the line. That's the only way forward IMO. I don't see why Jez has to cave in on this important issue. He's representing what the majority of his party members want.

On ‎20‎/‎11‎/‎2015‎ ‎13‎:‎51‎:‎21, blandy said:

The press are definitely out to get Corbyn (well, most of them are). Mail, Sun, Torygraph, the UKIP one..., 

 

 

Not just the press Pete. Certainly 'most' tabloid press are rabidly after him, but even the 'impartial' (yeah, right) Beeb have not been overly balanced when it comes to down to our Jez.

Get Corbyn

That from the fairly right wing Nick Robinson.

43 minutes ago, villarocker said:

I hope that the British do not take part in the bombing of Syria.  

Sadly, given all the rhetoric and media manipulation, that's looking like an increasingly done deal.

9 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Had to Google . . . answer obviously yes. 

Had to mooney also.  Ditto

Is there a section of society,  other than the landed gentry,  city traders and arms traders,  that the tories won't go after,  with the enthusiasm of a rabid dog? 

What I love is the fact the massively out of touch PLP were so arrogant that they thought there would be no problem sticking jez on the ballot paper as a 'novelty' candidate. Oh how little they knew about the strength of feeling of 'ordinary' labour members and voters

2 hours ago, blandy said:

 

There is so much fertile ground for them to go at, and they're absolutely clueless. A shocking waste.

They're not clueless Pete.  They're divided.  Largely because large blairite sections of the PLP can't accept the decision of the labour membership at the leadership election.  Shame on them. 

17 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

Oh the polls say.... 

Ok then.

I wasn't talking about opinion polls though it was a direct reply to Tony saying he hoped Murdoch hadn't peaked too early hammering him.

My view is that there will be a whole lot more to come yet. The wheels are already wobbling on the shadow cabinet and it's going to get worse for some of the reasons Blandy has pointed out. 

Whatever the polls say the PLP is in my view failing to even remotely challenge the Government at this time or expand on its likely share of the electorate, if anything I think they are losing voters myself included.

They may well lose a few centre ground voters.  The plan is for a mass movement of the left,  including non voters. 

11 minutes ago, rjw63 said:

Just don't go, it's as easy as that. Especially if you don't even like 'em.

Yeah as soon as fancy dress is mentioned,  I'm out.  

That or turn up in normal clothes. 

It just doesn't sit comfortably with me. 

7 minutes ago, blandy said:

I think he has been. Here's a report

 

admittedly unattributed, but there's every reason to believe it's accurate - it's basically what an MP present told the correspondent who wrote it. There are plenty of other examples, unfortunately.

Jez was never in the cabinet or shadow cabinet,  so the comparison isn't amazingly accurate

Most of the proclamations he's made so far have been about having broad discussions and letting opposing opinions be heard. He's even put quite a few in his shadow  cabinet. 

I do think it's about time he cracked the whip though. He's got the mandate.  If the PLP don't like it then they know their options ...

2 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

The full list of 'demands' that our current shadow chancellor signed his name to earlier this year.

 

 

Agree with all of that,  minus the MI5 bit

1 hour ago, TrentVilla said:

Oh I think they've further to fall yet.

Current poll in the indy puts jezzas personal leadership rating way ahead of daves. Best leadership rating of all 4 Westminster leaders. His is the only rating that didn't fall. 

17 minutes ago, blandy said:

 

And then Corbyn who spent his life rebelling now telling others they shouldn't do what he did.

 

 

Except he's not actually saying that.  He seems happy for everyone to have disparate views.  I'm not sure I agree with that though.  I think he needs to crack the whip