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04/29/2010 08:53:39 PM · #1 |
So, these Rant sections seem to be very U.S centric, and i have very little interest in what those mad, gun-toting, religious lunatics are up to* , so i thought a thread on the very exciting UK election would be fun.
So, who you voting for?
I'm so left wing i find it very hard to vote anyway but i'm enjoying the Lib Dem rise. I also like the idea of a hung parliment. To be honest, as long as the Tories don't get in i'm very happy. But it looks like they might.
So, UK DPCers. Are you Yellow, Red or Blue?
* Thats a joke. I'm a mad, religious, gun-toting guy myself. It's just harder to get the guns in the UK. |
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04/29/2010 10:18:05 PM · #2 |
| I hear that Mr. Brown is done for with that "bigot" kerfuffle, and I understand that the Liberal Democrats want electoral reform. To that end, I hope your Liberals win, because should they succeed in bringing proportional representation to your country, it might spur the debate on here in Canada, where we desperately, desperately need it. |
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04/30/2010 12:05:29 AM · #3 |
The whole 'bigot' nonsense was a great example of what is wrong with politics. It's kind of the elephant in the room. No one can mention the 'immigration problem' because, of course, there isn't actually an 'immigration problem' really, just one that has been constructed by the media to a huge extent. But politics is so smitten by the media that it cant actually deal with that. For a long time, the entire public discourse has been governed by the tabloids. These are the same papers that are happy to run the headline 'Asylum Seekers Eat Our Swans' over an article which reveals that asylum seekers do not, actually, eat swans.
David Blunkett claimed that we were being 'swamped'. Jack Straw always has time to say that we were 'too tolerant of travellers', as well as having a quick swipe at burqas. Hazel Blears constantly parrots the bile spouted by her most ignorant constituentsd as 'received wisdom'. Phil Woolas says that his family have 'suffered' because of immigration, and he's the Immigration Minister.
These people are really quite horrible, so desperate to secure the support of the most venal and reprehensible organs in the known world that they will not even challenge blatant lies, and constantly pander to our basest - if groundless - fears. Even when he meets someone he knows is a bigot, Gordon Brown doesn't tell her she is. And then is forced to apologise to her.
The traditional narrative, with this issue, is that the right wing, the BNP, really, but also the Tories, have picked up support because the government has let immigration to run unchecked. The truth is that the right have picked up support because the government has allowed its lies to run unchecked. It's a horrible situation and the only light side is that, if the tories get in, there may actually be some sort of left wing that might finally get itself together. We can but hope
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04/30/2010 12:26:33 AM · #4 |
You know a UK rant isn't going well when the only response is from a bloody canuck. :P
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04/30/2010 12:51:41 AM · #5 |
| Yeah, but he posted it at about 3.00 am UK time, so give us time! |
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04/30/2010 01:47:29 AM · #6 |
It amazes me - the man stuns some poor woman with his rhetoric (incidentally not answering a single question put to him in the process)and then when he thinks he's clear of the press he reveals his true colours. But what really takes the biscuit is the arrogance and belief that an apology makes it all go away.
It seems to me the only thing he is really sorry for is being caught!
However to be fair he's not the only one - when has any politician ever said anything they really mean?
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04/30/2010 08:13:33 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Yeah, but he posted it at about 3.00 am UK time, so give us time! |
Ha, yes. It was a bit of a middle of the night, drunken post.
Message edited by author 2010-04-30 08:13:53. |
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04/30/2010 08:34:20 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by clive_patric_nolan:
The whole 'bigot' nonsense was a great example of what is wrong with politics. It's kind of the elephant in the room. No one can mention the 'immigration problem' because, of course, there isn't actually an 'immigration problem' really... |
The last time I was in London... I wasn't sure I was actually in England, particularly on the East End.
The last time I was Paris...I thought I was in Morocco (or Algeria) so, the complexion of Europe to me, appears to have taken a turn literally and figuratively. Amsterdam was so bizarre even in the 80's but that could be blamed on something else entirely.
Message edited by author 2010-04-30 09:07:00. |
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04/30/2010 09:25:15 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by pawdrix:
The last time I was in London... I wasn't sure I was actually in England, particularly on the East End. |
Well, the East End has a long and very fruitful history of immigration going back 100 years and more. It's one of the reasons i love that part of London. Brick Lane is fantastic. I'd say that the main thing that is destroying East London is the bloody Olympics. They're pulling down large swathes of the area and its history to build, what will end up resembling, one huge car park and shopping centre. Utterly soul destroying. I've lived in many parts of London over the 15 years or so i was there and i'd say by far the most enjoyable and happy places i've lived are those with a large history of immigration. Brixton was my particular favourite. |
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04/30/2010 09:44:30 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by clive_patric_nolan:
Originally posted by pawdrix:
The last time I was in London... I wasn't sure I was actually in England, particularly on the East End. |
Well, the East End has a long and very fruitful history of immigration going back 100 years and more... |
My grandmother was born in Stepney Green and on my last visit I had a blast hanging around Bethnal Green. I have no idea why London wants to host the Olympics...seems ridiculous. It's a good idea for small cities that are trying to become big cities but in Londons case it makes no sense...dare I mention the security risks. If I were a local, I'd get the hell out of town for the entire event. And not due to fear but the annoyance of it all.
Message edited by author 2010-04-30 10:36:30. |
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04/30/2010 06:00:13 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by clive_patric_nolan:
Originally posted by pawdrix:
The last time I was in London... I wasn't sure I was actually in England, particularly on the East End. |
Well, the East End has a long and very fruitful history of immigration going back 100 years and more. It's one of the reasons i love that part of London. Brick Lane is fantastic. I'd say that the main thing that is destroying East London is the bloody Olympics. They're pulling down large swathes of the area and its history to build, what will end up resembling, one huge car park and shopping centre. Utterly soul destroying. I've lived in many parts of London over the 15 years or so i was there and i'd say by far the most enjoyable and happy places i've lived are those with a large history of immigration. Brixton was my particular favourite. |
Agreed (having been a long time Brick Lane resident).
London is a melting pot - much like New York. It is not representative of the country as a whole.
The politics are exciting. I'm really hoping that the positive reaction to the Lib Dems translates into a big voting shift in their favour. The Tory policies are still for the most part cringeworthy and Labour just looks tired.
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04/30/2010 06:38:18 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Matthew:
The Tory policies are still for the most part cringeworthy |
You've actually been able to deduce what their policies actually are ?! |
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05/01/2010 08:11:15 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by Matthew:
Originally posted by clive_patric_nolan:
Originally posted by pawdrix:
The last time I was in London... I wasn't sure I was actually in England, particularly on the East End. |
Well, the East End has a long and very fruitful history of immigration going back 100 years and more. It's one of the reasons i love that part of London. Brick Lane is fantastic. I'd say that the main thing that is destroying East London is the bloody Olympics. They're pulling down large swathes of the area and its history to build, what will end up resembling, one huge car park and shopping centre. Utterly soul destroying. I've lived in many parts of London over the 15 years or so i was there and i'd say by far the most enjoyable and happy places i've lived are those with a large history of immigration. Brixton was my particular favourite. |
Agreed (having been a long time Brick Lane resident).
London is a melting pot - much like New York. |
...and speaking of Lulu, the East End, melting pots...To Sir With Love. Ain't she hot?
Message edited by author 2010-05-01 08:16:25. |
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