diable rouge

Week 13 points... Week 13 table...

A normal/rational response would've been something along the lines of... Ok, why was I wrong to use that term in the context that I did? But Cat doesn't do normal/rational, because Cat can never be wrong. Instead he has to double down, and/or point score, and/or maybe even throw in an ad hominem, and/or caveat something within an inch of its life, and so on. Anything but I might've been wrong to say that...

Speaking of great voices, Leslie Phillips. Ding Dong... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63557414

I see Cat still doesn't understand the term 'white privilege' in the context it was originally used...

I was going to jokingly suggest Brian Blessed, then I thought, actually actors do use voice coaches, so have you thought about Googling/contacting actor agencies, especially those that specialise in voice over work? Would be rude to now not post a tribute to the blessed Brian...

I'm sure even you can concede that in relation to Northern Ireland, the UK couldn't exert control over it's border with Ireland and therefore ended up with a deal it didn't want. Brexit has indeed given more control of immigrants coming from the EU, but at the expense of our own loss of FoM across the EU. All we've done is replace one set of immigrants with another, while in the process losing our right of FoM and gaining nothing in return. To me and many others that's a big negative trade-of. Call me a cynic, but I reckon those Brexit voters that were primarily concerned about EU immigration and were wiling to lose FoM (although numerous tabloid stories would suggest many thought they wouldn't) aren't particularly enamoured that we now have more net immigration post-Brexit. And call me an even bigger cynic when I say a not insignificant % of those are also genuine racist/xenophobes and aren't best pleased that a lot of these alternative immigrants are 'non-white'. You may not think events like the small boats are Brexit related but they are to the public as a whole, The inference of a populist soundbite like ''take back control of our borders'' was that there would be control over immigration numbers i.e. numbers would come down, not control of what type of immigrant comes to the UK and especially not a resultant higher number. So when certain Brexit voters see the small boats they see a Gov not taking control of it's borders. It's irrelevant to them that this may or not be happening in other countries. So once again we have a Gov that has managed to pee off all sides of the debate, hence why in a poll yesterday circa 90% think the Gov is handling immigration badly. That will continue to be Brexit's problem, promised easy solutions to complex problems that unsurprisingly fail to deliver. Re. ''more qualified and skilled individuals'', have you got the data that shows this? My own personal non-data view is that pre-Brexit there was a natural balance between low and high-skilled immigration, which to me seems far more desirable than immigration ''massively weighted'' on one particular side. What's the point of having lots of captains if you have no one in the engine room to run the boat? The hospitality industry is currently crying out for lower-skilled workers who disappeared post-Brexit...

Corbynistas who were happy to see moderate candidates deselected in favour of Corbynista candidates upset that moderate Labour leader wants moderate candidates shocker...

Week 13 fixtures... Saturday 5th November Leeds United v AFC Bournemouth Manchester City v Fulham Nottingham Forest v Brentford Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion Everton v Leicester City Sunday 6th November Chelsea v Arsenal Aston Villa v Manchester United Southampton v Newcastle United West Ham United v Crystal Palace Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

Missed this due to page ticking over. Nice try at sophistry Cat, but you know very well that wasn't what I was saying. When we were in the EU the numbers of asylum seekers that were returned were small, a Guardian report last year quoted ''a few hundred'' in 2020, and if for legitimate reasons, I'm fine with that. it's not about 'getting rid of them'. The point I was making is the same as in that last paragraph, that Brexit promised that the UK would 'take back control' of our borders, and once again when Brexit meets reality, the opposite is true. We have less control, so much so we've also ended up with an internal border within the UK. I don't speak for all Remainers but I like to think that the vast majority want a fair and humane asylum system, whereby the UK takes in it's fair share of asylum seekers subject to the usual legalities (at the moment the UK languishes near the bottom). That it doesn't try and deport asylum seekers to Rwanda without going through any asylum processing. That it doesn't keep them in squalid, overcrowded conditions so that cases of Scabies and Diphtheria arise. That it doesn't dogwhistle to racists/xenophobes with fascistic soundbites of 'invasions'. I note this morning that Belize has already distanced itself from the report that Braverman was looking to extend the scheme to include other countries, describing it as ''inhumane''. Way to go, Global Britain...

Create your own cutting-in brush by cutting the bristles on an old worn-bristle brush to the desired angle, good enough for general emulsion work. For more intricate work such as windows it's worth paying the extra for a good quality new one. I've never tried this but someone once told me that if you're fed-up with bits of old dried paint falling into your emulsion when you reopen a tin of paint, simply place a loose piece of polythene/cling film under the lid and carefully push down and reseal the pot, making sure the film overlaps the rim...

On a similar theme, if you're using a mini-roller and/or smallish brush over several days, leave them inside the re-covered paint pot rather then cleaning them each day. Sorry it's another miniscule effect on the environment but every little helps and all that...

And what racist Brexit supporters like Farage and Braverman won't tell you is that Brexit has made it harder for the UK to legitimately return asylum seekers to the EU than it was when we were in the EU, so they demonize them instead...

This deliberate & inciteful hatred of humans, in this case refugees, is all they've got. It's all they've ever had. It's how Brexit happened. It's how Gullis ended up in Parliament & Braverman in the Cabinet. It's disgusting & wrong & the next shameful chapter has barely started. They used Farage's base racism to get Brexit over the line. Some of them quite happily, some of them holding their noses. Then Brexit made *everything* worse so they're resurrecting Farage's base racism to distract from the absolute mess they've made. No 'patriot' would let them. Braverman's fascistic soundbites in Parliament aside, t's the Lexiters I have the most scorn for, they knowingly climbed into the Brexit bed with racists like Farage. Shameless doesn't even begin to describe them...

To bring up a smear-free finish to stainless steel finishes e.g. cooker hood, hob, oven etc, after cleaning with a general sponge and detergent, apply a smidge of baby oil on kitchen paper (a macrofibre cloth can also be used if to hand) and gently wipe over the whole surface, should bring it up as good as new again..,

Week 12 points... Week 12 table...

'News-tainment'. Some of the 'news' that Sky puts out as ''Breaking News'' is laughable...

Wouldn't it be a lot easier if you tell us all you know and then one of us shoots you?...

The World Cup starts in just over 3 weeks time ! Strange that there hasn't been the build-up and hype there normally is. But never fear, the EDF World Cup Predictor League is here. Anyone new can register... https://www.predictaddict.co.uk/ New and existing members can join in using these details...

Week 12 fixtures... Saturday 29th October Leicester City v Manchester City AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur Brentford v Wolverhampton Wanderers Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea Crystal Palace v Southampton Newcastle United v Aston Villa Fulham v Everton Liverpool v Leeds United Sunday 30th October Arsenal v Nottingham Forest Manchester United v West Ham United

Week 11 points... Week 11 table...

I think I've missed the point here. I haven't read anywhere how people are formally nominated, but there must be some procedure for that. I've just seen this from journo Tom Newton Dunn... There’s a problem with this claim. As I understand it, the nominations have to go from MPs to Sir Graham Brady directly, not via campaigns. They remain anonymous. So nobody but him will know Johnson has 100 for sure - even if 100 had publicly declared, which they still haven’t. Public declarations all part of the gaming of the process, bluffs, double bluffs, create false momentum etc...

A reminder that Sunak, economics aside, came out with some batshit stuff during the last leadership election, and if what Steve Baker said earlier re. assurances given to him on the NIP Bill, then big problems lie ahead, even a potential trade war with the EU. I'd actually prefer Johnson to limp over the 100 line and go to the members and win, because he wouldn't last until Christmas before it all came crashing down and a GE was called. With Sunak though, I can see him limping on for much longer, although in the background the Tory party will split even further with disgruntled Johnson supporters and Tory members, especially if they haven't been allowed to vote...

I think they would still need the support of Labour and Lib Dem voters, otherwise there's nothing to stop Farage/Reform Party coming along and sweeping up votes. Any rebel Tory MPs would also have to accept sitting in opposition for 5 years or more, impotent against a massive Labour majority. A big ask but probably what's needed for the Tory Party, time for some self-reflection and to get it's act together. As a party they're currently miles from than their right of centre roots, they've essentially been cuckooed by UKIP. I feel sorry for the David Gaukes, having to watch as their party has been hijacked like this. Thankfully Labour saw sense and ditched Corbyn...

I think I've missed the point here. I haven't read anywhere how people are formally nominated, but there must be some procedure for that. A candidate has to achieve 100 public declarations of support, most seem to Tweet their support so presume it has to written in some form, although there's nothing to stop them changing their mind when it comes to the secret ballot. You're right that there can only be a max of 3 candidates as there are 350+ Tory MPs in total. Now that Sunak has reached the 100 mark, it will be interesting to see how his non-declared supporters vote. Will they vote for Mordaunt to try and get her into the final two or do they pile onto Sunak and give him an overwhelming win. As I said earlier, it would normally be expected that a well beaten second place candidate would do the honourable thing and concede defeat, like Leadsom did with May, therefore not go the membership to decide, but chances of Johnson doing that seem slim. It's all another chapter in this never-ending Tory psycho-drama, while the country continues to go down the pan. It's doubtful any new leader will solve these internal problems of the various factions and the inability to govern through parliament will continue. Amazing really for a party with a 70+ majority. And to think the worst of the cost of living crisis is yet to come...