Morning music
Tweets seen
“Former economic adviser to Israel’s chief of staff, Ram Aminah, said: “Israeli society does not understand the extent of Hezbollah’s power” because it has a large stockpile of missiles, he added. Hezbollah is considered one of the five superpowers along with the United States, China, Russia and Germany.“
Interesting and unexpected. All the same, Hezbollah is not part of the nuclear club: no Trident, no French force de frappe…
When they are given power…
“He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword” [Matthew 26:52]
Wonder what that idiot-tweeter will say when real social-nationalism arrives…
Incidentally, that Britain Elects poll result, if it is right, would mean a House of Commons with 469 Labour MPs (overall majority 288), 75 LibDems, 56 Con MPs, 15 SNP, 9 Reform UK, 3 Green (etc). https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/userpoll.html.
My view is that it would be better to raise the threshold to at least the £20,000 level, but increase the tax burden of VAT (overall). True, that would hit poorer people disproportionately, but at the same time would put the choice into their hands, in fact into the hands of all consumers. Basic purchases, such as food, or basic foodstuffs, could be charged out at a lower rate or rates, or zero-rated.
Government needs tax monies in order to fund the functions of government.
Another stunning opinion poll, if accurate.
That poll, by my use of Electoral Calculus, would result in a House of Commons with 454 Labour MPs (overall majority 258), 74 LibDems, 46 Cons, 34 Reform UK, 15 SNP, 4 Green (etc).
That People Polling opinion poll comes very close to my own (I hope, educated) guess about what might be the result of tomorrow’s General Election. Labour as “elected” (by default) dictatorship, LibDems the official but completely toothless Opposition (again only by default), and Reform UK in a good position to capitalize on what will soon be Labour’s total let-down as a government. Oh, and the SNP put back in its box, probably permanently.
As for the Conservative Party, if not totally wiped out on the day, mortally wounded.
I also tend to agree, as I have been blogging recently. “Shy Reform UK voters”, unwilling to share their tendency with pollsters, may add up to something significant, if they vote at all.
That means a House of Commons with 472 Labour MPs (overall majority 294), LibDems 69, Cons 63, SNP 15, Reform 6, Greens 3 (etc).
Once again, LibDems as official Opposition. About half the polls are predicting that the LibDems will get more MPs than the Cons. I imagine that large donors to the Conservative Party will close their pocketbooks soon. A party not in government and not even the main opposition party has little influence.
1700 hrs now. 17 hours before the polls open for real.
“This is Frank and he has had a coffee stand at the top of the steps at Bethnal Green tube for as long as I can remember.
When the new restaurant/coffee shop next door opened along with another high street outlet opening across the street, Frank suddenly found that his license from the council had been revoked and he was chucked off his stand. I believe it was to make way for these new shops to take his regular custom. They didn’t need him in the way of gaining maximum profit… so Frank was gone.
Well the locals were having none of it and a petition started demanding his return. How dare they do this to him. How dare these people smash his business and leave him with nothing.
After a lot of pressure the council backed down and Frank had his licence and pitch returned to him but sadly by that time Frank had sold his equipment to feed his family and try to survive. So the good people of Bethnal Green started crowdfunding and here’s the result… Frank back in business on his old pitch with brand new equipment and even a little hut now to shelter him from the rain… Brilliant!!
He is truly the happiest man in East London and it’s wonderful to see. It really does show that if we all stick together, stand up to them and just say no… the little guy can win. If you’re in Bethnal Green come and have a coffee with this lovely man.“
A nice story, and an illustration on a small scale of what society could be.
Not an area I know (have been there a couple of times, 30-40 years ago), but if I am ever there, admittedly highly unlikely, I’ll take that coffee.
From the newspapers
“A man has been convicted of strangling his wife while her online boyfriend was on a video link, and throwing her body hidden in a suitcase into a tributary of the River Thames.
Aminan Rahman, 46, was found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey of murdering Suma Begum, 24, in a flat in east London on the night of 29 April last year.
The killing was witnessed by Begum’s two children, aged four months and two years, and her online boyfriend via a video call from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he was living.“
[The Guardian]
Late tweets seen
“Boris” Johnson: part-Jew. Imagined P.G. Wodehouse character meets Winston Churchill amateur dramatics “cosplay”. A £3 note. Fake through and through.
Late music
Ian Robert Millard 