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“I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

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Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#171

Post by HillaryBriss »

coldtea wrote: post #117
mikeymz wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are missing the subtext of that narrative - Trump did none of those things. People around him and behind him are responsible. I'm not saying that is true (probably is) but it explains how a dullard with his dad's cash can achieve what he has.

All billionaires have an army of support. Even if Trump didn't handle the details, he was still on the forefront on high end deals, not sitting in the back and letting some CEOs do them (which many heirs do). Lots of dullards with dad's cash just spent it on women and booze or lose everything, Trump kept it (if he didn't increase it, considering the bankruptcies and re-emergences) and made his name a kind of brand. H…

+1 In a way Trump really is a political genius. He cleared the republican opposition away like so much moldering dust on a piano and then played the damned thing so powerfully he defeated the Clinton machine when nearly every intelligent observer, political scientist and pollster thought his impending loss was a sure thing.

The only other unexpected, unseasoned political opponent to defeat the Clinton machine was another political genius named Barack Obama.

Simply by winning the presidency both of these guys have demonstrated a political genius rarely seen in US politics.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#172

Post by unfunco »

growlist wrote: post #153
vidarh wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The office of mayor in London does not carry enough powers for any mayor to be "disastrous". That's just ridiculous hyperbole. Other than that, the views on London mayors tends to mostly follow party lines, so it's not a particularly worthwhile discussion.

Objective measures say different. Just look at the bloodbath on the streets, about which Kahn appears to be perfectly sanguine.

Bloodbath is a stretch and the uptick in knife-crime isn't localised to London, it's nationwide, and almost surely the result of tory austerity.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#173

Post by sonnyblarney »

repolfx wrote: post #128
sonnyblarney wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The plebs don't seem to be aware that he's disorganized and unprepared or lacking in knowledge - that's beyond the things they care about it seems. Apparently, people 'like him' and his sheer popularity I think is most of the driving force behind his success. Anyone who's paying attention (small minority in reality) seems to regard him as a complete idiot, however. The Financial Times, his former editor at the Telegr…

The Financial Times, his former editor at the Telegraph, obviously the Guardian I would note that all three of these are extremely anti-Brexit. Lots of people believe (rightly or wrongly) that Leave wouldn't have won without the support of Johnson and blame him personally for Brexit, which they see as an abomination. They aren't going to be even handed in their judgement of him: really, I'd say anything they write ab…

The Telegraph editorial position is 'Brexit' [1]

[1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/heres-where-britains-...

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#174

Post by mayniac »

Nexxxeh wrote: post #157
growlist wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you're kidding, but Eton is one of the finest schools in the UK, probably the world, so it's a bit much to be quite so disparaging. Also I'm guessing you've never heard of CP Snow: 'The Two Cultures is the first part of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow. Its thesis was that "the intellectual life of the whole of western society" was split into two cultures – the…

How competent was he as mayor? Most memorably he stood up for bankers, brought in Boris bikes, and most famously got stuck on a zipline. His primary talent is taking limited damage from scandals that should have ended his career.

"brought in Boris bikes"

Boris didn't even do anything with that one. Livingstone set everything up, but he left office before the scheme actually started. Boris just happened to be in charge when it started operating and he (very undeservedly IMO) got his name attached.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#175

Post by growlist »

machinecoffee wrote: post #167
growlist wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you're kidding, but Eton is one of the finest schools in the UK, probably the world, so it's a bit much to be quite so disparaging. Also I'm guessing you've never heard of CP Snow: 'The Two Cultures is the first part of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow. Its thesis was that "the intellectual life of the whole of western society" was split into two cultures – the…

> assistant Editor of the Telegraph https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/boris-... Max Hastings, his boss at the time doesn't have such a great opinion of Boris. I would suggest as well that in more ordinary times, when the country has some decent leaders and is not so bitterly divided, he would have absolutely no chance of rising to the position he looks now likely to hold. But these are very strang…

Max Hastings may well have an axe to grind, no?

> so bitterly divided > very strange times

I'm not so sure we are as bitterly divided or that the times are as strange as we are led to believe, and I think both of above have been pushed hard by those that would seek to thwart Brexit: 'the country is so divided, we must compromise (BRINO) in order to heal these divisions!' and 'look at how broken our politics is, we must revoke Article 50 in order to safely navigate these perilous waters!'

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#177

Post by vidarh »

mayniac wrote: post #162
growlist wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

West Sussex.

Not far from London then. You should pop by sometime, witness the complete lack of bloodbaths on the streets.

As I noted in another comment, Sussex police in fact recorded a higher rate of violent crime than the Metropolitan police recorded for London in April. It gives an indication of just how much the media affects peoples ideas of crime levels.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#178

Post by growlist »

unfunco wrote: post #172
growlist wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Objective measures say different. Just look at the bloodbath on the streets, about which Kahn appears to be perfectly sanguine.

Bloodbath is a stretch and the uptick in knife-crime isn't localised to London, it's nationwide, and almost surely the result of tory austerity.

> almost surely the result of tory austerity

Just a laughable assertion.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#179

Post by growlist »

vidarh wrote: post #165
growlist wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Objective measures say different. Just look at the bloodbath on the streets, about which Kahn appears to be perfectly sanguine.

If you think there is a 'bloodbath on the streets' of London you just demonstrate that you have no clue what London is like. And even if you had been right, the office of the mayor only has oversight powers and limited powers to set priorities and shift some resources. Most of the Met budget and control of their day to day operations is outside the mayors purview. EDIT: Here's a wikipedia page with info on the media…

Sure, sadly lots of crime and drugs in Sussex - I'd imagine Brighton on its own accounts for a lot of it, and there is the county lines phenomenon everywhere. That doesn't change the upsurge in London. I'd also be extremely suspicious about taking the official crime statistics at face value - the history of their manipulation is long and detailed.

Re: “I thought I'd share this Boris Johnson story with you”

#180

Post by mayniac »

growlist wrote: post #176
mayniac wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not far from London then. You should pop by sometime, witness the complete lack of bloodbaths on the streets.

That's ok, I prefer England.

Do you want to explain why you don't think London is English?
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