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Count Binface

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Re: Count Binface

#281

Post by olelele »

anonymousiam wrote: post #279
squidbeak wrote: post #248

I see from the comments here many Americans especially are confused by this situation. Some background might make help. Farage seems to have broken Parliamentary Rules (laid down after the cash for questions scandal in the 1990s) by accepting large sums of money as gifts - but without declaring them, something all MPs are required to do for any gift. But worse, one of these gifts came from a convicted crypto felon. T…

The other parties are terrified that the immense popularity of Farage will land him the role of PM, so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them, which he has not done. It's the same sort of lawfare that Trump and Le Pen have been a victim of. Override the will of the people by finding an excuse to oust a popular politician that they see as a serious threat to their…

The fact that Roger Stone & Trump haven’t faced consequences for jan 6 still amazes me. Edit: spelling

Re: Count Binface

#282

Post by pibaker »

taran_narat wrote: post #44

This person is hilarious, for non-UK people who are wondering what this is, this is a joke candidate for an MP who is getting a lot of attention because of the political system in the UK not working very well. This YouTube video has sort of started this off recently and made him go viral https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MCCVt8IhJkA&pp=ygUHQmluZmFjZQ%...

> the political system in the UK not working very well

"Joke candidate making a serious attempt at practically unseating a probably corrupt party leader through democratic voting process" is infinitely better than what happens on the other side of the Atlantic. Or as I would call it "vote for one of the two presidential candidates who can't form a coherent sentence. Except your vote doesn't matter because your state is deep red or blue. And your congressional vote doesn't matter either because you are gerrymandered. But your congressional vote not mattering doesn't matter anyway because the congress has given up governing."

Re: Count Binface

#283

Post by squidbeak »

anonymousiam wrote: post #279
squidbeak wrote: post #248

I see from the comments here many Americans especially are confused by this situation. Some background might make help. Farage seems to have broken Parliamentary Rules (laid down after the cash for questions scandal in the 1990s) by accepting large sums of money as gifts - but without declaring them, something all MPs are required to do for any gift. But worse, one of these gifts came from a convicted crypto felon. T…

The other parties are terrified that the immense popularity of Farage will land him the role of PM, so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them, which he has not done. It's the same sort of lawfare that Trump and Le Pen have been a victim of. Override the will of the people by finding an excuse to oust a popular politician that they see as a serious threat to their…

> so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them

You seem deeply ignorant about the rules UK politicians are bound by. The Parliamentary Standards investigation doesn't need any creativity in interpreting a failure to declare a £5m gift as a breach of parliamentary rules.

On the broader point, popularity doesn't exempt politicians from the rules that apply to every MP. Not that Farage is popular, he's -27 in the latest poll.

Re: Count Binface

#285

Post by pjc50 »

anonymousiam wrote: post #279
squidbeak wrote: post #248

I see from the comments here many Americans especially are confused by this situation. Some background might make help. Farage seems to have broken Parliamentary Rules (laid down after the cash for questions scandal in the 1990s) by accepting large sums of money as gifts - but without declaring them, something all MPs are required to do for any gift. But worse, one of these gifts came from a convicted crypto felon. T…

The other parties are terrified that the immense popularity of Farage will land him the role of PM, so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them, which he has not done. It's the same sort of lawfare that Trump and Le Pen have been a victim of. Override the will of the people by finding an excuse to oust a popular politician that they see as a serious threat to their…

The facts of the £5m are not entirely clear, but he's trying to pre-empt the actual investigation which if he wasn't guilty might clear him.

Either way, there is no way to become PM without (approx) three hundred MPs. There's plenty of time before the true next election (not this by-election which Farage has forced) for him to attempt to stand candidates in and win that many seats.

> conspire to create a false candidate in an election

Binface is not a false candidate. He's complied with the rules just like everyone else.

Re: Count Binface

#286

Post by pjc50 »

gib444 wrote: post #270
squidbeak wrote: post #248

I see from the comments here many Americans especially are confused by this situation. Some background might make help. Farage seems to have broken Parliamentary Rules (laid down after the cash for questions scandal in the 1990s) by accepting large sums of money as gifts - but without declaring them, something all MPs are required to do for any gift. But worse, one of these gifts came from a convicted crypto felon. T…

And we know what you all are thinking: only £5m, how pathetic. I get you. Farage is still learning, on his frequent visits to the US. Give him time. We definitely are the weaker and more pathetic side of the Atlantic when it comes to corruption in our politics at the moment. We do bow to your superiority in this area.

The inability to do broadcast TV political adverts (outside of the PPB framework) really cuts down on the money involved in UK politics. But one effect of that (and purchasing power parity) is that UK MPs are really cheap to bribe.

Re: Count Binface

#287

Post by pjc50 »

Nursie wrote: post #222
gadders wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And paying people to not generate electricity But essentially there no countries with high renewables and low energy cost: https://nypost.com/2025/05/07/opinion/cheap-solar-and-wind-i...

An opinion piece in an American right-wing tabloid? That's surely the end of the argument then!

The NY Post as well, which is "B52 FOUND ON MOON" level of delusional.

Re: Count Binface

#288

Post by pjc50 »

Nursie wrote: post #137
gadders wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Farage and Reform/Restore have a solution to this: From The Atlantic: "The [UK's] output per person is now only just above that of Mississippi, America’s poorest state - and that slight lead is only achieved thanks to London. Outside the capital, in places where tourists do not visit, living standards fall well below Mississippi’s" This is what happens when you import low-skilled migrants (and their extended…

Net Zero is not the cause of high energy costs in the UK. The cause is international al energy costs, a way of setting the benchmark price per unit against the most expensive power, and tax. Clean, renewable power is a way out of the mess.

There are some highly specific issues, which need fixing, but doing so requires having all the deliberately uninformed idiots removed from the debate and silenced.

Top of the list is probably the problem that most of the renewables are generated in Scotland while demand growth is in England, especially around London. Getting electricity across the country requires power lines. However, NIMBYs are holding the entire country hostage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2n76244x5o

In order to avoid opposition, there is a new plan: https://www.easterngreenlink1.co.uk/ + https://www.easterngreenlink2.co.uk/ , which will be almost entirely undersea. Almost. NIMBY opposition is focusing on the shore landing points. I believe "grade 2 listed concrete anti-tank cubes" were mentioned at one point, although I can't find that reference.

Once those are built, there should be no more instances where we have to burn gas in the south while curtailing wind in the north. More distributed battery storage is being deployed (again, in the face of NIMBYs).

Anyone who is going to tout nuclear as the solution: you are going to have to deal with even more NIMBYs. Coal? Obviously a non-starter. Gas: there is some argument that you might be able to get more out of North Sea drilling. However, please provide a timescale for that. It's not instant either.

Re: Count Binface

#289

Post by pjc50 »

ben_w wrote: post #271
testfrequency wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re not allowed to celebrate how prepared for the future the UK is over nearly every other country in the world. You must get angry about current high energy costs due to the investments and war that are happening, just ignore anything positive.

In fairness, it is very difficult to look at the last 16 years of British governments and hold the belief "these people have well prepared the UK for the future".

Oddly, the Conservative government was overseeing the renewables boom, although they did kneecap onshore wind unnecessarily.

Re: Count Binface

#290

Post by lproven »

gwerbin wrote: post #277
lproven wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The point of the comment was to clarify the confusion that you are reinforcing. A "bin" in BrEn does not mean a generic container: it generally means a receptacle for waste, refuse, or garbage.

Yes, and in Massachusetts specifically people often call curbside trash cans "barrels", often without any qualification. "I forgot to bring the barrel into the garage and now there's a racoon family in there". Maybe it's some kind of extreme local regional thing in my area. I grew up in NY and I never heard anyone say it there, but all the locals here seem to say it.

All right. But only curbside ones? ("Kerbside" for me. "Curb" is the verb.)

A bin is any trashcan in BrEn... in your office, in your kitchen or bathroom, behind the house, whatever. So it's still not an ideal match.

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