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As for Carrie Symonds? She’s not so much entered into a marriage as a contract. She seems to be smart enough to have the measure of him (not really difficult, is it?) and I’m sure that when he’s served his purpose for her career she’ll take him to the cleaners.
100%
Well, I genuinely hope she does have an escape plan.
Let’s not credit De Pfeffel with ‘punching’ too much. She looks like a cross between Emma Bunton and Zippy from Rainbow.
Harsh. What's wrong wih Zippy ?
Also note how the Guardian is not running this story at all right now. Only the (weak in my opinion) cartoon today alludes to it.
So if you see the inevitable gammony frothing on social meedya about 'lefty guardian readers' and the like, be sure to point this out.
Carrie Symonds was Johnson's mistress. She knows the score. It is baked into her career plan. The big question is - is it in De Pfeffel's?
My point was that this is now proof he lied in an investigation by the london assembly - a body he does not control
The story does seem to be getting fairly minimal media coverage and I suspect it’ll just die away as normal for boris. Amazing how morals, integrity, fathering children left right and centre are only important to our esteemed press when it’s the lower orders being promiscuous.
Hmmmm....can I just say Russian violinist?
Hmmmm….can I just say Russian violinist?
You just did, you naughty thing...🙊
Harsh. What’s wrong wih Zippy ?
I might have to retract that - the ability to stop Zippy's stream of verbal diarrhoea with a simple swipe of a zip actually has a lot of merit when compared to Johnson.
In the mildest defence possible of the other papers at the moment it is a Mirror exclusive...
However we all know he'll be given a free pass from Kier during the next PMQ's - can't be seen to rock the boat.
The story does seem to be getting fairly minimal media coverage and I suspect it’ll just die away
It's a mirror exclusive...So to recap. he was shagging her while his wife at the time was dying of cancer, and illegally bunged her hundreds of thousands in public cash while denying both things (the money and the shagging) and then lied about lying about it all...
What a guy...and yes, I suspect you're right, it'll just die away.
It’s a mirror exclusive
Afaik the interviews with blonde Zippy are an exclusive - the story in general or digging up reaction from colleagues or others is not, nor is reporting that this is all bubbling away and that it raises questions about use of tax payers money etc. I'm sure the sun would be all over it if it was allegations in another paper about Corbyn etc.
I'm uncomfortable with criticism of Ms Acuri's physical appearance. I am however comfortable with criticising Ms Acuri for not coming forward with this information four years ago, for accepting what appears to be a substantial public bung that I have in part funded, for being a blatant grifter, for making a point of saying in print to Johnson's kids that she was ineptly porked on the family sofa.
porked
Chipolata?
blatant grifter
That's charitable. Grifting is an old profession, but not the oldest - and there is a case to be made for that here.
Nothing newsworthy... move along now...
The reference to Berlusconi is something playing on my mind... how much more would our papers make of all this if it was the leader of another country, especially one close to home?
Just in case folk missed it on the Marina Hyde thread 🙂
“He does believe in the wider principles of integrity and honesty,”
His course is like the Ever Given container ship,but will he be tugged to safety.
Here's an account of the State Media Outlet's non-coverage of the Arcuri story:
Blatant.
The london assembly are still investigating this scandal. Johnson does not have control of that in any way.
They call her a 'businesswoman' because she was doing the business. Wasn't she a waitress in another life?
Here’s an account of the State Media Outlet’s non-coverage of the Arcuri story:
TBF to the Beeb; this Govt. are obviously looking for any way they can to get shot of it as it stands in it's current form. If I was DG, I'd be hugely wary of this story. Which in of itself, is a form of (self) censorship.
Wasn’t she a waitress in another life?
This is relevant because? I only ask, as this part of her history has come up time and again, and it's just another form of sexism. Name a story in a newspaper recently where a man's early employment history is deemed relevant? I'm not a fan of Jennifer Acuri (she appears to be a shill for ultra right wing American grifters) but the double standards in the press are dull and obvious .
I’m uncomfortable with criticism of Ms Acuri’s physical appearance. I am however comfortable with criticising Ms Acuri for not coming forward with this information four years ago, for accepting what appears to be a substantial public bung that I have in part funded, for being a blatant grifter, for making a point of saying in print to Johnson’s kids that she was ineptly porked on the family sofa.
This. Let's leave the physical appearance out of this. There's more than enough to go on without focusing on distractions.
early employment history
Not about that though, is it... it's about the idea that she was a "successful business women" when she met Johnson, where as the truth is that her business was entirely built on public funding and the star draw factor Johnson gave it, and the contacts he provided.
TBF to the Beeb; this Govt. are obviously looking for any way they can to get shot of it as it stands in it’s current form. If I was DG, I’d be hugely wary of this story. Which in of itself, is a form of (self) censorship.
Yes, Kuensberg has been very quiet, no inside knowledge from her "sources".
Looks like Brexit Britain being "buccaneering and agile" is coming up against it's first hurdle: Biden threatens tariffs.
The vaunted trade agreement with the US touted by the grifters sorry, the Brexiteers is going to be on ice for a while. Interesting how the weaker partner in trade agreements always comes off worst, eh? Can't help feeling that the Arcuri story would've been blocked by a D Notice, the timing of this as more Brexit and Covid bad news filters out seems a little serendipitous.
Not about that though, is it… it’s about the idea that she was a “successful business women”
Sure, but when she met Johnson (ie when the story started) she wasn't a waitress either. So the whole "Former-waitress" description things is what? that she was once a low paid worker? Some sort of nudge-nudge wink-wink euphemism? something else? It's an utterly pointless addenda that newspaper just do and we all accept like; Man (48) rants on the internet...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/21/boris-johnson-and-jennifer-arcuri-timeline
Some sort of nudge-nudge wink-wink euphemism?
Maybe there is some of that. But, I think it's more about how Johnson used public money and his own star presence to gift her a profitable business. Her background of having no previous business success is valid. The repeated references to her as a successful business person in the press/media that lean towards supporting Johnson conveniently ignore the fact that she wasn't, 'till she received opportunities and funding, at public expense, gifted to her by Johnson.
The london assembly are still investigating this scandal. Johnson does not have control of that in any way.
Which is why they've been trying to smear Siddique Khan. Doing their groundwork.
What a ****ing pathetic little banana republic we are.
Here’s an account of the State Media Outlet’s non-coverage of the Arcuri story:
What we really need to get to the bottom of is the exact date that Nicola Sturgeon found out
Okay, that made me laugh.
Ha ha. Me too.
Just substitute Siddique Khan for Nicola Sturgeon and you've got yourself a guaranteed dead cat diversion.
Even he couldn't argue that all that taxpayers' money should be invested in a waitress so she became a businesswoman and the press played along with it.
After just watching that bbc press conference someone needs to send this bloke on a public speaking course. Incapable of staying on point, incapable of a short answer, and incapable of even making any sense.how is this man our pm!
how is this man our pm!
Because Brexit.
Literally none of the current shower of shit, with the possible exception of Sunak, would be anywhere near where they are without it.
If you make 'belief' in a stupid policy that is detrimental to 99% of people your core requirement for high office you end up selecting in favour of idiots and/or crooks.
Because Brexit.
This and it embarrasses me every time the idiot stands up infront of the cameras.
After just watching that bbc press conference someone needs to send this bloke on a public speaking course. Incapable of staying on point, incapable of a short answer, and incapable of even making any sense.how is this man our pm!
Don't underestimate that some people like these flaws.
I agree with you; no excuse not to be media trained into the ground - but the bumbling none too serious attitude goes a long way, despite the seriousness of all that has come to pass.
I once attended a briefing at the Foreign Office when Boris was the short-lived minister - he just bumbled his way through it. There were lots of senior officials and you could see their embarrassment - there was absolutely nothing professional about it and certainly not 'statesmanlike'.
Incapable of staying on point, incapable of a short answer, and incapable of even making any sense.how is this man our pm!
People like my parents voted for him, mum has even said "He's trying his best, these aren't normal times!"
Too bloody right they're not. In normal times we'd have someone competent in office who would have actually made decisions when they needed to be made. They may have been the wrong ones but at least we wouldn't have all the mixed messages, dithering and confusion that's leading to rule-breaking and distrust of any official messages.
This is an instructive read
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/03/the-assault-on-truth-by-peter-oborne-review-boris-johnsons-lies
People like my parents voted for him, mum has even said “He’s trying his best, these aren’t normal times!”
Mine did too, to quote my tory voting mother "I thought he would be like churchill" all they got in common is fat, old and white. Lets just say family dinners are interesting in my house given im firmly a labour voter.
People like my parents voted for him, mum has even said “He’s trying his best, these aren’t normal times!”
See also "we knew he was useless but anyone but Labour!"
Though my dad has kind of realised it's his fault
Don’t underestimate that some people like these flaws.
Don’t underestimate that some millions of people like these flaws are really ****ing stupid.
And there, in a nutshell, is the key realisation made by the Brexit cheerleaders. There is money to be made out of other people's stupidity.
Incapable of staying on point, incapable of a short answer, and incapable of even making any sense,incapable of keeping his dick in his trousers,how is this man our pm!
fify
And there, in a nutshell, is the key realisation made by the Brexit cheerleaders. There is money to be made out of other people’s stupidity.
I’m not sure it’s just stupidity,it’s just a a way to make money from people who want to believe in something regardless of truth.
People also aren’t interested in politics enough only football,tv dancing shows,cooking shows and celebrities and fashion are important (This may actually be deliberate as a politicaly astute population would probably not be the greatest desire of politicians.)
It’s an old game.
The worse thing about Boris is that behind the bumbling charade, in plain daylight people’s rights are being drastically curtailed and this is very bad.
It’s an old game.
The way I think about this is like that guy in the first Matrix film, “ignorance is bliss”. At the few moments my naturally worrying head detaches itself from the news, I can see the value of the average Sun reader who’s purely focused on waiting for his pre booked Benidorm holiday whilst sitting on the couch with a Stella watching Corrie. I mean who cares if you have telly, a beer and a newspaper after a 9-5 job driving a forklift?
I mean who cares if you have telly, a beer and a newspaper after a 9-5 job driving a forklift?
Fair enough. In which case he should keep his ****ing gob shut and be 'content' rather than spouting off to all and sundry about how he 'won' and Brexit is 'the start of something'.
In fact, he should stay in front of his telly with his can of wife beater and not go out to vote either. That really would be a result.
And there, in a nutshell, is the key realisation made by the Brexit cheerleaders. There is money to be made out of other people’s stupidity.
Makes you wonder why the clever people on the left can't make use of the stupidity of the masses
Makes you wonder why the clever people on the left can’t make use of the stupidity of the masses
In a word 'principles'.
Not necessarily in a flowery, hand-wringing way, either.
The Tories don't really stand for much at all nowadays. Or not that they can admit openly. They stand for anything that can win over gullible sections of society with targeted messaging. Messaging that is often totally contradictory between groups too.
But all dressed up in two critical overriding notions:
1. Nationalism - if it ain't wrapped in a union jack it ain't british.
2. The idea that someone, somewhere is taking the piss. Unemployed, homeless, asylum seekers, immigrants, muslims etc etc etc. Someone else. Someone who doesn't deserve to be british.
football,tv dancing shows,cooking shows and celebrities and fashion are important
Falco : You really think people are going to be seduced by that?
Gracchus : I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it.
This is an instructive read
Oborne was on R4 on Sunday discussing this, they had on Johnsons biographer too, he conceded that Johnson is a consomethinge liar, but argued that people just want to hear good stuff
but argued that people just want to hear good stuff
And to leverage that you just have to cross the Rubicon and start treating the populace with the contempt they have earned.
Let them eat cake.
One thing they'll never go after, though, on the 'someone else is taking the piss' front is cash in hand work.
They know their traditional support ('Christian', moral majority, neat lawns) are dying out, so they needed to tap into new markets. Enter 'the strivers'. Give them a focus for their hate whilst making them work a 60 hour week for a bit more than minimum wage and enjoy the rewards.
One thing they’ll never go after, though, on the ‘someone else is taking the piss’ front is cash in hand work.
Funnily enough, a very large government department spends a lot of time trying to stop people taking the piss with cash in hand.
I don't think most people link what happens in their lives with Westminster politics at all. If they have to wait for an op at hospital, or can't get an appt at the GP, they blame the NHS (or queue jumpers), if their bus is cancelled or the bins aren't collected , they blame the Bus firm or bin collectors, or maybe the council...They might have notice their council tax bill has gone up or down a few quid, but that's soon forgotten.
And that's the sum total of most folks interface with local authority. Most folks couldn't tell you who their MP is, it's as meaningless as the bit on the news (if they listen/watch the news at all) when they tell you the FSTE100 number, it's just noise.
To most folks it makes no difference
Funnily enough, a very large government department spends a lot of time trying to stop people taking the piss with cash in hand.
Which has been consistently defunded and reduced in ability over the last ten years... It is now really, really difficult for them to do serious VAT fraud investigations because of the lack of staff and funding. Private business pays better and the way that senior HMRC and BofE staff move between consultancy firms means that HMRC are always on the back foot for getting big wins against tax cheats.
Which has been consistently defunded and reduced in ability over the last ten years… It is now really, really difficult for them to do serious VAT fraud investigations because of the lack of staff and funding. Private business pays better and the way that senior HMRC and BofE staff move between consultancy firms means that HMRC are always on the back foot for getting big wins against tax cheats.
That is 100% perfectly what I was on about.
If you're a little guy taking a 'reasonable' % of your income as cash in hand and not putting it through your books you have a rapidly decreasing chance of getting caught.
And if you're a brainy type who works for HMRC and can earn two or three times your current salary by reversing your expertise in the interests of a large company....
But it is not the big boys the tories want or need to court - they're already sorted on the tax avoidance front. And they equate to donations, not votes.
Makes you wonder why the clever people on the left can’t make use of the stupidity of the masses
It's like entropy of thought, the stupidity is the lowest effort/most automatic/most base response to any given issue.
It's why 'they don't pay road tax' is still such a potent anti-cycling argument, because it is simpler, more obvious, and requires less thought to comprehend that the actual reality.
Blaming foreigners is just basic tribal human nature.
Benefits and welfare? Giving money to people for free???? OBVIOUSLY wrong. The compassion and reasoning required to comprehend that it might be morally right is just too much to ask.
This is why the Left struggles, the arguments for almost any of their stances are just too opaque, or complicated, or simply requiring of too much thought. I'd even suggest that the mildest form of socialism is against human nature, for better or for worse, so you are fighting that particular gravity every step of the way.
Lockdown Challenge: find some anthropological or sociological evidence for 'human nature'.
Going a bit John Nash game theory there.
Lockdown Challenge: find some anthropological or sociological evidence for ‘human nature’.
Good point, I think for the purposes of my argument I actually meant our basic animal nature!
e.g. view 'fear of foreigners' from a simian perspective, would you see chimpanzees willingly giving up a portion of their bananas to feed an influx of chimpanzees fleeing deforestation in a neighbouring jungle?
Perhaps the 'naked ape' school of thought was disproven back in the 70s, I'm only part way through 'Sapiens' so haven't updated my thinking... 😀
Benefits and welfare? Giving money to people for free???? OBVIOUSLY wrong.
Weird innit? The idea of deserving and undeserving poor starts around the 1550's (when the economy starts to shake communities around a bit) Old folk, or sick folk; deserving poor, closer to god, Good Thing, able bodied men and women able to work, but haven't got any work...Bad Thing, and should be flogged or thrown in the stocks.
Nothing's really changed all that much.
Lockdown Challenge: find some anthropological or sociological evidence for ‘human nature’.
Sure: 6 month old infants are "instinctually" afraid of snakes, and most primate infants have a cry response that is instinctual, as is the female response to it. Herding instinct (seen in abandoned chimpanzees) is reasonably common to primates (including humans).
Testosterone is responsible for sex drive in men and dominance (both 'probably' instinctual) and varies in tune with ovulation cycles (driving levels of aggression as well as a result it's variable when other men are nearby)
Fear and disgust are instinctual reaction that are 'probably' evolutionary
Funnily enough, a very large government department spends a lot of time trying to stop people taking the piss with cash in hand.
No they seem to spend their time trying to find ways to screw the self-employed people who cannot do work cash in hand. I.e. freelancers etc.
The Tchambuli tribe and bonobos would disagree. So fear of snakes and herding instincts translate into however things are now is 'human nature' and therefore can't be changed. Johnson would have human nature as 'capitalism and greed'. I'm not so sure.
At the few moments my naturally worrying head detaches itself from the news, I can see the value of the average Sun reader who’s purely focused on waiting for his pre booked Benidorm holiday whilst sitting on the couch with a Stella watching Corrie. I mean who cares if you have telly, a beer and a newspaper after a 9-5 job driving a forklift?
I know you probably didn’t mean it in this way, but I find this type of stereotyping a bit offensive. Not everyone has the disposable funds for the Maldives or has the time to go through the ‘long read’ on the guardian website. It doesn’t automatically mean that they’re shit-beer drinking idiots with no grasp of right/wrong. Or that they automatically voted brexit.
In my opinion it’s this type of attitude that creates the division between left and right, and that the remainers are just as guilty as the leavers when it comes to the shambles that is brexit, at least following the referendum. Ultimately everyone has the same level of power regarding voting, surely discussing things is a better approach than just branding people dickheads Because they voted in a certain way.
The fact is, people were lied to over Brexit and there was a massive amount of disinformation being banded about when people actually just needed the facts. The fact that one of the key Goons involved is now running the country (badly) just goes to show that nobody has been held responsible for the shit show.
This country is broken and in my opinion the divisions created by this/Covid/BJ is just making it worse. It won’t happen, but it’s about time we all rallied as one rather than dissolve further into extremist groups and hold the necessary bastards responsible.
Benefits and welfare? Giving money to people for free???? OBVIOUSLY wrong. The compassion and reasoning required to comprehend that it might be morally right is just too much to ask.
Isn't that just an example of the overall dumbing down (of society, the news, etc)?
Complex social issues such as benefits, universal basic income, a welfare state all reduced to a single simple chant of YOUR Taxes being used to support THOSE people. OK, it's divisive [b]as well[/b], it's very much the "othering" of THOSE people over there (the scum, the poor, the scroungers) against YOU over here (the fine, upstanding, taxpaying, hardworking) but at it's heart is just a simplistic answer to a complex question. Much like Brexit was the incredibly simple and stupid question and answer to an extremely complex situation.
That said, it fits perfectly with BJ as a person - famously dismissive / ignorant of details. Marina Hyde did an article on the manufactured culture war that is being vigorously stirred in the corridors of power.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/02/culture-war-government-race-report
The Tchambuli tribe and bonobos would disagree
About male dominance? yes probably, but it's a probably for a different thread innit
Isn’t that just an example of the overall dumbing down (of society, the news, etc)?
No its a deliberate campaign of disinformation and victim blaming. Its deliberately othering people and hiding inconvenient details by shouting about the welfare bill whilst not mentioning just how much is going to landlords after all the housing was sold cheap and how many people are working full time but still not earning enough to live on. Who is really being subsidised there?
No they seem to spend their time trying to find ways to screw the self-employed people who cannot do work cash in hand. I.e. freelancers etc.
Yes, because freelancers don't tend to make displaying the flag of St George in their vehicles practically mandatory or shout 'oi-oi' out of said vehicle at every opportunity. As well as constantly bellyaching about how they're being undercut by forriners - even though they themselves are evading tax like the plague.
Isn’t that just an example of the overall dumbing down (of society, the news, etc)?
No its a deliberate campaign of disinformation and victim blaming.
I’m convinced of both. A ‘useful’ co-depency for those exploiting/creating it
Isn’t that just an example of the overall dumbing down (of society, the news, etc)?
No its a deliberate campaign of disinformation and victim blaming.
I’m convinced of both. A ‘useful’ co-depency for those exploiting/creating it
I think both is a sound answer.
There's a sensible middle ground. Post war the majority of the population seemed to understand what the welfare state needed to do, but its scope was much more limited then.
This country is broken and in my opinion the divisions created by this/Covid/BJ is just making it worse. It won’t happen, but it’s about time we all rallied as one rather than dissolve further into extremist groups and hold the necessary bastards responsible.
Meanwhile caring people are encouraged to define themselves into smaller and smaller boxes based on sexuality, skin colour, preferred mode of transport etc so we miss the bigger picture, or are too fragmented to do anything about it.
Jeremy Hardy always said he liked BJ's bumbling persona but believed that behind it he had the ruthlessness of a military dictator
So does anyone think the latest lobbying scandal will change effect teflon bozos polling numbers?
Im not sure if the current plan is to leak all the sleaze now so it cant be sprung on them before the local elections
Johnson is supported by people who will say “Labour would be just as bad, and we’d have to queue for food”, or something.
Of all the things he and his Gov have done, why's it this that seems to be causing most trouble?
Hang on - all civil servants have to disclose second jobs, and have done for years........
Times like these Johnson does need to be seen to be cracking a few heads, physically as well as metaphorically, preferably a distractor who is not in government, hopefully someone who approached your competitor and is someone you resent (and they got a 1st.) But you appoint a chum to give a guaranteed light-touch 'inquiry' verdict of 'lessons to be learnt' and no shiny heads get bashed and everyone's let off with a 'it's only human nature' shrug.
Is there a bung for taking a dive?