#Please don't let the Tories take London...

[aquitainequeen]

Apparently a low voter turnout in London yesterday. Now the ballots will be counted by hand, so we'll have to wait until Saturday to see if Labour will hold London. ARG.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Far-Right MPs

Apparently some of the very far right-leaning Tory MPs are bitching about Suella Braverman being sacked, saying that Sunak is "turning his back on the voters who gave the Tories their majority in 2019". Which ... well, that's a stupid thing to say for a lot of reasons.

First of all, this is not what the Tory majority of 2019 was about. That shit-show was about Boris Johnson having made himself The Face Of Brexit during the run-up to the referendum, and people thinking that since he was so much for it, he could keep all the promises that he, Farage, and the ERG were making about it. (Narrator's note: they could not, and did not.)

Second of all, none of Braverman's talking points were on the table in 2019, beyond Brexit. Please keep in mind the list of things that Suella Braverman has done and said the last little while:

Calling the Human Rights Act the "Criminal Rights Act" and being a big part of the push to get the UK to leave the European Court of Human Rights.

This she did largely to fulfil her "dream and obsession" of sending refugees to Rwanda, which is very much illegal in a human rights sense.

Her entire take on refugees (or, as she puts it, "illegal migrants"). This includes: "Look, the threat of being arrested or executed for being LGBTQ is not a good reason to refugee out of a country so if you're here because your country hates gay people, we want to send you back there" (subtext: because we don't really like you people either), and "We want to be able to lock pregnant women and unaccompanied minors up for more than 72 hours if they managed to get here and we caught them".

Oh, let's not forget the recent "Multiculturalism Has Failed" thing. Lady, not only are you distinctly Not White, and also first-generation British, but you took advantage of the Erasmus programme (which used to help British people study abroad, which we can now no longer be in because fucking Brexit) and studied at the Sorbonne for years. You are a self-confessed devout Francophile. There is no way in hell you can start preaching about British values and multiculturalism having failed, you silly moo. Imagine going from an Erasmus-sponsored programme to study in France and then join the ERG, which is terrifyingly anti-EU.

She recently referred to homelessness as a "lifestyle choice", and was all for imposing fines on charities who donate tents to people sleeping rough. Thankfully none of this made it into the proposed King's Speech, but it was still very prominent in the headlines.

She's been the main force behind the continued criminalisation of protest in this country. She actively tried to get police to ban pro-Palestine protests this weekend just gone, citing "It's disrespectful to the Armistice Day events and they might damage the Cenotaph!" This despite the fact that the pro-Palestine protests agreed to not go anywhere near the Cenotaph. Anyway, the London Metropolitan Police stood their ground and refused to deny people the right to peaceful protest, and Sunak rolled his eyes and sighed but agreed that their current Human Rights Act did allow for that sort of thing, and the only people around the Cenotaph were the ultra-right, who mostly used it and the surrounding areas as a toilet as they tried to "protect" the Cenotaph from "a wave of destructive tofu-eating wokerati" (Braverman's own words to describe the left) who never actually arrived.

Which brings us to why Braverman was sacked in the first place, and the pro-Braverman MPs really should shut up when it comes to this one. See, sometimes MPs will write editorials for newspapers, stating their views. After the London Met stood their ground and let pro-Palestine protests happen in London on Armistice Day, Braverman wrote a piece for the Times about the whole thing, accusing the London Met of discriminating against "good British people" (read: the ultra-right) by being more forceful with them than with protests from "folks like Just Stop Oil etc, "lefty" causes, and calling the pro-Palestine protests "hate marches". The thing is, when MPs write editorials for the paper, they go to 10 Downing Street to get vetted, to ensure that they're not going against the party line or getting too ... erm ... confrontational, I guess? Well, Braverman's little editorial was deemed too confrontational and too much against the party line (summed up as, "I guess we can't technically prevent you from peaceful protest since we're still with the ECHR..."), so they came back to her with changes she was supposed to make to the editorial. She did not make those changes, and sent out her frothing, Trump-speak editorial as written. I don't care how pro-Braverman these MPs are, they have to understand that if you ignore a directive from your party leader and Prime Minister, your job is at risk. She fucked around one time too many, and she found out.

And yet the pro-Braverman crowd are still baying, calling the PM "Suicide Sunak" and lamenting things like Johnson being forced to resign over shit like throwing massive parties during Covid lockdown when people couldn't even attend their families' funerals. I don't know if there's enough of those to make a difference, given as how reading too much of their froth makes me sick. Which means I don't know if there's a chance that, assuming the Tories lose the next general election (2024-2025, I think? Sunak's going to try to put it off as long as possible, particularly given that he knows as much as anyone that the odds of the Tories losing the next general election are very, very good), Braverman might get the Tory party leadership after Sunak's done.

If she does...

Well, if she does, I've probably got about five years of safety before I have to start really worrying because of her keen desire to throw human rights out the window in favour of extreme boomerang bigotry and the kind of hypocrisy that I can barely even describe. But I can't believe that her views are so palatable to enough of the general public to make her an actual contender for the party leadership. ...Probably because I still have some tiny shred of faith in humanity. Which may be displaced, but to believe otherwise is to be in a worse mental health place than I can afford right now.

[qqueenofhades]

I do so wish people talked less about the EU not being strict enough and more about how they spent years acting all arrogant only to let themselves be so dependant on our resources. Why weren't alternatives found earlier? Why are they only now realising that oops turns out that condemning dictatorships while paying for their gas is actually not that smart after all? Why hand out citizenship left and right to our far-right dirtbags? Why did London spend decades hoarding all our dirty money only to now turn all Pikachu meme while "exposing" our corrupt oligarchs? The West should spend less time condemning our corruption and more thinking about their own. They enabled it. That said, watching our TV elite have public meltdowns over their lost wealth, exposing their hypocrisy, has been quite entertaining.

Another uncomfortable truth is that literally nothing the EU could do can stop this raging moron. Not even pressuring the closest to him would have an impact anymore, he's completely lost it. In this country change only ever happens in one way, and I'm afraid with all these sanctions it's exactly where we are heading. This is about to get really ugly for everyone here.

WELP. This is indeed what I was just talking about in my last post: the West's extensive complicity in enabling systems of corrupt hyper-capitalism, where any money from any source was good, no questions were asked, destabilizing propaganda was embraced as long as it served the powerful elite, and Putin's previous invasions in 2008 and 2014 were essentially met with a shrug and a slap on the wrist, because nobody wanted to upset the apple cart of sweet, sweet Russian black cash. The love of money is the root of all evil, etc etc. And yes, the UK trying to act as if they were leading the charge, while imposing absolutely pathetic initial sanctions and still not having a systemic plan at all to clean up Londongrad, was... something. Nor have the Tories actually pledged to give back all the Russian cash they were donated, not that I would believe them if they did.

Anyway, this is why I have been so determinedly reblogging articles and petitions and other information about Russian anti-war protestors, because a) you and everyone else speaking out against it are brave in a way that I really don't think westerners entirely grasp, and b) it is important, over and over, to emphasize that Putin does NOT speak for the Russian people, they are mad as hell despite the extensive and demonstrable consequences they will experience for saying so, and their only reward for it, if they haven't already been arrested, is that they're going to suffer a whole lot of pain when sanctions kick in. Earlier today, I saw pictures of the mile-long lines of people at ATMs in Moscow at 5am, trying to withdraw their money before the markets open on Monday and the ruble absolutely craters. Of course, Putin is going to take this as a mark of pride and/or do some more nuclear saber-rattling, and it's just a terrible situation for everyone.

I have likewise said many times that for someone bent on recreating the glory days of the Russian Empire and the USSR, Putin is oddly amnesiac about how BOTH of those ended. In the 1917 case, it was... hmm... yeah. And in 1991, the communist hardliners tried the same thing against Gorbachev and were only narrowly foiled (and if I recall, there was a similar attempt in 1993 against Yeltsin). Somehow Putin thinks this won't happen to him, while he's enraged the entire world AND his own people against him. It seems astonishing that in the year 2022, one single madman can cause this much pain for everyone, and yet. Here we are.

Please know that I am thinking about you and all the other Russians who are going to suffer the blowback in any number of ways, and I hope you keep finding the strength to stand up. I wish this wasn't such a clusterfuck, I wish you and everyone else in Russia trying to do the right thing weren't going to suffer so much for the Madness of King Vlad, and hope like hell that somehow this resolves without destroying your entire country. As I said earlier to the other anon stuck in Moscow, please check in and let me know you're safe when you can. I am but a random netizen, but I do really care.

Hugs.

[angiethewitch]

I do have to say that despite the fact the UK is in shambles right now, I'm so glad I live here.

I've only ever seen police officers with guns once, 3 years ago. I was in London and there was a kid trying to take a bomb on the London Underground. He was arrested and the bomb squad was called. For the rest of the day there were armed police patrolling the station. That's the only time I've ever seen armed police. When I went to Barcelona, the train conductors had kevlar vests and semi automatic weapons. TRAIN CONDUCTORS.

I have had multiple surgeries and hospital stays. I got them all for free. I got my glasses and contact lenses for free until I turned 18, as well as dental care, and now I'm on benefits I get them for free again. I have never had to pay for healthcare. I've had to pay for mobility aids, and sure, the NHS is screwed right now, but I'm still incredibly lucky. In Wales, we all get free prescriptions too.

When I was in school, I've never had to prepare for an active shooter drill. Never.

I live in a 3 bedroom house in a tiny village. It's £525 a month. My house is roughly a century old and it's falling apart but I was so very lucky to get it. When we get our benefits back, our rent gets cut in half, because the council pays half our rent if you're disabled. For my american friends, £525 is $684.

Unfortunately, we might lose all this, but I have never gone a day where I'm not thankful for my home, my NHS healthcare, and the fact I have never had to worry about guns. Which is why I'm furious that people voted Tory. They're so lucky they don't even know it.

I'm not really sure where I was going with this, but count your blessings, people. I've worked hard my entire life but I've been given these things listed out of sheer luck.

I'm just...so thankful I have these things. Please don't let the Tories take them away.

[buddha-in-disguise]

A full of fucking swearing long post about the shitstain that is Dominic Cummings. Plus where I can find them, at the end I will link fucking sources, just in case anyone wants to try and say otherwise.

Also, if you do start @ me over him, I'm blocking your fucking cunt of an arse. Clear enough?

Good. Then let's begin.

As a nation, we can be a fairly mild mannered lot. At least collectively. But as of now, the majority of Britons are a mass of anger. So much so, I've even agreed with pundits like Piers Fucking Morgan! That alone is distressing enough, but Dominic Cummings has pissed off just about everyone.

But first a little background on this heaping pile of shit.

Dominic Cummings was one of the main instigators of Leave Campaign in regards Brexit. Now for those who don't know or haven't cared until now, not only were they found to be in breach of the electoral law, Dominic himself was also found in contempt of Parliament when they tried to find out if Vote Leave used fake news to help achieve their goal.

To add to this, he took around 200k of subsidies from the EU for his properties. So a known lying fucking hypocrite.

Even before that, he was advisor to Gove, that spineless fucking weasel who has been out today spouting even more fucking bollocks over this. Funny that.

Don't think for a minute being Gove's Special Advisor meant Cummings was liked by others in the Tory Party. Cummings was pretty much despised by a lot in Government at the time. David 'Pig fucker' Cameron called him a career psychopath.

Fast forward to 2019. Cummings is now Special Advisor to another spineless fucking cunt known as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. BJ was never in control. Anyone watching what was going on knew that the moment Cummings had Javid's one aide uncermoniously marched out of her job, using armed police no less.

Only problem was, he had no authority to do that.

But never fear, BJ decided to change the rules, so lo and behold, he didn't break any rules (seeing a pattern here yet?)

So fast forward to the last few days. Now newspapers were reporting that Dominic Cummings drove his COVID-19 symptomatic wife, with a 4 year old in the same enclosed vehicle, some 260 miles to his parents location in Durham.

Oh now comes the fun part, and why as a nation we are all beyond extremely miffed, and fucking pissed off!

The offical guidance was anyone in a household with someone displaying symptoms (tested or not) was to stay the fuck at home. There was one exception to this rule. One. Extreme risk to life.

So Cummings took the decision to go and drive for fucking childcare reasons.

A man with his wealth, privilege and even with family in fucking London, couldn't do it at his home, but had to drive (thus risking his own child because of viral load you're going to get in an enclosed vehicle), himself and others (because he had to stop. Tell me of anyone with a 4 year old in the car they wouldn't be stopping anywhere?)

So anyway, they take a fucking jolly jaunt up to his parents.

But hold on, a Minister recently resigned for breaking lockdown rules. So why in the ever loving fuck was Cummings not resigning or being fired?

I don't know what Cummings has on BJ, but I suspect it makes wanting to fuck a dead pig seem like child play. Because not only isn't he fired, good old Jolly BJ comes out and fully defends and supports his senior advisor (who is unelected as well, just to add salt to that wound).

So by following his fatherly instincts (the fucking laughable defence given, when BJ couldn't even say how many fucking kids he has) and acting with integrity, (someone please give these fucking morons a dictionary), Cummings was given a free pass.

And then a load of fucking MP's including cabinet ministers all piled in saying how great a father he is, how it was exceptional circumstances that made him do it, you're all overreacting you terrible ingrate you, blah, blah, more horse shit, blah!

So, now all of those families who actually followed the fucking rules, and did what the government said are now being told, oh sure. You could've attended the funeral of your loved ones. Gone halfway across country to get child care for your kids, and so on and so fucking forth.

So basically saying, hah the jokes on you.

A few grumbles came out from the odd Tory, who might not have grown a spine, but were looking less like jelly (jello) being nailed to the wall, and more like thick fucking custard. A little more substance to them, but still slopping around with no spine.

We have a bank holiday coming up, and unusually good weather forecast, because as every Brit knows, Bank Holidays are normally shit weather wise. And a lot of people saying, fuck me if Cummings can do this, so can we. And all pile into cars for days out as if nothing had changed! No masks, no social distancing. Zilch. Great innit.

No it fucking isn't! The virus doesn't take a holiday you fucking morons!

So back to the other mess. Cummings now gives a press conference in the fucking rose garden of No.10. Also likely in breach of the rules, but as we know, he really doesn't give a flying fuck about rules now does he.

First of all he was 30 minutes late (you would've been sanctioned , therefore getting no money, for weeks, probably months if on benefits and did the same thing thanks to this government). But he eventually rolls up, looking slightly less like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards, but still looking like a dogs arse. Actually sorry dogs, you don't deserve that comparison. I'm really sorry!!

Anyway, here he is, about to fill us with more bullshit.

The shit now isn't just hitting the fan. In the immortal words of Terry Pratchett, The Midden has now hit the Windmill.

Cummings is trying to explain why he did what he did, oh and now we have the added delight of him being caught going out to a location some 30 miles from the family home, which is another breach of the law!

He sat there, and said, the public aren't angry at me, they're angry because of how the media have reported it. Woe is me, they're making me out to be the bad guy in all this .... blah fucking boo hoo blah.

This was supposed to calm us down.

Dear reader.

It. Did. Not.

So journalist after journalist (Beth Rigby gave a fucking masterclass) actually didn't let him get away with it.

These weren't just questions or accusations. They threw proof at him! Despite the collective rage, it was glorious to see them do it. If this was when stocks were still in use in the town square, Cummings would've been covered in excrement and anything else to hand. That shit was blown back so fast, it was hard to keep up.

Anyway, without going into too much here, his excuses ranged from he didn't feel safe because of demos outside his home (unverified and strangely enough, no neighbours reporting any disturbances either. Funny that),

Then, having gone to great lengths to say he drove up to his parents to keep his kid safe, he explains the additional trip he got caught out on was taken to test his eyesight, which had been affected because of being unwell with Covid19.

So not only is it highly fucking illegal to drive while impaired (including if eyesight is impaired) in this country, you decided to take your wife and kid, who you wanted to protect, not for a little jaunt down the road, but on a 60 mile fucking round trip.

Oh, and he hadn't stopped on the 260 mile trip up there, but his kid needed a stop on the way home, so a less than 60 mile trip required a stop. Yeah. Strange how that works.

He still kept blaming the media. Still kept up the woe is me, it was exceptional circumstances, and so on. Must get sore lips there Cummings, with the amount of smoke you try to blow up peoples arses.

So, to end it all, he has flatly refused to resign. No need to even consider it. The public will be jolly good chaps in all of this and see my side of things.

No we won't, you motherfucking cunt!

So this morning, various people including Gove are still making excuses for this fucking shitstain.

I now wish Cummings is fired, but better yet, thrown out of our universe, so he can never ever be seen again. But I've seen more spine on a fucking snake that I have Boris Johnson, who is just as much to blame in all this.

Before I end, we also had an infamous Tweet from someone in the Civil Service, who knew they were torpedoing their career. I'm including a screen shot. It was taken down, but it was genuine. Whoever they were, you deserve all the applause and a fucking medal!

Oh and a few sources for this and the cuntface Cummings. But you know, just Google the fucker. You can find this and much more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44856992

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47712040

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/10/dominic-cummings-owns-farm-got-eu-subsidy

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/18/david-cameron-dominic-cummings-career-psychopath

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dominic-cummings-boris-johnson-cabinet-minister-aides-civil-service-sajid-javid-a9109836.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52782913

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52553229

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-52792200

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52793991

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/dominic-cummings-trip-county-durham-18306147

https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules

[januarium]

Dear Vidder

(FYI to most people seeing this: I’m signing up for Festivids, so this is my letter about my requests to go with my sign up.)

Hi! Gosh, this is both exciting and nerve-wracking, as this is my first Festivids! Narrowing down what fandoms to choose was HARD and I hope there's something here that inspires you. Thank you so very much for whatever you come up with!

First, more generally: I love ensembles, I love friendship vids, I love character studies, I love overviews I love so many things! I'm not as into shippy vids (one suggestion below notwithstanding) but I can absolutely get on board with them! I am a big fan of upbeat vids, but I absolutely can go for more serious ones, or those that take a darker turn, too. I can totally enjoy vids with angst, but I'd prefer that to not be the majority of it? I am highly supportive of angry vids filled with righteous anger throughout.

I love discovering music through vids, so please use what speaks to you, but if you want some guidance, some of my favourite artists are Tori Amos, Janelle Monae, and Panic! at the Disco. Also I continue to love Glee music, especially ensemble stuff, Naya Rivera, and Alex Newell 😆I love lyric-matchy videos, but absolutely love when it's more of a ~vibe, too. 

Now to discuss the requests, in alphabetical order!

Anna and the Apocalypse - I love this film so much! As it's a safety, I'll let you know it's a high school christmas zombie comedy musical and it's amazing. I love the ensemble here a lot, the group of them, feel free to rip my heart out with their decreasing numbers. Anna and Steph are specifically my favourite characters, but honestly I am a fan of all of them. 

Dear White People - I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH!!! My favourites are Sam, Lionel, and Brooke, but again I LOVE THIS ENSEMBLE SO MUCH! A vid showing their journeys over the show would be great, but really anything for this show would make me so happy.

Kevin Can Fuck Himself - God I love this and this it's such excellent vid fodder. I'd fucking love anything focussing on Allison and/or Patty, maybe a character study of of one of them (Patty's queer journey would be such a good vidddd), or, and here's the one request I'll specifically suggest a ship vid, because Allison/Patty could make such a good one. But I also have a lot of love for Patty/Tammy, so don't feel you have to shy away from them if you do make a different sort of KCFH vid. An Allison&Patty friendship vid would also be great, doesn’t have to take it shippy. Basically, I desperately want a vid about this show/these women in whatever form.

Mythic Quest - Another fantastic show with a fantastic ensemble!!! Poppy and the testers are my faves, but really, any way you want to go with this I am hype for it. This is short, but really I just love it and and repeating myself by now.

Rutherford Falls - This showwww!!!! I love Reagan with all my everything, but also Bobbie! Terry! The minor characters! Yes, even Nathan, and I do love the journey of Reagan and Nathan's friendship here. I'd love a vid for this however it goes!

Schitt's Creek- If you look at my AO3 you'll see how much I fucking love this show. While, yes, it's clear I love David/Patrick, I love the whole ensemble so much, and Stevie Budd is my everything. I'd love digging into the found family, or David and Stevie (and Patrick!)’s friendship, or Stevie's career journey (or all of their career journeys?), or Alexis and David's sibling journey, or Ronnie Lee being amazing for 60 seconds. Anything you want to do here!

Watchmen - I fucking loved this show. Certainly quite different from a lot of what I've mentioned, but honestly you could do anything here and I would be excited for it. Obviously, considering the source, feel free to go dark. 

We Are Lady Parts - THIS SHOW!!!! This show is so fucking good, as it's a safety I feel I can say YOU SHOULD TOTES WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN'T! It's about an all-female Muslim punk band in London. It's on Peacock in the US and channel 4 in the UK. I love all the characters, but Saira and Amina are maybe my faves? Except I love Aisha, Bisma, and Momtaz, too. There's great ensemble stuff and friendship journeys and character study stuff you could get into here, go wild.

Really looking forward to wherever you want to go with any of these sources!