#massive tory losses

[thoughtlessarse]

Keir Starmer has said the “sunlight of hope” is now shining in Britain again as Labour won a landslide UK election victory, bringing a crushing end to 14 years of Conservative rule. The Labour leader is expected to officially become prime minister later on Friday after Rishi Sunak conceded, with voters giving Starmer a large mandate to bring about change in Britain. Speaking at Royal Festival Hall in London, Starmer said people would be waking up to the news of a Labour victory and Tory defeat “relieved that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed”. Sunak’s party is on track to record its worst performance in a general election, with a record number of cabinet ministers set to lose their seats and big names such as Liz Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Penny Mordaunt and Grant Shapps ousted. Labour had won 411 seats, while the Conservatives were on just 119, with five left to declare by 9.30am. The government’s likely majority is set to be about 170 seats. The party dominated in Scotland, with the SNP reduced to eight seats so far, while the Liberal Democrats gained at least 71 seats – their best performance ever. A surge in votes for the Reform party suggested it would win at least four seats, with Nigel Farage, the party leader, becoming an MP in Clacton on his eighth attempt to enter parliament. The Greens also won four seats, after surprise victories in Waveney, North Herefordshire and Bristol Central, as well as holding on in Brighton. There were five shock victories against Labour for pro-Palestine independent candidates, with Jonathan Ashworth, one of Labour’s election chiefs, voted out in Leicester South, and the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn winning in Islington North. Plaid Cymru was expected to win four seats. Labour’s huge majority was gained despite a 34% share of the vote that was only slightly higher than their performance in 2019 and less than Corbyn’s 40% in 2017. The Conservatives’ vote share plummeted by 20 percentage points to 24%, while Reform came third on 14% with the Liberal Democrats just behind on 12%. Ed Davey’s party benefited from tactical voting against the Tories and strong showing in a limited number of areas, which accounted for its high seat count of 71 compared with four for the Reform party.

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I wonder how long it will be before voters realise very little has changed, although I expect Starmer's government to be a bit more professional than the clown show that's inexplicitly been in power for the last 14 years, spent running the country into the ground while trying to protect party unity.

[kyogos]

This isn't a Labour win, it's actually just a tory loss

[pansy-picnics]

can ask that you spill everything about your Splatoon OCs? 😺

ABSOLUTELY i did not expect anyone to ask to be honest….goodness where do i even begin. Let’s see. I’ll start with my main little doomed love triangle thing i suppose

Cecilia Paek, she/her, 24 yrs old, aka: cece, celia, eight, whore, freak, slut, etc. My agent 8. born in the domes under the name Seo-Mi Paek, but renamed herself to cece post-memory loss. A freak both in the not-safe-for-work sense and just. In general. She says the most unhinged shit in such a passive formal manner. Marina has to consistently tell her she’s not allowed to eat the jelletons. She bites. A lot.

aside from being a freak cece is curious and observant, but incredibly blunt and fierce. In the past Seo-Mi was a much quieter and more repressed person, but hearing the Inkantation awakened a flame within her, so to speak. Cece is incredibly vocal about her thoughts and feelings, and she does not like to be pushed around. although shes always been a very nostalgic person, shes been trying to look forward more often than not. (she was on team future!)

cece has a very mature, almost sisterly presence, and is especially close with neo 3 (ikra) and her pseudo sister agent 4 (yottsu). she also has a daughter of her own, yumi! ikra and yottsu are my friends ocs so i cant say too much about them but ikra is like, basically her and kyle’s adopted kid

Kyle Lastname, (Actual surname to be determined Eventually) he/him, 25 yrs, aka three, cap, kyle, ceces silly rabbit /j. he’s my captain 3. has a stupid ass name bc he’s a stupid ass guy. Basically started as a joke oc but i put him through the Horrors. he’s the malewife of all time.

Grew up the only hearing person in a deaf/hard of hearing household so he’s fluent in sign language. He joined squidbeak when he was like 16 mostly bc he was a MASSIVE FUCKING LOSER with a huge ego who wanted the attention. Now he has Trauma and hates his teen self more than anything. (The egotistical little white kid phase is like, a rite of passage in his family. His little sister is still in that phase.) Now that he’s mellowed out hes just a sopping wet cat. Dating cece and is obsessed with her + will do literally whatever she wants.

Hes a lot more talkative than canon 3, hes the kind of guy who copes with humor all the time. he tries to be cool and mysterious but hes really awkward and gets flustered or worked up super easily. He’s overall a pretty boring guy and thats his charm. She’s barbie and he’s just ken. etc etc.

Hes SO dad coded btw. He and cece have a daughter together, Yumi. Since he was young he spent a lot of time looking after his little sister and he’s basically adopted his protege, neo3 (ikra). he makes me think of RTGame for reasons i could not describe to you, it’s just the energy somehow. He’s my babygirl. My little meow meow if you will (Cece voice)

Victoria Mendoza, she/her, 25 yrs, aka Tori. SHE is the fucked up one. Literally doomed by the narrative. Eye love her.

She comes from a long line of elite soldiers and was a child prodigy, but also the Problem Child. Got expelled from multiple schools for beating up other kids. from a young age she’s been incredibly critical of the octarian society and she was basically your average teen rebel. into alt music/fashion, incredibly vocal about her distaste for the system, fairly closed off with a cold exterior. the only person she truly cared for was Seo-Mi (Cece).

Seo-Mi was quiet and sweet and generally pretty average academically, so she didn’t have nearly as much pressure on her to succeed compared to Tori. the two were childhood friends and teenage lovers. The only ones who truly matched each others freak if you will. When they were little girls they used to dream of escaping to the surface together. this changed when they were about sixteen years old.

the most important thing to know about tori is that she is a pessimist and at her core a Coward. She’s all bark and no bite. She’ll scream her hatred of authority from the rooftops but immediately crumble at the sight of her leader. and as she got older and officially entered her career, she lost hope. she determined the surface wouldn’t have anything more for her than the domes did. she became complacent, while Seo-Mi, who had previously been more neutral, had heard the inkantation and only become more determined to leave the domes.

The two desperately tried to change each other’s minds but they were far too stubborn. both of them were crushed by the supposed “betrayal” of their beloved. Inevitably Seo-Mi left for the surface, eventually being taken in to Kamabo Co. while tori stayed behind to rot.

Since Seo-Mi left, tori became more bitter than ever before. she turns her focus to her career, and her family, but she never truly moves on from the loss. Unfortunately, Cece did. Cece met someone else, she’s started a family, she has a completely new name. she’s essentially a new person. and Tori is still the same.

Canonically i don’t think they would ever meet again and actually recognize each other, but i like to play with the idea sometimes bc if they did they would Hate each other. Tori is completely incapable of accepting that her Seo-Mi has moved on. She is clinging on to a version of someone that doesn’t exist anymore. tori is a deeply self destructive person and will never move on in any sense of the word. Sad!

Also this is Yumi. Age varies but shes like. Very young toddler as of the current timeline. She’s cece and kyle’s favorite surprise (Accident). They’re both freaks and shes the consequences of their actions. She and smollusk have playdates together. She’s obsessed with off the hook but doesn’t realize that her weird lesbian aunts pearl and marina are the same people. She’s baby

[casscassiecascoril]

One last post I suppose, now I've slept and all that.

What's to say really? Labours won, and with a hell of a lead, but it's pretty obvious they aren't the stars of the evening - it is the Tories loss, over their win.

Reform didn't get their massive seats, thank fuck. Four is four too many, but its not awful. Not the end of the world.

The liberal democrats are, in my opinion, the victors of the night. They've got a hell of a lot of seats, and though they haven't beaten the Tories out to second, they've thoroughly taken back their place in the system.

Green have done stunningly, their three seat gain - including one that they've snatched off a shadow minister - is absolutely stellar. Big moves, and I'm hoping for big things.

Similarly, plaid have taken an extra two off the Tories in Wales, and the conservatives are fucking OUT of Wales. NONE LEFT. Feels fuckin good.

SNP will need to regroup. It's bad - but I doubt it over.

I can't say too much on NI (not my place of expertise) but sinn feins victories are big. Seven seats in the house are permanently empty

Overall, as we'd expect. Labour have landslided the overall public, but still managed to take a hit close to home where people who aren't risking the Tories have the freedom to vote as they feel, and ESPECIALLY the vote regarding Gaza has hit them.

Nobody can say how things are gonna be, but it's not difficult to guess that it's gonna be pretty damn different

[sophieebridgerton]

what’s going to happen if the england team are too sad about a massive tory loss and refuse to go out on the field on saturday

[amorphousblobqueen]

The evil has been defeated, for now. Good work everybody. Some disorganised election thoughts below

The tories won more seats than I had hoped but still, a massive loss, and it may yet get worse for them. So many big names lost. Goodbye Truss. Goodbye Moggie. Badenoch may still be in trouble because a lot of postal votes weren't delivered in her constiuency, so her result will probably get voided lmao

The Lib Dems did exceptionally well. 71 seats! A brilliant result for them, great voter efficiency

Reform came second in a lot of constituencies, especially at the beginning of the night, but they at least didn't get their 13. They have got 4 now though, which is 4 too many in my view. Farage in Clacton, 30p Lee in Ashfield, Tice in Boston, and what's-his-face in Great Yarmouth

The greens got 4 seats which they'll be delighted about . They and reform are now the same sized party. Guess which one the mainstream media will pay attention to

A big shake up in Northern Ireland. Sinn fein are the largest party techically, but not in practice since they don't take up their seats in westminster. Also appearances from Alliance, the UUP, SDLP, and the TUV, the DUP probably aren't too pleased right now

Plaid got 4 seats, and the tories have been banished from wales. Fuck yes

The snp got fucking trounced. Unfortunate, I quite liked them, but they'll probably bounce back

Lindsay hoyle the speaker keeps his seat, surprise surprise

Corbyn keeps his seat by a lot. If labour really wanted it that badly they should've put up a better candidate

A few other independents came in, scalping one or two from labour

Okay, now lets talk about the winners. Labour didn't win as big as I had hoped (not wedded to labour, just wanted to see the tories lose more). Congratulations to kier starmer. Despite the not so good shit that labour had said, and the shouting from some on the left, which I understand, I wish that he was more left wing right now too, he will certainly do a better job than the tories, and just because I gave labour the benefit of the doubt, doesnt mean that I'm not intending rn to criticise them if they do not deliver. They have a lot of work to do on so many fronts. Trans rights, gaza, workers rights, electoral reform etc. Keep pushing them to do better

[starglaee]

The Tortured Karate Department - Thoughts

Each song from The Tortured Poets Department applies to Cobra Kai/ Cold Hearted in some aspect. 

For context, I am a major swiftie and love Cobra Kai so much that I've written a fanfic with an OC named Zion. If you're interested it's on Wattpad, titled Cold Hearted, and my username there is the same as here. 

Anyway, I listen to this album and can't help thinking about Cobra Kai characters while I do.

Here are my thoughts. Feel free to add on if you wish!

-

Fortnight

Cobra Kai (CK): SamRobby. They were so shortlived and this is especially relevant if we go with the plot of Sam looking at Robby during the prom episode: “Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her.”

-

The Tortured Poets Department

Cobra Kai (CK): Amanda and Daniel because she always keeps it real with him: “This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re two idiots.”

Cold Hearted (CH): Elion (Eli and Zion) at the end of season 2 based on when he says he’ll be with her forever but this is from his POV: “At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on, and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.”

-

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys:

Cobra Kai (CK): Tory with Kreese (obviously not romantically) as he manipulates her but kind of cares: “I’m queen of sandcastles he destroys.”

Cold Hearted (CH): It’s the same but with Zion: “Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me.” (Foreshadowing for season 6?)

-

Down Bad

CK and CH: Robby, because all I can think about is at the beginning of season 4 when he was lifting weights and debating leaving: “Now I’m down bad crying at the gym. Everything comes out teenage petulance.”

-

So Long, London

CK: I’m trying to make this one fit, but honestly none of the relationships are long-term and unhealthy enough (that I can think of?) in this show to really fit Taylor’s heartbreaking writing for this song. Even finding one for Cold Hearted is difficult.

CH: I feel like this can be Zion mourning the loss of Santa Maria and in part her mom with everything suddenly in her past when she can’t take the abuse anymore. But this song isn’t really about abuse. I’d come at it more from the idea of losing the good parts of a childhood home and her moving on despite what her dad may have wanted for her. Maybe.: “I’m just mad as hell ‘cause I loved this place for so long, London. Had a good run.”

-

But Daddy I Love Him

CK: Okay, so if I had to choose I’d say this applies to season 1 Samiguel with the whole Daniel hating Miguel by association with Johnny: “Even my daddy just loves him.”

CH: I think it fits Zion and Jess well by illustrating their coming out. I know it’s not necessarily queer song and is written from the lens of a massive superstar sick of everyone weighing in on her life, but it also captures the drama of being in high school and being gay in high school specifically. It also works for Tory and Piper who are girlfriends in CH: “I’ll tell you something right now. I’d rather burn my whole life down than listen to one more second of all this bitchin’ and moanin’.”

-

Fresh Out the Slammer

CK: I’d say this fits Tory and Robby, but instead of the slow burn with them in the parole office I’d say this applies to Tory’s escape in season 5 episode 10 when she meets up with Robby after finally breaking free from Silver and kisses him: “Camera flashes, welcome bashes, get the matches, toss the ashes off the ledge… I will never lose my baby again.”

CH: Zobby (Robby and Zion), if that wasn’t obvious from reading the later chapters of my season 4: “Now pretty baby I’m running back home to you. Fresh out the slammer I know who my first call will be to.”

-

Florida!!!

CK and CH: Miguel running away at the beginning of season 5 to Mexico: “I need to forget so take me to Florida. I’ve got some regrets I’ll bury them in Florida.”

-

Guilty As Sin?

CK: for shits and giggles this one is Silver. Just for the fact that he’s arrested as of season 5’s finale teehee.

CH: Zion because she never cheated!: “Without ever touching his skin how can I be guilty as sin?”

-

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

CK and CH: Literally any woman on the show! ANY! But if I had to choose it’d be the main 3 (Tory, Sam, and Zion): “‘cause you lured me and you hurt me and you taught me. You caged me, and then you called me crazy. I am what I am ‘cause you trained me.”

-

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

CK: Idk the Lawrusso shipper in me thinks this fits for them specifically in early season 4 when they try to work together and fail. Or when Kreese finds Silver and brings out the PTSD again: “Whoa, maybe I can’t.”

-

loml

CK: I feel like if Johnny knew Taylor’s deep cuts he’d listen to this and think about Alli idk: “We embroidered the memories of the time I was away, stitching, ‘We were just kids, babe.’”

CH: Again it feels like an Elion (Eli and Zion) song but this time from Zion’s POV after he said they’d be together forever: “You shit talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles. I wish I could recall how we almost had it all.”

-

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

CK: Tory saying “I broke up with him because of this dojo, you bitch!” Yep. That’s her.: “Try and come for my job.”

CH: I feel like overall this also applies to Zion taking shit and just training through it: “I cry a lot, but I am so productive. It’s an art.”

-

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

CK: Tory with Silver after she learns about his involvement with Stingray's assault and the All Valley cheating: “You kicked out the stage lights but you're still performing.”

CH: The same with Zion and Silver but arguably worse: “And in plain sight you hid, but you are what you did, and I’ll forget you but I’ll never forgive.”

-

The Alchemy

CK: Lawrusso isn’t technically canon (yes it is), but if they were this is a cute song for them. I can’t really explain it, so you either get it or you don’t: “‘cause the sign in your heart says it’s still reserved for me. Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?”

CH: Teehee this is self-indulgent but it’s Zobby (Zion and Robby): “Ditch the clowns get the crown. Baby, I’m the one to beat.”

-

Clara Bow

CK: From Daniel to Sam to Anthony for the LaRusso legacy: “Them’s the breaks. They don’t come gently.”

CH: From Aisha/ Zion to Zion/Tory to Devon for the Cobra Kai girl’s legacy: “You’ve got edge; she never did. The future’s bright. Dazzling.”

-

The Black Dog

CK and CH: Robby about Sam while he’s in prison and she’s training at Miyagi-Do without him: “Old habits die screaming.”

-

imgonnagetyouback

CK: Okay, I’ll be cute again. Lawrusso. Do they fight? Do they kiss? How about both?: “Whether I’m gonna flip you off or pull you into the closet, I haven’t decided yet.”

Elion (self-indulgent) in season 3 with the on-and-off flirting and hating: “And I’ll tell you one thing, honey, I could take the upper hand and touch your body, flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party. Or I might just love you til the end.”

-

The Albatross

CK: It’s about the Miyagi-Do legacy Daniel passes to Sam and Robby OR Johnny explaining how to handle the trauma of Cobra Kai to the young Cobras: ”You were sleeping soundly when they dragged you from your bed, and I tried to warn you about them.”

CH: It can also be from Daniel to Zion about redemption and forgiveness after breaking free from Silver’s Cobra Kai and coming to Miyagi-Do: “I’ll tell you how I’ve been there, too, and that none of it matters.”

-

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

CK: Oddly enough I think pre-CK Shannon would find this song drunk and think about Johnny. She’d always wonder if he could have been there for her and loved her like he is now with Carmen. Maybe that’s a stretch: “Will I always wonder?”

CH: I feel like Robby for the brief part of season 5 when he leaves Zion he’d relate to this song: “You needed me but you needed drugs more. And I couldn’t watch it happen.”

-

How Did It End?

CK: Sam because her relationships are everywhere and each breakup - Kyler, Miguel, and Robby - is such a massive thing in high school: “It’s happening again.”

CH: This also applies to Zion because there are so many rumors about her. I’d say in the beginning/ early parts of season 3 is when this is most applicable: “‘Didn’t you hear they called it all off?’ One gasp and then, ‘How did it end?’”

-

So High School:

CK: I believe Carmen feels So High School with Johnny, despite me not being a Jarmen shipper. I just think about that little dream she had and want the best for her. Just like this song is the best: "You knew what you wanted and boy, you got her."

-

thanK you aIMee

CH: Zion about Gabi, her former enemy who outed her in Santa Maria: “'Cause all that time you were throwing punches it was all for nothing.”

-

I Look In People’s Windows:

CK: I think about season one Miguel going over to the LaRusso's house and seeing Robby eating dinner with them when I hear this song. He jumped to conclusions and got drunk angrily without communicating to Sam, too: "So I look in people's windows like I'm some deranged weirdo. I attend Christmas parties from outside. I look in people's windows in case you're at their table."

-

The Prophecy

CK and CH: What if I just say everyone at one point has related to this song? I'd be absolutely right.

-

Cassandra

CK: Tory because she is cursed with knowing Silver cheated without being able to do anything about it, she warns Daniel and he gets hurt, and then Kreese abandons her while she struggles to even stay at the dojo: “So they killed Cassandra first ‘cause she feared the worst and tried to tell the town.”

-

Peter

CK: Kumiko with Daniel for obvious reasons. I do love them.: “You said you were gonna grow up then you were gonna come find me.”

-

The Bolter

CH: Zion because she keeps running away when things are scary as a trauma response - for example with Miguel’s fall and Silver’s attack: “Ended with the slam of a door then he’ll call her a whore, wish he wouldn’t be sore, but as she was leaving it felt like breathing.”

-

Robin

CK: This songs reminds me of that one scene that shows a flashback of Daniel training Sam in Miyagi-Do when she was young: "Way to go, Tiger. Higher and higher. Wilder and lighter. For you."

CH: Zion to Ella in season 3 as she teaches her and tries to protect her from the world: “You’ll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline.”

-

The Manuscript

CK: It doesn't apply because these characters don't move on from or properly cope with anything lmao

CH: For adult Zion looking back on the trauma: “But the story isn’t mine anymore.”

-

Please add to this or share your opinions. I'd really like to see them.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Marita Vlachou at HuffPost:

Conservatives in the U.K. are projected to get wiped out in next month’s general election. The party of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which has led the country for more than a decade, is faced with a historic defeat, as voters have grown frustrated by the state of public services and by political scandals that have plagued the Tories in recent years, among other things. While the center-left Labour Party is on track to win a huge majority, everyone seems to be focused on the Conservatives. “We’re so used to thinking about elections in terms of who’s going to win, but this one, it’s much more about actually the state of the loss and who is going to be in opposition,” Louise Thompson, a senior lecturer in politics at The University of Manchester, told HuffPost. Bad news has been piling up for Sunak. On July 4, he could become the first sitting prime minister to ever lose their seat in a general election, while his party may not even win enough seats to become the official opposition, according to a recent poll conducted by market research company Savanta for The Daily Telegraph, which forecasts the centrist Liberal Democrats winning just three fewer seats than the Tories.

The findings illustrate “the risk of electoral extinction that the Conservative Party is now having to contemplate,” Savanta’s political research director wrote in an op-ed. Meanwhile, a YouGov poll released last week showed Reform UK — the populist right party of Nigel Farage, who’s an ally of former President Donald Trump — overtaking the Conservatives for the first time, spreading even more alarm in Tory circles. “No other poll reported the same finding, though every poll has reported a fall in Conservative support and nearly all a narrowing of the Conservative lead over Reform,” polling expert John Curtice noted on the BBC. “Standing at just 20%, Conservative support is now at its lowest ever in British polling history,” Curtice added.

The Tories in the UK are likely headed for a massive defeat come July 4th, and may end up 3rd or lower, meaning that they have the possibility of not even being the official opposition.

[the-nefarious-vampire]

lmao @ the massive tory loss once again in the locals

[rockislandadultreads]

Warm Up with a Good Book!

Need a book to spark your interest & keep you warm? Check out one of these fiery recommendations! Make sure to also log whatever you read for our upcoming "Snow Many Books" Winter Reading Challenge, which begins this Friday, January 12th!

Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias

Costa Rica, 1968: When a lethal fire erupts at the American Fruit Company’s most lucrative banana plantation burning all evidence of a massive cover-up, and her husband disappears, the future of Teresa’s family is changed forever.

Now, twenty-seven years later, Teresa and her daughter Lyra are picking up the pieces. Lyra wants nothing to do with Teresa, but is desperate to find out what happened to her family that fateful night. Teresa, haunted by a missing husband and the bitter ghost of her mother, Amarga, is unable to reconcile the past. What unfolds is a story of a mother and daughter trying to forgive what they do not yet understand, and the mystery at the heart of one family’s rupture.

Dance Among the Flames by Tori Eldridge

Passion. Horror. Betrayal.

Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse. Serafina's quest begins in Brazil when she's possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit. Fueled by power and enticed by Exú, an immortal trickster and intermediary to the gods, Serafina turns to the seductive magic of Quimbanda. It's dangerous to dance in the fire. But when you come from nothing, you have nothing to lose.

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

Poornima and Savitha have three strikes against them: they are poor, they are ambitious, and they are girls. After her mother’s death, Poornima has very little kindness in her life. She is left to care for her siblings until her father can find her a suitable match. So when Savitha enters their household, Poornima is intrigued by the joyful, independent-minded girl. Suddenly their Indian village doesn't feel quite so claustrophobic, and Poornima begins to imagine a life beyond arranged marriage.

But when a devastating act of cruelty drives Savitha away, Poornima leaves behind everything she has ever known to find her friend. Her journey takes her into the darkest corners of India's underworld, on a harrowing cross-continental journey, and eventually to an apartment complex in Seattle.

The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith

The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell - and from its own librarians.

Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.

This is the second volume of the "Hell's Library" series.

[tomorrowusa]

In the UK, political analysts and journalists have been searching the thesaurus to find synonyms for disaster to describe what happened to the Conservative Party in two by-elections on Thursday.

The by-election results only confirm that the Tories are on a downward spiral.

Peter Walker at The Guardian spells out the implications.

But even though Tory aides will point to the murky circumstances in which the incumbents in both Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire, Chris Pincher and Nadine Dorries, departed their seats, Labour’s success will send a chill through the spines of Conservative MPs for several reasons. The first is the sheer scale of the losses. The byelection record tables for swings and biggest majorities overturned are becoming increasingly filled with votes that took place since 2019, and there is now another one to be added. Dorries’ 24,664 Conservative majority was the biggest numerically to be lost in a byelection at least since 1945, potentially ever, as Labour’s Alistair Strathern won a majority of 1,192. While Tamworth involved a slightly smaller majority, the swing to Labour’s second new MP, Sarah Edwards, of 23.9 percentage points to her party from the Tories, was even greater than the 23.7 percentage point swing in July’s Selby and Ainsty byelection. The second reason for Labour joy and Conservative jitters is the way that Labour pushed their way to a win in Mid Bedfordshire despite a full-on parallel effort from the fearsome Liberal Democrat byelection machine, one which has delivered four massive wins since 2021. The Lib Dems had insisted that in the mainly rural seat only they could tempt enough Conservative votes to switch to them. In the end, their vote tally rose, but even they were steamrollered by a Labour machine clearly motivated by the prospect of government. The Mid Beds result also carries another bad omen for Sunak and his party: the way that English voters are becoming increasingly good at deciding who they need to club together tactically to unseat the Conservatives.

Increasing numbers of people are voting tactically in these by-elections to specifically defeat Conservative candidates. They may not agree with everything that Labour or the Lib Dems may stand for, but the main point is to remove the Conservatives from power.

Tamworth is was statistically the 57th safest Tory seat in the UK out of the 350+ which the Conservatives hold. It doesn't necessarily mean that Labour and the Lib Dems would pick up almost 300 seats. But in the next general election, which must be held no later than 28 January 2025, the Conservative Party will have to defend many seats which they've been taking for granted.

One fun aspect of the October 19th by-elections is that the unsuccessful Conservative candidates bolted out of the buildings as soon as the results were made known. It doesn't violate any rules, though it's poor election night etiquette.

They probably had some idea where things were headed and wanted to avoid answering questions about the WAY bad night for their party.

To see the extent of the collapse of the Conservative vote, check out the results on a graph.

If you're wondering why the BBC doesn't list every single candidate on those graphics, check out the entire list for Mid Bedfordshire which includes one named Prince Ankit Love Emperor of India.

Here's a list of how parties fared in the 19 by-elections since the general election of 2019. The Conservatives have won just 1 of the 12 in the past 20 months; and that was a narrow victory to retain Boris Johnson's seat for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. More important than the number of Tory losses is their geography – constituencies lost to Labour and the Lib Dems in traditionally Conservative areas.

[thessalian]

Thess vs The State of the UK

Me: Okay, I think I've hidden long enough; let's have a look at the news.

Rishi Sunak: Economic growth! Reduction of NHS wait times! Lowered inflation! I promise all these things to you so long as you judge this government on those things alone!

Me: And ... not the twelve years of austerity that's brought us to this point? Which was also the Tories and you as Chancellor for the last few years of it?

Rishi Sunak: We're ... going to take greater action against illegal immigrants in tiny boats?

Me: Yeah, that's not the vote-winner you think it is. So how are you going to do all this? Won't the current Chancellor have something to say about that?

Hunt: Oh, yeah, we're lowering government support on energy bills for businesses, charities, schools, and hospitals.

Me: ...The NHS can't even afford to pay its nurses properly, schools have teachers buying their own supplies, charities ... are CHARITIES ... and smaller businesses are suffering Brexit losses. On what fucking PLANET does this constitute economic growth? How is this going to help the NHS reduce waiting times? They're already projecting a massive increase in unemployment this coming year. How does this help ANYTHING?

Hunt: It's unsustainably expensive, though!

Me: Ever thought of actually doing the windfall tax thing? Actually taxing the wealthy? Anything like that? Because this reads like you're actively trying to neglect the elderly poor, the disabled poor, the young poor, and ... well, just the poor in general until they die and leave nothing but the wealthy!

Hunt probably: Weeeeeeeeeeeell...

Me: Well, when your entire workforce dies, don't come crying to me. Well, given where this is going as re: disabled people, I WON'T BE AROUND TO CRY TO.

[laz-laz-ace-pilot]

I posted 54,649 times in 2022

That's 33,170 more posts than 2021!

295 posts created (1%)

54,354 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cantwearflipflops

@pinkys-plan

@sulevinen

@spacerocksarethebestrocks

@screaming-velociraptor

I tagged 4,941 of my posts in 2022

#andor spoilers - 1,089 posts

#andor - 969 posts

#tbobf spoilers - 228 posts

#writing reference - 136 posts

#reference - 107 posts

#kenobi spoilers - 95 posts

#personal - 76 posts

#in the shadow of his brothers - 67 posts

#star wars - 60 posts

#drawing reference - 57 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#this has been followed by tory and rwandan propoganda. ‘we have no human rights violations. people are safe here’ no the fuck they aren’t??

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I'm sorry to every other action movie star, but you will never be as cool or sexy as Diego Luna dive jumping and shooting a Deathtrooper fascist while in that jacket. It's over, go congratulate Mr Luna on the way out.

674 notes - Posted November 24, 2022

#4

Some Imperial somewhere: you're never going to believe who just organised a massive prison break

768 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#3

There are so many details in Andor that I could pour over forever, especially in the prison. The language used is so corporate and sanitised - 'minimally invasive enforcement techniques' to describe electrocuting someone to death, 'on programme/ off programme', 'hot floor' - all of it defangs the reality of what they're living with for the oppressors (and maybe for the inmates to increase productivity?) but must drive the inmates mad.

There's tiny moments too; the fact they showed one guard being late due to a 'problem in tech', establishing that the idea that its a well oiled machine is just a thin veneer. The desperation of the inmates to hear news about themselves from outside and getting nothing. The use of what looks like sign language to communicate across blocks. The comment about if two inmates are in the same cell they both get fried - that could be read as just to stop inmates conspiring together, but also implies that inmates can't seek romantic, sexual or even friendly companionship. There's a homophobic edge to it, and further reinstates the prisons control over happiness. Pleasure can only be achieved through productivity for the Empire, everything else is forbidden.

And that doesn't even go into the set design, the costumes, the filming, the acting! Or how those scenes are juxtaposed against the luxury of Mon Mothma's apartment.

This show guys!

1,023 notes - Posted October 27, 2022

#2

I know people are seeing the post credit scene and lamenting that Cassian and Melshi were forced to build the very weapon that will kill them (which is true and I am definitely also 'people') but... it also confirmation that the prison escape directly impacted the development of the Death Star.

Like, we know that turning off the facility meant that Narkina 5 couldn't be fully operational for months, and the loss of 5000 prisoners who were all assembling large numbers of pieces a day... all of that had to hurt the production schedule, not to mention any further damage from Melshi or Cassian's testimonies reaching people inside and out of the prison system.

How long did it delay production? We don't know - it could have been weeks or months, or even just hours. But knowing how little time the Rebellion has once they learn of the Death Star's existence, and how the Empire was closing in, even before then - Jyn and team escape Jedha with the message and means to destroy the superweapon by literal seconds - I just feel like it counted.

The Death Star will one day kill both Cassian and Melshi, but they, and 5000 other men, also bought precious time for the Rebellion. Just enough time to get the plans off Scarif. Just enough time for some desert farmer boy to make the crucial shot.

2,580 notes - Posted November 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ISB and Luthen playing 4D chess against each other:

Ferrix:

3,009 notes - Posted November 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[uomminecraftsociety]

2024 UK Local Elections - Wrapping Up (plus UK general election)

Time to return my ongoing coverage of the local elections... elections which I haven't covered for 2 months now, but seeing as today is going to be the UK general election, I thought it may be worth reminding ourselves the results for the elections.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Conservatives won 30 PCCs in 2021 (I made a mistake in the original post) which dropped down to just 19.

Labour won 8 PCCs in 2021 and have risen up to 17. They did however win the most votes compared to Labour.

Plaid Cymru ended with the same number of PCCs, 1.

This is a strong showing by Labour and as previously stated, this mostly covers the rural, more Tory areas so this is a strong shift towards Labour.

Council Elections

I cba to follow most of the ones listed but looking at the most extreme cases, we found:

Gloucester - Gone from 26 seats to the Tories to just 11, with the Liberal Democrats moving up to be the largest party with 17 seats, 3 short of what was needed for a majority.

Havant - 28 seats before were with the Tories out of a total of 36. Conservatives are still the largest party, but with only 13 seats, with Labour and Liberal Democrats coming in 2nd and 3rd place with 10 and 7 seats respectively. Greens and Reform ended with 4 and 2 seats.

Manchester's Council Elections (time to speed-run it):

Bolton - Labour win, minor large party loss, gains by smaller parties.

Bury - Labour win, near no change.

Manchester - Labour win, near no change

Salford - Labour win, near no change

Oldham - Labour largest party but minority, gains mostly by independents, likely over Labour's stance on the conflict in Palestine/Israel.

Rochdale - Labour win, near no change, though shift from Labour to Worker's Party, likely similar reasoning to Oldham.

Stockport - Liberal Democrats largest party but minority. Gains have been seen by the Lib Dems, moving one short of a majority.

Tameside - Labour win, slight losses by Labour though.

Trafford - Labour win, slight shift from Con to Lab.

Wigan - Labour win, near no change.

Clearly with the Manchester election results, while Manchester still remains a Labour stronghold, its grip has been weakened. Some areas are evidently unhappy with the Labour party as it stands, specifically Oldham and Rochdale, though other areas have seen slight drops in support for Labour too. This could be due to the national party's stance, though it could also be from the fact that Labour have had so much control over local politics for so long.

Mayoral Elections

Every Mayorality apart from Tees Valley went to Labour. This includes the West Midlands, which shifted from their local champion Andy Street to Richard Parker from Labour and Co-operative and the new positions in the East Midlands, North East & York and North Yorkshire, the latter of which represents an area where the current prime minister's seat is.

London Assembly and Mayoral Election

London assembly's election saw one seat change from Conservative to Reform. This election saw the first occurrence of a constituency voting for the Liberal Democrats, something which has always historically been Labour vs Conservatives.

The Mayorship went to Labour, with them taking a 11.1 point lead over the Conservatives. This election saw a massive drop in support for the Greens compared to their Liberal Democrat counterparts, despite the former performing better with time. This is likely lending to the change of structure of the Mayoral elections from 2 round to a 1 round system.

Blackpool South By-Election

Blackpool South's By-Election returned a strong Labour Majority, with the Conservatives falling second, only about 100 votes ahead of Reform UK.

So what now? UK General Election 2024

The general election campaign has ended and today is the day for the day of the polls. While this kind of thing shouldn't be called in advance, it seems obvious to a lot of people that Labour are going to be victorious, the question is normally by how much.

During the campaign period, Labour and Conservatives have both dropped in the polls regarding popular vote, with Lib Dems and Reform seeing the most gains. This election will be a much welcome change for the country but also could be a warning of things to come regarding Reform. I hear a lot of Americans are scared of Project 2025 and in my eyes, a relative success for Reform could risk us marching down the same road as the US is at risk of going along. I would ask with your good conscience to not vote Reform, but I realise I would be preaching to the choir here.

I am not going to do the same election coverage here due to time constraints but here are the constituencies I am most interested in:

Basildon & Billericay - YouGov's final MRP poll indicates 3 seats are likely to go to Reform: Clacton, Ashfield and Great Yarmouth, with some areas, like Boston and Skegness being very close. According to the MRP polls, Reform find themselves 4 points behind Labour in Basildon & Billericay with it being expected to be one of the first places to announce its results. While Reform may not win here, it could be a good indication of whether the polls over-estimated or under-estimated the support for Reform early on.

Richmond and Northallerton - The Prime Minister's seat, a constituency which (as Richmond) has been controlled by the Conservatives since 1910, has according to some polls indicated it may go Labour. It likely won't but it would be funny if it did. Results may be expected around 4 am.

Chingford & Woodford Green - Labour has had a few scandals about "parachuting" in candidates, replacing local candidates with outsiders who follow the current leadership's line. Chingford & Woodford Green is one of these locations, where Faiza Shaheen was replaced by Shama Tatler, which could split the vote and lead to Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader to clasp on and win the seat. Results expected around 3 am.

Bristol South - MRPs indicate it will have a strong Labour presence, but council elections in the past indicated the vote is very split between Labour, Conservatives, Green and Liberal Democrats. With the Tories out and the Liberal Democrats being the smaller of the three in the region, could the Greens get an extra seat? While current polls don't indicate that they will, it will likely depend on how apathetic the Labour vote may or may not be. Results expected around 3:30 am.

[icemaninvestments]

End of Season Update 2023/24

Ok, a little bit of politics before we hit the football returns. Iceman is looking forward to getting rid of this corrupt and incompetent Tory government. Thing is, you can’t help being concerned that a timid Labour Party is gonna inherit a total shitshow. Farage is moving the ‘Overton window; rightward and Tommy Knobinson recently marched largely unopposed through the streets of London, things could turn very ugly if Starmer does not get a grip on the situation. Knobinson is due in London again in late July, hoping this time he will meet opposition on the streets.

I will pick up politics again after the election when posting next season’s tips. Investment-wise the portfolio had another successful season; we generally need 3 or 4 to land to make a profit and this year most selections made the winning column. As IceMan has an anti-fascist stance, I have contributed to Hope not Hate who are opposing hate mongering candidates in the coming election.

Results...

Premiership, Arsenal without Man City 9/4 (Winner) Hit the sweet spot with this, for a moment I was cursing myself for not being bolder as it looked like Arsenal might get home, however, Man City reigned them in, as they do. I was pleased I did not go with the more conservative Arsenal top 4 which would have impacted the winnings. Must admit the post season legal threats from Man City against the Premiership have only made me more alienated from this league of greed, they are moaning about the ‘tyranny of the majority, totally betraying the fact they are owned by an autocratic state. I wish they would be told to follow the rules or feck off. . Championship Leicester City Promotion 13/8 (Winner) Leicester looked comfortable for much of the season, they had a slight wobble on the home straight but ended up as Champions.

League one – Bolton promotion 11/4 (Loss) Bolton were par for the course, I selected them on the basis they would be competitive for automatic promotion and almost certain to make the play offs, only disappointment is that they started the Play off final favorites at 4/7 against a team they recently beat 5/1., Bolton were terrible on the day, and it was not to be.

League Two Stockport 5/4 (Winner) and MK Dons 11/4 (Loss) Stockport made this look easy in the end, they won the Championship with a 14-point margin for automatic promotion. Unusually I went double handed in this division. Stockport were a bit skinny, but they still looked solid value, therefore I took a chance with MK Dons who looked like good play off material. In fact, they comfortably made play offs but suffered a bizarre 8-1 aggregate defeat to Crawley who they had finished 8 points ahead of. Like most football supporters of a certain vintage, I hate MK Dons because of their origin story (they transplanted Wimbledon to Milton Keynes like a NFL franchise) so apart from the financial hit, I was pleased they did not get promoted.

National League Chesterfield 6/4 (Winner) and Gateshead promotion 25/1 (void) Chesterfield was a bit of a shorty, but you don’t mind when they back it up with results. Chesterfield ended as Champions with a 14-points promotion margin. I maybe could have been more ambitious and backed them for the title rather than promotion. Gateshead were a 25/1 shot and it was all about them making the play offs. I was really pleased when they achieved that, however they were then disqualified as they did not have sufficient security of tenure on their stadium, which meant that they could not be promoted into League Two. The bet was voided but left a sour taste.

Scottish Premiership - Aberdeen without Celtic/Rangers 9/5 (Loss) This looked a very cautious position. I assumed they would battle out third place with Hearts. The Sheep had a stinker, they finished in 7 th a massive 20 points adrift of Hearts. Better Premiership news, Celtic win the Championship and keep Glasgow green and white.

Scottish Championship - Dundee United 11/8 (Winner) Champions by 6 points, however they made hard work of this, fair play to Raith who pushed them all the way.,.

Scottish League One Hamilton Academicals 5/2 (Loss) Always thought this was a two-horse race between Accies and Falkirk. On the face of it there is no shame in coming second, however they were 16 points shy of Falkirk.

Scottish League Two - Stenhousemuir to win 6/ 1 e/w (Winner) Well, pleased with this, I placed this as a safe bet as I was convinced each way angle would cover my stake. Stenny outperformed the odds and won the title by 8 points.

Bundesliga - Union Berlin top 4 11/4 (Loss) Worse bet of the season, almost relegated

Politics Lab/Lib Coalition 7/1 Now 20/1 (ShitePrice)

Not too sad at taking a loss on this. The lab majority looks certain. Expect this in loss column next time.

Hungary -Euro2024 150/1 E/W now 80/1 (IcePrice) Still very much dark horses, they lost a long unbeaten streak when losing a recent friendly to Republic of Ireland, apparently Ireland were flattered by the win. See if Hungary can qualify for knock out rounds and take it from there, Shame they are in same group as Scotland who I will be supporting in the absence of Ireland.. Democrats Evs to win Presidency. Will pick this up next time. Very concerned that Trump now odds on to win. This goes way beyond this betting position. Tbh when I placed this bet, I was rather hoping Biden would have stood aside, I never thought the criminal conviction in NYC would hurt Trump, however I was hoping the fact that he was always asleep and dropping toxic farts would have an impact.

City of Troy - 2000 Guineas 13/5 (Loss) Whenever you back a two year for next seasons guineas you run a risk that it won’t even make the starting lineup due to loss of form or injury. In this instance the horse turns up and starts as an odds-on favourite at 4/6, so I was looking forward to the Race. As it happens City of Troy needn’t have bothered showing up, he was literally not at the races. The under performance then became more of a mystery as next time out he ran away with the Derby.

Late Night Pass - Grand National 35/1 (Loss) This one drifted in the market on the day and it did run prominently until fading about 3 fences out as he was a bit one paced. Not totally surprised, I always considered it an each way prospect and hoped he might have sneaked into fourth place.

Matteo Berrettini - Wimbledon 28/1 E/W now 33/1 (Shiteprice) This bloke is always injured. He is a grass court specialist and we he can some games in prior to the tournament. Tbh I am shocked he is not a lot bigger than 33/1.

GAA Football – Dublin to win All Ireland 7/4 now 3/2 (IcePrice) Feel dirty posting this, as a supporter I am in the anyone but Dublin camp, however they look decent value at that price. There is a joke of an Irish person saying ‘is there any occasion that you would support England and the reply is; yes, if they were playing Dublin. I will be cheering on Mayo and Donegal as my heritage is from those Counties.

IceMan Investment Portfolio – Punting for a Purpose

Smash the Fash.

[swldx]

BBC 0408 5 May 2024

12095Khz 0358 5 MAY 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55445. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z with ID@0359z pips and Newsroom preview. @0401z World News anchored by David Harper. Massive flooding and landslides triggered by days of heavy rain in Brazil's southernmost state have killed 56 people. Officials say another 67 people are missing in Rio Grande do Sul. Nearly 25,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes since the storms began last Saturday. At least half a million were without power and clean water, with further rainfall expected. Efforts have intensified to secure a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, with talks resuming in Cairo on Saturday. Hamas said its delegation was travelling in a "positive spirit" after studying the latest truce proposal. "We are determined to secure an agreement in a way that fulfils Palestinians' demands," it said. The main issue appears to involve whether the ceasefire deal would be permanent or temporary. Hamas is insisting any deal makes a specific commitment towards an end to the war, but Israel is reluctant to agree while the group remains active in Gaza. The leader of the World Food Program said parts of the Gaza Strip are experiencing a “full-blown famine” that is spreading across the territory after almost seven months of war that have made delivering aid extremely challenging. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that the Global Peace Summit will take place and should be successful, no matter the attempts to disrupt it. “All of us should remember that Russia can only be forced to leave Ukraine alone. And this will happen. Our strength will definitely make it happen. The strength of our people, our military strength, the strength of our unity with the world, the strength of our partners – the strength of our diplomacy,” Zelensky said. A 16-year-old boy armed with a knife was shot dead by police after he stabbed a man in the Australian west coast city of Perth, officials said Sunday. The teen attacked the man and then rushed at police officers before he was shot, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook told reporters on Sunday. “There are indications he had been radicalized online,” Cook told a news conference. Togo's ruling party has won 108 out of 113 seats in parliament, according to the final provisional results of last month's legislative election announced on Friday. The sweeping majority secured by President Faure Gnassingbe's UNIR party follows the approval of controversial constitutional reforms by the outgoing parliament that could extend his 19-year rule. Labour has been celebrating an unexpected win in the West Midlands mayoral election. Richard Parker beat the Conservative incumbent Andy Street - by about 1,500 votes. Sir Keir Starmer calls the victory a "phenomenal result" for Labour and "beyond our expectations". It caps a wave of losses for the Tories in mayoral races and local elections. Labour's Sadiq Khan won a third term as London mayor, increasing his share of the vote. Andy Burnham was re-elected as mayor of Greater Manchester. PM Rishi Sunak said he was disappointed but determined to press ahead with his plan to deliver a brighter future. Pop singer Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans. It was the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective, which kicked off in October in London. Rio’s City Hall predicted 1.5 million spectators, more than 10 times Madonna’s record attendance of 130,000 at Paris’ Parc des Sceaux in 1987. Madonna's official website hyped the show as the biggest ever in her four-decade career. @0406z "The Newsroom" begins. 250ft unterminated BoG antenna pointed E/W w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.