*** OFFICIAL BREXIT SUNLIT UPLANDS and #MEGA THREAD ***

[oskar]

The Reign of Terror, aka "the good old days."

If you didn't like that take, I have an even worse one: You know how the left goes on about eating the rich metaphorically and whatnot, but environmentally speaking nothing you can legally do can possibly have as much of an impact as literally eating one guy. The lamestream media doesn't like to talk about it.

[Poopadoop]

Meanwhile, Brexit's still going great. The bill keeps going up, and the ports are so clogged that no-one can leave the country to go visit the despicable EU. Take that, Eurolibtards!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62263972

https://twitter.com/kentlivenews/sta...98879950069760

[OngBonga]

A relative of mine went to a Tory meeting yesterday where Truss and Sunak were meeting party members. Sunak is winning the party members over, he's "natural", "deeply intelligent", "charismatic" while Truss is "well prepared" and "very good at ending questions", which seemed to me another way of saying "scripted" and "doesn't like being put on the spot".

This meeting was in Ludlow (a Tory safe seat) and the feeling was that the vast majority of those in attendance were a great deal more impressed with Sunak. Party members will be voting soon to decide who wins.

Sunak is our next PM. This is going to melt the heads of the racists in the Tory party, and also melt the heads of left whingers (not a typo) who think you have to be racist to be a Tory.

Personally I'm not thrilled with the idea of a former hedge fund manager for Goldman Sachs running the country, but that's my corruption paranoia.

Fun times ahead.

[Poopadoop]

All I've been hearing is that the Brains Truss has it all but wrapped up. Though she does keep tripping herself up at every turn, so who knows.

Sunak sounds like a life coach. Way too much enthusiasm and waving his arms around given the current state of the nation. I would prefer him though myself to Truss' fantasy economics.

My view is you have to question the motives of any POC who runs for the Tory party. I've never heard any of them say "I want to be a Tory to improve the lot of POC." Seems they put their own ambition ahead of their race. Which is fine, but it doesn't mean the Tories aren't racist. Certainly a lot of their voters are.

[OngBonga]

Some Tory voters are racist. That's because Tory voters are a large group of different people. Fun fact - some West Ham Utd fans are paedophiles, and some ginger haired people are actual Nazis. Doesn't tell you anything about West Ham Utd or ginger people in general.

My view is you have to question the motives of any POC who runs for the Tory party.

Honestly, I think this is racist thinking. Not conscious, nasty racism like hate. A different kind of racism. It quite literally shouldn't matter to you, any more than a Tory voter, whether he's a POC or not. But you're thinking about that when passing judgement. You're applying expected behaviour and thinking to an individual based on their skin colour. I find this uncomfortable an unhelpful.

I've never heard any of them say "I want to be a Tory to improve the lot of POC."

Again, why should he be thinking about this? If he's going to be the leader of the Conservative Party when they are in power, then his job is to represent everyone, to balance the interests of the entire population, not just people who share his skin colour.

[OngBonga]

All I've been hearing is that the Brains Truss has it all but wrapped up.

I've only got an inside view from one of these party member meetings. It's a very small sample size, obviously, so you can't take much from it. But it seems that Sunak is putting to bed any doubts people had about him, while Truss is not really connecting with the people who she needs votes from. Maybe she'll do better in other places and maybe Sunak won't, so it's obviously not a done deal based on one conversation I had with a relative. But he is winning voters over in my area.

[Poopadoop]

Honestly, I think this is racist thinking. Not conscious, nasty racism like hate. A different kind of racism. It quite literally shouldn't matter to you, any more than a Tory voter, whether he's a POC or not. But you're thinking about that when passing judgement. You're applying expected behaviour and thinking to an individual based on their skin colour. I find this uncomfortable an unhelpful.

Racist would be saying he's doing it because he's a POC. His race is not at issue here, his character is.

If I point out a white person is being racist, that's not me being anti-white or judging someone on their skin colour. Being a dickhead is an equal opportunity character flaw.

Again, why should he be thinking about this? If he's going to be the leader of the Conservative Party when they are in power, then his job is to represent everyone, to balance the interests of the entire population, not just people who share his skin colour.

There's a line of thought that reducing racism makes society better for everyone. It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game where lifting one group up means pushing another one down.

In any case, I'm mostly speaking of people who run as MPs, not as leader of the party. Sunak won't mention racism at all if he knows what's good for him lol. He even made some cringey joke at one of the husting about someone complimenting him on his 'tan.' Facepalm.jpg

A lot of POC Labour MPs talk about discrimination and help highlight it as an issue. This seems oddly lacking from any POC Tory MP.

If anything the POC Tories seem to generally deny the existence of any racial problems at all, at the same time as either enacting (thinking Priti Patel) or supporting policies that are racially "suspect" (Rwanda).

[Poopadoop]

I've only got an inside view from one of these party member meetings. It's a very small sample size, obviously, so you can't take much from it. But it seems that Sunak is putting to bed any doubts people had about him, while Truss is not really connecting with the people who she needs votes from. Maybe she'll do better in other places and maybe Sunak won't, so it's obviously not a done deal based on one conversation I had with a relative. But he is winning voters over in my area.

Most of the Tory bigwig MPs are behind Truss. They usually back one candidate over because they think that one will win and they want to suck up for a job. That's what I'm hearing.

[OngBonga]

If I point out a white person is being racist, that's not me being anti-white or judging someone on their skin colour. Being a dickhead is an equal opportunity character flaw.

Sure, but if you're saying that the black person should think in a particular way because he's black, you're applying expected behaviour to that person because of their skin colour. When you say "My view is you have to question the motives of any POC who runs for the Tory party." that it seems to me you're saying that a POC Tory should have a different view to a white Tory.

I mean, you're questioning the motive of Sunak for being a Tory but not Truss. Why?

There's a line of thought that reducing racism makes society better for everyone.

You don't reduce racism by shouting about it. There's this crazy belief that speaking out against racism actually reduces racism. That's utterly ridiculous.

Sunak won't mention racism at all if he knows what's good for him lol.

I couldn't agree more. It would be crazy for him to make it an issue, since the very people who he's trying to win votes from might see it as him playing the racism card. That will cost him votes, not win him votes. He's doing well for it to not be an issue one way or the other.

A lot of POC Labour MPs talk about discrimination and help highlight it as an issue.

Do you think this makes them more electable? I don't. I see it as transparent identity politics and completely ignore it. The Labour Party has its own anti-Semitism issues, there are bigoted twats on all sides.

If anything the POC Tories seem to generally deny the existence of any racial problems at all, at the same time as either enacting (thinking Priti Patel) or supporting policies that are racially "suspect" (Rwanda).

Worryingly, both candidates appear to support the Rwanda policy.

Most of the Tory bigwig MPs are behind Truss.

Well it's not bigwig MPs who get to decide, it's party members like my relative.

[Poopadoop]

I mean, you're questioning the motive of Sunak for being a Tory but not Truss. Why?

Ok I question them both. I suspect neither of them care about equality.

By having POC in the leadership race, the Tories are the "but I have a black friend, I can't be a racist" party.

There's this crazy belief that speaking out against racism actually reduces racism.

Citation needed.

He's doing well for it to not be an issue one way or the other.

He's targeting a largely elderly, wealthy, and predominantly white population of people who make up the Tory party membership. I'd be surprised if race didn't impact at least some of their thinking on who should be PM. Not all of them, but some.

Do you think this makes them more electable? I don't. I see it as transparent identity politics and completely ignore it.

It's easier to believe someone is concerned with issues of race when they come out and say so, let's just leave it at that.

The Labour Party has its own anti-Semitism issues, there are bigoted twats on all sides.

Had. Corbyn is no longer leader. Starmer's cleaned out the anti-semites and sent them packing. Now he just needs to get rid of the communists.

Worryingly, both candidates appear to support the Rwanda policy.

Worryingly but not surprisingly, since it's somehow popular with Tory voters.

Well it's not bigwig MPs who get to decide, it's party members like my relative.

Right, but your relatives aren't sucking up for jobs in a cabinet, the MPs are. That was my point.

[OngBonga]

By having POC in the leadership race, the Tories are the "but I have a black friend, I can't be a racist" party.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If the Conservative party were truly racist, then no way in hell would they let a black man come close to the leadership.

Citation needed.

That's fair, but on the flip side, citation needed to demonstrate "speaking out" actually does good.

What does reduce racism is legislation, and we have plenty of that.

I'd be surprised if race didn't impact at least some of their thinking on who should be PM.

I don't doubt it, I agree that there are some racist Tory voters. But if the Labour Party also had a leadership battle between a white person and a black person, then we could say exactly the same. At least some Labour voters would be hesitant to vote in a black man. That's because when you have a large number of people, you're going to have assholes.

Are there more racist Tory voters than Labour voters? Probably. Are there more anti-Semite Labour voters than Tory voters? Probably. In both cases it's a small percentage and highly unlikely to influence the outcome of an election.

Had. Corbyn is no longer leader. Starmer's cleaned out the anti-semites and sent them packing. Now he just needs to get rid of the communists.

I'm glad you think so. I could never even tell if it was genuine anti-Semitism or simply legitimate criticism of Israeli foreign policy. Big difference between the two. But I do not believe for one minute that Starmer has waved his magic wand and removed anti-Semites from the Labour Party. More likely he's removed Corbyn allies under the pretence of anti-Semitism. But I could be wrong.

Worryingly but not surprisingly, since it's somehow popular with Tory voters.

I'm not sure how anyone can support a policy that forcibly relocates non-Rwandans to Rwanda, how that makes any moral sense is beyond me. I can somewhat understand apathy, in that people don't care enough for it to be a deal breaker, but to actually support it is something else.

Right, but your relatives aren't sucking up for jobs in a cabinet, the MPs are. That was my point.

For sure, but all the sucking up in the world doesn't guarantee a favourable result for the preferred candidate. When the final decision rests with the Tory members, then politicians who suck up to either candidate are basically taking a career gamble. It certainly isn't an indication of the final result.

[Poopadoop]

This is absolutely ridiculous. If the Conservative party were truly racist, then no way in hell would they let a black man come close to the leadership.

Theoretically, they would if they knew that given a choice between a POC and a white person, the party members would choose the latter. It'd be the ultimate "I have a black friend" gaslighting.

That's fair, but on the flip side, citation needed to demonstrate "speaking out" actually does good.

It can't be any less effective than pretending racism doesn't exist.

What does reduce racism is legislation, and we have plenty of that.

So does the USA, that paragon of racial harmony.

I'm not sure how anyone can support a policy that forcibly relocates non-Rwandans to Rwanda, how that makes any moral sense is beyond me. I can somewhat understand apathy, in that people don't care enough for it to be a deal breaker, but to actually support it is something else.

It doesn't even make practical sense. It's extremely expensive and has basically zero deterrent value since it's also illegal and highly unlikely to ever happen. I think the number of dinghies went down for about a week after it was announced, and then shot back up again. Excellent use of £180m or whatever they paid Rwanda there.

It certainly isn't an indication of the final result.

Who knows. I could try to argue they have a better grasp of what party members want than the rest of us, but with this lot that might be giving them too much credit.

One thing for sure, if Sunak wins there's going to be a lot of red faces.

[Poopadoop]

A couple of weeks ago, one of empty-headed ass kissers who stuck by Johnson while his cabinet resigned in droves got rewarded by being made a minister. She promptly made news by giving the finger to protesters.

Ever since then, every one of her tweets about the great work she's doing is answered by at least one person posting this image:





I love this country.

[OngBonga]

Theoretically, they would if they knew that given a choice between a POC and a white person, the party members would choose the latter. It'd be the ultimate "I have a black friend" gaslighting.

This would be a reasonable viewpoint if Sunak was a chump. But he's not. He's clearly a very intelligent and charismatic man, at least that's the impression he appears to be giving those who meet him. So either they're not racist, or their strategy is backfiring. I don't think it's the latter because those who know Sunak would surely know that he's not an idiot and might actually win.

It can't be any less effective than pretending racism doesn't exist.

Or pretending it's a much bigger problem than it is, or even shouting about it so much that it becomes the problem you want it to be.

I don't think anyone accurately talks about racism, people assume it's much worse or nowhere near as bad as it is, with no middle ground where reality is most likely residing.

So does the USA, that paragon of racial harmony.

I don't think even Americans know what's legal in one state and illegal in the next. American legislation is a minefield. British legislation applies to all of the UK.

It's illegal to be racist here. You can't refuse to give someone a job because they're black, you can't refuse to serve a customer because they're black, you can't racially insult people. Does it still happen? Of course, but if it can be proven, you'll suffer the consequences.

idk about USA law.

I think the number of dinghies went down for about a week after it was announced, and then shot back up again.

I would even doubt there's a cause and effect correlation between the two. I can't see anyone thinking "I might get deported to Rwanda so I'll stay in France". The same people are taking risks they probably don't even realise they're taking, so I doubt they're all that clued up on current British policy.

Who knows. I could try to argue they have a better grasp of what party members want than the rest of us, but with this lot that might be giving them too much credit.

Well if there's a 60-40 split in favour of Truss, then either 40% are wrong or 60% are wrong. Either way it's high. If they truly had inside knowledge then nobody would be supporting the loser.

[Poopadoop]

Been quite the day for the Tory leadership candidates.

First Fishi Sunak bragged about cutting funding to poor urban areas to give it to wealthy Tory areas in SE England.

https://twitter.com/i/events/1555478657430441984


Then the Brains Truss got interrupted by protesters at the hustings, after which she vowed to crack down on "militant unions" and "unfair protests." Wtf is an "unfair" protest?

https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/stat...24903566663680
Also, declared herself proud to be British while condemning identity politics. "British" isn't an identity, apparently.

https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1555633084439138307

[Poopadoop]

Meanwhile Starmer was late declaring a free ticket to the Kebab Awards and it's front-page news on the BBC.

https://twitter.com/DonaldClarke63/s...33720446275585

[OngBonga]

Meanwhile Starmer was late declaring a free ticket to the Kebab Awards and it's front-page news on the BBC.

Yeah, don't feel like you have to tell the whole story or anything.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62431183

Among the interests declared late by Sir Keir was an £18,450 advance from publisher HarperCollins in April for a book he is writing.

Sir Keir also received a directors' box for two people at Crystal Palace worth £720, when they beat his club Arsenal 3-0 on 4 April, but this was not registered until 5 May.

And he received four tickets for Watford vs Arsenal, worth a total of £1,416, for their 6 March match - which were registered on 6 May.

Just Eat gave tickets to staff for the Taste of London festival and the British Kebab awards in October, but these were not declared until 23 December.

In total, it is claimed there are eight instances of him failing to declare interests, or declaring late. The BBC point out that the book advance is to be donated to charity. They also make it clear that these breaches were "minor and/or inadvertent".

Nobody cares about this, I certainly don't. But your comment that this is about a kebab is very much insincere.

If it were Boris, you wouldn't have missed a single instance. Double standards.

[OngBonga]

First Fishi Sunak bragged about cutting funding to poor urban areas to give it to wealthy Tory areas in SE England.

He's doing exactly what Labour did. Labour divert funds to Labour regions, the Tories come along and redivert them to Tory regions. Labour don't care about Tory voters, and the Tories don't care about Labour voters. They're both as bad as each other when it comes to this sort of thing. Of course people are more outraged when money flows from a poor region to a wealthy region, which kinda puts the Tories in zugzwang. If they don't redivert the funds, then they're letting Labour get away with diverting too much to Labour regions. If they do divert funds, they're being assholes to poor people.

Then the Brains Truss got interrupted by protesters at the hustings, after which she vowed to crack down on "militant unions" and "unfair protests." Wtf is an "unfair" protest?

I'd like to think she's referring to idiots who glue themselves to roads and refuse to let ambulances through, but she really should be specific because if she's referring to someone holding a placard in Hyde Park then that's a very big problem.

Also, declared herself proud to be British while condemning identity politics. "British" isn't an identity, apparently.

This is totally identity politics. She's relying on people being too stupid to notice. I'll be surprised if she wins, she's out of her depth.

[Poopadoop]

He's doing exactly what Labour did.

Fair enough, but having the lack of self-awareness to say this, after having spent two years calling it "levelling up" when in fact they've been "levelling down" is a bit funny. I hope those red wall voters are taking notes for the next GE.

I'd like to think she's referring to idiots who glue themselves to roads and refuse to let ambulances through, but she really should be specific because if she's referring to someone holding a placard in Hyde Park then that's a very big problem.

She got a big cheer, so she's obviously playing to the crowd. But in other contexts, she's argued against "militant unions," (as if they're going around busting heads), and she's been doing Thatcher cosplay for a while now.

Meanwhile the union bosses have been shitting on Starmer for not joining a picket line. Like that's part of your job if you're Labour leader I guess.

This is totally identity politics. She's relying on people being too stupid to notice. I'll be surprised if she wins, she's out of her depth.

She should clarify she means "minority identities."

[Poopadoop]

Yeah, don't feel like you have to tell the whole story or anything.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62431183

In total, it is claimed there are eight instances of him failing to declare interests, or declaring late. The BBC point out that the book advance is to be donated to charity. They also make it clear that these breaches were "minor and/or inadvertent".

Nobody cares about this, I certainly don't. But your comment that this is about a kebab is very much insincere.

If it were Boris, you wouldn't have missed a single instance. Double standards.

Nah I just picked the most ridiculous one because it's funny. But as you say, none of those are egregious, just sloppy accounting (which admiittedly he shouldn't be doing after talking up his integrity).

If these were Boris, I wouldn't make a fuss about kebabs lol. Getting >£100k for home decorating from a donor is on a different plane.

Also, I haven't even mentioned the latest scandal about him getting pissed up with a "former" KGB agent in Italy while he was foreign secretary and "forgetting" what they talked about, while giving his security squad the slip. That's not dodgy at all...

Standards committee is meeting in the autumn to discuss BJ lying to parliament. Word is there's a very good chance he'll get sanctioned, and possibly have to face a recall petition from his constituency.

[Poopadoop]

In case anyone is wondering, Brexit is still going great!

[OngBonga]

It's so bad I'm fleeing to France.

For a few days. To see a reggae band.

Au revoir.

[MadMojoMonkey]

I heard France is bacon.

Let me know.

TY.

[Poopadoop]

Took me a minute to get that, which was annoying.

But then it reminded me of this...




...but the first image I found, I tried to copy-paste the URL and it was like 10000 character long, and I was all "arrrrghgghgh!!"

But then I found that one and it worked, and I was happy again.

So we're even Mojo.

Also, everyone calls me Psychopoop. If you call me Francispoop, I'll kill ya.

[OngBonga]

This band I'm going to see, they're playing in England too this coming weekend, but tickets for that festival are the same price as tickets for French festival + ferry to France... and the French festival has more bands I want to see.

I'm going on a solo adventure. Never done anything this wild before, just fuck off to France at 48 hours notice, but the band I'm going to see probably won't tour again, the singer is 77 and from Jamaica. It's now or never. Sold most of my crypto to do this.

[MadMojoMonkey]

[MadMojoMonkey]

I'm going on a solo adventure.

Sounds fucking awesome!

[Poopadoop]

[OngBonga]

Best few days of my life. J'adore France.

This is who I went to see...

[OngBonga]

I might learn French so I can travel better, we don't do reggae festivals like this. I made friends, they could speak good English, but it was difficult not being able to engage in their group conversations because I hadn't a fucking clue what they were talking about.

[MadMojoMonkey]

My thing about learning other languages is
A) I'm lazy and that's a lot of studying
B) There's too many languages people speak, even though they are spoken by awesome people with awesome culture that I want to immerse myself in.
C) I want to go to all those places, and even if not (A), I just don't have the time to learn every language.

D) The nerve of everyone else not learning my language.
I mean... the singer in the vid you posted has enough respect to sing in English.
*rageface*

[OngBonga]

Well Burning Spear is Jamaican, so yeah he sings in English, and so did a lot of other artists at the festival. There were times I was the only person singing along!

I'd kinda rather speak Japanese or Icelandic, but they're not exactly useful, and I don't even have a basic understanding of either language. French or German would be easiest for me, and I don't want to learn German as I don't really have the desire to travel there. Been there once, might go again but probably not. France on the other hand, I really enjoyed my time there and it could only have been better if I could have talked more to my new friends.

[OngBonga]

Language is something you can study in a lazy way. I can watch YouTube channels to get the basics, once I'm up to a certain level I can start watching French films with English subtitles, then I can watch French films with French subtitles, then eventually French films with no subtitles. Of course there's no substitute for travelling and talking to foreigners, so I'd at least like to be able to understand much of what I'm hearing by the next time I go there, even if I have to reply in broken French and a little English. Next time I go I just want to be better, for example instead of simply saying "No Francois" I can say "I'm sorry I don't speak much French, can you speak English?", which is a great deal more polite.

But I'm lazy too and in a day or two I'll probably not be all that bothered any more.

[Poopadoop]

"No Francois"

"Excusez moi, je ne parle Francais pas, parle l'Anglais sil vous plait?"

Francois is a name. You've been telling them you're not Francois lol.

[OngBonga]

Nah I just typed it wrong, I'm pretty sure I was saying Francais correctly. At least nobody corrected me!

[Poopadoop]

Tbh, it's mostly funny because I did the same thing once myself in Quebec, then a friend corrected me.

Fran-say is how it's said.

Fran-swa is the name.

[OngBonga]

Yeah I'm going to take pronunciation lessons from a guy who presumably says "aboot" instead of "about".

I think I was saying it both ways, come to think of it. And I definitely wasn't pronouncing "pain au chocolat" correctly because they always asked me to repeat! I was nailing "croissant" by the end of my trip though.

[OngBonga]

Fun fact - croissant means "waxing" or "increasing", it's so named because it's shaped like a crescent moon.

[OngBonga]

Also eclair means "lightning", and ensuite means "afterwards".

Weird language.

[Poopadoop]

btw, if you call me Francoispoop, I'll kill ya.

Francaispoop is cool.

Poop de France, even better.

[Poopadoop]

Yeah I'm going to take pronunciation lessons from a guy who presumably says "aboot" instead of "about".

I've actually never heard a Canadian say "aboot." It may be something they do in the Maritimes, but that's a long ways from where I grew up.

As for French, I learned it from a teacher who came from Quebec, so it's probably full of weird dialect stuff, but don't think Francais/Francois would be any different there than in France.

I think I was saying it both ways, come to think of it. And I definitely wasn't pronouncing "pain au chocolat" correctly because they always asked me to repeat! I was nailing "croissant" by the end of my trip though.

I think it's "pen oh shockolot."

[CoccoBill]

I'd learn Spanish first, easily the most useful IMO. Latin-based just like Portuguese, French and Italian so makes it far easier to understand those also. On the other hand German, Dutch, Swedish (or Icelandic) and other Germanic languages should be the easiest to pick up for you since you already speak English.

Everyone here studies at least 3 languages at school, Finnish, Swedish and a third one that can be picked (fairly) freely. I've studied English, Swedish, Russian and French and I regret not putting more effort into them back then, far easier to absorb info into those play-doh brains. English, Swedish and German have a lot in common, and after studying the other two, German seems to make sense to me quite easily even if I've never studied it in any way. French is quite different to those, and Russian is from another planet completely. And of course Finnish is totally different to everything else mentioned.

[OngBonga]

Spanish is useful if I want to travel Spain or South America, but that's a bit much. France is on my doorstep, I can probably afford a yearly trip there.

At school I studied French and German, but I paid absolutely no attention. I hated language at school, I too wish I had more interest but when you're a kid you don't think about travelling in your 40s. German would be easier, but other than Germany and Austria, and parts of Switzerland, who speaks it? I've been to Germany and Austria, I'd rather see new places if I'm going that deep into Europe.

Icelandic would be nice to speak but it's even less useful than German. Everyone in Iceland speaks adequate English so I don't even need to speak their language to get by if I travel there. It's just a cultural interest with Iceland.

Given my school education, it's between French and German simply because I have a little bit of a head start. And German doesn't interest me. So it's either French or nothing really.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Entshuldigung. Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch. Sprechen Sie English?

I still remember that. Prob got the spelling off.
"nur ein bisschen" is a pro move. It means "just a tiny bit" instead of "just a small amount," which is the more common phrase.

It's funny 'cause I'm only correctly saying how little I know, which is expressing I know slightly more than most in that position, but it gets a smile and a comment every time.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Canadians saying aboot instead of about, coot instead of coat, tooster instead of toaster, etc. is def. a common enough thing. It's not merely Canadian. Minnesotans talk like that, too. Prob other states up in the north middle-ish part of the continent, too.

The place I didn't hear anyone talking like that was when I was in Seattle. I never went up to BC from there, but people from Vancouver would visit down to Seattle and when I talked to some of them, they didn't have a noticeable accent.

[Poopadoop]

On the other hand German, Dutch, Swedish (or Icelandic) and other Germanic languages should be the easiest to pick up for you since you already speak English.

English is actually about equal parts Romantic and Germanic, with a splash of ancient Greek and the odd other word picked up from other places. It's a myth that it's closer to German than French.

[Poopadoop]

Canadians saying aboot instead of about, coot instead of coat, tooster instead of toaster, etc. is def. a common enough thing. It's not merely Canadian. Minnesotans talk like that, too. Prob other states up in the north middle-ish part of the continent, too.

No way eh.

The standard Canadian accent is closest to a midwestern-type neutral accent that newsreaders and actors in the US use. There might be some places where we do the aboot thing (maybe closer to ND or MN) but I haven't come across it. It's definitely not a "standard" Canadian dialect.

[OngBonga]

English is actually about equal parts Romantic and Germanic, with a splash of ancient Greek and the odd other word picked up from other places. It's a myth that it's closer to German than French.

There are definitely parts of the French language that relate to English. One word I quickly learned was "cendrier"... ashtray... which is related to the English word "incendiary", which of course basically means "causing fire". There are lots of words in English that are of Latin origin, which means the French use similar words.

But the French structure sentences differently and have gendered language. Our written language is much closer to German.

[OngBonga]

Entshuldigung. Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch. Sprechen Sie English?

I still remember that. Prob got the spelling off.
"nur ein bisschen" is a pro move. It means "just a tiny bit" instead of "just a small amount," which is the more common phrase.

It's funny 'cause I'm only correctly saying how little I know, which is expressing I know slightly more than most in that position, but it gets a smile and a comment every time.

In Germany I was quite capable of ordering beer, and saying please and thank you. Essentials.

[Poopadoop]

But the French structure sentences differently

True.

and have gendered language.

German nouns have three genders, French have two, we have one.

Our written language is much closer to German.

Not a German-speaker, but I think their syntax is different to ours as well. Maybe not as much as French though, dunno.

[OngBonga]

I can't remember gender in German but it was like 30 years ago. But they say "green door" rather than "door green". It's more or less simply learning their words for things and putting it all together as a sentence. With French you need to rearrange your words for it to make sense to them.

[Poopadoop]

Cocco's PM partying like she's Boris Johnson during lockdown.





I like her.

[OngBonga]

Whoever thought this was bad publicity for her must feel like a right twat right now.

[Poopadoop]

https://twitter.com/Samfr/status/1560720417748393984

15 point lead for a Labour party that basically has no policies. Tories are dead at the next GE. Even Boris hovering in to rescue the country on a jetpack won't save them now.

Thank Fuck.

[CoccoBill]

Cocco's PM partying like she's Boris Johnson during lockdown.





I like her.

The shitstorm she's in here right now is unreal. Almost like she's the first politician ever here to get sloshed. She is the first female one to get caught though, and hervopposition is having a field day. The patriarchy is still strong here.

I'm incredibly glad though that this is what's considered a political scandal here.

[Poopadoop]

Our likely-to-be next PM seems a bit too keen to push the nuclear button.

https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/stat...57609037299717

[OngBonga]

Standard reply, and I'm in absolutely no doubt that had she shown the remotest bit of hesitation then people would be complaining that she wasn't up tho the job. It's a lose-lose situation when you're asked about the nuclear button. You're either weak or crazy. No middle ground.

Just ignore. Nobody is pressing the nuclear button.

[Poopadoop]

You're right, we should be more worried about having her in charge of the economy. Those pork markets aren't going to open themselves.

[Poopadoop]

Frankly, if there's one thing I think politics could use more of, it's lesbo porn.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/finnish-p...e-influencers/

[Poopadoop]

Goddamn lefty woke remainers, ruining the Festival of Brexit that no-one went to! Arrrgghh!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...main-flop.html

[Poopadoop]

The Daily Mail has gone woke on comedy.

[Poopadoop]

This is like some future dystopia TV giveaway, only it's happening now.

https://twitter.com/jonoread/status/1566749139823693829

[OngBonga]

Operation London Bridge is starting in the UK.

To put that another way, the Queen is either dead or is about to die.

[Poopadoop]

The way they were passing notes around in the HoC during an important debate makes me think she's already passed.

I don't mind her, even though I'm a republican. I respect that she followed the rules during lockdown at her husband's funeral when they gave her the option not to. But the thought of the nonstop media coverage to come is really giving me a limpy.

[OngBonga]

You don't have to consume media if you don't want to. It's not the 1900s any more, you can watch what you like.

But yeah I think she's already gone. Apparently someone in the background on a live BBC broadcast quietly said "London Bridge is down". That seems like a legit coded message to officials around the world. I have a relative who works in media and they've been given a coded message, I just don't know what that coded message actually means, as in whether she's passed or if her doctors are just gravely concerned. Certainly the media are under strict restrictions right now. I think they're managing the news while they make preparations for an announcement.

I'm no fan of the Royal Family, it's not my idea of democracy but from a historical pov and considering the monarchy didn't have any executive power I tolerated it for the simple reason that I like the Queen, she seems like a legit good person. I think this could be the beginning of the end for the monarchy in the UK though, and that's not really something I'll be sad to see. With Elizabeth, it was living history. Without her it's a relic.

[OngBonga]

Yeah they've announced it. She's gone.

[MadMojoMonkey]

hey. I just heard.

I assume you need extensive consoling and all the "there there's" suitable to a nation in mourning.


I'm here for you if you need a Yankee to laugh at your archaic monarchy to help you feel better.
'Cause I care.

[Poopadoop]

You don't have to consume media if you don't want to. It's not the 1900s any more, you can watch what you like.

But I like getting news. And if 90% of the news is about the Queen for the next seven days, then my choices are basically to know nothing or to get the news from another country.

I'm no fan of the Royal Family, it's not my idea of democracy but from a historical pov and considering the monarchy didn't have any executive power I tolerated it for the simple reason that I like the Queen, she seems like a legit good person. I think this could be the beginning of the end for the monarchy in the UK though, and that's not really something I'll be sad to see. With Elizabeth, it was living history. Without her it's a relic.

Yeah I agree. She was alright, but the institution as a whole is pretty pointless. If anything it just validates classism, which I suspect is why the Tories like it so much.

[OngBonga]

hey. I just heard.

I assume you need extensive consoling and all the "there there's" suitable to a nation in mourning.


I'm here for you if you need a Yankee to laugh at your archaic monarchy to help you feel better.
'Cause I care.

What I need is a flag at half mast, a cup of tea and some biscuits. Nice biscuits for a special occasion.

Don't worry about the flag if it's a hassle.

[OngBonga]

Liz Truss was born more than a century after Winston Churchill, the first and last Prime Ministers of the UK during QEII's reign. That's crazy.

[Poopadoop]

"Reign."

[Poopadoop]

Liz Truss

Reminds me I need to change my avatar.

[OngBonga]

"Reign."

She was your head of state too, you measly Canadian subject. Now Charles is.

[OngBonga]

People won't call Charles "the King". He'll just be Charles.

[MadMojoMonkey]

What I need is a flag at half mast, a cup of tea and some biscuits. Nice biscuits for a special occasion.

Don't worry about the flag if it's a hassle.

Nice.