Emrys
Emrys's JournalSky News has its moments!
https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/873517352696131584--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely no prisoners taken http://bit.ly/2t5R1Ai
WATCH: Kay Burley absolutely skewers Tory MP with mother of all questions about DUP
".... what first attracted you to the anti-abortion, pro-brexit, climate change deniers that are the DUP?"
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Burley doesn't give one inch after that, and this is the best post-election interview (more an argument, really) I've seen.
The MP replied that there was no way the Tories were going to form a coalition with the DUP.
As I write, a government minister is desperately trying to negotiate a coalition with the DUP.
How Scottish Labour's Kezia Dugdale may have handed the election to the Tories
I've mentioned on a few threads that it can be argued that Scottish Labour (no Corbyn fans at leadership level, though they damped that down during the election) encouraged tactical voting, for the Tories where necessary, in its obsession to "get the SNP out". Here's one such example from a Sky News interview on 20 May, but the drumbeat was constant throughout the campaign.
It looks very likely that Tories also voted Labour in certain seats, such as Edinburgh South.
Imagine how different the last 24 hours might have been without those 13 Scottish Tory seats.
What connects Brexit, the DUP, dark money and a Saudi prince?
To recap briefly: two days before the Brexit referendum last June, the Metro freesheet in London and other British cities came wrapped in a four-page glossy propaganda supplement urging readers to vote Leave. Bizarrely, it was paid for by the DUP, even though Metro does not circulate in Northern Ireland. At the time, the DUP refused to say what the ads cost or where the money came from.
We’ve since learned that the Metro wraparound cost a staggering £282,000 (€330,000) – surely the biggest single campaign expense in the history of Irish politics. For context, the DUP had spent about £90,000 (€106,000) on its entire campaign for the previous month’s assembly elections. But this was not all: the DUP eventually admitted that this spending came from a much larger donation of £425,622 (€530,000) from a mysterious organisation, the Constitutional Research Council.
Mystery
The mystery is not why someone seeking to influence the Brexit vote would want to do so through the DUP. Disgracefully, Northern Ireland is exempt from the UK’s requirements for the sources of large donations to be declared. The mystery, rather, is who were the ultimate sources of this money and why was it so important to keep their identities secret.
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/what-connects-brexit-the-dup-dark-money-and-a-saudi-prince-1.3083586
{X-Posted in United Kingdom Group}
What connects Brexit, the DUP, dark money and a Saudi prince?
To recap briefly: two days before the Brexit referendum last June, the Metro freesheet in London and other British cities came wrapped in a four-page glossy propaganda supplement urging readers to vote Leave. Bizarrely, it was paid for by the DUP, even though Metro does not circulate in Northern Ireland. At the time, the DUP refused to say what the ads cost or where the money came from.
We’ve since learned that the Metro wraparound cost a staggering £282,000 (€330,000) – surely the biggest single campaign expense in the history of Irish politics. For context, the DUP had spent about £90,000 (€106,000) on its entire campaign for the previous month’s assembly elections. But this was not all: the DUP eventually admitted that this spending came from a much larger donation of £425,622 (€530,000) from a mysterious organisation, the Constitutional Research Council.
Mystery
The mystery is not why someone seeking to influence the Brexit vote would want to do so through the DUP. Disgracefully, Northern Ireland is exempt from the UK’s requirements for the sources of large donations to be declared. The mystery, rather, is who were the ultimate sources of this money and why was it so important to keep their identities secret.
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/what-connects-brexit-the-dup-dark-money-and-a-saudi-prince-1.3083586
{X-Posted in Editorials & Other Articles}
"Why is the DUP so controversial? The party's stances on abortion, gay marriage and climate change"
Meet the UK Tories' new partners in power:
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The Conservatives are preparing to form a government with the Democratic Unionist Party, after shock election losses saw Theresa May’s party fall short of a Commons majority.
Tory officials took part in “extensive talks” with Northern Ireland’s largest unionist political party overnight but the deal could come at a high price.
The DUP has regularly courted controversy in its near 50-year history for its views on issues from same sex marriage to climate change.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dup-hung-parliament-results-policies-manifesto-abortion-gay-marriage-climate-change-who-are-they-a7781656.html
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The man behind the numbers: interview with Professor John Curtice
Psephology – the science of politics – is obscure enough an academic discipline to have most of us reaching for a dictionary, but the political musings, done without fear or favour, of Professor John Curtice have become as much a part of election night as warm beer, curled up sandwiches and the swingometer.
The slightly dishevelled figure of Curtice has become so ubiquitous with television coverage of the country’s political predilections that there is even a parody Twitter account in his honour - @johncurticeontv – which invites readers to spot “the legendary professor on TV”. And while certainly niche, the account already has almost 6000 dedicated followers posting images that capture Curtice mid-analysis, offering political commentary across the airwaves or simply in the background of spin rooms and television studios looking ‘in the know’.
There is also a second account set up by a self-proclaimed fan which appears to exist just to send some love to the man that has become the Sultan of Swing.
Curtice has an enclyopedic knowledge of general elections – he has followed every one of them for the last four decades – and now with trademark indefatigability, he applies his detailed academic analysis, along with an engaging and accessible punditry, to cut through the fog of numbers and paint a picture of how Britain has voted and why.
https://www.holyrood.com/articles/inside-politics/man-behind-numbers-interview-professor-john-curtice
"Church Sign": When I Find Myself in Tweets of Trouble ...
https://twitter.com/LiberalEffects/status/871540014932312064
Revealed: Tory politician links to extreme right
L4PD is linked to the racial nationalist London Forum, which in February held a secret meeting addressed by Holocaust denier David Irving. L4PD founding member Elizabeth Hobson is a vocal supporter of Davies and has shared platforms with some of the most prominent extreme-right figures active in the UK and overseas.
Davies’ 12 years serving as Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire, have been characterised by a seemingly endless series of controversies.
An outspoken critic of what he calls “feminist zealots”, Davies filibustered for more than an hour in order to prevent the passage of a bill on preventing violence against women, and has called for the word “women” to be removed from the Women and Equalities Committee.
http://hopenothate.org.uk/2017/06/02/tory-politician-links-extreme-far-right/
Davies has been a notorious filibusterer during his time in Parliament:
Here are some of the bills Tory MP Philip Davies has filibustered
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/philip-davies-filibuster-domestic-violence-a7479266.html
7 facepalm moments from Tory MP Philip Davies' 77-minute speech against a domestic violence law
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/7-facepalm-moments-tory-mp-9469223
Tory MP tries and fails to block anti-domestic violence bill with 91-minute speech
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/domestic-violence-istanbul-convention-bill-philip-davies-filibuster-parliament-snp-a7597686.html
Nigel Farage is 'person of interest' in FBI investigation into Trump and Russia
Source: The Guardian
Nigel Farage is a "person of interest" in the US counter-intelligence investigation that is looking into possible collusion between the Kremlin and Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the Guardian has been told.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former Ukip leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder whom Farage visited in March.
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Farage has not been accused of wrongdoing and is not a suspect or a target of the US investigation. But being a person of interest means investigators believe he may have information about the acts that are under investigation and he may therefore be subject to their scrutiny.
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"One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved," one source said. "If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange and Trump associates the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage."
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/01/nigel-farage-is-person-of-interest-in-fbi-investigation-into-trump-and-russia
Given Farage's chaotic tendency to looseness of the lips, whether in his cups or not, if I was any of the others implicated in the investigations, I'd be a bit nervous about his involvement.
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Scotland
Member since: Mon Sep 7, 2009, 12:57 AM
Number of posts: 7,233
