Rayvin

And you guys thought chemweps was bad

I don't know the details on that to be honest, so maybe that would be why. Although I can only think they would be used as a morale breaker since they only killed 43 people.

Why would they even do it? They didn't need to use chemical weapons ffs, the whole West had already declared that they had won. That aside, if the processes are broken, we need to publically say so with the international backing of our partners. It is impossible for us to do that at the moment because we flout as many of these procedures as the 'rogue' states do.

I am aware that this happens, but it's no reason not to stick to formal procedure. What is the point in any of us even signing up to these conventions and treaties if literally no one is going to pay any attention to them? The Russians will just be able to turn around and say that we pay no more attention to these official bodies than they do. And they're right. What have those bombing raids even achieved? Have we crippled the Assad regime's ability to do it again? Or will they have moved everything they needed to another facility/arranged to buy them from Russia? If we're not going to bother with due process, what is even the point in us being in the UN?

I'm actually disappointed by how that went

It's interesting that she claims it to be offensive irrespective of whether a white person or a black person is using the word. Which I guess means Jay-Z will be arrested next time he enters the country...

Works for me, since it's a term they use to self describe

This is the culture the SJWs have pushed though. And for all people think they're harmless internet keyboard warriors, they do seem to be forcing their ideology into the institutional levels of our society. The Guardian ran an editorial recently about how the word is never acceptable in any situation, and this is, I suppose, the natural progression of that line of thinking. That said, I don't actually disagree with her if she found it offensive... I mean if the law is that taking offence makes it a hate crime, and she took offence, then that's the law...

Yeah it was the same with the nazi pug thing. No one reported that, it was just picked up by the police and brandished a hate crime. Maybe they really are going at this to boost their arrest numbers easily.

Ah, you favour national suicide. Also fine, as long as you still 'don't care' if we stay in or not.

Well, fair enough CT. As I said, as long as you and people like you are prepared to accept the single market against a backdrop of this 'conspiracy', I have no issue with it.

Maybe more about sending a message. The police are becoming increasingly obsessed with this stuff, which is bizarre at a time when knife crime is on the rise...

You bitch.

I don't know to be honest, if the lyric was the N word then I do feel that we shouldn't get to the point where white people are comfortable just throwing that around. Then again, it doesn't seem that there was any 'intent' to offend, so I'm not sure about it being a hate crime. Well, not under my assessment, but then that Nazi pug issue did get classified as one and the court stated that they are free to ignore context if they want, so there it is I suppose.

If all the Brexiters want to go around telling themselves that a shadowy cabal of political elites somehow thwarted this instead of acknowledging that they were woefully misinformed about the consequences of leaving (and in truth, I had no idea NI would scupper this either - all the more reason this should never have been a public vote), then I'm fine with it tbh. If that's what it takes for them to make peace with staying in the single market, let them have it I guess.

If he manages to win the Europa League I think the fans will be able to get on side enough to appreciate him. But they won't, and I think their patience with him is so thin now that, rather sadly, he's going to get very little appreciation at all.

I like to think that we broke Wenger's Arsenal with that 4-4 game I think they went on to lose the League Cup just after it, and I don't think they've ever recovered psychologically since. Fitting that losing to us at the weekend is the last thing to happen before this announcement.

The three people you've mentioned have no political power with which to thwart Brexit. The Tories have all the political power, have an opposition party that is also supporting Brexit, and still can't fucking deliver the thing because it seems to be impossible. That is the reality CT. It's not a lack of political will, it's not a conspiracy - if it fails, it is solely because you were lied to.

Should we be worried?

This isn't a two year backlash from the elite, it's just that you were fucking lied to. That's all it is. The elite are falling over themselves to try to deliver this man. You realise the 'elite' are the government, right?

There's no way in hell the DUP will back it, right? This has to be a line in the sand for them. I don't know how many pro-Brexit Labour MPs there were but we only need 9, don't we? Although I guess some would be cancelled out by Tory rebels...

That election last year could end up proving hugely decisive here, amazingly. If she didn't have to rely on the DUP, I have no doubt in my mind that May would just cut NI loose - I guess the question becomes a matter of what Labour will do. I think I trust Corbyn to vote the right way himself on this issue but there are some worryingly pro-Brexit Labour MPs...

Well the Telegraph obviously does, but then they're running the story Renton is quoting... and the Guardian isn't. Not sure political allegiances are featuring on this one much. Obviously I hope you guys are right, but we've been predicting the imminent demise of this government and various policies etc for fucking ages, and it just keeps soldiering on...

But surely more politically palatable to the Brexiters than keeping the single market and freedom of movement.

Having looked at the story myself, I suppose it is possible that they thought one of their proposed solutions would work, and with the EU having just refused them all, it may be that we will get an announcement shortly. But I just can't bring myself to think that they could be this stupid. if it was as clear as you guys are saying, wouldn't the press be screaming it from the hilltops by now? The Tories have managed to cling on far longer than we thought, May is seemingly impervious to scandal in a way even Corbyn would be proud of, and Brexit continues to rumble on as if an outcome can be achieved that will take us out of the SM without destroying the country. I basically expect that Northern Ireland will be allowed to keep SM status and that May will essentially set up a border between them and the rest of the UK, DUP be damned. Maybe she's counting on Labour to have enough defectors to get it over the line.