Jeremy Corbyn becomes new Labour Leader

[innonimatu]

It's worth saying that it's not 'the Army' making threats, and we have no reason to believe that it's anybody senior like CGS or CDS - my money is on 'general' here meaning a disgruntled minor division commander or staff officer.

You're probably right, the media is scrapping the bottom of the barrel for anti-Corbyn scare stories. They can't understand they're only doing him favors.

 

[Kyriakos]

PMQs should have at least some backbencher ask about the pig mouth business

 

[brennan]

The papers are currently focusing on Cameron's alleged antics, rather than Corbyn. This should help him calm the party down.

 

[Takhisis]

PMQs should have at least some backbencher ask about the pig mouth business

Stop dicking around with that.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Stop nobbing, man. That's just sick.

 

[Takhisis]

An interesting if long read, The Corbyn earthquake – how Labour was shaken to its foundations includes quotes from many party figures.

I get the sense that the arrogance of New Labour actually prevented them from thinking anyone but them could be Labour, let alone win an election. The part about ‘Operation Ice Pick’ was a bit creepy.

 

[brennan]

The New Labour crowd (and most of the British public, media and establishment) are convinced that the New Labour movement and it's policy shifts were the only factor in the 1997 landslide and the corollory - that being on the left was what kept Labour out of office. Never mind that Kinnock was expected to win in 92, never mind that 83 followed Thatcher's victory in the Falklands and the split of the Gang of Four, never mind the huge poll leads Labour had in late 92 after Black Friday, which were sustained all the way through till 97 under Smith as well as Blair.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Generally the rule is Anonymity applies to your sources, and your sources alone. A journalist can promise not to share your secrets, but he can't promise nobody else will dig them up.

I do think you're right that the General in question probably didn't realize the gravity of what he was saying.

I'd be willing to bet that his identity is known to many cabinet members and, most probably, to a large number of newspaper editors...perhaps before he even said it. The British ruling class isn't like the American one, they all know each other fairly well. Even if the comment wasn't prompted from 'above', there are only so many characters capable of it. The 'unknown' claim is bs. They know.

 

[Takhisis]

What the term really means is ‘we were told only on the promise of not telling who said it’.

 

[bhavv]

His current opposition to the Syria bombings really aren't going to gain him any favours with the British public:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pol...Jihadi-John-was-the-price-we-pay-for-war.html

Jeremy Corbyn said that the murder of Alan Henning at the hands of Jihadi John is "the price we pay for war and jingoism" just a day after aid worker's death, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The Labour leader said that Mr Henning’s execution by Isil terrorists was “the price of intervention” and “the price of war”.

The disclosure comes after Mr Corbyn this week attempted to oppose David Cameron’s attempts to extend the British bombing campaign against Isil into Syria.

Mr Corbyn was defied by 66 of his ministers and MPs, who backed the Government. British Tonado bombers began targeted strikes just hours later on Thursday morning

 

[Ajidica]

The thing is that Corbyn's point -however poorly timed or phrased- is correct.

It is hardly surprising that people living in a region plunged into chaos by an invasion from foreign countries will want to strike back at those countries in any way they can.

 

[classical_hero]

But such things were happening even before an intervention by nations in the West. It's just victim blaming by the left again. Islam has been attacking the West ever since it's inception, but somehow it's out fault they attacked in the first place.

 

[Gary Childress]

But such things were happening even before an intervention by nations in the West. It's just victim blaming by the left again. Islam has been attacking the West ever since it's inception, but somehow it's out fault they attacked in the first place.

I don't think it's really "victim blaming". For one thing it's really hard to tell who is the victim and who is the culprit. Who hit first? It's difficult to pick an arbitrary date or event and say, "well this is what started it all and it's clearly XYZ's fault". It's really more like a very long and somewhat fluid history of interaction between cultures in which there has been culpability on both sides and there has been victimhood on both sides.

I suppose acknowledging one's own faults is more an attempt to gain perspective on the whole matter. I think acknowledging one's own mistakes is a way of pacifying a volatile situation between disputing parties.

Also In many Christian based cultures hypocrisy is frowned on. I don't know, maybe it is mostly a Christian thing. I'd be curious to know how much attention other religions pay toward the concept of hypocrisy as an evil.

In any case it seems difficult to say, "we don't approve of murderers" and then go out and murder a bunch of people. Or "we don't approve of terrorism" and then go out and terrorize people with airstrikes and drone attacks. For some strange reason hypocrisy is sort of frowned on. I don't know. Maybe we should just cut to the chase and admit that life is a rat race and first one to exterminate all the completion wins. It doesn't matter how you play the game or how much you help your fellow humans, in the end all that matters is beating the other guy with a stick before he does the same to you.

If that is the case, then maybe human beings are just some sort of malicious mutation, some sort of plague on the world. I think we all hope that isn't the case. Because we have nukes, as well as chemical and biological weapons capabilities to render the Earth sterile if we really wish. That would be a sad way to end human history. After all the great works of art and culture that we've managed to create? What a waste all those things would seem if no later generations will ever exist to appreciate them.

If there is a God, maybe God gave us emotions such as shame and guilt to prevent us from doing things that we would regret. Or perhaps they're just some sort of evolutionary adaptation that serves us well, who knows.

 

[classical_hero]

Looks like a civil war has erupted n the Labour Party.

 

[Kyriakos]

The thing is that Corbyn's point -however poorly timed or phrased- is correct.

It is hardly surprising that people living in a region plunged into chaos by an invasion from foreign countries will want to strike back at those countries in any way they can.

Indeed. Corbyn is correct. And those Blairites should just sod off.