I don’t often comment on the particulars of party politics, but it seemed unfair to deprive you of a chance to witness this 30-minute BBC interview, in which the leader of the Labour Party has a spot of bother. Of particular interest is the final question, around 25 minutes in.
Those seeking reassurance can of course turn to the words of Laurie Penny.
Of particular interest is the final question, around 25 minutes in.
F*cking hell.
Andrew Neil: “It doesn’t stop him from killing us”.
F*cking hell.
It has to be said, when presented with a question about national defence and a time-sensitive scenario of jihadi terrorism, in which a clear answer would be helpful – preferably the word ‘yes’ – waffling instead about climate change and social inequality isn’t an ideal, or reassuring, response.
“You can and should vote Labour”
Hard pass.
The most charitable reading of Corbyn’s general attitude – and by that, I mean absurdly forgiving – is that he wants to treat the interests of the nation, this nation, as of no more importance, or scarcely more importance, than those of the rest of the world. Which is not, by and large, an attitude that the electorate tend to want. Voters generally expect the priorities of their own country, their own society, to come first. And I don’t think that sits comfortably with Mr Corbyn’s worldview, his ideal. Or at least his pretensions.
For the morbidly curious, a transcript of the interview is available here.
You can tell your interview went badly when the *other* party puts the whole thing on their own Facebook page.
Breaking News
Hezbollah & Hamas have announced that they will lay a wreath for Corbyn after that car crash interview with Andrew Neil.
So he’s going to pay bills with ‘morals’?
Speaking of Mr Corbyn and the lovelies he attracts.
Further to this.
this 30-minute BBC interview
The link is not working. An otherwise blank screen announces “Sorry, something went wrong. We’re working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.”
Here is an alternate link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UWUzbV2X6M
The link is not working.
It’s working fine for me. Still, always good to have an alternative. Thanks.
More from JC here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g124hpodhgQ
🙂
It seems from my perch across the Atlantic that a possible Corbyn-led UK government is the worst case scenario for not only Britain but the entire western world, and agree that he prioritizes whatever cause that will propel him to power and install his much desired authoritarian dystopia.
Having said that, I have never liked this particular question, last seen used on US Democrat pols during the Iraq war. The right answer to any hypothetical is to state your general principles, as the context of this Tom Clancy scenario could have legitimate variables that lead to a “no, I wouldn’t order the strike”. A better question would plumb the principles behind his waffling, like “How would withdrawing from the Mideast entirely, including removing Special Forces’ ability to assassinate ISIS leaders for example, make Britain more safe from jihadi attacks?”. Because a more politically savvy manchurian candidate could simply lie in response to “would you kill the baddie?”. So I guess yall are both lucky and unlucky that Corbyn is so ideologically committed.
Also, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, fellow Blanche Davidians.
There’s real evil in the world, but Corbyn thinks the real threats are climate change and inequality.
These people exhaust me.
“Because a more politically savvy manchurian candidate could simply lie in response to “would you kill the baddie?”. So I guess yall are both lucky and unlucky that Corbyn is so ideologically committed.”
That’s a point worth considering further. Why wouldn’t he say that? Simply lie, get into power, and then never pull the (literal and figurative) trigger.
It seems to me that he can’t say that because it’s part of his entire worldview. He can’t say ISIS is bad, because it destroys Labour’s worldview.
If he says that ISIS is bad, then he’ll have a very hard time justifying open borders and supporting people from those areas. He’ll have a very hard time with his own party who have drunk the “all cultures are morally equal” Kool-Aid and are suddenly wondering what he thinks is so bad about ISIS.
In short, defending yourself by taking the fight to them calls into question everything Labour stands for.
From my American perspective, I’m reminded of the times during the Obama administration when the GOP said during the mid-terms: “Vote for us. We’ll enforce our immigration laws. We’ll stop Obamacare.” We did, and the day after the election, they said, in essence, “you screwed up. You trusted us.”
And that’s why we have President Trump.
Speaking of Politics, TV, Australian journalist, writer and wit Clive James dies at 80
Along with everything else, Postcards, and Cultural Amnesia are also quite recommended . . .
I’d like to see an interviewer follow up by asking “Are there any circumstances, whatsoever, under which you would give the order to take out [the hairball in question]?”
If the leftist (Corbyn in this case) says there are, pursue the matter further: “What would those circumstances be?”
In the alternative, when someone waffles like this, put the words in his mouth and make him repudiate them: “So you would not give the order, then?” Put him on the razor’s edge, and make him jump one or the other.
Say what you will about the BBC, and as far as my limited exposure to their news division, I’m not a big fan, but at least Germy got a good grilling here and was challenged rather strongly on his equivocation and sophistry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a US news interviewer hold a leftist to account like that. Not that I can ever recall. Can anyone in the US suggest an example?
OT, but oh dear lord.
Darleen,
I think that, because the Grand Canyon is in the southern part of thevUS, like Disneyland, Vegas, and Disneyworld, folks think it’s some kind of Theme park.
“Oh look, Tom, there’s a skull and crossbones sign at the start of this trail. Ha ha! ”
At least in Yosemite the sign is explicit: “11 hikers have died from going off-trail in the last 3 years” (Vernal / Nevada falls trail)
Can anyone in the US suggest an example?
Regrettably, no. The closest equal to state-funded TV, public television, is far too lefty to be of any use.
I think it is revealing that Corbyn says the following:
“That also means looking at how ISIS grew. Looking at who funded ISIS.” “Andrew, I think we also have to look at how we’ve created these dangers as well.”
In Mr. Corbyn’s worldview, and hence in Labour’s worldview, there would not be terrorists if ‘we’ hadn’t wronged them. Once ‘we’ get rid of ‘our’ wrongdoing the terrorists will go back to their homes and their peaceful ways.
So Mr. Corbyn really doesn’t believe they are rational, that they have agency and can make their own decisions. His view is that they only react, like Pavlov’s dogs, to ‘our’ actions. That people can have their own traditions, history, and assumptions about the world, and have their own reasons to hate us does not occur to him. So, no, he would not “pull the trigger”.
I put ‘we’ in quotes because i’m not sure who he means by ‘we’. Certainly the U.K. Although I’m sure he would blame us americans too.
@ns
Spot on except for one point
I put ‘we’ in quotes because i’m not sure who he means by ‘we’. Certainly the U.K. Although I’m sure he would blame us americans too.
Don’t doubt it – Americans (and Israelis) are definitely included in ‘we’.
Voters generally expect the priorities of their own country, their own society, to come first. And I don’t think that sits comfortably with Mr Corbyn’s worldview, his ideal. Or at least his pretensions.
That.
That.
Like his party and the left more generally, there’s lots of gushing about, say, the NHS and about how much more of other people’s earnings they’re going to heroically confiscate and throw at it, while simultaneously pursuing a borderless, restriction-free worldview that pretty much dooms the entire project. It’s as if they imagine that it’s unfair to expect a national health service, such as it is, to prioritise the citizens, the locals, who are obliged to pay for it. Presumably, British taxpayers queuing for treatment, in waiting rooms and A&Es that sometimes resemble scenes from the third world, somehow shouldn’t mind.
Likewise, when the ludicrous Diane Abbott, a moral catastrophe on legs, boasts about “making this country a better, more decent and more prosperous place,” while in the same breath opposing almost any kind of filtering or restriction on who may come here and suck at the taxpayers’ teat on an indefinite basis. Because for a nation to prefer newcomers in manageable numbers, and prefer people who are likely to support themselves and contribute economically, and not be a relentless drain on resources, and on goodwill, is somehow mean, and probably racist.
I agreee with your assessment but have to say that, shocker, Corbyn’s worldview doesn’t really hold water. If terrorists react to our ‘wrongdoing’ and are driven to commit acts of terror, then simply stopping our supposed wrongdoing won’t cause them to stop. After all, if they’re not rational, in his view, then they wouldn’t automatically stop, something would need to stop them. Like, say, a Prime Minister sending in the SAS\SBS\Commandos with a noisy and ‘splody cease and desist order.
OT: ‘Journalist’ discovers that water is wet and fire will burn, or “Simon Cowell’s been a very bad boy.”
Speaking of interviews that didn’t go well, let’s not forget this classic encounter with the mind of Diane Abbott.
I think the high point is Mr Ferrari’s note of incredulity as he checks Ms Abbott’s bewildering arithmetic and randomly changing numbers, and asks, “Has this been thought through?” To which she replies, indignantly, “Of course it’s been thought through!” All amid sounds of flapping papers and general disarray.
This, you’ll recall, is the intellectual powerhouse who tells us that “white people love playing divide and rule,” that “the British invented racism,” and that capitalism made her fat.
As Instapundit noted yesterday, our “elites” believe the idea of national self-interest is gauche. It’s beneath them to consider the interests of our own citizens first.
It’s well past time to pry their fingers from the levers of power.
OT, but oh dear lord.
Ya can’t cure stupid.
And if you can’t foresee the “return” problem of walking uphill on ice, it’s terminal.
our “elites” believe the idea of national self-interest is gauche. It’s beneath them to consider the interests of our own citizens first.
See also Mr Simon Schama.
In Mr. Corbyn’s worldview, and hence in Labour’s worldview, there would not be terrorists if ‘we’ hadn’t wronged them. Once ‘we’ get rid of ‘our’ wrongdoing the terrorists will go back to their homes and their peaceful ways.
There wouldn’t be populists like Trump, or the drive for Brexit, or the populists parties on the Continent if the traditional elites hadn’t been wronging the general population for decades. But Corbyn and the rest of the political elites in the Western world conveniently ignore that.
In some ways, Corbyn is right. How has overthrowing Saddam, destroying Libya and formenting a civil war in Syria in order to overthrow Assad made the US and the UK safer?
It hasn’t.
It might also be interesting to find out who funds, arms and trains anti-western terror groups in the Middle East.
“That also means looking at how ISIS grew. Looking at who funded ISIS.”
I wonder if Corbyn is hinting that it’s the Jews (Jooos!). That is, after all, a recurring claim among Western Jew-haters and among Muslims.
let’s not forget this classic encounter with the mind of Diane Abbott.
I accept that the the left seeks to attain power by promising endless Free Stuff, but Diane Abbott is supposed to be clever enough to better hide that she is lying and to avoid interviews with people she cannot easily fool and distract.
Diane Abbott…opposing almost any kind of filtering or restriction on who may come here and suck at the taxpayers’ teat
What’s not to like? More immigrants who will vote for Labour. More civil strife which will lead citizens to accept ever more draconian police powers. And so, in the end, Labour hopes to eventually achieve a British USSR.
Here’s two of Jeremy’s key supporters:
Here’s two of Jeremy’s key supporters:
Oh dear.
Oh dear.
Careful David or Owen might send you re-education camp….
Regarding NHS funding, and free stuff in general, our civilization can be divided into two groups: those who understand that in the fable of Stone Soup, the villagers are conned out of their own meager food supply by the visiting travelers (though I always heard it as soldiers), and those who think it’s a wonderful story on which to base an economic policy.
I have to agree with Sam and Uma Thurmond’s Feet – I think that Corbyn’s problem (and the salvation of the rest of us) is that he can’t quite bring himself to be dishonest enough to get elected. He obviously truly believes that Israel, and probably by extension, the Juice, is evil and he really is inordinately fond of Israel’s occasionally murderous enemies. Unfortunately he can’t tell that truth because it won’t get him elected, but nor is he sufficiently immoral to simply lie and denounce his beliefs. Hence the car-crash 🙂
Also – best comment on the Douglas Murray/Holly Rigby debacle: “Shut Up!” she explained.
the villagers are conned out of their own meager food supply by the visiting travelers (though I always heard it as soldiers), and those who think it’s a wonderful story on which to base an economic policy.
Much like the fable of King Cnut and tides, I guess.
It’s Thanksgiving here in the colonies, and this year I’m thankful that I’m not a member of the city council in Olympia, Washington. If I were, I’d have to suffer through this nonsense in person:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V09MEXUldCc
To steal a bit from our host: behold the incredible bravery of our moral and intellectual betters. These brave trans warriors are willing to – in their own words – face violence and murder and genocide to speak out about what is right. Namely, that it sounds like the city council want to light up City Hall in tribute for the holidays, because some police officers are stationed in that building, that is seen as some sort of terrible trans-persecuting injustice somehow.
If you’ve had a big holiday meal, you may want to let the turkey and cranberries settle a bit before watching this video; otherwise, I take no responsibility for what may happen when you see The Royal Majesty wheels xirself before the council.
@Karl
He obviously truly believes that Israel, and probably by extension, the Juice, is evil and he really is inordinately fond of Israel’s occasionally murderous enemies. Unfortunately he can’t tell that truth because it won’t get him elected, but nor is he sufficiently immoral to simply lie and denounce his beliefs. Hence the car-crash 🙂
Another way of saying this that he is a principled politician.
Albeit one with terrible principles.
I’m thankful that I’m not a member of the city council in Olympia, Washington. If I were, I’d have to suffer through this nonsense in person
‘There but for the grace …’ was my initial reaction too, but then I remembered that the council members enabled this nonsense in the first place by holding a ‘Trans Day of Remembrance’. This fiction that ‘trans women’ (and disproportionately vaginaless entities of colour) are being hunted is just the latest in the long line of invented or exaggerated events that we are expected to wail and rend our garments over. Given that 1 in 30,000 men and 1 in 100,000 women seek treatment for gender dysphoria it’s hard to see where all these victims are coming from.
Trevor: recent “estimates” of the prevalence of gender dysphoria range from “0.6 percent of U.S. adults” to 2,200 out of 81,000 Minnesota teens (2.7%), i.e 250 to 2,700 times your numbers.
This madness is being actively promoted by academic and medical “gender specialists”, who claim that “Youth are rejecting this binary thinking”. It is now “American Academy of Pediatrics policy that… pediatricians should use gender-neutral terms…”
I have no doubt that a small number of genuine intractably gender dysphoric people will benefit from enthusiastic support. But I fear that a much larger number of people will be permanently and severely damaged by doctors, schools, and even parents carried away by a fad.