Max Hastings tears Boris Johnson a new one. 

It would be fanciful to liken the ascent of Boris Johnson to the outbreak of global war, but similar forces are in play. There is room for debate about whether he is a scoundrel or mere rogue, but not much about his moral bankruptcy, rooted in a contempt for truth. Nonetheless, even before the Conservative national membership cheers him in as our prime minister – denied the option of Nigel Farage, whom some polls suggest they would prefer – Tory MPs have thronged to do just that.

He would not recognise the truth, whether about his private or political life, if confronted by it in an identity parade …

… he is unfit for national office, because it seems he cares for no interest save his own fame and gratification … 

… his premiership will almost certainly reveal a contempt for rules, precedent, order and stability.

Continue reading @ The Guardian. 

I Was Boris Johnson’s Boss - He Is Utterly Unfit To Be Prime Minister

Max Hastings tears Boris Johnson a new one. 

It would be fanciful to liken the ascent of Boris Johnson to the outbreak of global war, but similar forces are in play. There is room for debate about whether he is a scoundrel or mere rogue, but not much about his moral bankruptcy, rooted in a contempt for truth. Nonetheless, even before the Conservative national membership cheers him in as our prime minister – denied the option of Nigel Farage, whom some polls suggest they would prefer – Tory MPs have thronged to do just that.

He would not recognise the truth, whether about his private or political life, if confronted by it in an identity parade …

… he is unfit for national office, because it seems he cares for no interest save his own fame and gratification … 

… his premiership will almost certainly reveal a contempt for rules, precedent, order and stability.

Continue reading @ The Guardian. 

15 comments:

  1. Max says Boris is no Churchill, and the world breathes a sigh of relief. We have had leaders across the West that enter office claiming to want to help people, and strangely have seen utter impoverishment via bank bailouts, endless multiple wars, social media accounts, payment processing & banking services restricted according to political beliefs, jailing of genuine investigative Journalists like Assange, drag queens reading stories to kids, and the celebration of a Western form of bachi bazi.

    Could we not at least try something different?

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  2. Something different, why not? Something worse? No.

    What is wrong with drag queens reading stories to kids? The rest I can see your point. And I know it is instinctive bias on my part, but I would feel safer having a drag queen read a story to kids than a priest.

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  3. I think it will fuck kids heads up, they cannot have the framework to comprehend the reasons a man dressed in drag like an adult ideally would. Similarly I wouldn’t let a five year old babysit a toddler.

    I’m not going to get into the sexualisation aspect of drag, i don’t care to know enough about it. I wouldn’t let strippers read to kids either, would you say it’s just a female naked body after that half the kids would have themselves as girls.

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    Replies
    1. can't see how it could fuck heads up. They will most likely not have the comprehension and are therefore free of bias.

      Nor would I want a five year old to babysit a toddler but that is a different issue and bears no resemblance to what is being discussed here. I guess not so many years ago people would have objected to gays reading to kids but things have moved on.

      One reason I rarely read links is that people never send me any that challenge their own views.

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  4. AM, I know you don’t check links out generally, but do you see anything wrong with this?

    https://mobile.twitter.com/banboschforever/status/1144249431207944193

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  5. During the Marina Wheeler and Graeme Stening debacle (it was not her I hasten to add) I read Bozza's biography. In essence his Daddy got him a job in the City, at a bank, he lasted a week. Then Daddy got him a sinecure at the Torygraph. Bozza was so inept they sent him to Brussels to get him out of the way. Only after writing funny stories was he admitted back to Blighty where Daddy got him a safe seat.

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  6. AM, I think the comparison is as valid as the potential priest reading hour you drew, in doing so you veered into relativism, to say you prefer drag queens over priests doesn’t indicate whether either are good in absolute terms.

    Those that click on the link will see a 35 second clip of what reading hour has already degenerated into.

    If I ever had access to power , I would stop it within a day, permanently.

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  7. The priest is a point of comparison. The five year old babysitter is not. A priest wears funny clothes but if a parent is happy for him or a nun to read to their child that is fine. Not up to the state to decide who shall not read to our children. I am sure it is not the only thing you would stop permanently if you had power but as you are not going to have power none of it is going to happen. It would be better to stop the Scottish police allowing religious attire to be part of a uniform.

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  8. “...I am sure it is not the only thing you would stop permanently if you had power...”

    Correct!

    You could write a warning article on me, the Max unto my Boris! I wouldn’t be so sure I won’t have my hands on the levers of power one day, I’ve boasted before I’m quite persuasive in person!

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  9. Just checked it out - the audience seemed happy - no one booing - it seemed more performance art - if we banned that we could ban mass or anything we like - I see no degeneration in it whatsoever, merely a matter of taste

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  10. AM, I suspect after your prison experience, where you maintained fidelity to the cause under hellish conditions, whilst concurrently others outside were looking to capitalise on such dedication for their own ends, you will analyse appeals to emotional topics so you are never exploited via that method again. Most others not shaped by such trauma find it rightly horrific.

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  11. Daithi - not sure I follow any of that

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  12. AM, trying a bit of arm chair psychology I’ve picked up watching day time tv on my summer holiday! I think your prison experience has made you hesitant in passing moral judgements on others.

    It’s not a point worth dwelling over though.

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    1. you are more generous than I deserve. It is too tempting to slip into the position of passing judgement and sometimes it is unavoidable. I have a tolerance for other views and lifestyles even where I might find them bizarre. My daughter deals so naturally with the transgender issue whereas it still causes confusion for me. As I said to a guy in Dublin yesterday as we walked into the Pride parade, we are not of this generation. We were on our way to somewhere else and were slagging the gays on the bus to Dublin that the priests and nuns were gathering with pickaxe handles to beat them!
      I tend to set out the position, more for cerebral reasons. But don't think that I am any more capable of holding to that position than the people it might amount to a critique of.

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