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#Post#: 18428--------------------------------------------------
Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Nikola
Date: July 24, 2019, 6:48 am
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Or, as the author of this article says: The jester will take the
throne.
HTML https://theconversation.com/prime-minister-boris-johnson-the-jester-will-take-the-throne-120532#Echobox=1563880227
I'm still a bit perplexed by the fact that this individual has
now become Britain's new Prime Minister. He deliberately lied to
the public, affecting the Brexit referendum, and now he gets to
negotiate it? His case was thrown out because "judges ruled that
making false statements did not necessarily equate to
misconduct". I think this brings tolerating deliberate lies in
politics to a new level because his example tells us not only
that people who lie will not be held accountable, they will be
rewarded.
This is not just about the well-known £350m Brexit bus claim. We
are talking about the same guy who got fired from The Times for
making things up. He blamed the new food packaging regulations
on the EU, while these turned out to be the UK Government's
decision. And there's more:
HTML https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/23/boris-johnson-lied-way-becoming-prime-minister-10445314/
I mean, we all know that many politicians handle the truth very
generously but isn't this, maybe, a step too far?
#Post#: 18429--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Irena
Date: July 24, 2019, 6:54 am
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More cautious politicians proved unable to deliver Brexit. It's
now time for an, ahem, unconventional politician to try. We'll
see how it goes.
And this has nothing to do with whether or not Brexit was a good
idea. (Me, I haven't made up my mind. Ask me in five years'
time.) It's that a referendum was called, the People decided,
and then there was a standstill. So, let's see what the blond
fellow can do.
#Post#: 18434--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Nikola
Date: July 24, 2019, 7:31 am
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Oh, he may well deliver Brexit. In fact he probably will but
that's a separate issue, in my opinion.
What I don't like is the message in it - that truth has no
value. I think this is setting a very dangerous precedent.
#Post#: 18436--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Irena
Date: July 24, 2019, 7:32 am
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--- Quote from: Nikola link ---
>
> Oh, he may well deliver Brexit. In fact he probably will but
that's a separate issue, in my opinion.
>
> What I don't like is the message in it - that truth has no
value. I think this is setting a very dangerous precedent.
>
--- End Quote ---
Is it a precedent, though? I always assume politicians are
lying. Maybe you're behind the times. :D
#Post#: 18438--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Truman Overby
Date: July 24, 2019, 7:36 am
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The real art of politics is saying things that have no meaning.
You can't be held accountable for things that have no meaning.
Or perhaps more precisely, you need to say things that can be
interpreted to have the meaning that you and your opponents wish
them to have. A Rorschach test is never wrong. Of course you
also need to perfect the art of saying things that no normal
person can disagree with ( "We need to protect the children." )
In my opinion, these are two the biggest predictors of success
in politics. Being an All-Star liar certainly helps as well.
As to Johnson and Brexit I'll have to stay silent, I don't know
enough about the issue to intelligently comment.
[Edited for spelling.]
#Post#: 18439--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Nikola
Date: July 24, 2019, 7:45 am
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I get that, as I said here:
--- Quote from: Nikola link ---
>
> I mean, we all know that many politicians handle the truth
very generously but isn't this, maybe, a step too far?
>
--- End Quote ---
It doesn't surprise me when they lie, even about something so
important, but that doesn't mean there should be no
consequences.
Jerry, he came up with made-up figures before the referendum
that made people believe the UK was paying the EU more than they
were. So that wasn't a case of "having no meaning".
#Post#: 18441--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Truman Overby
Date: July 24, 2019, 7:54 am
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--- Quote from: Nikola link ---
>
> Jerry, he came up with made-up figures before the referendum
that made people believe the UK was paying the EU more than they
were. So that wasn't a case of "having no meaning".
>
--- End Quote ---
Which reminds me of a fact; facts are not necessarily facts in
politics.
#Post#: 18443--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Irena
Date: July 24, 2019, 8:14 am
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Jerry's right. Sadly.
The other thing is that it didn't really matter. Do you
understand those figures? When people start talking about such
sums of money, honestly, I don't understand what they're talking
about it, and I'm willing to bet the same is true for 99% of the
population. It's orders of magnitude more than I'll ever deal
with, which means I don't really understand how much it is. So,
unless you can explain in practical terms what else that
gigantic sum of money could reasonably pay for, it has no
meaning for me. Which brings me to... Why did he have to lie??
??? He could have just said the truth to the same effect.
#Post#: 18444--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: SHL
Date: July 24, 2019, 8:27 am
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I was reading the local Thüringer paper today about this and I
heard him compared to Trump, but others sad no, it was a bad
comparison because at least Johnson comes with political
experience, where Trump came with nothing. It will be
interesting to see what he does with Brexit.
#Post#: 18446--------------------------------------------------
Re: Boris Johnson has finally lied his way up
DIR By: Alharacas
Date: July 24, 2019, 8:29 am
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I tend to agree with you, Nikola. Unfortunately, I can't say
Irena's wrong, either. (Or, if you'd like me to word it in a
less wishy-washy fashion: I'm dismayed to note what a negligible
offense lying to the public obviously is. But then I wonder if
that just makes me sound like Tacitus. Sigh.)
What really surprises me - I'd previously thought the British
were as unforgiving about philandering as US voters. (Shh,
Jerry, in Boris Johnson's case it wasn't about having oral sex
in a cupboard or something, the guy said it was all nonsense,
when apparently he'd been in an extramarital relationship for 4
fecking years, had promised the woman he'd marry her, she'd
become pregnant by him and had subsequently had an abortion.)
Feel free to split here, Nikola, if you think I'm going too far
off topic, but I'd be really interested to know what people
think would constitute an unforgivable offense (on the part of a
politician) in their respective countries.
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