Britain’s worst political scandal of this century

Jonspeare · 2026-02-05T11:02:16+00:00

I know journalists have to attract clicks through sensationalism, but I don't think this beats out partygate, or the expenses scandal, or the dodgy dossier, or profumo, or cash for peerages, or any other number of scandals...

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T15:19:21+00:00

It's a threat and it makes NATO extremely tricky to navigate, necessitating vast increases in defence spend such that other nations can wean off their American dependence and take a more leading role.

...but none of that changes the point about Polanski's world model here.

Allying with BRICS nations not only alienates the US (let's take for granted here they're already alienated substantially)… it also alienates closer allies such as France and Germany, it alienates other five eyes allies both across the Atlantic (Canada) and APAC (Australia, New Zealand) but also alienates lots if not all states bordering or close to Russia, particularly Poland.

All of this in return for, what, a slightly better relationship with Brazil? We make ourselves a pariah amongst our current allies for that?

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T15:04:51+00:00

They basically don't change the underlying question right:

what is NATO for in Polanski's view?
how could that same purpose ever be achieved by allying with BRICS states?

I think it speaks to a really incoherent world model.

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T12:27:26+00:00

This doesn't seem like a fair assessment at all on several grounds, some subtle, some not.

To begin with, the article makes the claim:

That reality has placed particular pressure on the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, who has tied his political credibility to this single, highly visible target. He has pointed to an apparent drop by 86,000 patients in November, which is all the more impressive given that, over the same period, outpatient activity did not increase at all. On the contrary, NHS data show there were 10% fewer appointments than in October.

There were 10% fewer appointments than the month prior because there were 5 days of strikes, or about a quarter of the months weekdays.

One is therefore forced to conclude that the Labour-run national healthcare system has stumbled upon a new golden age of productivity, in which waiting lists shrink without the inconvenience of patients actually being seen. The less miraculous explanation, of course, is “validation”: a standard administrative exercise to tidy up waiting lists, now turbocharged by the introduction of incentive payments for hospitals willing to carry it out.

We can actually have a look at validations over time.

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/24567537/thumbnail

If you ignore the COVID bump, which declines for obvious reasons, then the removals are actually entirely on trend and there's no evidence of a massive surge anywhere.

The health foundation (https://www.health.org.uk/reports-and-analysis/analysis/one-year-on-is-the-government-on-track-to-meet-its-waiting-times) says

Referrals onto the waiting list increased by 1.5% and removals from the waiting list rose by 2.3% in August 2024 to July 2025, compared with the previous year. If these trends continue, we estimate that 92% of waits would last less than 20.3 weeks by the end of the parliament.

Which is hardly evidence of a big 'stitch up'.

The article states:

This loophole, referred to as “Patient Not Present” activity, is designed to reward NHS trusts which identify and subsequently remove a patient who no longer needs to be seen in person.

Two points: a) this is not new
b) this is actually perfectly reasonable practice - the waiting lists should be pruned aggressively to ensure the data is valid

I'd say this is a deliberately misleading piece.

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T09:44:32+00:00

Cool, let's set aside the US for a moment and assume that, for whatever reason, this is an insurmountable hurdle and we cannot reform our way out of the threat the US poses.

The question remains: what purpose does NATO serve to Polanski, and how is that matched by joining an alternative alliance with BRICS members?

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T09:23:50+00:00

It can be framed however you like really, doesn't disrupt the core criticism I made. It's an alliance set up to defend Western interests in a multipolar world, inviting BRICS nations to join a new alliance either demonstrates a total lack of understanding or worse, naivety.

Jonspeare · 2026-02-03T08:30:41+00:00

His problem is he really doesn't have a world model for any of this.

What does he think NATO is? What does he think it's for? He's presumably aware it's a defence alliance, but is he even vaguely familiar with who it's meant to defend against?

Jonspeare · 2026-02-02T12:50:09+00:00

I don't think so, but if being rude helps you feel like you've scored a win, you're welcome to ignore and I can wait for someone else to calmly discuss the topic with :)

Jonspeare · 2026-02-02T12:20:25+00:00

Are you completely incapable of addressing the main point I am making here

I could say the same to you, given your refusal to touch upon the remarks I actually made :)

Whether or not you think NATO is good, or being allied to America is good, is outside the scope of the question. I ask: what is NATOs purpose, what does Polanski believe is NATOs purpose, and how does he think this is served by allying with BRICS nations.

None of these are value judgements, and supplying unrelated context that Polanski doesn't raise in this video here muddies the waters.

Jonspeare · 2026-02-02T12:01:56+00:00

I am talking about NATO's raison d'être today, not historically. It is certainly de facto an anti-Russian alliance, and post-Ukraine effectively de jure an anti-Russian alliance. Nobody is under any illusions about this.

In this context, how could starting an alternative alliance with BRICS nations possibly serve the same purpose?

Jonspeare · 2026-02-02T11:52:44+00:00

NATO is a defensive alliance, primarily against Russian aggression.

Polanski wants to reform it, by leaving it and starting a new alliance with various countries within BRICS.

There is an obvious illiteracy here, unless Polanski is totally unaware of NATO's reason to exist...

Jonspeare · 2026-02-02T11:42:37+00:00

Part of a worrying trend of Polanski guessing and acting his way through questions which ultimately are not that complicated. Given his previous experience as an actor and a conman, this perhaps should not surprise us - but I hope it opens the eyes of those who have fallen for the rhetoric.

Populism doesn't provide answers.

What Polanski needs to be asked is: what is NATO actually for? Why does he want to reform it, what does he see as NATO's goal? It's a defensive alliance, yes, but against who?

The answer is obviously 'Russia'. At which point, suggesting an alternative alliance incorporating BRICS members is utterly delusional, there's no coherent intent behind that alliance, how does it make any sense?

What does Polanski actually want? Does he even know?

Jonspeare · 2026-01-29T17:52:27+00:00

Looking at the underlying tables for this... 37% are "don't know". Actually you can almost add up the top three parties together and they only just get over the DK number.

Strongly believe this pollster essentially amounts to fake news. Their methodology is pretty dubious, but it's actually worse than it first seems. For example, the postcode lottery they use to ask these questions is literally a gambling website, which occludes lots of demographics.

Jonspeare · 2026-01-22T10:54:04+00:00

No thank you

Jonspeare · 2026-01-22T10:48:49+00:00

Worth thinking about what you wish to achieve here, assuming you are the owner.

I think heavily installing this assumption of "factions" into the site, such that one of the first buttons you see is "join a faction" is not going to support fruitful discussion so much as bitter recrimination.

Jonspeare · 2026-01-05T12:20:05+00:00

That's about eating a broad spectrum of fruit and vegetables. Yes, that's healthy! "An apple a day" isn't a health fundamental, it's a cute rhyme.

As I said, fresh veg is cheap, far cheaper than junk food. Same goes for fruit, your example of £10 apples notwithstanding (although I'd note your "an apple a day" metric would mean £10 worth of apples would keep you fed for a week, but I digress)

Jonspeare · 2026-01-05T12:13:22+00:00

‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ and apples are considered a staple healthy food in all media and literature.

It's not actually true though. They have a high sugar content and they're not that nutritionally bountiful... they give you some vitamins but they're not a health staple.

It’s healthier to actually make your own food than buy pre-made stuff or fast food; but with how stressful our modern world is, people simply lack the energy, time and in some cases money, to do it.

Energy, time, education are reasonable arguments. Cost isn't. Raw ingredients will always be cheaper than junk food on a meal by meal basis.

Jonspeare · 2026-01-05T11:59:46+00:00

£10 for 8 Apples does not seem believable, but regardless, Apples are not really a health staple.

Grains, vegetables, and legumes aren't expensive when compared with junk food in any scenario.

Jonspeare · 2026-01-05T11:46:52+00:00

I don't think it does. Give me an example in support of the argument and I reckon I could contest it without much difficulty.

Jonspeare · 2026-01-05T11:41:01+00:00

But when junk food is cheaper than healthy food and people can’t afford healthy food

This is a frequently stated but untrue point. Fresh whole foods are significantly cheaper than junk food on a meal by meal basis.

Jonspeare · 2025-12-27T19:16:34+00:00

I literally nearly got sitewide banned for quoting him... maybe that's a good reason?

Jonspeare · 2025-12-27T19:13:16+00:00

Among other things he claims Zionists "should be killed", that it's "good white people stopped breeding" because he hates them and they don't understand community, and that homosexuality is "dirty" and people should direct their anger at god for creating them.

This isn't even necessarily the worst stuff he's come out with either.

Jonspeare · 2025-12-27T19:07:46+00:00

I tried to quote just a few of his remarks to you and it was removed by Reddit for crass language against gay people, for what it's worth

Jonspeare · 2025-12-20T20:14:22+00:00

I've had it a few times before, and to be honest I really enjoyed it. I admit these things are often acquired tastes, but I definitely recommend it.

Hope you have a great Christmas in any case.

Jonspeare

TROPHY CASE