When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
What excuses were made for Rudakubana before his terrible act? You speak with such unerring certainty I assume you must know.
I didn't say they were before but I am sure there will be plenty made now...oh he was abused, he grew up in poverty etc we should be lenient it was societies fault....just watch the guardian
It's not really about excuses; it's about explanations in order to understand causes. And to learn how to prevent it happening again if we can find the cause. That is a different question to the individual's behaviour.
"Lock him up and throw away the key" may get *him* out of society and give us satisfaction - but what about the catching the next one in advance if there is an identifiable cause?
For this guy we don't know enough to understand causes. The only *potential* relevant context I can spot is that his parents came from Rwanda; did they go through the genocide as children? What has the impact been on him?
Are there implications for PTSD refugees from places where killing, rape and torture are routine settling in Europe? We already know how our former servicemen can be impacted after leaving the military.
One of my grandads was a wife-beater. He had been in the trenches in WW1 (PTSD etc), and also had Huntington's Chorea. Impulsive, unpredictable aggression and anger are behavioural symptoms of both. His wife did not manage it - basically just took his behaviour in a stoic fashion.
My uncle also had the condition (my dad did not, and it does not skip generations), and was also impulsive and I think violent. I think that one thing which may have helped him manage *to an extent* was that he had a fairly ritualised life as a High Church Vicar, with a strong daily pattern.
It does not condone the behaviour, however it does help explain, and potentially help manage it. Such behaviour, and conditions like that, impose significant trauma. And have an impact on following generations - for example if a child has had abusive behaviour modelled by their parents, aiui their likelihood of similar offending is increased. AIUI the same can be said for other tendencies, such as likelihood of divorce.
Understanding causes is very important.
Rather than the knee jerking populist reactions of certain people and pols (and I include my own MP in that, who is race-baiting), which will help solve nothing, we need a little more reflection.
Some mention of ASD on the previous thread. I refrained from comment, but will mention 2 things right now. ASD is a SPECTRUM DISORDER. The two words are very important. There is no such thing as "high functioning". That's not a diagnosis, that's shorthand. Really high functioning autistic people lack the disorder criterion. So you wouldn't know they were autistic unless told. Sheldon Cooper and Rain Man have a lot to answer for. High functioning usually refers to can read and write, dress and eat. That's moderate. Moreover. There's PDA and ODD. They are clusters on the spectrum which are symptomatically completely atypical. The behaviour of the suspect. (Not speaking to parents) suggests that CYPS is in an even more shambolic state than anyone imagined. They are symptoms not of ASD, but of clinical depression, possibly psychosis. I expect a serious case review. We really need to take SEN and Mental Health more seriously. It's an emergency. Yet another example of cost savings being more expensive in the long run. Not least for the victims. On trauma. Recent advances in epigenetics show trauma is not only inherited, but can be healed by actually changing DNA. Having parents who presumably experienced genocide ought to be a red flag. We need to keep that in mind when we consider refugee integration. There really isn't any trauma informed treatment. That's not a bleeding heart. It's neuroscience. But we don't give a fuck about any of that in this country. We just expect everyone to put their big boy pants on and cope.
One thing I wonder about on refugee integration is the impact of Angela Merkel's Syria refugee policies a generation on.
Watching my dad go through the process of whether to have a test for the Huntington's Gene was agonising. No good questions, and only a 50% chance of a good answer; a very high stakes decision.
You get yes - you know your mind may disintegrate at some point in the future, and you may emotionally or physically abuse those you love, and your children then face the same question.
You get no - and you and your children are clear.
You decide "no test", and you get 10, 20 or 30 years of life without the disease hanging over you if you have it, and 10, 20 or 30 years of not knowing if you don't. And your children don't know, and may resent your decision.
ISTR a goodly part of the Alice's Restaurant movie was about that very question. My profound sympathy. But inherited trauma. We know it can be healed. Hence some flourish, some sink. Increasingly, we know how to. But, as a nation we're not interested. Especially in the one size fits all, exam driven education system.
Yes - inherited trauma can be addressed. I won't say "healed" because the impact has happened and there are still existing impacts with mental scar tissue on top. I've sometimes visited "healing" believing churches, where certain enthusiasts swoop any disabled person that comes through the door like vultures. It's a very nuanced thing.
Without getting too personal, my dad was negative when he tested and I was in my early 20s, so my generation is clear. But he was always distant and non-emotional, which I put down partly to watching his own dad's behaviour.
In another branch of the family, their dad had it - and, for example, one person says "I feel I never knew my father. Was he an angry, violent man - or was that Huntingtons affecting an eirenic, caring man?"
In that particular family branch, the dad had Huntingtons, one child had Huntingdons and died in their early 40s, one had the test, does not have it, and changed career to be a professional counsellor, and the third afaik did not have the test and has children who will have to face the decision themselves.
One decision some might make would be to not have the test because they do not want to live with what may be the "you've got it" answer for decades, and not have children to avoid passing it on.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Yeah, well try it when you have a brother like mine WhatsApping you immediately after every goal, card, injury...
"Former BBC News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards allegedly drank before hosting the show and once called a rival host a "monster".
Now, in an apparent insight into what he was like away from the cameras before any offence came to light, a journalist has spoken of their many meetings together.
During one exchange, The Times' Andrew Billen said he was "astonished" by Huw's indiscretion as he openly branded a "rival" colleague as "a monster" and also accused another host of "greed".
The journalist added of this particular time: "I was also taken aback by how many glasses of champagne he drank —and bought me, not on expenses. My astonishment turned to admiration when 6pm approached and he said he had better go over the road and prepare for the News at Ten.""
I've liked because I enjoyed the humour of your post and it was spot on. I hated the video itself. It excuses right wing thugs no matter what he says to condemn them.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
You also need a TV licence for watching any live streamed services in the UK unless you want to break the law.
The BBC seems doomed though, which is a shame as it has been a global icon and a positive contributor to Britain's soft power. But all good things come to an end, I guess.
i used to think that it was one of the better state institutions but nowadays its website looks like Hello Magazine most days and its news articles are getting lower in qaulity.
Anyone with even the most tenuous connection with Welsh agriculture (one of my uncles was a monoglot hill farmer in Merioneth) understands the annual Royal Welsh Show to be one of the most important events in the calendar, when isolated farmers get a chance to meet each other and to share their experience and concerns with the wider community. BBC Cardiff sent one of their work experience muppets all the way to Builth Wells this year and this is what she came up with:
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Yeah, well try it when you have a brother like mine WhatsApping you immediately after every goal, card, injury...
My solution is to not answer Whatsapps for at least 24 hours .
The choice to heave a couple of UJs into view is an interesting one. The backgroup used to be just quite a nice looking office with a scented candle. I'm not sure whether I love the flag addition, though I am very patriotic.
The message is OK though - Starmer as ever is giving Farage a lot of room to play on the right, and he's taking it.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Yeah, well try it when you have a brother like mine WhatsApping you immediately after every goal, card, injury...
Or are in a pub. Or indeed anywhere with a phone signal or earshot of someone who has a proper telly. Streaming’s lag is its fatal flaw.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Yeah, well try it when you have a brother like mine WhatsApping you immediately after every goal, card, injury...
My solution is to not answer Whatsapps for at least 24 hours .
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
After the convention and her VP pick Harris will likely take the lead but I would expect it to narrow again and be neck and neck by the end of September. Trump's sentencing will also be a factor as will US interest rates and inflation and the level of border crossings from Mexico over the next few months
Only a couple of weeks ago you were confidently telling us what a mistake it would be to nominate Harris instead of Biden!
Doesn't it ever occur to you that you don't actually know what's going to happen in the future?
We will see in November, at present Harris is still polling significantly below the 51% Biden got in 2020 and is at best neck and neck in her honeymoon -period which will last until post the Democratic convention and her VP pick.
The majority of posters over here seem to have decided.
If you are right then once this all reaches its peak you should get some decent odds on Trump.
Oh puh'lease.
I think Trump is slight favourite, because wages have risen less quickly than prices in the last four years.
We tease @HYUFD because he seems to think Dukakis performance in 1988 makes this election a forgone conclusion.
We tease him because it’s a ridiculous comparison.
Dukakis was a laudable technocrat, who was blindsided by a smear campaign.
That kind of politicking is old news, against which Democrats are immunised by experience. And this time they’re up against a mentally fragile gerentocrat, whose shtick grew old some years ago,
First Trump attack ads on Harris now going out focusing on her failure to control the Mexican border when given that task by Biden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVgkf1nutQI
In some ways I'm baffled that 'Team Trump' didn't already play this scenario out and have their attack lines ready - especially given how much money there was sloshing around.
In other ways I'm not at all surprised that with all that money sloshing around 'Team Trump' - it's all just disappeared for aught.
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
Well the BBC and Sky can hardly be trusted anymore so what is one to do?
JD Vance says Donald Trump deserves credit for the release of Evan Gershkovich and the others released from Russian prison:
"We certainly want these Americans to come back home...But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think it's because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump's about to be back in office, so they're cleaning house. That's a good thing and I think it's a testament to Donald Trump's strength" Vance told CNN https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1819062167498359184
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
After the convention and her VP pick Harris will likely take the lead but I would expect it to narrow again and be neck and neck by the end of September. Trump's sentencing will also be a factor as will US interest rates and inflation and the level of border crossings from Mexico over the next few months
Only a couple of weeks ago you were confidently telling us what a mistake it would be to nominate Harris instead of Biden!
Doesn't it ever occur to you that you don't actually know what's going to happen in the future?
We will see in November, at present Harris is still polling significantly below the 51% Biden got in 2020 and is at best neck and neck in her honeymoon -period which will last until post the Democratic convention and her VP pick.
The majority of posters over here seem to have decided.
If you are right then once this all reaches its peak you should get some decent odds on Trump.
Oh puh'lease.
I think Trump is slight favourite, because wages have risen less quickly than prices in the last four years.
We tease @HYUFD because he seems to think Dukakis performance in 1988 makes this election a forgone conclusion.
We tease him because it’s a ridiculous comparison.
Dukakis was a laudable technocrat, who was blindsided by a smear campaign.
That kind of politicking is old news, against which Democrats are immunised by experience. And this time they’re up against a mentally fragile gerentocrat, whose shtick grew old some years ago,
First Trump attack ads on Harris now going out focusing on her failure to control the Mexican border when given that task by Biden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVgkf1nutQI
In some ways I'm baffled that 'Team Trump' didn't already play this scenario out and have their attack lines ready - especially given how much money there was sloshing around.
In other ways I'm not at all surprised that with all that money sloshing around 'Team Trump' - it's all just disappeared for aught.
About that … the ageing clown just can’t help himself. They did.
JD Vance says Donald Trump deserves credit for the release of Evan Gershkovich and the others released from Russian prison:
"We certainly want these Americans to come back home...But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think it's because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump's about to be back in office, so they're cleaning house. That's a good thing and I think it's a testament to Donald Trump's strength" Vance told CNN https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1819062167498359184
Stick to soft furnishings.
However pitiful it is, there are going to be people who lap it up.
After the convention and her VP pick Harris will likely take the lead but I would expect it to narrow again and be neck and neck by the end of September. Trump's sentencing will also be a factor as will US interest rates and inflation and the level of border crossings from Mexico over the next few months
Only a couple of weeks ago you were confidently telling us what a mistake it would be to nominate Harris instead of Biden!
Doesn't it ever occur to you that you don't actually know what's going to happen in the future?
Predictions are hard. Especially when they are about the future
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
Well the BBC and Sky can hardly be trusted anymore so what is one to do?
Believe a Russian FSB bot? I mean. Who would you trust?
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
To be honest the Olympics is really the athletics crowned by the mens' 100m final, the first week is really just the Opening ceremony and then the warm up act to showcase some mainly minor sports nobody is normally ever interested in unless they participate in them themselves or their family do. Or they are interested in Tom Daley's latest speedo wear!
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
Well the BBC and Sky can hardly be trusted anymore so what is one to do?
Believe a Russian FSB bot? I mean. Who would you trust?
Believe it or not there are actually quite a lot of other people on twitter. Often world leading experts.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
You also need a TV licence for watching any live streamed services in the UK unless you want to break the law.
The BBC seems doomed though, which is a shame as it has been a global icon and a positive contributor to Britain's soft power. But all good things come to an end, I guess.
The law is a complete ass in that respect.
The guidance we have is -
"An online TV service is any streaming service, website or app that lets you watch live TV over the internet."
..."An example of this would be watching Sky News live [on YouTube[. But it isn’t just live news or sport which needs a licence – it’s any programme which is part of a TV channel, shown or transmitted for everyone to watch at the same time."
Taken from the telly tax tossers website.
So do I need a license if I watch streaming videos from some random gamer in her bedroom livestreaming her speedrun of Celeste to an audience? Or is it only places like Sky that also exist on TV?
We actually have some guidance on that, whereby we're told that 'live content' on sites like Netflix or Amazon prime also require you to pay the telly tax. Since Netflix and Amazon don't broadcast over the air, they're not TV. We are told that "Online-only TV channels still count as live TV, so you need a TV Licence if you’re watching or recording their programmes."
So where do you draw the line on this streaming stuff? Presumably you don't need a TV license to watch a mate's live instagram story from a gig. But technically they're live streaming and you're watching live, so... it falls afoul of the official guidelines.
You could argue that common sense applies here, and if you watch sky live on youtube rather than over the air then you should pay the telly tax, whereas if you watch your mate streaming 30 seconds of a gig live on instagram, you don't need to pay. But we're not offered that clarification.
Then you have quasi-journalism. So not your mate streaming from a gig, but not sky news either. Do you have to pay for a Russell Brand livestream? What if Leon sets up a livestream and starts reporting on his holidays or his sock collection? Do you have to pay the telly tax for that?
The choice to heave a couple of UJs into view is an interesting one. The backgroup used to be just quite a nice looking office with a scented candle. I'm not sure whether I love the flag addition, though I am very patriotic.
The message is OK though - Starmer as ever is giving Farage a lot of room to play on the right, and he's taking it.
He is doing what an opposition should do. Asking the awkward questions. Which is more than can be said for the Tories or Libdems.
Presumably his Union Flags were because Starmer appeared flanked with them and were implicitly mocking Starmer
Noticable that he didn't ask the question a lot are asking on Social Media ie Why didn't Starmer call such a conference and promise to throw the book at the perps after previous similar incidents since he took power like the riot in Leeds?
(for what its worth I would say that the "Football Fan" rioters, the Leeds rioters and the Rotherham (Manchester Airport incident) rioters all think they are oppressed groups of people who most including the government despise).
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
Well the BBC and Sky can hardly be trusted anymore so what is one to do?
Believe a Russian FSB bot? I mean. Who would you trust?
Believe it or not there are actually quite a lot of other people on twitter. Often world leading experts.
Yeah well. I don't go there. I tend to find it keeps me better informed.
JD Vance says Donald Trump deserves credit for the release of Evan Gershkovich and the others released from Russian prison:
"We certainly want these Americans to come back home...But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think it's because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump's about to be back in office, so they're cleaning house. That's a good thing and I think it's a testament to Donald Trump's strength" Vance told CNN https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1819062167498359184
Stick to soft furnishings.
However pitiful it is, there are going to be people who lap it up.
Some of whom frequent this board.
Instead of letting one of Rupert Murdoch's employees rot in a gulag for 10 years, Joe Biden worked his ass off to get the guy released while Murdoch's media outlets relentlessly portrayed Biden as having borderline dementia, which tells you a lot about both men. https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1819039087828820453
Graceless scumbag. Virtually inciting violence. (I mean Farage, not Starmer).
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight. I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
Well the BBC and Sky can hardly be trusted anymore so what is one to do?
I trust the BBC and Sky far more than I trust Farage, who seeks to exploit the awful tragedy in Southport to launch a 'protest' campaign involving far-right street gangs attacking the police and others and whipping up anti-immigrant feeling.
And, as I said, I'm hoping our streets are quiet tonight and stay quiet. I'm not sure Farage hopes the same, as he wouldn't like to be proved wrong.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
The BBC had adverts for its own affiliated magazines long before that!
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
To be honest the Olympics is really the athletics crowned by the mens' 100m final, the first week is really just the Opening ceremony and then the warm up act to showcase some mainly minor sports nobody is normally ever interested in unless they participate in them themselves or their family do. Or they are interested in Tom Daley's latest speedo wear!
Or if they are rightly moved to tears by the pathos of people who devote their young lives to an activity as unproductive and futile as synchronised jumping off a plank.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
The BBC had adverts for its own affiliated magazines long before that!
The BBC are tedious self congratulatory wanks. Some are also paedos.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
To be honest the Olympics is really the athletics crowned by the mens' 100m final, the first week is really just the Opening ceremony and then the warm up act to showcase some mainly minor sports nobody is normally ever interested in unless they participate in them themselves or their family do. Or they are interested in Tom Daley's latest speedo wear!
I think most people agree the athletics is the major event. We all have stuff we are interested in or enjoy, and for many of us there is pleasure in the obscure stuff. And we like the stuff our countrymen do well in. But almost everyone takes a bit more notice of the athletics.
I don't think Anabobz is trolling, but I don't really think it's reasonable to say no one cares. I'd say it's the tournament that's the most widely enjoyed. There's not much telly I'd happily watch with all my extended family. I think the Olympics might be the only thing.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
I remember that happening in the late 80s/early 90s when watching Neighbours, or rather after the programme finished. To begin with, they'd have one BBC plug/advert. Then — by the mid-90s — it was two, then it was three by the late 90s. I think they occasionally even had four.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
I remember that happening in the late 80s/early 90s when watching Neighbours, or rather after the programme finished. To begin with, they'd have one BBC plug/advert. Then — by the mid-90s — it was two, then it was three by the late 90s. I think they occasionally even had four.
What has always got my goat was them paying for billboard advertising. You're forcing me to pay for your product - you don't have to advertise it to me.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
The BBC had adverts for its own affiliated magazines long before that!
The BBC are tedious self congratulatory wanks. Some are also paedos.
I discovered on my visit to Peterborough today that the place was founded by King Peada (Mercia) who ruled from 653 to 656 when he was murdered by his wife.
Perhaps it should revert to its original name of Meadhampstead rather than being named after iffy kings like its Russian namesake?
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You're not bothered by having everything interrupted by adverts?
The BBC introducing tedious self congratulory wanks in house adverts, in between programmes at the turn of the century destroyed their biggest difference with commercial TV.
I remember that happening in the late 80s/early 90s when watching Neighbours, or rather after the programme finished. To begin with, they'd have one BBC plug/advert. Then — by the mid-90s — it was two, then it was three by the late 90s. I think they occasionally even had four.
Worst part is when a sporting event overruns and they still show the trails before moving onto the delayed program.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Didn't farmers with barns straddling the border get round that problem in Ireland?
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Or (c) be an Irish Farmer, ideally with land and a gdte on both sides of the border....
"But, paradoxically, sometimes the way to deal with our ignorance and prejudice is not by replacing it with knowledge but instead by leaning into more ignorance. Sometimes not knowing things can make us more objective."
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Or (c) be an Irish Farmer, ideally with land and a gdte on both sides of the border....
Are ammonia nitrate sales recorded South of the border?
My point was a simple one: it's easy enough to buy small quantities of ammonia nitrate regularly over long periods without attracting attention. And if there are 3 or 4 of you it will be easier yet.
Errr. I'm not expert on this, but wasn't the Chinese athlete human?
"Twenty-three top Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same powerful banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 but were allowed to escape public scrutiny and continue to compete after top Chinese officials secretly cleared them of doping and the global authority charged with policing drugs in sports chose not to intervene.
Several of the athletes who tested positive — including nearly half of the swimming team that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went on to win medals, including three golds. Many still compete for China and several, including the two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, are expected to contend for medals again at this year’s Summer Games in Paris."
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Clearly you weren’t in England when laggy iPlayer completely ruined the collective experience of watching the Euros.
Oh, I thought we were talking about the Olympics. Sorry.
Nobody really cares about the Olympics so it’s less of an issue than in major football/rugby tournaments admittedly
To be honest the Olympics is really the athletics crowned by the mens' 100m final, the first week is really just the Opening ceremony and then the warm up act to showcase some mainly minor sports nobody is normally ever interested in unless they participate in them themselves or their family do. Or they are interested in Tom Daley's latest speedo wear!
I think most people agree the athletics is the major event. We all have stuff we are interested in or enjoy, and for many of us there is pleasure in the obscure stuff. And we like the stuff our countrymen do well in. But almost everyone takes a bit more notice of the athletics.
I don't think Anabobz is trolling, but I don't really think it's reasonable to say no one cares. I'd say it's the tournament that's the most widely enjoyed. There's not much telly I'd happily watch with all my extended family. I think the Olympics might be the only thing.
I’m definitely not trolling! Nobody really cares about it. That is not the same as saying they don’t like it or fail to find it entertaining, but few are heartbroken/elated over the result of a swimming race or badminton match. It simply doesn’t grip in the way football or rugby tournaments do.
To be fair to JD Vance, recovering Hillbilly and famed Barefoot Boy of Silicon Valley, with respect to giving Donald Trump, credit for release of Murdoch journo from Putin's durance vile, JDV really needs to give DJT some extra-special oral relief right now.
For one thing, the deadline for Trump to dump Vance AND get a replacement VP pick on the ballot with him, is fast approaching, so JD wanna-be VP will spin like a top AND spew like a volcano to keep THAT from happening.
To be fair to JD Vance, recovering Hillbilly and famed Barefoot Boy of Silicon Valley, with respect to giving Donald Trump, credit for release of Murdoch journo from Putin's durance vile, JDV really needs to give DJT some extra-special oral relief right now.
For one thing, the deadline for Trump to dump Vance AND get a replacement VP pick on the ballot with him, is fast approaching, so JD wanna-be VP will spin like a top AND spew like a volcano to keep THAT from happening.
The fact that only over 50s nowadays really watch linear TV anymore and its not something people age into starting to do as they get older really ought to be all the reason we need to ditch the licence fee.
Its an absurd 20th century anachronism.
I've happily cancelled mine already as have millions of others. Up to the rest of you lot what you want to do with it now, none of my concern anymore.
You need proper TV for live sport though. Streaming services are hopelessly laggy, around two minutes behind live.
No kidding.
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Yeah, well try it when you have a brother like mine WhatsApping you immediately after every goal, card, injury...
Or just sit on PB when everyone else is watching on proper television.
I know of one vice-presidential candidate who was forced out, Thomas Eagleton: "He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life, resulting in several hospitalizations, which were kept secret from the public. When they were revealed, it humiliated the McGovern campaign, and Eagleton was forced to quit the race." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton
I think it unlikely the same will happen to Vance, if only because time is short for such a switch.
(Full disclosure: In one way, I hope that Vance is kept on the ticket. I think he will be amusing, and may even provoke some thought about issues that need discussion. I repeat, may.)
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Actually it is many years since I was involved in this so I went and looked up the relevant legislation. It was updated in 2003 and they have solved the issue by prohibiting completely the sale of Ammonium nitrate with more than 28% nitrogen without a Resistance to Detonation certificate. The stuff farmers put on fields these days is formulated in such a way that it can't be used for explosives and to get an exception (for quarrying etc) you need a specific licence.
I know of one vice-presidential candidate who was forced out, Thomas Eagleton: "He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life, resulting in several hospitalizations, which were kept secret from the public. When they were revealed, it humiliated the McGovern campaign, and Eagleton was forced to quit the race." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton
I think it unlikely the same will happen to Vance, if only because time is short for such a switch.
(Full disclosure: In one way, I hope that Vance is kept on the ticket. I think he will be amusing, and may even provoke some thought about issues that need discussion. I repeat, may.)
In this context, the "vetting" of JD Vance was perhaps LESS thorough than that of Thomas Eagleton over a half-century ago. EDIT - His personal medical records being difficult to access, unless they'd ask him to see them, which they clearly did not.
Which was obviously NOT as rigorous as it should have been. IIRC, the McGovern campaign asked Eagleton if he was aware of any skeletons in his closet, and he said no.
In the case of JD Vance this year, reportedly only thing that Don Jr. & his crack (in one sense anyway) of vetter was interested in interrogating JDV about, were his statements critical of . . . wait for it . . . DJT himself. Essentially having him repudiate and atone for each and every one.
Personally think it's FAR too early to write off JD Vance, he's bound to have a least one good day on the campaign trail.
Speaking "about issues that need discussion" do these include Project 2025? Seeing as how Vance is well-(or rather ill-)connected with the enterprise, and has written the forward to it's manifesto due to be published in September - talk about timing!
Yeah, but in those days the Prime Minister didn't ennoble people who celebrated those acts.
(Sorry. That one just really sickens me. And I'm struggling to let it go.)
What's this about? My guess is IRA/UVF apologists getting peerages but I am not at all sure of this and even if it is that who it is you're referring to.
VP market is great atm. Just lay favourites and back outsiders. Rinse and repeat. No one knows anything.
Atm that means laying Shapiro, but that might change in next hour, who knows!
When are we expecting a decision on the VP pick?
Sorry, I should also have said you will absolutely get bummed on your last trade, almost certainly!
Lots of credit to @HYUFD (and I think @Barnesian ) for calling out Shapiro very early btw. A very good outright bet, although if I were still long him I would have laid it off by now cause it's all over the place.
Or you can just chill and short Hiliary for free money.
VP market is great atm. Just lay favourites and back outsiders. Rinse and repeat. No one knows anything.
Atm that means laying Shapiro, but that might change in next hour, who knows!
When are we expecting a decision on the VP pick?
Sorry, I should also have said you will absolutely get bummed on your last trade, almost certainly!
Lots of credit to @HYUFD (and I think @Barnesian ) for calling out Shapiro very early btw. A very good outright bet, although if I were still long him I would have laid it off by now cause it's all over the place.
Or you can just chill and short Hiliary for free money.
I don't want to sound annoying, but Shapiro was always one of the most likely picks, simply because he's governor of the most important state for the Democrats to win.
VP market is great atm. Just lay favourites and back outsiders. Rinse and repeat. No one knows anything.
Atm that means laying Shapiro, but that might change in next hour, who knows!
When are we expecting a decision on the VP pick?
Sorry, I should also have said you will absolutely get bummed on your last trade, almost certainly!
Lots of credit to @HYUFD (and I think @Barnesian ) for calling out Shapiro very early btw. A very good outright bet, although if I were still long him I would have laid it off by now cause it's all over the place.
Or you can just chill and short Hiliary for free money.
I don't want to sound annoying, but Shapiro was always one of the most likely picks, simply because he's governor of the most important state for the Democrats to win.
Oh absolutely. If you (or anyone else!) tipped him then ima give you credit too. There's lots of Dumbosaurus credit to go around, and he's never going to get anything like the credit you get for various spreadsheets over time
It's just the above I remember.
(I think you're only person on here thinking Badenoch will make it to final two atm? Am I right in that? Although I appreciate it's not a "tip" per se - if she does then ima gives you even more credit then!)
I know of one vice-presidential candidate who was forced out, Thomas Eagleton: "He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life, resulting in several hospitalizations, which were kept secret from the public. When they were revealed, it humiliated the McGovern campaign, and Eagleton was forced to quit the race." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton
I think it unlikely the same will happen to Vance, if only because time is short for such a switch.
(Full disclosure: In one way, I hope that Vance is kept on the ticket. I think he will be amusing, and may even provoke some thought about issues that need discussion. I repeat, may.)
Andy_JS - Yes, I am hoping Harris will win, though I may not vote for her. (Living in Wahsington state, I have the liberty of writing in presidential candidates, since I know the Democrats will win the presidential race here.)
It may be wishful thinking but recently I have come to a tentative conclusion that Harris's chameleon qualities will mean that she will -- mostly -- govern in ways that the majority will accept.
In that, she may be similar to Bill Clinton. He and Newt Gingrich, working in an odd partnership, probably changed the US for the better -- when men with fewer principles, and weaker characters, would not have been able to.
There is one problem for Josh Shapiro that I haven't seen mentioned here, his religion: " Shapiro met his wife, Lori, in ninth grade as they both attended Akiba Hebrew Academy, now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, then in Merion Station.[161] They dated in high school and reconnected after college while both were living in Washington, D.C.[161] Shapiro proposed to her in Jerusalem in 1997.[12] They married on May 25 of that year.
Shapiro and his wife have four children and reside in the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[16] Shapiro is an observant Conservative Jew who keeps kosher." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Shapiro#Personal_life
Although, judging by the comments I see here, anti-Semitism is not as big a problem in the US as it is in many oher nations, I can believe that some voters would be put off by a ticket that had a Christian/Hindu married to a Jew, and two Jews.
(For the record: That doesn't bother me, but I can see it being a problem in, for example, Michigan. I am bothered by three out of four being lawyers, though.)
Correction on the Bill Cinton/Newt Gingrich comparison. I said "fewer principles, and weaker characters". I meant the opposite: "more principles, and stronger characters".
Sorry about that. (The heat here may be getting to me.)
There is one problem for Josh Shapiro that I haven't seen mentioned here, his religion: " Shapiro met his wife, Lori, in ninth grade as they both attended Akiba Hebrew Academy, now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, then in Merion Station.[161] They dated in high school and reconnected after college while both were living in Washington, D.C.[161] Shapiro proposed to her in Jerusalem in 1997.[12] They married on May 25 of that year.
Shapiro and his wife have four children and reside in the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[16] Shapiro is an observant Conservative Jew who keeps kosher." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Shapiro#Personal_life
Although, judging by the comments I see here, anti-Semitism is not as big a problem in the US as it is in many oher nations, I can believe that some voters would be put off by a ticket that had a Christian/Hindu married to a Jew, and two Jews.
(For the record: That doesn't bother me, but I can see it being a problem in, for example, Michigan. I am bothered by three out of four being lawyers, though.)
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Actually it is many years since I was involved in this so I went and looked up the relevant legislation. It was updated in 2003 and they have solved the issue by prohibiting completely the sale of Ammonium nitrate with more than 28% nitrogen without a Resistance to Detonation certificate. The stuff farmers put on fields these days is formulated in such a way that it can't be used for explosives and to get an exception (for quarrying etc) you need a specific licence.
This must also make it generally safer from accidental /self detonation in storage
Does it have any downside use/ complications if using it legitimateiy as fertilizer (eg lessneffective etc) given the nitrogen is at least part of what you are trying to get into the soil?
VP market is great atm. Just lay favourites and back outsiders. Rinse and repeat. No one knows anything.
Atm that means laying Shapiro, but that might change in next hour, who knows!
When are we expecting a decision on the VP pick?
Sorry, I should also have said you will absolutely get bummed on your last trade, almost certainly!
Lots of credit to @HYUFD (and I think @Barnesian ) for calling out Shapiro very early btw. A very good outright bet, although if I were still long him I would have laid it off by now cause it's all over the place.
Or you can just chill and short Hiliary for free money.
I don't want to sound annoying, but Shapiro was always one of the most likely picks, simply because he's governor of the most important state for the Democrats to win.
Oh absolutely. If you (or anyone else!) tipped him then ima give you credit too. There's lots of Dumbosaurus credit to go around, and he's never going to get anything like the credit you get for various spreadsheets over time
It's just the above I remember.
(I think you're only person on here thinking Badenoch will make it to final two atm? Am I right in that? Although I appreciate it's not a "tip" per se - if she does then ima gives you even more credit then!)
Badenoch is the trojan horse candidate for the Goveites. A lot of the 'dirty tricks campaign' and the 'may not make it' mood music could be to make her the cause celebre of the right to smooth her path to victory.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Actually it is many years since I was involved in this so I went and looked up the relevant legislation. It was updated in 2003 and they have solved the issue by prohibiting completely the sale of Ammonium nitrate with more than 28% nitrogen without a Resistance to Detonation certificate. The stuff farmers put on fields these days is formulated in such a way that it can't be used for explosives and to get an exception (for quarrying etc) you need a specific licence.
This must also make it generally safer from accidental /self detonation in storage
Does it have any downside use/ complications if using it legitimateiy as fertilizer (eg lessneffective etc) given the nitrogen is at least part of what you are trying to get into the soil?
It has a downside in the quality of the produce. Nitrogen improves bulk/yields but it's only one mineral, so you get bulky veggies and grains with no minerals in them.
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Actually it is many years since I was involved in this so I went and looked up the relevant legislation. It was updated in 2003 and they have solved the issue by prohibiting completely the sale of Ammonium nitrate with more than 28% nitrogen without a Resistance to Detonation certificate. The stuff farmers put on fields these days is formulated in such a way that it can't be used for explosives and to get an exception (for quarrying etc) you need a specific licence.
This must also make it generally safer from accidental /self detonation in storage
Does it have any downside use/ complications if using it legitimateiy as fertilizer (eg lessneffective etc) given the nitrogen is at least part of what you are trying to get into the soil?
It has a downside in the quality of the produce. Nitrogen improves bulk/yields but it's only one mineral, so you get bulky veggies and grains with no minerals in them.
I used to buy SEER Rockdust when I had an allotment. They achieved some good things when remineralising the soil with powdered granite.
Their thesis was that the ice age deposited a jrich layer of minierals in the soil that farming (and pdrticularly post WW2 practices have leeched out to the detriment of nutrition quality (also making it harder to grow stuff)
When arguing that the judge should impose reporting restrictions preventing Rudakubana's identification, the prosecution said the suspect had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis”, and that he had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
The judge allowed Rudakubana's name to be made public, saying "the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest".
No grand narrative. Just a young man not coping with the world, with tragic consequences.
It matches with the descriptions from the village that no one saw him, though they did see his parents.
Perhaps lockdown at a critical stage of social development was a factor, though certainly isn't an excuse.
Perhaps if people stopped trying to make excuses for evil bastards and instead told them they are evil bastards instead of handing them excuses "Its not you fault because you (came from a broken family/were in lockdown at a certain period/ too poor/ etc) delete as applicable"
How would that have worked before this lad came to unfortunate prominence? Do you possess unerring evil bastard radar?
When I was growing up bad people were bad people no excuses, we didnt have these sort of incidents nearly as frequently, the more people make exuses for these acts about why the bad guy did it the more we seem to get of them. Sorry if thats blunt but its also true
How old are you? Because when I was growing up we absolutely had vile people who committed vile crimes.
When I was a kid my town was bombed the day before Mothers Day, and two kids shopping for Mothers Day gifts on Bridge Street were murdered in the explosion. One of the victims was only 3 years old. That's just one incident close to home, there's plenty of more that I'm sure everyone could relate from their own childhood unfortunately.
We've sadly always had plenty of evil bastards down the years in this country. Nowadays we have 24/7 news and social media to really bring home the evil when it happens, but its always been there. I don't think there's anything to say its worse now than it ever was.
We had this discussion the other day. Things are much safer now than in the past. I have lived through the riots in which PC Blacklock was murdered and nearly decapitated in a riot, IRA bombings where I lived both at University and at home (Manchester and Guildford) and where many died, football hooligans, skinheads, NF, etc. Saturday night was not a safe night for a young man in a city when I was a teenager. Really people do have a rosy view of the past.
Yeah. Three times I was cleared out of a Central London area in three years at University because of a credible bomb threat. Only once did it go off. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly today's terrorists don't make threats. They just set off bombs without warning. Hence Manchester.
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Ammonia nitrate is not that hard to get hold of: sure, it'll take you a few weeks to get bomb making quantities, but if there are three or four of you, then getting sufficient amounts is not going to be a big deal.
In the UK all sales of Amonium Nitrate are recorded and monitored for exactly that reason. Yes you can get it as a farmer for obvious reasons but such sales are recorded and monitored. Buy more than expected and you can expect a visit from the local constaubulary or someone more serious. It is one reason that thefts of the stuff went up for a while.
Which is why I said it might take a few weeks and a few people to get bomb making quantities,
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
Actually it is many years since I was involved in this so I went and looked up the relevant legislation. It was updated in 2003 and they have solved the issue by prohibiting completely the sale of Ammonium nitrate with more than 28% nitrogen without a Resistance to Detonation certificate. The stuff farmers put on fields these days is formulated in such a way that it can't be used for explosives and to get an exception (for quarrying etc) you need a specific licence.
This must also make it generally safer from accidental /self detonation in storage
Does it have any downside use/ complications if using it legitimateiy as fertilizer (eg lessneffective etc) given the nitrogen is at least part of what you are trying to get into the soil?
It has a downside in the quality of the produce. Nitrogen improves bulk/yields but it's only one mineral, so you get bulky veggies and grains with no minerals in them.
I used to buy SEER Rockdust when I had an allotment. They achieved some good things when remineralising the soil with powdered granite.
Their thesis was that the ice age deposited a jrich layer of minierals in the soil that farming (and pdrticularly post WW2 practices have leeched out to the detriment of nutrition quality (also making it harder to grow stuff)
I preach about it here quite alot. Doing something similar with basalt could draw down 45% of our net zero carbon emissions target too.
Crisis in social work as social workers quit after being forced to work at home:
"Many authorities have closed local offices as part of cost-saving cuts, forcing more staff to work from home and hot-desk when in the office.
"Social workers told the researchers they felt increased isolation as a result of working from home, as well as reporting difficulties in reaching colleagues or managers for support, and an absence of the team camaraderie found in an office"
I can't imagine they are the only ones.
It is one thing if you are experienced with a big comfy house. Quite another if you are inexperienced in a poky flat with an infant bellyaching.
I learned a hell of a lot from just being in an office and hearing/seeing how more experienced colleagues dealt with "events, dear boy, events"
Yeah, but in those days the Prime Minister didn't ennoble people who celebrated those acts.
(Sorry. That one just really sickens me. And I'm struggling to let it go.)
What's this about? My guess is IRA/UVF apologists getting peerages but I am not at all sure of this and even if it is that who it is you're referring to.
I am referring to Claire Fox, who celebrated and defended the Warrington bombings (and others), and never recanted of her views.
You know: if she supported the IRA in its bombing of military targets and then - 30 years later - she became a peer, well I wouldn't be happy, but I would understand. But to defend the deliberate targeting of civilians and children is disgusting and hypocritical.
That Boris Johnson chose to elevate her to a peerage reflected incredibly poorly on him, and was a real spit in the face of those affected by IRA terrorism over the years.
The ULEZ extension was nearly year ago so that pile of junk isn't going anywhere without new batteries and possibly draining the fuel systems which nobody has the time, money or inclination to do.
What old mate has is an unlicensed scrapyard full of highly flammable wrecks so I'm not surprised the council has the arsehole over it.
Crisis in social work as social workers quit after being forced to work at home:
"Many authorities have closed local offices as part of cost-saving cuts, forcing more staff to work from home and hot-desk when in the office.
"Social workers told the researchers they felt increased isolation as a result of working from home, as well as reporting difficulties in reaching colleagues or managers for support, and an absence of the team camaraderie found in an office"
I can't imagine they are the only ones.
It is one thing if you are experienced with a big comfy house. Quite another if you are inexperienced in a poky flat with an infant bellyaching.
I learned a hell of a lot from just being in an office and hearing/seeing how more experienced colleagues dealt with "events, dear boy, events"
We were WFH for years before Covid. The plusses are obvious but for bringing in new team members, not so good. I'm not going to rehearse the pros and cons here but would point out, as does your extract from the article, that it is not just entitled professionals looking to save time and money commuting but also employers saving money on equipment, electricity and even whole buildings.
The ULEZ extension was nearly year ago so that pile of junk isn't going anywhere without new batteries and possibly draining the fuel systems which nobody has the time, money or inclination to do.
What old mate has is an unlicensed scrapyard full of highly flammable wrecks so I'm not surprised the council has the arsehole over it.
The new Labour government has shelved £1.3bn of funding promised by the Conservatives for tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects, the BBC has learned.
It includes £800m for the creation of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh University and a further £500m for AI Research Resource, which funds computing power for AI. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyx5x44vnyeo
An unfunded (surely not?) spending commitment by the last government is scrapped by Labour which knows the price of everything and the value of, well, not investment anyway. Serves 'em right for sticking a billion quid so far north of Oxbridge.
The new Labour government has shelved £1.3bn of funding promised by the Conservatives for tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects, the BBC has learned.
It includes £800m for the creation of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh University and a further £500m for AI Research Resource, which funds computing power for AI. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyx5x44vnyeo
An unfunded (surely not?) spending commitment by the last government is scrapped by Labour which knows the price of everything and the value of, well, not investment anyway. Serves 'em right for sticking a billion quid so far north of Oxbridge.
The build build build, growth growth growth narrative hasn't lasted very long. A tunnel under Stonehenge I can see getting canned, but AI, its not some pie in the sky nonsense, without going full Leon, its here now and something the government can set the right conditions / infrastructure to attract investment over our neighbours.
Yeah, but in those days the Prime Minister didn't ennoble people who celebrated those acts.
(Sorry. That one just really sickens me. And I'm struggling to let it go.)
What's this about? My guess is IRA/UVF apologists getting peerages but I am not at all sure of this and even if it is that who it is you're referring to.
I am referring to Claire Fox, who celebrated and defended the Warrington bombings (and others), and never recanted of her views.
You know: if she supported the IRA in its bombing of military targets and then - 30 years later - she became a peer, well I wouldn't be happy, but I would understand. But to defend the deliberate targeting of civilians and children is disgusting and hypocritical.
That Boris Johnson chose to elevate her to a peerage reflected incredibly poorly on him, and was a real spit in the face of those affected by IRA terrorism over the years.
The father of the younger child was destroyed by that. It was his only child and he had had it later in life. His marriage soon fell apart and he died not too long afterwards.
It was also the beginning of the end of the IRA alougth it was Osama Bin Laden that really poisoned the well for them.
The new Labour government has shelved £1.3bn of funding promised by the Conservatives for tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects, the BBC has learned.
It includes £800m for the creation of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh University and a further £500m for AI Research Resource, which funds computing power for AI. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyx5x44vnyeo
An unfunded (surely not?) spending commitment by the last government is scrapped by Labour which knows the price of everything and the value of, well, not investment anyway. Serves 'em right for sticking a billion quid so far north of Oxbridge.
All they have done since they have got in is can research and infrastructure projects which will improve the country to pay for bread and circuses for their public service union paymasters that won't.
Comments
Also to be honest the ability to obtain enough explosive material to do the sorts of bombs the IRA used to do has been much deminished over the last few decades. When I left Uni I workd as a shotfirer for a year in quarries. We made out own explosives (ANFO) and just used commercial charges for the primers or for specialist jobs like shaped charges. Since then the rules on the reporting of sales of both commercial explosives and Ammonium Nitrate have been massively tightened specifically to make it more difficult for terrorists to get hold of the stuff. .
Without getting too personal, my dad was negative when he tested and I was in my early 20s, so my generation is clear. But he was always distant and non-emotional, which I put down partly to watching his own dad's behaviour.
In another branch of the family, their dad had it - and, for example, one person says "I feel I never knew my father. Was he an angry, violent man - or was that Huntingtons affecting an eirenic, caring man?"
In that particular family branch, the dad had Huntingtons, one child had Huntingdons and died in their early 40s, one had the test, does not have it, and changed career to be a professional counsellor, and the third afaik did not have the test and has children who will have to face the decision themselves.
One decision some might make would be to not have the test because they do not want to live with what may be the "you've got it" answer for decades, and not have children to avoid passing it on.
https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1819101701975978170
You have no idea how gutted I am at the end of the evening, having watched loads of great sporting achievements, when I realize I was two minutes behind the whole time,
It's that sinking feeling in the stomach when you realize you might as well not have bothered.
Now, in an apparent insight into what he was like away from the cameras before any offence came to light, a journalist has spoken of their many meetings together.
During one exchange, The Times' Andrew Billen said he was "astonished" by Huw's indiscretion as he openly branded a "rival" colleague as "a monster" and also accused another host of "greed".
The journalist added of this particular time: "I was also taken aback by how many glasses of champagne he drank —and bought me, not on expenses. My astonishment turned to admiration when 6pm approached and he said he had better go over the road and prepare for the News at Ten.""
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/huw-edwards-drank-before-news-33371752
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cqv5pzwz1w1o
The message is OK though - Starmer as ever is giving Farage a lot of room to play on the right, and he's taking it.
In other ways I'm not at all surprised that with all that money sloshing around 'Team Trump' - it's all just disappeared for aught.
Meanwhile, I see that PB's Neighbourhood Watch team with their prolific Twitter/X links to street violence haven't appeared tonight.
I'm rather hoping that indicates a quiet night on our streets.
JD Vance says Donald Trump deserves credit for the release of Evan Gershkovich and the others released from Russian prison:
"We certainly want these Americans to come back home...But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think it's because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump's about to be back in office, so they're cleaning house. That's a good thing and I think it's a testament to Donald Trump's strength" Vance told CNN
https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1819062167498359184
Stick to soft furnishings.
They did.
Trump and his allies had a plan for how to hit Harris. Then he opened his mouth.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/01/donald-trump-kamala-harris-attack-plan-00172178
Some of whom frequent this board.
I mean. Who would you trust?
The guidance we have is -
"An online TV service is any streaming service, website or app that lets you watch live TV over the internet."
..."An example of this would be watching Sky News live [on YouTube[. But it isn’t just live news or sport which needs a licence – it’s any programme which is part of a TV channel, shown or transmitted for everyone to watch at the same time."
Taken from the telly tax tossers website.
So do I need a license if I watch streaming videos from some random gamer in her bedroom livestreaming her speedrun of Celeste to an audience? Or is it only places like Sky that also exist on TV?
We actually have some guidance on that, whereby we're told that 'live content' on sites like Netflix or Amazon prime also require you to pay the telly tax. Since Netflix and Amazon don't broadcast over the air, they're not TV. We are told that "Online-only TV channels still count as live TV, so you need a TV Licence if you’re watching or recording their programmes."
So where do you draw the line on this streaming stuff? Presumably you don't need a TV license to watch a mate's live instagram story from a gig. But technically they're live streaming and you're watching live, so... it falls afoul of the official guidelines.
You could argue that common sense applies here, and if you watch sky live on youtube rather than over the air then you should pay the telly tax, whereas if you watch your mate streaming 30 seconds of a gig live on instagram, you don't need to pay. But we're not offered that clarification.
Then you have quasi-journalism. So not your mate streaming from a gig, but not sky news either. Do you have to pay for a Russell Brand livestream? What if Leon sets up a livestream and starts reporting on his holidays or his sock collection? Do you have to pay the telly tax for that?
He is doing what an opposition should do. Asking the awkward questions. Which is more than can be said for the Tories or Libdems.
Presumably his Union Flags were because Starmer appeared flanked with them and were implicitly mocking Starmer
Noticable that he didn't ask the question a lot are asking on Social Media ie Why didn't Starmer call such a conference and promise to throw the book at the perps after previous similar incidents since he took power like the riot in Leeds?
(for what its worth I would say that the "Football Fan" rioters, the Leeds rioters and the Rotherham (Manchester Airport incident) rioters all think they are oppressed groups of people who most including the government despise).
ie Ulsterisation continues apace.
https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1819039087828820453
The WSJ editor did thank Biden, TBF.
"Did I Ever Tell You About The Man Who Taught His Asshole To Talk? · William S. Burroughs"
And, as I said, I'm hoping our streets are quiet tonight and stay quiet. I'm not sure Farage hopes the same, as he wouldn't like to be proved wrong.
Never even liked tennis anyway.
https://x.com/andy_murray/status/1819115193148100944
I don't think Anabobz is trolling, but I don't really think it's reasonable to say no one cares. I'd say it's the tournament that's the most widely enjoyed. There's not much telly I'd happily watch with all my extended family. I think the Olympics might be the only thing.
Perhaps it should revert to its original name of Meadhampstead rather than being named after iffy kings like its Russian namesake?
And that's assuming you can't be bothered to (a) steal from a farm, or (b) persuade some local farm hand to sell you a bunch.
Or you could always go to another country where there aren't such restrictions.
"But, paradoxically, sometimes the way to deal with our ignorance and prejudice is not by replacing it with knowledge but instead by leaning into more ignorance. Sometimes not knowing things can make us more objective."
At 19 mins 45 secs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0021cbw
My point was a simple one: it's easy enough to buy small quantities of ammonia nitrate regularly over long periods without attracting attention. And if there are 3 or 4 of you it will be easier yet.
Several of the athletes who tested positive — including nearly half of the swimming team that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went on to win medals, including three golds. Many still compete for China and several, including the two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, are expected to contend for medals again at this year’s Summer Games in Paris."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/world/asia/chinese-swimmers-doping-olympics.html
You can see why there might be suspicions.
For one thing, the deadline for Trump to dump Vance AND get a replacement VP pick on the ballot with him, is fast approaching, so JD wanna-be VP will spin like a top AND spew like a volcano to keep THAT from happening.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton
I think it unlikely the same will happen to Vance, if only because time is short for such a switch.
(Full disclosure: In one way, I hope that Vance is kept on the ticket. I think he will be amusing, and may even provoke some thought about issues that need discussion. I repeat, may.)
Which was obviously NOT as rigorous as it should have been. IIRC, the McGovern campaign asked Eagleton if he was aware of any skeletons in his closet, and he said no.
In the case of JD Vance this year, reportedly only thing that Don Jr. & his crack (in one sense anyway) of vetter was interested in interrogating JDV about, were his statements critical of . . . wait for it . . . DJT himself. Essentially having him repudiate and atone for each and every one.
Personally think it's FAR too early to write off JD Vance, he's bound to have a least one good day on the campaign trail.
Speaking "about issues that need discussion" do these include Project 2025? Seeing as how Vance is well-(or rather ill-)connected with the enterprise, and has written the forward to it's manifesto due to be published in September - talk about timing!
GOP 1.89
Dem 2.16
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.178176964
Election winner
Trump 1.91
Harris 2.24
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.176878927
Lots of credit to @HYUFD (and I think @Barnesian ) for calling out Shapiro very early btw. A very good outright bet, although if I were still long him I would have laid it off by now cause it's all over the place.
Or you can just chill and short Hiliary for free money.
It's just the above I remember.
(I think you're only person on here thinking Badenoch will make it to final two atm? Am I right in that? Although I appreciate it's not a "tip" per se - if she does then ima gives you even more credit then!)
It may be wishful thinking but recently I have come to a tentative conclusion that Harris's chameleon qualities will mean that she will -- mostly -- govern in ways that the majority will accept.
In that, she may be similar to Bill Clinton. He and Newt Gingrich, working in an odd partnership, probably changed the US for the better -- when men with fewer principles, and weaker characters, would not have been able to.
But, as I said, that may be wishful thinking
Shapiro met his wife, Lori, in ninth grade as they both attended Akiba Hebrew Academy, now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, then in Merion Station.[161] They dated in high school and reconnected after college while both were living in Washington, D.C.[161] Shapiro proposed to her in Jerusalem in 1997.[12] They married on May 25 of that year.
Shapiro and his wife have four children and reside in the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[16] Shapiro is an observant Conservative Jew who keeps kosher."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Shapiro#Personal_life
Although, judging by the comments I see here, anti-Semitism is not as big a problem in the US as it is in many oher nations, I can believe that some voters would be put off by a ticket that had a Christian/Hindu married to a Jew, and two Jews.
(For the record: That doesn't bother me, but I can see it being a problem in, for example, Michigan. I am bothered by three out of four being lawyers, though.)
Sorry about that. (The heat here may be getting to me.)
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/01/biden-campaign-prisoner-swap-00172408
https://forward.com/news/638442/josh-shapiro-israel-palestine-antisemitism-arab-muslim/
Does it have any downside use/ complications if using it legitimateiy as fertilizer (eg lessneffective etc) given the nitrogen is at least part of what you are trying to get into the soil?
Their thesis was that the ice age deposited a jrich layer of minierals in the soil that farming (and pdrticularly post WW2 practices have leeched out to the detriment of nutrition quality (also making it harder to grow stuff)
Planners get shirty with 80 year old many for letting Ukraine destined cars sit in his field
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/01/mole-valley-fine-ulez-scrappage-ukraine-car-scheme/
"Many authorities have closed local offices as part of cost-saving cuts, forcing more staff to work from home and hot-desk when in the office.
"Social workers told the researchers they felt increased isolation as a result of working from home, as well as reporting difficulties in reaching colleagues or managers for support, and an absence of the team camaraderie found in an office"
I can't imagine they are the only ones.
It is one thing if you are experienced with a big comfy house. Quite another if you are inexperienced in a poky flat with an infant bellyaching.
I learned a hell of a lot from just being in an office and hearing/seeing how more experienced colleagues dealt with "events, dear boy, events"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/01/working-from-home-is-forcing-social-workers-out-of-job-stud/
You know: if she supported the IRA in its bombing of military targets and then - 30 years later - she became a peer, well I wouldn't be happy, but I would understand. But to defend the deliberate targeting of civilians and children is disgusting and hypocritical.
That Boris Johnson chose to elevate her to a peerage reflected incredibly poorly on him, and was a real spit in the face of those affected by IRA terrorism over the years.
What old mate has is an unlicensed scrapyard full of highly flammable wrecks so I'm not surprised the council has the arsehole over it.
£100 billion in three days.
(source - national debt tweets)
Shame the UK couldnt have a couple of years with no-one in Downing Street
The new Labour government has shelved £1.3bn of funding promised by the Conservatives for tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects, the BBC has learned.
It includes £800m for the creation of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh University and a further £500m for AI Research Resource, which funds computing power for AI.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyx5x44vnyeo
An unfunded (surely not?) spending commitment by the last government is scrapped by Labour which knows the price of everything and the value of, well, not investment anyway. Serves 'em right for sticking a billion quid so far north of Oxbridge.
It was also the beginning of the end of the IRA alougth it was Osama Bin Laden that really poisoned the well for them.