TGVs really are rubbish - speed apart. The new breed of double deckers are absurdly cramped and devoid of space. Travelling with any baggage is a nightmare. People are forced to sit on their suitcases on their seats
They feel like commuter trains that have been foolishly adapted for long distances
Far-right organisers on social media have listed 39 immigration centres as targets for a coordinated attack on Wednesday night (Joey D’Urso and Tom Witherow write).
Posts in a Telegram channel called Southport Wake Up, which has over 12,000 members — up from around 150 on Friday night — list immigration lawyers and advice centres telling members to attack them at 8pm.
The locations cover the length and breadth of England, from big cities to smaller cities and towns.
The post suggests far-right extremists are trying to escalate the violence again once more after rioters tried to burn down two migrant hotels on Sunday
If this carries on until next weekend Starmer/Cooper are in trouble.
The problem is they keep popping up all over the place, so the police can't join forces as they would normally. 500 riot cops for quick deployment by bus/Chinook or something?
The anti-nazis are already planning a day of action on Saturday in "every town".
The two-tier thing isn't nearly as clever as the fellow travellers of the rioters think it is.
I can't remember if any libraries and hotels were burnt down by JSO or the Gaza-curious...
It's not difficult to riposte on two-tier: so are you asking for us to go soft on these guys wrecking our communities?. But being angry at the question doesn't actually play badly except with those somehow suggesting it's OK.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
AIUI the Portishead Line is a slightly more complex project than the Northumberland Line, but I think there's one big difference: a JFDI attitude. The same thing could be seen at the reopening of the Okehampton Line a couple of years ago.
Whereas Portishead has been talked about for a decade - actually, i think decades - and everyone seems happy just spending money on studies rather than actually doing it. Lots of people in the councils and other organisation claim to really want it, but there's little practical action. It's almost as though they prefer the headlines of "Study launched into rail reopening!" ...
Indeed and that will also feed into the rather misleading headlines about huge planning documents. Every time they commission a study it will be added to the planning application document. Keep commissioing studies and you keep adding to the document even if they are not necessary. Local councils can't get civil service enquiries or studies to help them kick the can down the road so they commission private studies from consultants instead. I have been asked for several of these in my time and on a uber of occasions have been asked to do additional studies with effectively no new criteria. In each of those cases I have told the councils involved that they have all the information already and a new study is pointless.
Are these studies commissioned due to a (justifiable) fear of judicial review and some judge saying you haven't considered the effect of X on group Y ?
In some cases yes. But in that case I do get a revised guidance on areas they want covered - even if I think they are stupid. But in many cases I genuinely can't see the point other than to continue to kick the can down the road, crerate jobs for the boys (and girls) in the council and generally give everyone something to do. It is pointless, costly and bloody annoying.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
i'm surprised you arent rioting about it...
What we don't know is whether the Gazette has paid for a first class ticket with complimentary Michel Sarran food or whether poor @Leon is travelling in cattle class or "Classe Bovine" (presumably).
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
This rioting is being very heavily reported in the European press. It is making the UK look pretty disgusting. We're heading back to the days when we were the football hooligans no one wanted visiting their country.
French Press?
Perhaps they need a coffee.
They are probably just relived that some other country than themselves is finally seeing a bit of rioting. Makes them feel they are not quite such a bunch of extremist nutjobs as everyone else perceives them.
Former GOP Lt. Of Georgia GeoffDuncanGA on Donald Trump:
“He is a felon thug who walks down the street and throws sucker punches at people like Brian Kemp, like African American journalists, Like John McCain…The Republican party is content sitting across the street watching it happen not calling him out not jumping into that fight saying you are wrong for us ." https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1820129273946009641
Interesting that he's making the same point I did about how far gone the Republicans are and how difficult it will be to pull them back into the mainstream.
Could the man with terrible hair see them go the way of the Whigs?
Trump is a grifting narcissist with no real beliefs, but the party he has created behind him is looking increasingly like a religious movement which is pushing for state integralism.
That's completely antithetical to the US constitutional and political tradition, but it's undeniably a central element of current GOP doctrine. And epitomised by the selection of Vance as VP.
Bookmarking the above for @viewcode , as he's keen on broad political theories, and I don't think he's done this one ?
Noted, thank you. My to-do list for PB looks like this:
Monitory Democracy and the Blob, looking at the institutions involved and how the NatCons and PopCons are forming arguments against it. It basically boils down to John Keane vs David Starkey..
On that one, you might also consider this argument.
https://slate.com/business/2023/02/subway-costs-us-europe-public-transit-funds.html ..A mammoth report from New York University’s Transit Costs Project makes a good case that the numbers are indeed astronomical, and there’s something we can do about it. Not just because bringing American transit construction into line with international best practices will make it possible for America to build big again—but also because what’s true for transit is true for the moribund public sector in general, and transit might be an object lesson.
According to authors Eric Goldwyn, Alon Levy, Elif Ensari, and Marco Chitti, there’s a lot going wrong with American transit projects—more on this in a moment—but many of the problems can be traced to a larger philosophy: outsourcing government expertise to a retainer of consultants. “What I’ve heard from consultants, which is surprising because they make so much money off this stuff, is, ‘Agencies don’t know what they want, and we have to figure it out,’ ” Goldwyn said.
For example, when the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority got to work on the Green Line Extension, the agency only had a half-dozen full-time employees managing the largest capital project the MBTA had ever undertaken. On New York’s Second Avenue subway, the most expensive mile of subway ever built, consultant contracts were more than 20 percent of construction costs—more than double what’s standard in France or Italy. By 2011, the MTA had trimmed its in-house capital projects management group of 1,600 full-time employees (circa 1990) to just 124, tasked with steering $20 billion in investment.
Perhaps the most notorious case in this business is the debacle of the California High-Speed Rail project, which in its early years had a tiny full-time staff managing hundreds of millions of dollars in consulting contracts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tried to right the balance more recently: “I’m getting rid of a lot of consultants,” he said in 2018. “How did we get away with this?”
There are certainly advantages to hiring highly specialized experts who can come in, complete a task, and go on their way. Subway construction is not a regular government function in most of the United States, so you can see why small agencies are reluctant to staff up—especially since federal funding is unreliable. But that excuse does not apply to organizations in cities like Seattle or Los Angeles with multi-decade pipelines and voter approval to spend tens of billions of dollars.
There’s another, bigger drawback to being so reliant on outside help. The second megaproject is easier than the first, and resurrecting lost expertise is always challenging...
I'd really like to use that, but my proposed article has a British bias. Do you have a British example?
The Bank of England gold unit, quiet little office of a few blokes. Usually turned a small profit over the year, buying and selling. Binned by Brown. Not long before the famed, bungled gold sale.
Another was the Army ammo buying office. Shut down for being old fashioned, essentially. The civil servants who replaced them had no expertise in the area, and thought its all the same and bought the cheapest stuff they could find. When machine guns started jamming every other shot in Afghanistan….
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Ditto. Not seen a problem with luggage either, other than people trying to use the paid for bike space, but in recent years that has been more organised and not an issue with a board in the space marking it as reserved, and people were always happy to move their bags anyway when you turn up with your bike (except for one obnoxious Australian couple).
This is a very good article on the current hot issue in US constitutional law. (FWIW, I agree with its conclusion regarding the proposed "No Kings" Act.)
Just about every law student spends at least some time with Article III, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution:
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The second sentence is known as the “Exceptions Clause.” And the contrast between the first sentence, which does not contemplate any role for Congress in regulating the Court’s (limited) “original” jurisdiction and the second sentence, which clearly does, is not just the heart of Chief Justice Marshall’s analysis in Marbury v. Madison; it’s the heart of one of the most important—and oldest—debates about the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court: Is Congress’s power to make “exceptions” to the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction plenary (so that Congress could keep any/all appeals away from the justices), or is it limited?
Before getting into the arguments on both sides of this debate, it’s worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court has never answered this question. Indeed, it has assiduously avoided answering this question—if for no other reason than because either answer would be a huge deal. Plenary Exceptions Clause power would allow Congress to kneecap the Court whenever it has the votes; limited Exceptions Clause power would give the Court dominion even over the political branches. Formalizing either outcome would thus be a lose-lose for the separation of powers. Instead, the only resolution for the first 234 years of the Court’s history has been the same as the resolution Joshua (the computer in the 1984 movie War Games) famously adopted for winning Tic-Tac-Toe: “the only winning move is not to play.”..
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
In that case it is highly irresponsible and totally unhelpful. I hope they reflect on their coverage and dial it down.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
i'm surprised you arent rioting about it...
What we don't know is whether the Gazette has paid for a first class ticket with complimentary Michel Sarran food or whether poor @Leon is travelling in cattle class or "Classe Bovine" (presumably).
Malheureusement, je suis en classe de pleb
This is seriously one of the most unpleasant train journeys I can remember in mainland Europe. The crowding and cramping is ridiculous
Feels like the most budget of budget airlines. Do I have some fake memory of the TGV being quite plush?
Also the price. Not cheap for brutally standard seating
I am surrounded by unhappy people with their heads in their hands, trying but failing to sleep
It is a tiny but telling glimpse into what it must have been like on the trains to Auschwitz, except then they had more time to admire the countryside at least
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
i'm surprised you arent rioting about it...
What we don't know is whether the Gazette has paid for a first class ticket with complimentary Michel Sarran food or whether poor @Leon is travelling in cattle class or "Classe Bovine" (presumably).
Malheureusement, je suis en classe de pleb
This is seriously one of the most unpleasant train journeys I can remember in mainland Europe. The crowding and cramping is ridiculous
Feels like the most budget of budget airlines. Do I have some fake memory of the TGV being quite plush?
Also the price. Not cheap for brutally standard seating
I am surrounded by unhappy people with their heads in their hands, trying but failing to sleep
It is a tiny but telling glimpse into what it must have been like on the trains to Auschwitz, except then they had more time to admire the countryside at least
I may write a verse novel about it
Maybe a bit soon for jokes like that, its only been 80 years.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Ditto. Not seen a problem with luggage either, other than people trying to use the paid for bike space, but in recent years that has been more organised and not an issue with a board in the space marking it as reserved, and people were always happy to move their bags anyway when you turn up with your bike (except for one obnoxious Australian couple).
I’d take a photo to show you but I don’t want to use my exciting one photo allowance on a photo of an obnoxiously crowded train with loads of suitcases everywhere
This is at least ironic. Leon and his like minded chums having encouraged this frankenstein monster are now pretending it has nothing to do with them..... Infact they're SHOCKED!
AIUI the Portishead Line is a slightly more complex project than the Northumberland Line, but I think there's one big difference: a JFDI attitude. The same thing could be seen at the reopening of the Okehampton Line a couple of years ago.
Whereas Portishead has been talked about for a decade - actually, i think decades - and everyone seems happy just spending money on studies rather than actually doing it. Lots of people in the councils and other organisation claim to really want it, but there's little practical action. It's almost as though they prefer the headlines of "Study launched into rail reopening!" ...
Indeed and that will also feed into the rather misleading headlines about huge planning documents. Every time they commission a study it will be added to the planning application document. Keep commissioing studies and you keep adding to the document even if they are not necessary. Local councils can't get civil service enquiries or studies to help them kick the can down the road so they commission private studies from consultants instead. I have been asked for several of these in my time and on a uber of occasions have been asked to do additional studies with effectively no new criteria. In each of those cases I have told the councils involved that they have all the information already and a new study is pointless.
Are these studies commissioned due to a (justifiable) fear of judicial review and some judge saying you haven't considered the effect of X on group Y ?
In some cases yes. But in that case I do get a revised guidance on areas they want covered - even if I think they are stupid. But in many cases I genuinely can't see the point other than to continue to kick the can down the road, crerate jobs for the boys (and girls) in the council and generally give everyone something to do. It is pointless, costly and bloody annoying.
IMV any project - from building a house to building an new airport - needs an 'owner'. A person or small group who is heavily-invested in the project, even if external. Preferably including someone who is public-facing and vocal. Councils can make very poor 'customers'.
In the case of the Borders line, that was perhaps the Campaign for Borders Rail. HS2 probably had Adonis, but he got diverted onto other issues, sadly. Although I also wonder how many of the issues that project faced were set in motion in decisions he made back in 2009/10...
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
This is at least ironic. Leon and his like minded chums having encouraged this frankenstein monster are now pretending it has nothing to do with them..... Infact they're SHOCKED!
“ICE is so much more comfortable (leg room, seats, usually its not full so you don't have to sit next to a neighbor), so as a train set I would definitely say I prefer it to the Alstom TGV which is cramped, always full (as SNCF have dynamic pricing to always fill the train) and not as comfortable, and the double deck ones have really bad legroom and luggage storage.”
The double deckers appear to be a particular bugbear
This is a very good article on the current hot issue in US constitutional law. (FWIW, I agree with its conclusion regarding the proposed "No Kings" Act.)
Just about every law student spends at least some time with Article III, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution:
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The second sentence is known as the “Exceptions Clause.” And the contrast between the first sentence, which does not contemplate any role for Congress in regulating the Court’s (limited) “original” jurisdiction and the second sentence, which clearly does, is not just the heart of Chief Justice Marshall’s analysis in Marbury v. Madison; it’s the heart of one of the most important—and oldest—debates about the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court: Is Congress’s power to make “exceptions” to the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction plenary (so that Congress could keep any/all appeals away from the justices), or is it limited?
Before getting into the arguments on both sides of this debate, it’s worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court has never answered this question. Indeed, it has assiduously avoided answering this question—if for no other reason than because either answer would be a huge deal. Plenary Exceptions Clause power would allow Congress to kneecap the Court whenever it has the votes; limited Exceptions Clause power would give the Court dominion even over the political branches. Formalizing either outcome would thus be a lose-lose for the separation of powers. Instead, the only resolution for the first 234 years of the Court’s history has been the same as the resolution Joshua (the computer in the 1984 movie War Games) famously adopted for winning Tic-Tac-Toe: “the only winning move is not to play.”..
Pretty sure that the game the computer was talking about was intercontinental thermonuclear war, not tic tac toe.
There is not a chance in hell that the current SC would accept such a restriction on their powers. It might limit their ability to protect one DJT and that would never do.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Alex Tompson of CH4 news published several clips on this twitter of what he described a large group of Asian men attacking lone white individuals. I linked to a couple of them at the time, he has strangely deleted basically all his tweets from yesterday from his timeline, he was providing running commentary. I quote posted a couple of them on a previous thread, they aren't hard to find.
I presume he is a reliable enough and non-racist witness.
This is at least ironic. Leon and his like minded chums having encouraged this frankenstein monster are now pretending it has nothing to do with them..... Infact they're SHOCKED!
How is this the fault or partly the fault of Leon exactly ?
Many people have spent years posting Islamophobic and anti-immigrant lies on social media. We’ve had that on PB and it’s much worse on Twitter, Facebook etc. The attitudes being expressed by the rioters didn’t come out of nowhere.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
1) Clearly this is led by racism and escalated through misinformation. The riot sympathisers link it to real world concerns about migration levels because that's the only lens in which tacit support can be given without sounding racist. Because immigration has nothing to do with the render tragic murder of children. But the accused isn't white, so through the eyes of a racist...
If we ever do get peace in Ukraine a condition of lifting sanctions has to be that all Russian misinformation and sabotage operations in the West stop completely and immediately. The Internet Research Agency and similar are closed down forever. We might reluctantly accept their spies gathering information, as it's unrealistic to assume otherwise, and we do it in Russia, but that should be it.
Far-right organisers on social media have listed 39 immigration centres as targets for a coordinated attack on Wednesday night (Joey D’Urso and Tom Witherow write).
Posts in a Telegram channel called Southport Wake Up, which has over 12,000 members — up from around 150 on Friday night — list immigration lawyers and advice centres telling members to attack them at 8pm.
The locations cover the length and breadth of England, from big cities to smaller cities and towns.
The post suggests far-right extremists are trying to escalate the violence again once more after rioters tried to burn down two migrant hotels on Sunday
Far-right organisers on social media have listed 39 immigration centres as targets for a coordinated attack on Wednesday night (Joey D’Urso and Tom Witherow write).
Posts in a Telegram channel called Southport Wake Up, which has over 12,000 members — up from around 150 on Friday night — list immigration lawyers and advice centres telling members to attack them at 8pm.
The locations cover the length and breadth of England, from big cities to smaller cities and towns.
The post suggests far-right extremists are trying to escalate the violence again once more after rioters tried to burn down two migrant hotels on Sunday
This is at least ironic. Leon and his like minded chums having encouraged this frankenstein monster are now pretending it has nothing to do with them..... Infact they're SHOCKED!
How is this the fault or partly the fault of Leon exactly ?
Many people have spent years posting Islamophobic and anti-immigrant lies on social media. We’ve had that on PB and it’s much worse on Twitter, Facebook etc. The attitudes being expressed by the rioters didn’t come out of nowhere.
Indeed, but my question related to Leon not people on Social Media.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
All the discussion, from BBC coverage to Starmer's coverage is about the "far right", rather than equal treatment of both sides. Two tier Keir is a correct description.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
i'm surprised you arent rioting about it...
What we don't know is whether the Gazette has paid for a first class ticket with complimentary Michel Sarran food or whether poor @Leon is travelling in cattle class or "Classe Bovine" (presumably).
Malheureusement, je suis en classe de pleb
This is seriously one of the most unpleasant train journeys I can remember in mainland Europe. The crowding and cramping is ridiculous
Feels like the most budget of budget airlines. Do I have some fake memory of the TGV being quite plush?
Also the price. Not cheap for brutally standard seating
I am surrounded by unhappy people with their heads in their hands, trying but failing to sleep
It is a tiny but telling glimpse into what it must have been like on the trains to Auschwitz, except then they had more time to admire the countryside at least
I may write a verse novel about it
As I was travelling to Ponthieu On a crowded train with nowt to do
I came upon an empty seat I couldn't quite believe the treat
The space, the chance, how could I pass? Then found out I was in first class!
Yes yes he keeps saying that same line. What isn't needed is retrospective action. What is needed are lines of police batoning away the "patriots". Nick them as they get subdued.
Have just been sent a WhatsApp meme. Family Fortunes. Les asks Mr Gammon "We asked 100 people the best way to 'save are kids'. You said 'by looting Greggs'. Our survey said..."
Starmer again emphasising that people posting stuff online will be prosecuted.
The sheer volume of stuff on social media suggests that it's a hollow threat for a lot of posters. Sure they will rightly prosecute some, but the many thousands that have potentially criminal posts? There will not be the capacity in the courts, let alone the prisons.
In the meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh has collapsed and their PM of 15 years has fled to India.
Edit - Tulip Siddiq's aunt of course.
The demos in Whitechapel the week before last were due to Bangladeshi politics spilling into London. Let us hope there is no more unrest on that front.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
All the discussion, from BBC coverage to Starmer's coverage is about the "far right", rather than equal treatment of both sides. Two tier Keir is a correct description.
The behaviour of “both sides” has not been equal. The far right have initiated events and caused the vast majority of injuries and damage. There have subsequently been some counter-protests that caused a much smaller number of problems.
I've been very critical of the BBC for it's uncritical sychophancy over Government activity over the last few years. Listening to R4 WATO, the BBC seems to have finally got it's act together. Johnny Dimond very unconvinced at Starmer's post-Cobra Meeting strategy.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
There’s a proposal on TwiX that all those outraged.by southport/asylum/boats should stop going into work. A kind of general strike of the downtrodden
Its an interesting idea and vastly preferable to smashing up your own town, beating up foreign types and attempting murder in hotels
But would it work?! Depends on the numbers
If it’s just 1000 people no. If they can get 10,000 people maybe. 100,000 (highly doubtful) would probably have a significant impact especially if it’s in particular industries
I’m wondering if it would be legal. Ironically starmer is looking at loosening the laws on strikes because of course he is
The rioters will all be dole scroungers anyway (would anyone want to employ these people?) so a completely silly notion.
It's not so much the rioters, as those who feel some support for them, but won't actually do anything violent. That could be a sizeable number. I remember during the Troubles (there's that comparison again) it was estimated that at any one time the IRA only had about 2000 or so fighters. BUT, crucially, they had the tacit support of at least 200,000 Catholics in Norn, people prepared to donate, or to look away at the right time, etc
If 500,000 people agree with the sentiments of the rioters, but decry the violence, and they all decided to stop work, that would be big (and way cleverer and less repulsive than actual violence)
This is all becoming increasingly ridiculous.
Agree. This all started because of posts like leon's, but on twitter and such like, after the young girls were stabbed and which had nothing whatsoever to do with asylum seekers or muslims. That is the cause of this. Not a single muslim was involved in anything at that point. This was a concocted movement by right wing thugs spurred on by extreme right wing posters on social media.
There were no riots before this. No tension building up. It was all just an excuse for a riot by the types always looking for an excuse.
Now I am sure Leon will tell us that it really was all building up behind the scenes and this was just the catalyst for it and there is nothing any of us will be able to do to convince him otherwise.
Labour and Conservative governments accelerated mass migration for decades - against the wishes of the British public. They forced mass migration on us and said it was racist to object. The society this created was always going to be a powder-keg. Anything could have set it off. The murder of three young girls in Southport seems to have done it. But it could have been anything. Labour and the Conservatives were warned and didn’t just ignore the warnings. They ploughed onwards.
That's an appalling smear against the British public - that we're all seething racist skinheads waiting for any excuse to bash the nig nogs.
My oldest friend from college is from an Indian immigrant family. I would be beside myself if they were hurt by these shitheads & it grieves me enormously that they might feel even the slightest twinge of fear that they might be assaulted in the street by a bunch of racist yobs whipped up by right-wing quasi-fash shitheads spouting off safe behind their phones in surburbia (or Spain, or France). Egging these people on & telling them that their desire to burn out asylum seekers & smash the shop windows of any shop that looks like it might be owned by foreigners is somehow justified because of things that other people have done in the past that are completely out of their control is just feeding the fire & wildly irresponsible. A ludicrous self-aggrandising set of justifications for the desire to commit violence on others without consequence.
Fuckers, the lot of them & those with them on this site pretending they have any reason to do any of this shit. I completely understand TSE wondering whether to throw in the towel on running this site altogether frankly.
The scum doing this are a tiny minority - hence their resort to escalating violence to try and take over the public discourse.
If you leave the Forum to the mobs of thugs, then it’s game over.
It is always a mistake to reveal your fears and emotions so openly in such an iimportant job
The normal thing to do at a time like this would be to invite the Commissioner round for a biscuit and solicit his advice. Looks like Yvette didn't read the script.
Yes, sounds like Yvette had his balls in a vice and he was in a frightful strop over it. Good for her! This might actually be a tremendous opportunity for Labour and Sir Keir. If he makes his name as the PM who took on the boot boys of the Far Right and triumphed, he could become an iconic figure for the Left and even a national saviour - a kind of peace-time Churchill. Farage and the Tories would appear veritably effete against Sir Keir's Herculean might. British politics will be reshaped for a generation.
Starmer again emphasising that people posting stuff online will be prosecuted.
The danger with this is that it's a helluva lot easier to go after easy targets online, most of whom areas smart as this guy, than it is to round up the lot actually doing the burning and looting...
Looks like it's gonna get less hot and sunny over next few days. That's probably the most important thing. I wonder if we could borrow some cloud seeding aircraft from UAE for a few days (am aware there's some controversy over whether it works but gotta be worth a shot right?)
Labour: going to “decolonise the curriculum” (how? Even more? How??) and also abolish tests for grammars (or so it is apparently suggested)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
Former GOP Lt. Of Georgia GeoffDuncanGA on Donald Trump:
“He is a felon thug who walks down the street and throws sucker punches at people like Brian Kemp, like African American journalists, Like John McCain…The Republican party is content sitting across the street watching it happen not calling him out not jumping into that fight saying you are wrong for us ." https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1820129273946009641
Interesting that he's making the same point I did about how far gone the Republicans are and how difficult it will be to pull them back into the mainstream.
Could the man with terrible hair see them go the way of the Whigs?
Trump is a grifting narcissist with no real beliefs, but the party he has created behind him is looking increasingly like a religious movement which is pushing for state integralism.
That's completely antithetical to the US constitutional and political tradition, but it's undeniably a central element of current GOP doctrine. And epitomised by the selection of Vance as VP.
Bookmarking the above for @viewcode , as he's keen on broad political theories, and I don't think he's done this one ?
Noted, thank you. My to-do list for PB looks like this:
Monitory Democracy and the Blob, looking at the institutions involved and how the NatCons and PopCons are forming arguments against it. It basically boils down to John Keane vs David Starkey..
On that one, you might also consider this argument.
https://slate.com/business/2023/02/subway-costs-us-europe-public-transit-funds.html ..A mammoth report from New York University’s Transit Costs Project makes a good case that the numbers are indeed astronomical, and there’s something we can do about it. Not just because bringing American transit construction into line with international best practices will make it possible for America to build big again—but also because what’s true for transit is true for the moribund public sector in general, and transit might be an object lesson.
According to authors Eric Goldwyn, Alon Levy, Elif Ensari, and Marco Chitti, there’s a lot going wrong with American transit projects—more on this in a moment—but many of the problems can be traced to a larger philosophy: outsourcing government expertise to a retainer of consultants. “What I’ve heard from consultants, which is surprising because they make so much money off this stuff, is, ‘Agencies don’t know what they want, and we have to figure it out,’ ” Goldwyn said.
For example, when the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority got to work on the Green Line Extension, the agency only had a half-dozen full-time employees managing the largest capital project the MBTA had ever undertaken. On New York’s Second Avenue subway, the most expensive mile of subway ever built, consultant contracts were more than 20 percent of construction costs—more than double what’s standard in France or Italy. By 2011, the MTA had trimmed its in-house capital projects management group of 1,600 full-time employees (circa 1990) to just 124, tasked with steering $20 billion in investment.
Perhaps the most notorious case in this business is the debacle of the California High-Speed Rail project, which in its early years had a tiny full-time staff managing hundreds of millions of dollars in consulting contracts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tried to right the balance more recently: “I’m getting rid of a lot of consultants,” he said in 2018. “How did we get away with this?”
There are certainly advantages to hiring highly specialized experts who can come in, complete a task, and go on their way. Subway construction is not a regular government function in most of the United States, so you can see why small agencies are reluctant to staff up—especially since federal funding is unreliable. But that excuse does not apply to organizations in cities like Seattle or Los Angeles with multi-decade pipelines and voter approval to spend tens of billions of dollars.
There’s another, bigger drawback to being so reliant on outside help. The second megaproject is easier than the first, and resurrecting lost expertise is always challenging...
I'd really like to use that, but my proposed article has a British bias. Do you have a British example?
Not off hand I don't, but it echoes similar comments on PB over the last couple of years. I'll see what I can turn up, but would be grateful for the input of those more knowledgeable than I am.
I'd be very interested in (eg) Casino's take on this one.
This decision falls squarely under the failure of leadership heading, though.
To re-open 3 miles of track to Portishead, the local council had to complete a 79,187 page long planning application. If printed out, that's 14.6 miles of paper (4 1/2 times the line itself!). Then they had to wait 3 years for approval.
Mrs Flatlander was asked to do a site assessment / management plan for council X and they wanted to use DEFRA's suggested format which amounts to several hundred pages of boilerplate text for each site in a docx file that absolutely nobody will read.
It doesn't take 100 pages to say "manage the scrub in this area by cutting it every 5 years" even if DEFRA seem to think it does.
She is suggesting they might not find it useful so we'll see if they agree.
I think this is becoming more common in the field - nobody wants to produce pages and pages of guff that aren't read. It is a total waste of human effort. Small consultancies who have plenty of other work are just refusing to bid for this kind of crap.
Most ecologists don't get into the job because they want to spend 6 hours in the field followed by 6 weeks writing it up in legalese.
The only people who can be arsed writing these big reports are large consultancies who can assign the tedious stuff to some just-out-of-college minion who doesn't know any better. They of course charge ££££.
My experience exactly.
But “AI” offers the opportunity to write even more waffle *and* automate reading it.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
Number of angry white people >> number of angry Muslim people. Events started by angry white people after an event involving 0 Muslims.
What happened in Rotherham does not justify your constant Islamophobia.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Last year I saw a few people sitting in the small luggage area between carriages on the TGV, but whether that was because they didn't want to leave their luggage unattended I don't know.
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Trouble with the junior doctors is they can work in Australia for shorter hours, double the money and half the paperwork. Canada too is sniffing around.
In the meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh has collapsed and their PM of 15 years has fled to India.
Edit - Tulip Siddiq's aunt of course.
The demos in Whitechapel the week before last were due to Bangladeshi politics spilling into London. Let us hope there is no more unrest on that front.
Hasina didn't stay in India long - on her way from Delhi to London, apparently!
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
I’ve not seen those. Yes, the police should come down hard on such. They did a good job in Bolton in keeping themselves between rival groups looking for trouble. My flatmate is from Bolton, so we’ve been more focused on Bolton events than Middlesbrough events!
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
I agree. Similar criticism was made of Alex Thomson's tweet, although it remains factually accurate - there were angry groups on both sides looking for trouble. The problem is he didn't elaborate on why.
The question for journalists is whether or not you can inject opinion into a single line of reporting. 'Angry locals gather to administer punishment beatings to far right thugs who earlier marched down their streets' is arguably more accurate based on what I've seen, but to describe it in that way introduces value judgements that reporters - rather than opinion writers - are trained not to make.
The Telegraph headline feels a bit like the Trumpian equivocation of 'very fine people on both sides' at Charlottesville. Only instead it's 'very bad people on both sides'.
I just fear the country is locked into a cycle of violence now, fuelled by disinformation on social media.
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
In the meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh has collapsed and their PM of 15 years has fled to India.
Edit - Tulip Siddiq's aunt of course.
The demos in Whitechapel the week before last were due to Bangladeshi politics spilling into London. Let us hope there is no more unrest on that front.
Yes, it's an intra-community thing as far as I have read but reflects tension within the Bangla community between the second and third generation residents and the more recent arrivals.
From what I'm reading, the fall of Hasina seems to be a classic example of a stupid policy, badly implemented but the apparent climbdown encouraging greater resistance.
40% of Bangladeshis between 15 and 24 are neither employed nor in education. Context - there are 175 million people in Bangladesh, 25-30 million of whom are between 15 and 24 so 40% of that is 10-12 million young people.
Hmm, some suggestions that the riots have spread to Ireland as well now with people there planning the same kind of acts as here. There were of course pretty bad riots in Ireland a few months ago around immigration so this isn't a surprise. I wonder whether this will become a summer of unrest for all of Northern Europe.
Yes. I noticed @kamski said the British riots are barely mentioned in German media. That might not be German disinterest - it might be because Germany fears copycat riots over there. It’s not like they don’t have their own ethnic/asylum tensions
It could just be that until people die or something of significance happens, other foreign news is of more interest. Certainly Bangladesh where hundreds have died and the PM has resigned is headline news (@williamglenn seemed to be under the false impression it wasn't getting much coverage on the continent for some reason), the fighting in the UK is further down the schedule.
Also, I didn't say 'barely mentioned' I was just disagreeing with @Roger saying it was getting 'very heavy coverage in the European press', but it would have been a shock if you had managed to write something accurate!
There haven't been any protests/riots in London AFAIK, apart from the Bangladeshi ones which are a completely different issue. So what's it got to do with Rowley?
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
Are they using the upstairs luggage area? if not that can be the issue. We found people upstairs often put their luggage downstairs. We were happy for them to put their luggage in the bike area once we were in and people were always quite courteous regarding this. Of many trips on TGVs with bikes the only time we had an issue (and it really wasn't much of one) was when an Australian couple with two big bags made a fuss because our bikes were in the bike slot (which we had paid for). They were on the top level, but wanted to store their bags on the lower level. My friend offered to help and just got a lot of abuse so said 'sod you then' and sat down and let them struggle. One wonders what goes through their mind that we had the temerity to use the area we had paid for and they hadn't and was specifically for our bikes. I can only assume they were hoping there wouldn't be any bikes and were more annoyed with themselves, but it wasn't a good look.
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also with the bonus of the bikes being foc, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
The problem with remanding them for sentencing later is that we don't have the deterrent of watching seeing the length of the sentences these people will be getting.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
The problem with remanding them for sentencing later is that we don't have the deterrent of watching seeing the length of the sentences these people will be getting.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
And supposed that is part of the government's strategy to assist calming things down, that we see the big sentences being handed down.
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Trouble with the junior doctors is they can work in Australia for shorter hours, double the money and half the paperwork. Canada too is sniffing around.
Trouble with junior doctors is we dont train enough of them.
If you can add 22% to the payroll recruit 22% more doctors
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
The problem with remanding them for sentencing later is that we don't have the deterrent of watching seeing the length of the sentences these people will be getting.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
Perhaps, but as Yvette Cooper said these people who might have thought they were going on holiday in August are instead in cells
Did the the Commissioner of the Met Police really just criminally damage a journalist’s microphone or tape recorder, in front of a load of video cameras?
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
I disagree. I think most people can see that there is *some* violence occurring in both directions. But that is far from the whole story, and certainly not the 'gotcha!' you seem to think it is.
If I can alter your sentence: "There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing that the violence is being instigated by white right-wing fuckwits, and their violence is much in the majority. In fact, if the right-wing fuckwits just went home and wanked their small dicks, all this current trouble would probably just melt away."
I'd also, as ever, be careful about videos online. Even if they are genuine and contemporaneous, they can be edited to show a very different story - as we saw with the policeman kicking an assailant in the head a few days ago.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
Are they using the upstairs luggage area? if not that can be the issue. We found people upstairs often put their luggage downstairs. We were happy for them to put their luggage in the bike area once we were in and people were always quite courteous regarding this. Of many trips on TGVs with bikes the only time we had an issue (and it really wasn't much of one) was when an Australian couple with two big bags made a fuss because our bikes were in the bike slot (which we had paid for). They were on the top level, but wanted to store their bags on the lower level. My friend offered to help and just got a lot of abuse so said 'sod you then' and sat down and let them struggle. One wonders what goes through their mind that we had the temerity to think they could use the area we had paid for and they hadn't and was specifically for our bikes. I can only assume they were hoping there wouldn't be any bikes and were more annoyed with themselves, but it wasn't a good look.
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
Well this is now two shit journeys in a row for me, on TGV, and on entirely different routes and both on these double deckers which - Reddit tells me - are notorously pinched and cramped
I see for the exact same price I could have flown. And I’d probably do that next time if given the same choice despite the extra hassle of airports
Labour: going to “decolonise the curriculum” (how? Even more? How??) and also abolish tests for grammars (or so it is apparently suggested)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
It’s going to be the worst government in British history. Which given the last 14 years is quite something.
Sounding horribly like the approach taken in Scotland which has been an unmitigated disaster, with the performance of Scotland's schools cratering compared to other comparable countries (such as England).
Truly - let's hope they don't go down that road. It'll end up as an educational car crash.
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
The problem with remanding them for sentencing later is that we don't have the deterrent of watching seeing the length of the sentences these people will be getting.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
Perhaps, but as Yvette Cooper said these people who might have thought they were going on holiday in August are instead in cells
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
Number of angry white people >> number of angry Muslim people. Events started by angry white people after an event involving 0 Muslims.
What happened in Rotherham does not justify your constant Islamophobia.
England is absolutely knackered with Islamism and the demands of the portion of hardline nutters in it wanting to turn it into Iran or suchlike.
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
Are they using the upstairs luggage area? if not that can be the issue. We found people upstairs often put their luggage downstairs. We were happy for them to put their luggage in the bike area once we were in and people were always quite courteous regarding this. Of many trips on TGVs with bikes the only time we had an issue (and it really wasn't much of one) was when an Australian couple with two big bags made a fuss because our bikes were in the bike slot (which we had paid for). They were on the top level, but wanted to store their bags on the lower level. My friend offered to help and just got a lot of abuse so said 'sod you then' and sat down and let them struggle. One wonders what goes through their mind that we had the temerity to think they could use the area we had paid for and they hadn't and was specifically for our bikes. I can only assume they were hoping there wouldn't be any bikes and were more annoyed with themselves, but it wasn't a good look.
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
Well this is now two shit journeys in a row for me, on TGV, and on entirely different routes and both on these double deckers which - Reddit tells me - are notorously pinched and cramped
I see for the exact same price I could have flown. And I’d probably do that next time if given the same choice despite the extra hassle of airports
You know that the French banned internal flights a couple of years ago, so you’ll take the train and be f*****g happy about it.
Labour: going to “decolonise the curriculum” (how? Even more? How??) and also abolish tests for grammars (or so it is apparently suggested)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
It’s going to be the worst government in British history. Which given the last 14 years is quite something.
Sounding horribly like the approach taken in Scotland which has been an unmitigated disaster, with the performance of Scotland's schools cratering compared to other comparable countries (such as England).
Truly - let's hope they don't go down that road. It'll end up as an educational car crash.
I’m afraid to tell you: that is exactly what it is. Labour have BOASTED they are going to follow the educational route taken in Scotland and wales despite that being a clear and grave disaster
@callummay Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report @PA . He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court) Leanne Hodgson, 43. Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
The problem with remanding them for sentencing later is that we don't have the deterrent of watching seeing the length of the sentences these people will be getting.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
Perhaps, but as Yvette Cooper said these people who might have thought they were going on holiday in August are instead in cells
Minger the Merciless speaks
Her and Starmer do have the look of upset head of years who are not quite sure how to regain control of the year 9s.
Did the the Commissioner of the Met Police really just criminally damage a journalist’s microphone or tape recorder, in front of a load of video cameras?
section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (1) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.
So, the answer on the reported facts would appear to be yes. Will a criminal complaint be made?
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
Are they using the upstairs luggage area? if not that can be the issue. We found people upstairs often put their luggage downstairs. We were happy for them to put their luggage in the bike area once we were in and people were always quite courteous regarding this. Of many trips on TGVs with bikes the only time we had an issue (and it really wasn't much of one) was when an Australian couple with two big bags made a fuss because our bikes were in the bike slot (which we had paid for). They were on the top level, but wanted to store their bags on the lower level. My friend offered to help and just got a lot of abuse so said 'sod you then' and sat down and let them struggle. One wonders what goes through their mind that we had the temerity to think they could use the area we had paid for and they hadn't and was specifically for our bikes. I can only assume they were hoping there wouldn't be any bikes and were more annoyed with themselves, but it wasn't a good look.
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
Well this is now two shit journeys in a row for me, on TGV, and on entirely different routes and both on these double deckers which - Reddit tells me - are notorously pinched and cramped
I see for the exact same price I could have flown. And I’d probably do that next time if given the same choice despite the extra hassle of airports
You know that the French banned internal flights a couple of years ago, so you’ll take the train and be f*****g happy about it.
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Trouble with the junior doctors is they can work in Australia for shorter hours, double the money and half the paperwork. Canada too is sniffing around.
Trouble with junior doctors is we dont train enough of them.
If you can add 22% to the payroll recruit 22% more doctors
Of course, but that takes a decade of investment, and unfortunately it is rare we get a decade without the Tories in power looking for quick spending cuts that don't hit the 4 year electoral cycle.
There haven't been any protests/riots in London AFAIK, apart from the Bangladeshi ones which are a completely different issue. So what's it got to do with Rowley?
Due to the archaic setup of policing, the Met is in charge of lots of national level stuff as well as policing London.
Labour: going to “decolonise the curriculum” (how? Even more? How??) and also abolish tests for grammars (or so it is apparently suggested)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
It’s going to be the worst government in British history. Which given the last 14 years is quite something.
Sounding horribly like the approach taken in Scotland which has been an unmitigated disaster, with the performance of Scotland's schools cratering compared to other comparable countries (such as England).
Truly - let's hope they don't go down that road. It'll end up as an educational car crash.
The article is not an explanation of government policy. it is what 'experts' want. Of course if they go full on decolonisation of the curriculum / abolition of grammar schools it is just going to bolster their political opponents. But this is not where the centre ground is and labour understand that as they avoided the subjects completely during their election campaign.
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Trouble with the junior doctors is they can work in Australia for shorter hours, double the money and half the paperwork. Canada too is sniffing around.
Trouble with junior doctors is we dont train enough of them.
If you can add 22% to the payroll recruit 22% more doctors
Of course, but that takes a decade of investment, and unfortunately it is rare we get a decade without the Tories in power looking for quick spending cuts that don't hit the 4 year electoral cycle.
You have to start some time.
If you want to accept politiicians and the BMA closed shop feel free.
And werent all the PB lefties saying Starmer is in office for ever ?
Bankrupt the economy Cancel all investment Give 3000% pay rises to all public sector workers Destroy the English education system Fail entirely on the boats Fail entirely on migration Bring in more hate speech legislation and online blah and infinite surveillance and all the rest Force us all to use pronouns Build ugly houses exactly where they are not needed Raise taxes on anyone who dares to work Actually torture people who start companies Do it all while sneering at us for being horrible British people
In more cheering news, for fans of schadenfreude, can I point that the TGV I am on is hideously overcrowded, a bit smelly, overbooked, with people forced to stand and not enough room for bags etc
I am genuinely surprised. In all the time I have travelled around France on the TGV the one, seemingly unbreakable, rule is they won't sell more tickets than there are seats. I wonder if they have lifted that rule specifically for the Olympics?
Indeed, most of the long-distance high-speed lines in Europe will only ever sell you a seat rather than simply a ticket.
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
I wonder if luggage is the issue. There’s so much of it and nowhere to put it so it is filling the seats and aisles and people are thinking “sod it I’ll stand”
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
Are they using the upstairs luggage area? if not that can be the issue. We found people upstairs often put their luggage downstairs. We were happy for them to put their luggage in the bike area once we were in and people were always quite courteous regarding this. Of many trips on TGVs with bikes the only time we had an issue (and it really wasn't much of one) was when an Australian couple with two big bags made a fuss because our bikes were in the bike slot (which we had paid for). They were on the top level, but wanted to store their bags on the lower level. My friend offered to help and just got a lot of abuse so said 'sod you then' and sat down and let them struggle. One wonders what goes through their mind that we had the temerity to think they could use the area we had paid for and they hadn't and was specifically for our bikes. I can only assume they were hoping there wouldn't be any bikes and were more annoyed with themselves, but it wasn't a good look.
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
Well this is now two shit journeys in a row for me, on TGV, and on entirely different routes and both on these double deckers which - Reddit tells me - are notorously pinched and cramped
I see for the exact same price I could have flown. And I’d probably do that next time if given the same choice despite the extra hassle of airports
I don't like the hassle of airports. Don't mind the flying. It is the stuff before and afterwards. Happy to pay more for a train if necessary and have done so in various European countries (France, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Spain, etc), although these often involve flights as well. Obviously with bikes it is a no brainer, although flying with a bike is possible. As mentioned previously Eurostar became an issue with a bike after Brexit. I haven't looked back to see if it has improved again since Brexit as I have enjoyed the use of ferries, although it does invariably add a day onto the journey which is annoying.
It has been suggested she is going to give in to ASLEF pay demands as well which indicates the public sector and unions are heading for a considerable largesse that require billions of extra taxes
We should not be surprised by this. Labour rewarding their client vote. The Tories did the same for years.
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Trouble with the junior doctors is they can work in Australia for shorter hours, double the money and half the paperwork. Canada too is sniffing around.
Trouble with junior doctors is we dont train enough of them.
If you can add 22% to the payroll recruit 22% more doctors
Of course, but that takes a decade of investment, and unfortunately it is rare we get a decade without the Tories in power looking for quick spending cuts that don't hit the 4 year electoral cycle.
I go back to my madcap idea of setting up an NHS university hospital in Manila or Mumbai, teaching medical professionals to UK qualifications with visas for anyone who wants one on graduation. The BMA would be furious.
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
Number of angry white people >> number of angry Muslim people. Events started by angry white people after an event involving 0 Muslims.
What happened in Rotherham does not justify your constant Islamophobia.
England is absolutely knackered with Islamism and the demands of the portion of hardline nutters in it wanting to turn it into Iran or suchlike.
This is at least ironic. Leon and his like minded chums having encouraged this frankenstein monster are now pretending it has nothing to do with them..... Infact they're SHOCKED!
How is this the fault or partly the fault of Leon exactly ?
Many people have spent years posting Islamophobic and anti-immigrant lies on social media. We’ve had that on PB and it’s much worse on Twitter, Facebook etc. The attitudes being expressed by the rioters didn’t come out of nowhere.
Indeed, but my question related to Leon not people on Social Media.
Do you agree with @Leon (or Eadric it was at the time, but he's made it clear it's the same person), saying Muslims in India deserve to be lynched by Hindus because of what a Muslim ruler supposedly did in the 14th century?
Labour: going to “decolonise the curriculum” (how? Even more? How??) and also abolish tests for grammars (or so it is apparently suggested)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
It’s going to be the worst government in British history. Which given the last 14 years is quite something.
Sounding horribly like the approach taken in Scotland which has been an unmitigated disaster, with the performance of Scotland's schools cratering compared to other comparable countries (such as England).
Truly - let's hope they don't go down that road. It'll end up as an educational car crash.
The article is not an explanation of government policy. it is what 'experts' want. Of course if they go full on decolonisation of the curriculum / abolition of grammar schools it is just going to bolster their political opponents. But this is not where the centre ground is and labour understand that as they avoided the subjects completely during their election campaign.
I seriously believe this is what they will do. They are ideologues - they believe in it. Despite all the evidence from Scotland that its shite
I read a detailed article before the elections saying “this is what Labour will do in education” and here is an article repeating that word for word now they are in power
David Yelland @davidyelland · 1h One of the most repulsive, inaccurate and frankly embarrassing headlines in the history of the Daily Telegraph. It has appalled many of its own journalists. It is beneath contempt.
I cannot believe anything it says on Twitter about this as there is so much disinformation around.
The far right have largely clashed with the police and a bit with counter-protestors of no specific religion. I’m not aware of any clashes between the far right and Muslims, unless you count the far right dragging individuals out of cars and beating them up. There was a Muslim counter-protesting group in Bolton who clashed with police, but the police successfully kept them away from the far right protest. So, I’d say that headline is incorrect.
Then you're not looking hard enough. There is plenty of video of armed and organised groups of men of Asian appearance meting out punishment beatings to men - clearly far right thugs based on their appearance and concealed faces - who have become separated from the wider racist mob.
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing the violence happening in both directions. Angry white people engaging in ethnic violence = horrible far right fascists that need to face the full force of the law. Angry Muslim people engaging in ethnic violence = doesn't exist/understandable/poor oppressed class that needs to be engaged with sensitively. It is the same reason all those white girls were blamed for their own rapes.
Number of angry white people >> number of angry Muslim people. Events started by angry white people after an event involving 0 Muslims.
What happened in Rotherham does not justify your constant Islamophobia.
England is absolutely knackered with Islamism and the demands of the portion of hardline nutters in it wanting to turn it into Iran or suchlike.
I live in NW London. My daughter is one of three white kids in her class. The rest are hindus, muslims, you name it. And the school is outstanding with some of the highest SATs in the country. Our neighbours and class parents are a delight. I go to a regular gym and talk with lots of the lads there.... everybody is nice and polite and neighbourly. I just don't recognise the story you are conjouring here. Tell you what though. Whenever I visit the areas where people are most angry - i don't actually see any brown people there. Where are you seeing these demands to turn the uk into Iran???
Bankrupt the economy Cancel all investment Give 3000% pay rises to all public sector workers Destroy the English education system Fail entirely on the boats Fail entirely on migration Bring in more hate speech legislation and online blah and infinite surveillance and all the rest Force us all to use pronouns Build ugly houses exactly where they are not needed Raise taxes on anyone who dares to work Actually torture people who start companies Do it all while sneering at us for being horrible British people
Fuck this. Time to go, lads
This is just wishful thinking on your behalf mate....
P.s. You were always already using pronouns.... all languages do hahahahaha
Why did Japanese stock market tumble so much over night? Is it weighted towards AI stocks?
Lots of companies in the supply chain. Plus Japan is very sensitive to a US downturn because domestic demand has been pretty poor for the last 30 years.
And that's the lesson for us. I used to worry about our seemingly endless appetite for consumer spending at the expense of savings. After a decade of increased savings rates I'd love to see a good old fashioned bit of consumer spending back. It helps to support government finances through VAT receipts, it encourages the right sort of inflation: wage and service sector inflation which returns much of the growth into the pockets of the consumer, and it engenders confidence in the economy.
On the other hand when people save, the government has to spend. That's why Japan's public debt is the most eye wateringly huge in the Western world.
What we need is some sort of liquidity event, like the building society demutualisations back in the 90s. Maybe the government could carry through on my geostrategic proposal to sell the Isle of Portland to Spain, and distribute the proceeds to the population.
Might the Labour creation of large tracts of new building land count ?
A government-driven construction boom is definitely one of the fastest ways to economic growth. I think that, as much as social and affordability concerns, is partly behind the new government's enthusiasm. The trouble is it will still take time, because this is Britain and the projects are not shovel-ready.
On-shore windfarms should provide a reasonable boost, too. I'm told there's likely to be a bit of a rebound effect as the result of lifting the restrictions that were put in place in 2015, with essentially ten years' worth of development expected to happen in around half that time.
Comments
They feel like commuter trains that have been foolishly adapted for long distances
Won't the impact for the ASLEF increase be on ticket prices rather than taxes though ?
Not sure if they are all on the same "gold plated" pensions the saintly Junior Doctors are on with their 25% or so employer contribution.
Look at places like Arizona.
And Trump only at 43% to carry Florida...
https://polymarket.com/markets/politics/us-election
Another was the Army ammo buying office. Shut down for being old fashioned, essentially. The civil servants who replaced them had no expertise in the area, and thought its all the same and bought the cheapest stuff they could find. When machine guns started jamming every other shot in Afghanistan….
Dedicated unit being set up to deploy specialist officers to deal with unrest across country
PM also pushing for those involved to be publicly named as quickly as possible s part of “swift” criminal sanctions
https://x.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1820428330975273332
(FWIW, I agree with its conclusion regarding the proposed "No Kings" Act.)
Jurisdiction-Stripping and the Supreme Court
https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/93-jurisdiction-stripping-and-the
..The Exceptions Clause Paradox
Just about every law student spends at least some time with Article III, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution:
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The second sentence is known as the “Exceptions Clause.” And the contrast between the first sentence, which does not contemplate any role for Congress in regulating the Court’s (limited) “original” jurisdiction and the second sentence, which clearly does, is not just the heart of Chief Justice Marshall’s analysis in Marbury v. Madison; it’s the heart of one of the most important—and oldest—debates about the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court: Is Congress’s power to make “exceptions” to the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction plenary (so that Congress could keep any/all appeals away from the justices), or is it limited?
Before getting into the arguments on both sides of this debate, it’s worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court has never answered this question. Indeed, it has assiduously avoided answering this question—if for no other reason than because either answer would be a huge deal. Plenary Exceptions Clause power would allow Congress to kneecap the Court whenever it has the votes; limited Exceptions Clause power would give the Court dominion even over the political branches. Formalizing either outcome would thus be a lose-lose for the separation of powers. Instead, the only resolution for the first 234 years of the Court’s history has been the same as the resolution Joshua (the computer in the 1984 movie War Games) famously adopted for winning Tic-Tac-Toe: “the only winning move is not to play.”..
This is seriously one of the most unpleasant train journeys I can remember in mainland Europe. The crowding and cramping is ridiculous
Feels like the most budget of budget airlines. Do I have some fake memory of the TGV being quite plush?
Also the price. Not cheap for brutally standard seating
I am surrounded by unhappy people with their heads in their hands, trying but failing to sleep
It is a tiny but telling glimpse into what it must have been like on the trains to Auschwitz, except then they had more time to admire the countryside at
least
I may write a verse novel about it
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/29688530/rioters-drivers-white-english-middlesbrough/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=web_push_notification&utm_campaign=web_push_2024-08-05
In the case of the Borders line, that was perhaps the Campaign for Borders Rail. HS2 probably had Adonis, but he got diverted onto other issues, sadly. Although I also wonder how many of the issues that project faced were set in motion in decisions he made back in 2009/10...
Previous service cancelled and everyone told to pile on the next one, or some special rule for the Olympics?
From a high speed train subreddit
“ICE is so much more comfortable (leg room, seats, usually its not full so you don't have to sit next to a neighbor), so as a train set I would definitely say I prefer it to the Alstom TGV which is cramped, always full (as SNCF have dynamic pricing to always fill the train) and not as comfortable, and the double deck ones have really bad legroom and luggage storage.”
The double deckers appear to be a particular bugbear
There is not a chance in hell that the current SC would accept such a restriction on their powers. It might limit their ability to protect one DJT and that would never do.
I presume he is a reliable enough and non-racist witness.
I have encountered this before on a tgv not long ago. Paris to quimper. Weirdly crowded and uncomfortable
I presumed I’d got very unlucky. But Looking back that too was a double decker. So it seems to be the design of these particular trains. Not enough room and they’re packing in too maybe people. Worse than Ryanair
I will not link to those videos as they are often accompanied by factually incorrect far right commentary. However they are very easy to find. For example, there is one of a large group of men administering a beatdown to a lone masked man in Parliament Road, Middlesborough. It's one of the most brutal things I've seen on a UK street.
In context, the far right had marched down that street earlier that day, set at least one car alight, and they deliberately marched there because it was in the vicinity of two Mosques. Something the avid far-right reposting of the video neglects to mention.
There are other similar videos if you look, and Alex Thomson of Channel 4 news described the situation in Middlesborough last night on TwiX as 'police playing cat and mouse with groups of whites and asians both looking for trouble'.
While I abhor and condemn all violence I also understand the point of view of the counter-protesters who were out last night issuing what we'll politely call street justice to any far right protesters they could find.
However I fear that we are now locked into a cycle of increasing violence - they beat yours up, then you beat theirs up, then they use that to justify a counter attack, and so forth. Until you end up with years or even decades of sectarian violence where nobody even remembers who started it, just their hatred for the other side.
The police need to come down hard on both groups, not just to avoid the cycle of violence from worsening, but also because many of those videos are incorrectly labeled as 'angry Muslim mob beat up innocent white man on the street' and are being pushed by popular far right accounts, stoking up further tension.
"This is not protest, it is pure violence, and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities," Keir Starmer says
"The full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part," the PM adds
https://x.com/BBCPolitics/status/1820431926022246445
I’m not certain what you describe quite fits what is conjured up by the Telegraph headline.
https://x.com/editor_gfl/status/1820144350728232984
On a crowded train with nowt to do
I came upon an empty seat
I couldn't quite believe the treat
The space, the chance, how could I pass?
Then found out I was in first class!
Have just been sent a WhatsApp meme. Family Fortunes. Les asks Mr Gammon "We asked 100 people the best way to 'save are kids'. You said 'by looting Greggs'. Our survey said..."
Well done BBC!
If you leave the Forum to the mobs of thugs, then it’s game over.
Looks like it's gonna get less hot and sunny over next few days. That's probably the most important thing. I wonder if we could borrow some cloud seeding aircraft from UAE for a few days (am aware there's some controversy over whether it works but gotta be worth a shot right?)
“So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if they do say schools can no longer use test scores or academic criteria in their admissions throughout the country. And they can take pretty decent cover from a fair amount of academic evidence base around that.”
That would be the end of selective or grammar schools, wouldn’t it?
https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/aug/05/englands-curriculum-review-what-education-experts-want-to-see
It’s going to be the worst government in British history. Which given the last 14 years is quite something.
What happened in Rotherham does not justify your constant Islamophobia.
The question for journalists is whether or not you can inject opinion into a single line of reporting. 'Angry locals gather to administer punishment beatings to far right thugs who earlier marched down their streets' is arguably more accurate based on what I've seen, but to describe it in that way introduces value judgements that reporters - rather than opinion writers - are trained not to make.
The Telegraph headline feels a bit like the Trumpian equivocation of 'very fine people on both sides' at Charlottesville. Only instead it's 'very bad people on both sides'.
I just fear the country is locked into a cycle of violence now, fuelled by disinformation on social media.
Curtis Coulson, 30, sobbed as he became the first person to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court following disorder in South Yorkshire over the weekend report
@PA
.
He is alleged to have swung a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall and will go on trial in September.
@davey_huntley
Those who have pleaded guilty this morning to violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots are:
Andrew Smith, 41 (Cried in court)
Leanne Hodgson, 43.
Josh Kellett, 29, AKA Josh Major
All three were remanded and will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Sept 2
From what I'm reading, the fall of Hasina seems to be a classic example of a stupid policy, badly implemented but the apparent climbdown encouraging greater resistance.
40% of Bangladeshis between 15 and 24 are neither employed nor in education. Context - there are 175 million people in Bangladesh, 25-30 million of whom are between 15 and 24 so 40% of that is 10-12 million young people.
That's the demographics of revolutionary change.
Also, I didn't say 'barely mentioned' I was just disagreeing with @Roger saying it was getting 'very heavy coverage in the European press', but it would have been a shock if you had managed to write something accurate!
We have done a lot of non TGV trains recently and they have been very good also with the bonus of the bikes being foc, but did two TGVs this June and they were perfect.
the 5 years that the oil protest people got may well seem lenient
If you can add 22% to the payroll recruit 22% more doctors
If I can alter your sentence: "There is a lot of people on here who are ideologically incapable of seeing that the violence is being instigated by white right-wing fuckwits, and their violence is much in the majority. In fact, if the right-wing fuckwits just went home and wanked their small dicks, all this current trouble would probably just melt away."
I'd also, as ever, be careful about videos online. Even if they are genuine and contemporaneous, they can be edited to show a very different story - as we saw with the policeman kicking an assailant in the head a few days ago.
I see for the exact same price I could have flown. And I’d probably do that next time if given the same choice despite the extra hassle of airports
Truly - let's hope they don't go down that road. It'll end up as an educational car crash.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65687665
You heard it here first. Worst government EVAH
(1) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.
So, the answer on the reported facts would appear to be yes. Will a criminal complaint be made?
Its an incredibly stupid thing to do.
If you want to accept politiicians and the BMA closed shop feel free.
And werent all the PB lefties saying Starmer is in office for ever ?
Labour are going to
Bankrupt the economy
Cancel all investment
Give 3000% pay rises to all public sector workers
Destroy the English education system
Fail entirely on the boats
Fail entirely on migration
Bring in more hate speech legislation and online blah and infinite surveillance and all the rest
Force us all to use pronouns
Build ugly houses exactly where they are not needed
Raise taxes on anyone who dares to work
Actually torture people who start companies
Do it all while sneering at us for being horrible British people
Fuck this. Time to go, lads
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2024/08/05/graham-thorpe-dead-former-england-surrey-batsman-dies-55/
Actually that may be an unfair characterisation of her government, I'm just going off the BBC reports on criticisms.
The man is an obnoxious, ignorant shit.
I read a detailed article before the elections saying “this is what Labour will do in education” and here is an article repeating that word for word now they are in power
So bet against it if you want, but….
Clearly there are a lot of idiots that haven't realised that yet but will hopefully find out soon.
P.s. You were always already using pronouns.... all languages do hahahahaha