Keir Starmer wants you to believe the rioters are a "mindless" fringe that's erupted out of nowhere. In fact they're a symptom of the racist rot in the heart of the British establishment, which he and his party have helped to foment for years."
Jenrick is playing a dangerous game, accusing Starmer of double standards over policing.
No-one's produced any concrete evidence of thst so far , and it potentialky plays into Musk's Trumpian narrative.
You’ve not seen the interview with West Midlands Police then
Yes, of all the things to happen during these riots that is actually the most disturbing to me. The riots will come to an end but the pervasive attitude among police and politicians to deal with self appointed "community leaders" won't and that is fundamentally just wrong. Policing should be the same for everyone and "community leaders" should be ignored.
Arguably it’s the natural evolution of our acceptance of things like sharia courts. If parallel communities can have parallel legal systems then why not parallel policing by and of themselves? Makes a kind of sense…
Except that in a liberal democracy based on fair and equal treatment of everyone, by the sole accepted authorities, it is a disaster
Hang on.
How is a Sharia court different from a Beth Din one? And how is that different from people accepting binding arbitration from a non state court body?
What power does a Sharia court to - say - imprison someone? Ultimately, any "punishments" they enforce exist only to the extent that someone chooses to part of that community.
Does everyone get a choice, or are they threatened with violence or social ostracation if they do, with the British state turning a blind eye in the name of "community relations"?
They get threatened with social ostracization. Which is very unpleasant.
But membership of any religion is voluntary.
One can always walk away. I realize that is incredibly hard, particularly for insular communities like Hasidic Judaism or Wahabi Islam. But the State maintains the monopoly on violence, imprisonment, etc.
And (despite being an atheist) I am incredibly uncomfortable with the State banning something that is voluntarily entered into.
It is very hard, and that's what troubles me - often it means losing your family and having a price on your head at worst too.
Thanks for correcting my dreadful spelling too. I will blame the two-year and five-year old scurrying around my feet.
The three Republican members of the board who voted in support of this rule — Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King — were called out by name by former President Donald Trump at a Saturday rally and thanked for their actions. He called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”..
It would be very funny if Trump won a squeaker of an election including winning GA but because Georgia didn't get around to making their 'reasonable inquiry' in time that meant Harris had the 262 electoral college votes to win.
You need 270 electoral college votes, not simply a plurality of electors.
Not true, 12th Amendment
The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed
If the electors from Georgia are not appointed, then the total number of electors appointed would be 522 and therefore the magic number would be 262.
Oh wow, I misunderstood.
Sorry, meant to say that you're right to say that you don't simply need a plurality, if Georgia's 16 electors voted for a third candidate and it was say Harris 262, Trump 260, Taylor Swift 16, then it would be up to the House to decide between the top three candidates.
Odd thought, the language of the 12th amendment says "if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President" so could it be less than three candidates for the contingent election? Who would decide?
The Supreme Court.
They would deliberate until the 19th January and then declare Trump the winner.
Ukraine counter invasion gathers pace. Supposedly a few thousand Russian soldiers encircled. Town of Sudzha, population 5k said to have fallen. Hopefully they’ve got a cunning plan and this isn’t just borne out of frustration.
Maybe the plan is just: “If we’re going to have to agree to a peace treaty to end the war, best to grab as much Russian land now that we can exchange for Ukranian land when the peace talks are forced on us” ?
The three Republican members of the board who voted in support of this rule — Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King — were called out by name by former President Donald Trump at a Saturday rally and thanked for their actions. He called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”..
Trump needs to be beaten in November by 10 million votes and fifty Electoral College votes.
Then he can fuck off to jail.
My prediction, pretty much. Harris by 5 pts in the PV, the EC by 50 to 100.
Could there be a further impeachment attempt against trump for Jan6? Or is that double jeaprody?
Jenrick has made a big mistake suggesting people who say "Allahu Akbar" in public should be arrested.
Far-right rioting and he comes out with that? I appreciate the Conservative membership is pretty right wing but surely the remaining MPs won't tolerate that kind of rabble rousing.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" in public is normally done precisely to rouse a rabble.
I wouldn't be averse to it - and not in private or in places of religious worship where it'd be fine - it's far too often preceded murder, violence and terrorist acts.
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
Robert Jenrick is having quite a good rioting season. He’s everywhere making measured and conservative sounding noises. I’d make him slight favourite to win the leadership right now
He has issues tho. How come he’s so rich and got all these houses? Wiki is quite opaque. I presume he has mega wealthy parents and didn’t make £30 million by the age of 29
If it weren’t for a privileged backstory (the Tories have had enough of that) he’d be a clear favourite
People pay good money for the time of Cambridge educated lawyers.
His wife is also a lawyer at some very prestigious firms too and very wealthy.
I know how you love the Macron stuff but Mrs Jenrick is nearly a decade older than Robert.
Good luck to conservatives if they elect Jenrick.
He'll be out within two years.
As the owner of a leasehold property in central London, I have been following Jenrick's career since he was was secretary of state for housing.
And I can honestly state that out of all the current picks for the Conservative Leadership, he is the only one I can promise I will NEVER vote for the Conservatives as long as he is leader.
The guy was hopeless at best, venal at worst, embroiled in planning scandals, and clearly favoured developers over homeowners. My flat is probably worth about 25% less than it should be, all thanks to the action (or inaction) of Robert Jenrick.
And that's before we get onto his lockdown breaking, mural painting nastiness. If it's Jenrick, I'd sooner vote Green, SNP or Galloway than Conservative. Even if he promised to reduce my capital gains tax burden to zero and offered me a suitcase full of cash (possibly taken from his developer mates like Desmond), I would not vote for him. That is how great my hatred of him is.
He's certainly the one to beat though.
Everyone's already taking about him as if he's already the LOTO, which he'll be perfectly OK with.
Ukraine counter invasion gathers pace. Supposedly a few thousand Russian soldiers encircled. Town of Sudzha, population 5k said to have fallen. Hopefully they’ve got a cunning plan and this isn’t just borne out of frustration.
Maybe the plan is just: “If we’re going to have to agree to a peace treaty to end the war, best to grab as much Russian land now that we can exchange for Ukranian land when the peace talks are forced on us” ?
To be brutally cynical, the current status quo works well for nearly everybody except the Ukrainians and the Russians who are doing the fighting and the dying.
Arms manufacturers on both sides are getting fat off the demand for weapons from ammunitions to advanced fighter aircraft. The continuing low-level conflict makes calls for proper and rigorous scrutiny of the defence world, especially procurement, impossible. Instead, everyone is clamouring to spend more (despite deficits and huge amounts of debt) on defence and the defence establishment is back at the top of the political table having been relegated to an afterthought after the events of 1989-91.
If we want to cut spending to reduce the deficit, no one is going to propose cutting defence spending which means somewhere else has to take the hit. Who needs that new library or community centre - Putin's legions are coming (despite the fact they can't get from the border to Kharkiv).
Incidentally for all those lookong for silly equivalences there's an excellent interview with a professor David Oleshogar (sp?) from Manchester University on the World at One
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
Jenrick has made a big mistake suggesting people who say "Allahu Akbar" in public should be arrested.
Far-right rioting and he comes out with that? I appreciate the Conservative membership is pretty right wing but surely the remaining MPs won't tolerate that kind of rabble rousing.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" in public is normally done precisely to rouse a rabble.
I wouldn't be averse to it - and not in private or in places of religious worship where it'd be fine - it's far too often preceded murder, violence and terrorist acts.
“We want our country back” and “Tommy Robinson” are often shouted in public precisely to rouse a rabble. Would you ban them too?
MSM Monitor @msm_monitor They're literally advertising so-called anti-immigration protests in Glasgow on Radio Scotland right now. Yep, telling listeners where to go if they want to cause a bit of trouble. The craving for something, anything, to take place is transparent. How did we get to this? 12:14 pm · 7 Aug 2024 10.1K Views
It's bizarre. Social media is really whipping this up.
I've just been invited to a counter-protest in Glasgow via instagram. I've messaged back just to ask if there is actually going to be a far-right protest in the first place.
I'm not going to waste £16 to wander round George Square (though there is that excellent pizza place close by). I might instead start a rumour about North Berwick so I have an excuse to go to the beach.
To put this in perspective, the TUC are planning a counter-protest in September. WHY?
They're unionist media. They don't want a repeat of the "British riots" scandal which was 100% down to the BBC and the other media not bearing to admit the truth that these riots weren't GB wide, such that the Welsh and Scottish Tourist Boards (and, then anyway, the NI TB) had to make complaints about the effect on tourist numbers, as well as the Cardiff and Edinburgh admins IIRC.
The moment someone gets pished in George Square and falls over his trainer laces, they can go all out on condemning Scottish exceptionalism. Which seems, in fact, to have been absent on the matter of the current riots.
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
I bet the country are devastated they voted for more of the same, instead of Rishi, the change candidate.
On topic: You may be able to get an early indicator on whether Harris/Walz should be the favorite, from the results from the Washington state primary. (The vote counts in the counties began last night.) Here are the partial results. https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/default.htm
I would expect fairly complete results within 3 or 4 days. Usually, they announce each day's count a little after 8 PM, our time. (It will be certified on August 20th.)
Jenrick is playing a dangerous game, accusing Starmer of double standards over policing.
No-one's produced any concrete evidence of thst so far , and it potentialky plays into Musk's Trumpian narrative.
You’ve not seen the interview with West Midlands Police then
Yes, of all the things to happen during these riots that is actually the most disturbing to me. The riots will come to an end but the pervasive attitude among police and politicians to deal with self appointed "community leaders" won't and that is fundamentally just wrong. Policing should be the same for everyone and "community leaders" should be ignored.
Arguably it’s the natural evolution of our acceptance of things like sharia courts. If parallel communities can have parallel legal systems then why not parallel policing by and of themselves? Makes a kind of sense…
Except that in a liberal democracy based on fair and equal treatment of everyone, by the sole accepted authorities, it is a disaster
Hang on.
How is a Sharia court different from a Beth Din one? And how is that different from people accepting binding arbitration from a non state court body?
What power does a Sharia court to - say - imprison someone? Ultimately, any "punishments" they enforce exist only to the extent that someone chooses to part of that community.
Does everyone get a choice, or are they threatened with violence or social ostracation if they do, with the British state turning a blind eye in the name of "community relations"?
They get threatened with social ostracization. Which is very unpleasant.
But membership of any religion is voluntary.
One can always walk away. I realize that is incredibly hard, particularly for insular communities like Hasidic Judaism or Wahabi Islam. But the State maintains the monopoly on violence, imprisonment, etc.
And (despite being an atheist) I am incredibly uncomfortable with the State banning something that is voluntarily entered into.
It is very hard, and that's what troubles me - often it means losing your family and having a price on your head at worst too.
Thanks for correcting my dreadful spelling too. I will blame the two-year and five-year old scurrying around my feet.
A "Sharia Court" is in law a voluntary tribunal accepted as decision maker by the parties. That's it, aiui.
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
They run most urban areas at a local level.
And pretty much have for decades.
Are these the mysterious "community leaders" of which our PBTories complain with baited breath (but not bated breath)?
I’m guessing there aren’t actually many more prison places left so the govt has presumably taking the chance that the riots will end?
I’ve no idea if the unrest will continue. I hope not - but I do wonder what happens if the threat of “immediate imprisonment” doesn’t actually become a reality. I’m guessing some of these idiots protesting think they have nothing to lose 🤷♂️
The three Republican members of the board who voted in support of this rule — Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King — were called out by name by former President Donald Trump at a Saturday rally and thanked for their actions. He called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”..
Trump needs to be beaten in November by 10 million votes and fifty Electoral College votes.
Then he can fuck off to jail.
My prediction, pretty much. Harris by 5 pts in the PV, the EC by 50 to 100.
My current guess - Trump flips AZ. The other Biden states stay with Harris.
292/246 Electoral College split.
I think NV, PA and GA will be uncomfortably close though.
Jenrick has made a big mistake suggesting people who say "Allahu Akbar" in public should be arrested.
Far-right rioting and he comes out with that? I appreciate the Conservative membership is pretty right wing but surely the remaining MPs won't tolerate that kind of rabble rousing.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" in public is normally done precisely to rouse a rabble.
I wouldn't be averse to it - and not in private or in places of religious worship where it'd be fine - it's far too often preceded murder, violence and terrorist acts.
“We want our country back” and “Tommy Robinson” are often shouted in public precisely to rouse a rabble. Would you ban them too?
I would be open to banning "Allahu Akbar" for the reasons cited.
I’m guessing there aren’t actually many more prison places left so the govt has presumably taking the chance that the riots will end?
I’ve no idea if the unrest will continue. I hope not - but I do wonder what happens if the threat of “immediate imprisonment” doesn’t actually become a reality. I’m guessing some of these idiots protesting think they have nothing to lose 🤷♂️
Can’t we just build military field barracks and stick the wronguns in there?
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
I’ve seen films that start off with this scenario.
Leon could onm reflection go and buy some WD40 and squirt some in and let it soak and try again, just to see if that works, but else it's locksmith time IMV.
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
They run most urban areas at a local level.
And pretty much have for decades.
Are these the mysterious "community leaders" of which our PBTories complain with bated breath (but not bated breath)?
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
They run most urban areas at a local level.
And pretty much have for decades.
Are these the mysterious "community leaders" of which our PBTories complain with bated breath (but not bated breath)?
Given it was her brother's party that was in charge of immigration for the last 14 years and Starmer / Cooper haven't even been able to pass any laws in the month they've been in, she's a bit of a cheek blaming them for the Tories sky-high policy of immigration.
It does feel as if the events of the last few days are being treated as the accumulation of fourteen years of uninterrupted Starmer rule. I suppose it all ties in with the notion that the Tory good guys were only nominally in power, while Starmer and all his Lefty pals were actually running things from the shadows.
They run most urban areas at a local level.
And pretty much have for decades.
Are these the mysterious "community leaders" of which our PBTories complain with bated breath (but not bated breath)?
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
My firm (metropolitan, elite, diverse etc.) put out an email to all employees that was essentially partisan and reflected exactly this. Condemning any protest against immigration as a violation of its values etc.
I just sat there shaking my head.
Like many others I will keep taking the money, and keeping my mouth shut, whilst voting and supporting elsewhere.
I am sure Musk will be complaining about two tier justice.
There is a good reason why the JSO zoomers got such a long sentence but the optics are terrible. We're going to have people trying to burn asylum seeks alive with shorter sentences.
Perhaps we can come to a PB compromise on "three-tier Keir"?
The arsonist(s) at the Manvers hotel will likely get longer than the JSO bods as obviously a whole hotel can't get out as quickly as police officers can from a van (Please note I am not saying it's right to arson a police van !). I'd be inclined to 15 years for the Manvers arsonists if I was a judge.
Be very careful when you are comparing sentences.
The JSO zoomers claimed to be innocent.
The Southport / Liverpool rioters pleaded guilty at the very first instance so got 1/3 off their sentences so they were to begin with
54 months reduced to 3 years 45 months reduced to 30 months 30 months reduced to 20 months.
The JSO zoomers were serial offenders with many convictions, on suspended sentences and some were even on bail for previous offences.
Obviously as they are middle class and campaigning on Climate Change they are bound to be seen as victims and looked upon favourably by some here.
Every time there is an eruption of far right thuggery or football hooliganism it comes to light that many of the offenders were comfortably middle class men in skilled trades or well paid office jobs. There's usually an investment banker or two thrown in. The sort of people who can afford a beered-up excursion to a trouble spot. I would be very surprised if the same isn't true this time.
Look at the demographics of Reform voters. Lower middle class for the most part. Not the left-behind or the underclass by any stretch.
For example Leanne of Leannes removals. Quite respectable looking area and small business.
She better hope that this gets dismissed before discovery, which is highly likely. I'd forgo the motion to dismiss if I were a defendant I'd go right to discovery, few companies on earth have more skeletons. Limiting Ukraine posts, suspending pro-Harris accounts, dig it all up. https://x.com/hissgoescobra/status/1820862470594216322
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Given Labour has just won a landslide election, I don't think he does. People just don't agree with the likes of Goodwin, Musk and, er, you. Nothing profound about it
I am sure Musk will be complaining about two tier justice.
There is a good reason why the JSO zoomers got such a long sentence but the optics are terrible. We're going to have people trying to burn asylum seeks alive with shorter sentences.
Perhaps we can come to a PB compromise on "three-tier Keir"?
The arsonist(s) at the Manvers hotel will likely get longer than the JSO bods as obviously a whole hotel can't get out as quickly as police officers can from a van (Please note I am not saying it's right to arson a police van !). I'd be inclined to 15 years for the Manvers arsonists if I was a judge.
Be very careful when you are comparing sentences.
The JSO zoomers claimed to be innocent.
The Southport / Liverpool rioters pleaded guilty at the very first instance so got 1/3 off their sentences so they were to begin with
54 months reduced to 3 years 45 months reduced to 30 months 30 months reduced to 20 months.
The JSO zoomers were serial offenders with many convictions, on suspended sentences and some were even on bail for previous offences.
Obviously as they are middle class and campaigning on Climate Change they are bound to be seen as victims and looked upon favourably by some here.
Every time there is an eruption of far right thuggery or football hooliganism it comes to light that many of the offenders were comfortably middle class men in skilled trades or well paid office jobs. There's usually an investment banker or two thrown in. The sort of people who can afford a beered-up excursion to a trouble spot. I would be very surprised if the same isn't true this time.
Look at the demographics of Reform voters. Lower middle class for the most part. Not the left-behind or the underclass by any stretch.
For example Leanne of Leannes removals. Quite respectable looking area and small business.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Were they the right keys ?
Use thin easing oil, or mineral oil if you have it - say something like valve oil for a musical instrument. Get it into the lock by putting it on the key.
When you replace the lock, have a thumb turn on the inside. Legal requirement if ever rented out, and it saves any scrote who breaks in smashing your door as well.
Remember that if it is a Eurolock it may just need a new barrel, which is dead easy to do yourself. They can be ordered online, but you'll need to look up how to measure them.
For policy I always go for anti-bump anti-snap lock barrels.
Reflecting, replace it now for preventative reasons so that it doesn't happen again.
Ukraine counter invasion gathers pace. Supposedly a few thousand Russian soldiers encircled. Town of Sudzha, population 5k said to have fallen. Hopefully they’ve got a cunning plan and this isn’t just borne out of frustration.
Maybe the plan is just: “If we’re going to have to agree to a peace treaty to end the war, best to grab as much Russian land now that we can exchange for Ukranian land when the peace talks are forced on us” ?
Sorting out the Ukraine/Republic of China border?
Ukraine forces are an hours drive from the Kursk nuclear power plant. Wonder if they’ve got special forces headed there.
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Given Labour has just won a landslide election, I don't think he does. People just don't agree with the likes of Goodwin, Musk and, er, you. Nothing profound about it
Landslide based on 33.7 %. Checks notes and sees this is around one third of those who even bothered to vote. Despite the landslide delivered by FPTP*, the country cannot really be said to be hugely positive of the the new government.
*The same FPTP that is supported by both Labour and Conservative parties, for balance.
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Does he bollocks. In what way is Elon Musk a 'dissenter' ?
He's a foreign billionaire using his very expensively acquired media platform to interfere in UK politics. No more a 'dissenter' than Rupert bloody Murdoch.
Jenrick has made a big mistake suggesting people who say "Allahu Akbar" in public should be arrested.
Far-right rioting and he comes out with that? I appreciate the Conservative membership is pretty right wing but surely the remaining MPs won't tolerate that kind of rabble rousing.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" in public is normally done precisely to rouse a rabble.
I wouldn't be averse to it - and not in private or in places of religious worship where it'd be fine - it's far too often preceded murder, violence and terrorist acts.
“We want our country back” and “Tommy Robinson” are often shouted in public precisely to rouse a rabble. Would you ban them too?
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
My firm (metropolitan, elite, diverse etc.) put out an email to all employees that was essentially partisan and reflected exactly this. Condemning any protest against immigration as a violation of its values etc.
I just sat there shaking my head.
Like many others I will keep taking the money, and keeping my mouth shut, whilst voting and supporting elsewhere.
They are not just protests against immigration, they are protests against (and attacks on) immigrants. People. In fact they are not just protests against immigrants, in many cases they are protests against people who are British but have a different skin colour or religion.
We are talking about real people living in real places, with real lives. This is on a par with "anti-Zionists" attacking synagogues.
I am sure Musk will be complaining about two tier justice.
There is a good reason why the JSO zoomers got such a long sentence but the optics are terrible. We're going to have people trying to burn asylum seeks alive with shorter sentences.
Perhaps we can come to a PB compromise on "three-tier Keir"?
The arsonist(s) at the Manvers hotel will likely get longer than the JSO bods as obviously a whole hotel can't get out as quickly as police officers can from a van (Please note I am not saying it's right to arson a police van !). I'd be inclined to 15 years for the Manvers arsonists if I was a judge.
Be very careful when you are comparing sentences.
The JSO zoomers claimed to be innocent.
The Southport / Liverpool rioters pleaded guilty at the very first instance so got 1/3 off their sentences so they were to begin with
54 months reduced to 3 years 45 months reduced to 30 months 30 months reduced to 20 months.
The JSO zoomers were serial offenders with many convictions, on suspended sentences and some were even on bail for previous offences.
Obviously as they are middle class and campaigning on Climate Change they are bound to be seen as victims and looked upon favourably by some here.
Every time there is an eruption of far right thuggery or football hooliganism it comes to light that many of the offenders were comfortably middle class men in skilled trades or well paid office jobs. There's usually an investment banker or two thrown in. The sort of people who can afford a beered-up excursion to a trouble spot. I would be very surprised if the same isn't true this time.
Look at the demographics of Reform voters. Lower middle class for the most part. Not the left-behind or the underclass by any stretch.
For example Leanne of Leannes removals. Quite respectable looking area and small business.
- Her style of pushing the bin invites back injury. - The police officer, kicking in a glass door. Great way to chop chunks out of your leg, when you discover that someone fitted non-safety glass in a shit door.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Dip your key in a bit of cooking oil or olive oil and put it in the lock with the oil dripping from it. Has got me out of a few similar situations.
You've probably picked the one person who might have a vial of cold pressed extra virgin about his person.
Hah. That's actually true. I often come back from Europe with some exotic olive oil you can't get in the UK...
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun In God's good time, she will be won
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Does he bollocks. In what way is Elon Musk a 'dissenter' ?
He's a foreign billionaire using his very expensively acquired media platform to interfere in UK politics. No more a 'dissenter' than Rupert bloody Murdoch.
Although he's making more boobs at Twitter than ever Murdoch did at the Sun.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Dip your key in a bit of cooking oil or olive oil and put it in the lock with the oil dripping from it. Has got me out of a few similar situations.
You've probably picked the one person who might have a vial of cold pressed extra virgin about his person.
Hah. That's actually true. I often come back from Europe with some exotic olive oil you can't get in the UK...
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun In God's good time, she will be won
Dip the key in oil, then spend a few minutes putting it in and out, and twisting it into some uncomfortable positions, then in and out some more, being sure to maintain sufficient lubrication.
Does anyone (PB's libertarians, perhaps?) still agree with the 2010-15(-19?)(-24?) tory policy of defunding the police and criminal justice system?
What were they (we, all?) thinking?
Seems completely mad, in retrospect.
IIRC, something about crime rates continually falling (because of unleaded petrol?!!), meaning we didn't need expensive police with fat pensions and old, draughty court buildings. Resentment at the legal aid budget, I think? Dislike of lawyers, too?
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Dip your key in a bit of cooking oil or olive oil and put it in the lock with the oil dripping from it. Has got me out of a few similar situations.
You've probably picked the one person who might have a vial of cold pressed extra virgin about his person.
Hah. That's actually true. I often come back from Europe with some exotic olive oil you can't get in the UK...
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun In God's good time, she will be won
Dip the key in oil, then spend a few minutes putting it in and out, and twisting it into some uncomfortable positions, then in and out some more, being sure to maintain sufficient lubrication.
Interestingly, the chaps at Banham have gone from saying no to WD-40 to recommending it.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Dip your key in a bit of cooking oil or olive oil and put it in the lock with the oil dripping from it. Has got me out of a few similar situations.
You've probably picked the one person who might have a vial of cold pressed extra virgin about his person.
Hah. That's actually true. I often come back from Europe with some exotic olive oil you can't get in the UK...
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun In God's good time, she will be won
Get some 3 in One penetrating oil. A couple of tiny drops on the key and wiggle it around a bit. Should bring out some gunk, which you can wipe off with a tissue.
(Btw, you've broken the PB double entendre meter for the day.)
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Dip your key in a bit of cooking oil or olive oil and put it in the lock with the oil dripping from it. Has got me out of a few similar situations.
You've probably picked the one person who might have a vial of cold pressed extra virgin about his person.
Hah. That's actually true. I often come back from Europe with some exotic olive oil you can't get in the UK...
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun In God's good time, she will be won
Dip the key in oil, then spend a few minutes putting it in and out, and twisting it into some uncomfortable positions, then in and out some more, being sure to maintain sufficient lubrication.
Is this an extract from 'The Ice Twins"? Up for the bad sex award!
The three Republican members of the board who voted in support of this rule — Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King — were called out by name by former President Donald Trump at a Saturday rally and thanked for their actions. He called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”..
Trump needs to be beaten in November by 10 million votes and fifty Electoral College votes.
Then he can fuck off to jail.
My prediction, pretty much. Harris by 5 pts in the PV, the EC by 50 to 100.
My current guess - Trump flips AZ. The other Biden states stay with Harris.
292/246 Electoral College split.
I think NV, PA and GA will be uncomfortably close though.
I'd take it. But since I think the PV margin will be at least 5 pts I expect a bigger EC margin than that. I can see Harris holding all the Biden states and adding to it (eg NC).
Jenrick is playing a dangerous game, accusing Starmer of double standards over policing.
No-one's produced any concrete evidence of thst so far , and it potentialky plays into Musk's Trumpian narrative.
Rather than taking shots at Musk, why don’t you head over to his platform and see the evidence for yourself? If you prefer, you can try Sky News instead, where you will find similar evidence.
Coming from someone who didn't have the gumption to look at the account that he linked to as a credibility check. And this is not the first time. Sometimes ago you were pulled up on linking to an account that turned out to be a QAnon post. In both cases it took less than 30 seconds to drill down on the accounts to identify the facts.
This debate has gone to cuckoo land. You don’t have to go to Twitter if you don’t want to. Because the Birmingham police chief has confirmed with his own voice, on Sky News no less, that policing approaches are vastly different depending on background of the mob. His testimony is backed up by the lack of blue lights for hours at Yardley, but also for example the video of the copper kindly advising people to “leave their weapons at the mosque”.
The appropriate conversation, which some have already cordially begun here, is not whether we have two tier policing, but whether that is sensible and appropriate in some cases. I am open to being persuaded that it is but my gut feel is that in the long run, it is grievously misadvised.
You meanwhile are still at the childish tantrum stage of throwing QAnon slurs around.
I'm not talking about that point. I'm talking about the fact that you suggested that someone should go to Musk's account to find out the facts. That is coming from someone who yesterday thought it reasonable for Musk to link to an account that was beyond appalling and would be a criminal offence in this country and thought it reasonable for him not to make a 30 second check on the credibility of the account he was linking to before making the link.
I am also referring to you, who a year or two ago linked to a QAnon account and didn't spend 30 seconds checking it out before doing so and posted the contents as fact.
That is not a slur that is a fact and if you think otherwise sue me.
Why am I having the 'childish tantrum'? Well because I object to people posting QAnon stuff here or who justify the posting of links to appallingly racist and anti-semitic accounts that were beyond awful, they would be illegal here.
I take it that you still haven't even looked at the account still, but twice now have been happy to take stuff on face value whereas a 30 second check would show you have gone down a very nasty rabbit hole.
I said “Musk’s platform”, not Musk’s account.
But in any case why do I need to look at the posting history of someone on Twitter, to be able to see clearly that we’ve got a pretty interesting approach to law enforcement and sentencing in this country. If you found content you believe to be illegal then report it.
I don’t know much about QAnon, I have the gist that it’s something to do with Hillary Clinton eating babies in a pizzeria? Bit of an odd fixation for you to hold on to for so long but you do you.
a) You specifically defended him yesterday for linking to an anti-Semitic account. You seemed to think it unreasonable for him to spend 30 seconds checking.
b) There is not a case of believing it to be illegal. It is illegal. There is nothing one can do about it here. But presumably you still haven't looked even though you defended him for linking to it. Your lack of curiosity on stuff you defend is amazing. You defended him linking to the account.
c) You specifically linked to a QAnon post sometime ago believing the post to be accurate without checking. Something that took the rest of us 30 seconds to do. Nobody else here I believe has as ever done that with the exception of Plato.
d) The fixation is the fact that twice now you have either linked to or justified the posting of something either of a blatant conspiracy nature or appallingly racists. Your excuse both times was that you didn't check. Something that would have taken you 30 seconds to do in both cases.
You must have seen others reactions to it yesterday. Several people replied to you. @Viewcode said to you 'You don't have to read back far down the history of the meme poster, just a few flicks down. It took me a second to realise what was happening'
Yet it was beyond you to do so.
I have not forwarded anything racist. I linked to something that it turns out is relatively non-controversial that Musk re-tweeted, originally posted by someone that you say has also in the past posted racist material. I believe you. Get over it.
The inability to understand is gobsmacking.
I never said you forwarded anything racist (although you did forward a QAnon conspiracy sometime ago)
What you did do was justify Musk posting something that linked to an appalling poster because it was beyond him to check (as it seems is the case with you).
And to use the word 'that you say has also in the past posted racist material' is beyond contempt as still you haven't checked out the poster.
He does not post racist material in the past. Every single post is appalling. You know those ones he posts NOW. Every single one. NOW. Yet you still haven't got the moral fibre to check and see how awful it is and admit you were wrong. Even though others have also told you here that is the case.
For f***s sake actually go and look to see what you are justifying. You will be appalled. Or at least you should be. See a man ranting at those 'Bastard Jew'. See the glorification of Hitler. See how the SS laid down their lives for the Blacks. See how the Jews are taking over the world. That is what you justified Musk linking to.
And maybe in future you might spend 30 seconds checking what you are posting or linking to has some credibility.
Chill bruv. Reserve your poison for whoever it was that wrote those things. Or don’t. It’s a precious sunny day. Spend it getting angry at me over shadows if you prefer.
The prime villain is the one that wrote them. The next is the people who link to them.
I'll tell you what. If you read the link. Come back and tell me you have read it and what you think of it and I'll stop replying.
Then maybe you will understand why I recommend in future you spend 30 seconds checking out what you link to.
I genuinely don’t even remember what post you’re talking about anymore, since nothing I have linked to had racist or objectionable content. You are talking about content that I’ve not seen. Not directly anyway, I’ve read it because you have paraphrased it for me. Terrible things to believe and it’s sad people would still think that in this day and age.
I’m not sure what else you want me to say? That I’m a rotten racist? That Elon wears Hitler pyjamas? That I am able to distinguish a message from the messenger and you are not? That I think pineapple, baby and mozzarella is better than Hawaiian? You’re a strange cat but I think your heart is in the right place at least.
Really you can't remember from yesterday. The link was posted here upmteen times because of all the threads to it. You can't search your own posts, or mine or even viewcodes (as I know he replied to you also about it). From yesterday. You can't do that. No wonder you can't spend 30 seconds checking whether a post is dubious or not.
And as far as not being able to distinguish a message from the messenger that appears to be your failing. You accept a message on face value. Most people might look at who sent it and think maybe I shouldn't forward a message from QAnon or a rabid racist because possibly it is just unreliable.
Oddly I am not the strange one. Many others reacted yesterday similarly. It is just me not letting you off the hook, because you have done this twice now (at least) and bearing in mind what is happening currently with social media it makes sense to be careful what you post (or link to) by spending 30 seconds checking out its veracity.
The fact that you can post stuff here and not be the slightest interested in the source of that information is I would suggest 'strange'.
This is the one where Ed Balls interviewed his missus, and 8,200 people complained. No campaign there.
Definitely not a totally incestuous relationship between media and politics. That’s a slam dunk uphold for OFCOM, having the presenter interview his own government minister wife.
I am sure Musk will be complaining about two tier justice.
There is a good reason why the JSO zoomers got such a long sentence but the optics are terrible. We're going to have people trying to burn asylum seeks alive with shorter sentences.
Perhaps we can come to a PB compromise on "three-tier Keir"?
The arsonist(s) at the Manvers hotel will likely get longer than the JSO bods as obviously a whole hotel can't get out as quickly as police officers can from a van (Please note I am not saying it's right to arson a police van !). I'd be inclined to 15 years for the Manvers arsonists if I was a judge.
Be very careful when you are comparing sentences.
The JSO zoomers claimed to be innocent.
The Southport / Liverpool rioters pleaded guilty at the very first instance so got 1/3 off their sentences so they were to begin with
54 months reduced to 3 years 45 months reduced to 30 months 30 months reduced to 20 months.
The JSO zoomers were serial offenders with many convictions, on suspended sentences and some were even on bail for previous offences.
Obviously as they are middle class and campaigning on Climate Change they are bound to be seen as victims and looked upon favourably by some here.
Every time there is an eruption of far right thuggery or football hooliganism it comes to light that many of the offenders were comfortably middle class men in skilled trades or well paid office jobs. There's usually an investment banker or two thrown in. The sort of people who can afford a beered-up excursion to a trouble spot. I would be very surprised if the same isn't true this time.
Look at the demographics of Reform voters. Lower middle class for the most part. Not the left-behind or the underclass by any stretch.
For example Leanne of Leannes removals. Quite respectable looking area and small business.
- Her style of pushing the bin invites back injury. - The police officer, kicking in a glass door. Great way to chop chunks out of your leg, when you discover that someone fitted non-safety glass in a shit door.
It’s lexan / plexiglass or something similar. Wonder if someone has kicked in her door before?
This is the one where Ed Balls interviewed his missus, and 8,200 people complained. No campaign there.
Definitely not a totally incestuous relationship between media and politics. That’s a slam dunk uphold for OFCOM, having the presenter interview his own government minister wife.
Could actually be a useful non-partisan trigger for Ofcom to tackle the similar goings on at GB News.
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
My firm (metropolitan, elite, diverse etc.) put out an email to all employees that was essentially partisan and reflected exactly this. Condemning any protest against immigration as a violation of its values etc.
I just sat there shaking my head.
Like many others I will keep taking the money, and keeping my mouth shut, whilst voting and supporting elsewhere.
By day, he's a mild mannered employee at a great multi national organisation
At night, he patrols the mean streets of his city, protecting the population from those determined to bring the city and the people to their knees
He is Captain Libertarian
He fights the forces of evil - The Woke, the Metropolitan Liberal Gang, the Elite and his greatest enemy, his nemesis, Mr Progressive."
I am sure Musk will be complaining about two tier justice.
There is a good reason why the JSO zoomers got such a long sentence but the optics are terrible. We're going to have people trying to burn asylum seeks alive with shorter sentences.
Perhaps we can come to a PB compromise on "three-tier Keir"?
The arsonist(s) at the Manvers hotel will likely get longer than the JSO bods as obviously a whole hotel can't get out as quickly as police officers can from a van (Please note I am not saying it's right to arson a police van !). I'd be inclined to 15 years for the Manvers arsonists if I was a judge.
Be very careful when you are comparing sentences.
The JSO zoomers claimed to be innocent.
The Southport / Liverpool rioters pleaded guilty at the very first instance so got 1/3 off their sentences so they were to begin with
54 months reduced to 3 years 45 months reduced to 30 months 30 months reduced to 20 months.
The JSO zoomers were serial offenders with many convictions, on suspended sentences and some were even on bail for previous offences.
Obviously as they are middle class and campaigning on Climate Change they are bound to be seen as victims and looked upon favourably by some here.
Every time there is an eruption of far right thuggery or football hooliganism it comes to light that many of the offenders were comfortably middle class men in skilled trades or well paid office jobs. There's usually an investment banker or two thrown in. The sort of people who can afford a beered-up excursion to a trouble spot. I would be very surprised if the same isn't true this time.
Look at the demographics of Reform voters. Lower middle class for the most part. Not the left-behind or the underclass by any stretch.
For example Leanne of Leannes removals. Quite respectable looking area and small business.
- Her style of pushing the bin invites back injury. - The police officer, kicking in a glass door. Great way to chop chunks out of your leg, when you discover that someone fitted non-safety glass in a shit door.
It’s lexan / plexiglass or something similar. Wonder if someone has kicked in her door before?
Even worse - there are 4 million different kinds of such plastic and most of them break into shards, quite nicely. Especially the cheap, nasty ones.
Does anyone (PB's libertarians, perhaps?) still agree with the 2010-15(-19?)(-24?) tory policy of defunding the police and criminal justice system?
What were they (we, all?) thinking?
Seems completely mad, in retrospect.
IIRC, something about crime rates continually falling (because of unleaded petrol?!!), meaning we didn't need expensive police with fat pensions and old, draughty court buildings. Resentment at the legal aid budget, I think? Dislike of lawyers, too?
DEFUND IT ALL! was the policy.
Crackers.
Even those of us who believe in the night watchman state still believe in the need for night watchmen. The purpose of the state is to protect individual rights, enforce contracts, and provide security and defence through a policing and legal system. Things that cannot really work with multiple competing providers or enforcers.
This is the one where Ed Balls interviewed his missus, and 8,200 people complained. No campaign there.
Definitely not a totally incestuous relationship between media and politics. That’s a slam dunk uphold for OFCOM, having the presenter interview his own government minister wife.
Ah but you see, /our/ media representatives are fine upstanding journalists who can remain impartial even when faced with such difficult jobs as, say, interviewing their own wives whereas /your/ media representatives are the lickspittle footmen of their (left|right)* masters who exist only to act as stenographers for the government.
Does anyone (PB's libertarians, perhaps?) still agree with the 2010-15(-19?)(-24?) tory policy of defunding the police and criminal justice system?
What were they (we, all?) thinking?
Seems completely mad, in retrospect.
IIRC, something about crime rates continually falling (because of unleaded petrol?!!), meaning we didn't need expensive police with fat pensions and old, draughty court buildings. Resentment at the legal aid budget, I think? Dislike of lawyers, too?
DEFUND IT ALL! was the policy.
Crackers.
Even those of us who believe in the night watchman state still believe in the need for night watchmen. The purpose of the state is to protect individual rights, enforce contracts, and provide security and defence through a policing and legal system. Things that cannot really work with multiple competing providers or enforcers.
Absolutely. The last thing you want to do is to lose a top batsman in fading light and with a turning ball at the end of the day.
Wife of a Conservative councillor arrested for inciting hatred. Awks.
His explanation is right up there with "some of my friends are black / gay / french ..etc":
Ms Connolly’s husband Raymond, who is vice chair of the committee on adult social care at West Northamptonshire Council, responded by telling the BBC his wife cannot be racist because she ‘looks after Somalian and Bangladeshi kids’.
Compared with some of the stuff you read it's par for the course but because of the timing it's pretty certain she'll be in jail by the end of the week. My overriding feeling is that I wish it was Farage.
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
My firm (metropolitan, elite, diverse etc.) put out an email to all employees that was essentially partisan and reflected exactly this. Condemning any protest against immigration as a violation of its values etc.
I just sat there shaking my head.
Like many others I will keep taking the money, and keeping my mouth shut, whilst voting and supporting elsewhere.
By day, he's a mild mannered employee at a great multi national organisation
At night, he patrols the mean streets of his city, protecting the population from those determined to bring the city and the people to their knees
He is Captain Libertarian
He fights the forces of evil - The Woke, the Metropolitan Liberal Gang, the Elite and his greatest enemy, his nemesis, Mr Progressive."
I get the feeling that 'establishment left liberals' understand very little. They freely boast about their views and assume that everyone around them agrees with them, and then when something happens that indicates otherwise, they get angry and try and blame it on a conspiracy involving someone like Rupert Murdoch, Vladimir Putin or Elon Musk. This circuit is much on display in these comments, it never ends and keeps on resetting itself.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Better a locksmith, which also covers the possibility that the lock is knackered anyway.
Get a Banham while you are at it.
Seriously? We're needing a new front door as it happens.
Edit: noit for the fashionable reason!
They are expensive, but very nice locks.
A decent 5 point lock system with a 3* Euro lock body is probably stronger overall than a single mortice lock like a Banham.
If you’re getting new door, you may as well get one with a multi-point lock.
Door suppliers do tend to supply cheap furniture (handles etc) that you could tear apart with a pair of pliers though, unless you specify otherwise. PAS24 rated stuff tends to be much more solid as it has to be to meet the security rating.
Ukraine counter invasion gathers pace. Supposedly a few thousand Russian soldiers encircled. Town of Sudzha, population 5k said to have fallen. Hopefully they’ve got a cunning plan and this isn’t just borne out of frustration.
Maybe the plan is just: “If we’re going to have to agree to a peace treaty to end the war, best to grab as much Russian land now that we can exchange for Ukranian land when the peace talks are forced on us” ?
To be brutally cynical, the current status quo works well for nearly everybody except the Ukrainians and the Russians who are doing the fighting and the dying.
Arms manufacturers on both sides are getting fat off the demand for weapons from ammunitions to advanced fighter aircraft. The continuing low-level conflict makes calls for proper and rigorous scrutiny of the defence world, especially procurement, impossible. Instead, everyone is clamouring to spend more (despite deficits and huge amounts of debt) on defence and the defence establishment is back at the top of the political table having been relegated to an afterthought after the events of 1989-91.
If we want to cut spending to reduce the deficit, no one is going to propose cutting defence spending which means somewhere else has to take the hit. Who needs that new library or community centre - Putin's legions are coming (despite the fact they can't get from the border to Kharkiv).
I think this take is spectacularly wrong. The West needs a quick victory in Ukraine. Growing numbers of citizens of European democracies in particular want Ukrainian refugees to be able to go home, and they don't want to be spending money on fighting Russia indefinitely.
There's an inconsistency between the rhetoric of political leaders on Ukraine, where they insist that Russia must be defeated, and cannot be allowed to prevail, and the half-measures of their response. When there is such a mismatch people suspect bullshit, and this is being exploited by the Russians and their fellow travellers online.
Western political leaders are trapped between fear of a Russian victory and fear of a Russian defeat, and this has created the incoherence that we see, but this stasis is not stable.
I can't help but be wistful about what might have been if Boris Johnson hadn't destroyed his political career. He seemed to understand that Putin and Russia had to lose. I don't get that sense from any political leader west of Poland, and obviously some of the leaders in the East have decided that accommodation with Russia is better than confrontation.
Eeek. Help needed. Locked out of my own flat by a stiff or jammed Chubb lock that won’t shift
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
Better a locksmith, which also covers the possibility that the lock is knackered anyway.
Get a Banham while you are at it.
Seriously? We're needing a new front door as it happens.
Edit: noit for the fashionable reason!
They are expensive, but very nice locks.
A decent 5 point lock system with a 3* Euro lock body is probably stronger overall than a single mortice lock like a Banham.
If you’re getting new door, you may as well get one with a multi-point lock.
Door suppliers do tend to supply cheap furniture (handles etc) that you could tear apart with a pair of pliers though, unless you specify otherwise. PAS24 rated stuff tends to be much more solid as it has to be to meet the security rating.
A little off-topic, this is my Conservative Councillor Photo of the Day. The gentleman, former 1980s/90s MP Mr Alan Amos, is aiui the entire Conservative Group on Worcester City Council.
Here pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists (WWC) have been diverted down the shared footway on the A449 because a bridge on their alternative route has collapsed, and cones then temporary bollards to protect WWCs are being installed, plus a temporary 30mph limit.
Councillor Amos' complaint is that said cones and bollards are a safety risk for lorries. He has a reputation as a bit of a wedge-driving politician where cycling is concerned.
If there was a useful safety related argument to be made here, one could understand it.
Ukraine counter invasion gathers pace. Supposedly a few thousand Russian soldiers encircled. Town of Sudzha, population 5k said to have fallen. Hopefully they’ve got a cunning plan and this isn’t just borne out of frustration.
Maybe the plan is just: “If we’re going to have to agree to a peace treaty to end the war, best to grab as much Russian land now that we can exchange for Ukranian land when the peace talks are forced on us” ?
The reason the UK's elite class is so hostile to Elon Musk and other dissenters is because they can sense they are losing control of the narrative and the conversation.
We are simply no longer in a world where the national conversation and what is considered "true" can be controlled by the same groups of people --who come from the same backgrounds, have the same values, the same political loyalties, and want the same outcomes.
That era, when the elite class dominate what used to be the most important and influential institutions, is over. It is done. And, as @KonstantinKisin has rightly noted, it is never coming back. We are in a new era.
As I wrote in a book last year, many people in the West are rapidly giving up on "a national conversation" that no longer reflects their values, their voice, and which considers some groups in society, usually minority groups, to be more virtuous than others.
The elite class could have responded to this trend by opening themselves up; they chose to the opposite while also attacking anybody who questioned their consensus along the way."
Although I get Goodwin's point (and have read his book which he so unsubtly plugs), he keeps thinking he isn't part of the elite, and that the elite are the left-wing and the right is the insurgency. I hate to bang on about this, but it's more a case of one set of elites criticising another set of elites courtesy of elite overproduction (see Turchin).
We are shattering into pieces and reassembling into transnational tribes, not compatriots of a nation-state. This is why Musk teases Starmer, Jenrick says he will vote for Trump, Farage and Truss bugger off to the States, and that GOP idiot banged on about British immigration.
Your posts on this stuff are really excellent.
That's very kind of you, thank you. Although please be reassured I will soon be back to making obscure Star Trek references or talking about an interesting stick I have found.
“I am self-declaring as a “community leader” for white English people.
From now on, if the police want to manage protests, I demand they speak to me and any other self identified community leaders.
I will tell the police what style will be suitable for our protests.
I’m guessing everyone is okay with this. I’m assuming I don’t need to be elected either?
If it’s acceptable for Birmingham, then it’s acceptable for the rest of us. Equality means equality.”
You've got a load of racist asshats rioting. It just so happens that on this occasion, those asshats are majority-white. The targets are tending to be non-whites. I'd argue it makes sense to talk to the victims / targets of those asshats, and ensure that a) they will feel safer; b) get feedback from them on what would make them feel safe; and c) try to convince them not to take the law into their own hands in 'self-defence'.
It Alex Harmstong wants to represent racist asshats, let him. But you know what that would make him.
Just so we’re clear. You’re cool with the authorities letting one group in society “self police” by roaming the streets in hoods with machetes and clubs?
No; but I don't think that is what he was saying.
Just so we're clear: You're cool with racist asshats trying to kill immigrants?
No of course I’m not. When have I ever given the impression that I am? But I am pretty uneasy that authorities seem to be selectively surrendering our streets to mob rule.
It’s been such a failure of comms this whole thing. It’s easy. “The only division we recognise in our society is between the law abiding and criminality.”
You seem *very* keen to divert the blame for this mess off the asshats who are doing it and onto 'others'.
I'd argue the only 'failure in comms' is people making misrepresenting stuff up and making stuff up.
Anyone who is using violence or the threat of violence to intimidate others, needs removing from society for a very long time. It’s not complicated JJ.
Who, in your view, is instigating this violence?
Does it matter? Taking to the streets with a weapon is not justifiable under any circumstance. Let law enforcement deal with it, vigilantes will just make things worse and innocent people will get hurt just like that guy who's now in hospital with a lacerated liver after being targeted by a Muslim gang for the heinous crime of going to the pub.
People on this thread are shitting on a police officer for daring to talk to *victim* communities from this violence, in part to stop them from counter-protesting. Do you find that odd?
And it needs to be clear: the victims of this violence are generally the immigrant communities, *not* the racist asshats who are 'protesting'. If those racist asshats went home and wanked heir little dicks, there would be none of this particular violence.
They're talking to "community leaders" or "community elders" and coming up with accepted or agreed policing tactics, one of which was to allow young men armed with knives chase a TV camera crew away.
So you're basically saying yes, it's fine that there's a bloke sitting in hospital with a lacerated liver because he went to the pub and a gang of Muslim youths took exception to it.
I don't want the fascists on the street and I don't want vigilante Muslims on the street. It doesn't matter who started what at this point, anyone causing violence, walking around with knives or threatening people needs to be dealt with immediately and without sympathy. Get the violence off the streets and perpetrators in jail.
"... coming up with accepted or agreed policing tactics, one of which was to allow young men armed with knives chase a TV camera crew away." Do you have evidence for the claim that this 'tactic' was agreed by the police?
As for your last paragraph: it's quite simple. If the white racist asshats stopped rioting and threatening communities, then those communities wouldn't need 'vigilantes'. And if those white racist asshats went home and the vigilantes are still there, they get arrested for that.
But you are looking at the tiny problem and ignoring the massive white racist elephants in the room.
And BTW, many of the communities threatened by the white racists asshats are not Muslim. They might even threaten your community as well, as you're an 'immigrant' (even if you were born here, apparently...)
But it doesn't matter who started what at this point, you don't get it. I want all of the violent thugs off the streets, they are now perpetuating each other. Having Muslims with knives walking around the streets makes me feel no more safe than white fascists walking around the streets with knives. As a brown person I want the rioting to stop, the violence to stop and for anyone causing any violence to be arrested an dealt with.
I don't have a side in this, I just don't want my wife to get stabbed by some Muslim thug who takes exception to her being white and Jewish and I don't want myself to get stabbed by some fascist who takes exception to me being Indian. Get them all off the streets regardless of their "motivation". There is simply no justification for anyone to be walking around the streets with weapons threatening people, regardless of their racial background or religion. Let the law enforcement get their job done.
I do get it. I absolutely get it.
But they are not perpetuating each other; that's just an excuse for the right-wing white asshats. And neither is the scale of it the same.
The victims in this are the immigrant communities. Including yours.
If you were in the UK, and the community of you and your family was being attacked by white right-wing asshats, what would you do? Would you like the police to come and tell you what they're doing, and so you can tell them your fears? Or would you do something more?
No you don't know because you know what my "community" are doing? Staying indoors and waiting for the police to arrest the thugs. Do you see any Hindus or Sikhs out there with knives threatening people? Of course not, we're waiting for the police to do their jobs and get the violent thugs off the streets.
You seem to be condoning violent acts by vigilantes and I don't understand why?
No, I;m not. You seem to be desperate to divert attention away from the right-wing asshates that have started, and continue to start, this mess, and I don't understand why?
Max seems desperate for asshats of all colours and creeds who break the law to be arrested.
There's no excuses for any of them. The Police need to do their job.
Criminals on the streets with knives are criminals on the streets with knives. There's been knife crime in this country for a lot longer than a week.
And AIUI the person in question was arrested. In which case, job jobbed.
But I do wonder why people are so keen to excuse, reduce and condone the right-wing (white) asshates?
I'm not and neither is Max that I see. He's been calling on them to be arrested and quite rightly too.
Yes, but all of his anger seems to be on the Muslim guy. This *one* guy is getting so much airtime, whilst the white right-wing asshates who tried to set fire to a hotel with immigrants in are quietly ignored. Despite their crimes being so much bigger in scale.
Every single post of this conversation I can see Max has said that the Police need to target everyone.
Its you, not Max, that seems obsessed with whataboutery or making excuses like "If the white racist asshats stopped rioting and threatening communities, then those communities wouldn't need 'vigilantes'"
Nobody in the UK needs vigilantes. Anyone threatening people is breaking the law and should be arrested.
I don't disagree; but I think you are somewhat selectively quoting there.
I'll put it this way:
*) This mess was started by right-wing white asshates. *) The vast majority of the violence was in one direction; from the right-wing asshates. *) There has been very little violence in the other direction. *) Concentrating on the violence in the other direction seems odd. *) Claiming that a case of that violence in the other direction was not dealt with, when it was, is even odder.
In fact, it looks a little like trying to say that the victims are as bad as the asshates. Which is classic whataboutery, and *not* what I am doing.
If nothing else, can you please stop saying “racist asshates” and “Musky baby”. It is so inter-galactically CRINGE I am worried you might inadvertently cause a singularity and implode the solar system
Thanks for the advice, but nah. I'll call them racist asshates as that is exactly what they are, and "Musky Baby" adequately sums up that inadequate piece of human trash.
I know you think you are the centre of the universe, but I doubt anything I'd say would cause any damage to anything except your fragile ego.
Does anyone (PB's libertarians, perhaps?) still agree with the 2010-15(-19?)(-24?) tory policy of defunding the police and criminal justice system?
What were they (we, all?) thinking?
Seems completely mad, in retrospect.
IIRC, something about crime rates continually falling (because of unleaded petrol?!!), meaning we didn't need expensive police with fat pensions and old, draughty court buildings. Resentment at the legal aid budget, I think? Dislike of lawyers, too?
DEFUND IT ALL! was the policy.
Crackers.
I actually don't remember that at all - at least not from avowed Libertarians on here. As I have said before, the term is Libertarian, not Anarchist.
And as someone else has already pointed out, Libertarians believe in small state not no state.
Comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyxleqky15o
His stubborn refusal to accept Corbyn and his acolytes were antisemites rather than merely idiots was just embarrassing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QEDY7Hbirg
Thanks for correcting my dreadful spelling too. I will blame the two-year and five-year old scurrying around my feet.
They would deliberate until the 19th January and then declare Trump the winner.
I wouldn't be averse to it - and not in private or in places of religious worship where it'd be fine - it's far too often preceded murder, violence and terrorist acts.
Everyone's already taking about him as if he's already the LOTO, which he'll be perfectly OK with.
Arms manufacturers on both sides are getting fat off the demand for weapons from ammunitions to advanced fighter aircraft. The continuing low-level conflict makes calls for proper and rigorous scrutiny of the defence world, especially procurement, impossible. Instead, everyone is clamouring to spend more (despite deficits and huge amounts of debt) on defence and the defence establishment is back at the top of the political table having been relegated to an afterthought after the events of 1989-91.
If we want to cut spending to reduce the deficit, no one is going to propose cutting defence spending which means somewhere else has to take the hit. Who needs that new library or community centre - Putin's legions are coming (despite the fact they can't get from the border to Kharkiv).
Any handy tips? Or will I hVe to spend ££££ on a locksmith? Tried two keys neither worked
All justice should be like that. One of the worst things the last Conservative government did was to pare it right back.
And pretty much have for decades.
The moment someone gets pished in George Square and falls over his trainer laces, they can go all out on condemning Scottish exceptionalism. Which seems, in fact, to have been absent on the matter of the current riots.
Here are the partial results.
https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/default.htm
I would expect fairly complete results within 3 or 4 days. Usually, they announce each day's count a little after 8 PM, our time. (It will be certified on August 20th.)
A local columnist, citing Sean Trende, claims that the Washington primary results are a good predictor of the US national elections. Briefly, if Democrats, collectively, do better than 55 percent in this primary, they are likely to do well, nationally. Less than that, you should expect Republican gains, nationally. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/was-bloody-mess-of-a-primary-is-something-else-a-bellwether/
Reminder: Before you actually make a bet, you should check Trend's analysis, and you should review this famous cartoon: https://xkcd.com/1122/
(If this tip helps you make money, I hope you will contribute a little of your winnings to a charity, for example the Salvation Army, or F.I.R.E.)
I’ve no idea if the unrest will continue. I hope not - but I do wonder what happens if the threat of “immediate imprisonment” doesn’t actually become a reality. I’m guessing some of these idiots protesting think they have nothing to lose 🤷♂️
292/246 Electoral College split.
I think NV, PA and GA will be uncomfortably close though.
Not interested in your whatabouttery.
Apparently if you lie flat on the floor and take it from a different angle, Chubb locks appreciate the effort and let you in
https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/practices/community-leaders-forum
I just sat there shaking my head.
Like many others I will keep taking the money, and keeping my mouth shut, whilst voting and supporting elsewhere.
https://x.com/PeterGarbacz/status/1820089070963319210?t=Bl7lEbdppeH5kJcrl-JkBg&s=19
Best not book a removal with her for a while.
She better hope that this gets dismissed before discovery, which is highly likely. I'd forgo the motion to dismiss if I were a defendant I'd go right to discovery, few companies on earth have more skeletons. Limiting Ukraine posts, suspending pro-Harris accounts, dig it all up.
https://x.com/hissgoescobra/status/1820862470594216322
Use thin easing oil, or mineral oil if you have it - say something like valve oil for a musical instrument. Get it into the lock by putting it on the key.
When you replace the lock, have a thumb turn on the inside. Legal requirement if ever rented out, and it saves any scrote who breaks in smashing your door as well.
Remember that if it is a Eurolock it may just need a new barrel, which is dead easy to do yourself. They can be ordered online, but you'll need to look up how to measure them.
For policy I always go for anti-bump anti-snap lock barrels.
Reflecting, replace it now for preventative reasons so that it doesn't happen again.
*The same FPTP that is supported by both Labour and Conservative parties, for balance.
In what way is Elon Musk a 'dissenter' ?
He's a foreign billionaire using his very expensively acquired media platform to interfere in UK politics.
No more a 'dissenter' than Rupert bloody Murdoch.
We are talking about real people living in real places, with real lives. This is on a par with "anti-Zionists" attacking synagogues.
- Her style of pushing the bin invites back injury.
- The police officer, kicking in a glass door. Great way to chop chunks out of your leg, when you discover that someone fitted non-safety glass in a shit door.
However the problem this time was a very stiff lock, low on the ground; I had to lie down and penetrate from a more sensitive and consensual angle, and she yielded
She is no saint, she is no nun
In God's good time, she will be won
All Teslas to be removed from the roads and no new sales
What were they (we, all?) thinking?
Seems completely mad, in retrospect.
IIRC, something about crime rates continually falling (because of unleaded petrol?!!), meaning we didn't need expensive police with fat pensions and old, draughty court buildings. Resentment at the legal aid budget, I think? Dislike of lawyers, too?
DEFUND IT ALL! was the policy.
Crackers.
A couple of tiny drops on the key and wiggle it around a bit. Should bring out some gunk, which you can wipe off with a tissue.
(Btw, you've broken the PB double entendre meter for the day.)
And as far as not being able to distinguish a message from the messenger that appears to be your failing. You accept a message on face value. Most people might look at who sent it and think maybe I shouldn't forward a message from QAnon or a rabid racist because possibly it is just unreliable.
Oddly I am not the strange one. Many others reacted yesterday similarly. It is just me not letting you off the hook, because you have done this twice now (at least) and bearing in mind what is happening currently with social media it makes sense to be careful what you post (or link to) by spending 30 seconds checking out its veracity.
The fact that you can post stuff here and not be the slightest interested in the source of that information is I would suggest 'strange'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-6kHjF1U1E
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xky7g9jdo
This is the one where Ed Balls interviewed his missus, and 8,200 people complained. No campaign there.
Edit: noit for the fashionable reason!
At night, he patrols the mean streets of his city, protecting the population from those determined to bring the city and the people to their knees
He is Captain Libertarian
He fights the forces of evil - The Woke, the Metropolitan Liberal Gang, the Elite and his greatest enemy, his nemesis, Mr Progressive."
Sorry, it's Wednesday afternoon....
* delete as appropriate
(Seriously though: what were they thinking?)
NEW THREAD
If you’re getting new door, you may as well get one with a multi-point lock.
Door suppliers do tend to supply cheap furniture (handles etc) that you could tear apart with a pair of pliers though, unless you specify otherwise. PAS24 rated stuff tends to be much more solid as it has to be to meet the security rating.
There's an inconsistency between the rhetoric of political leaders on Ukraine, where they insist that Russia must be defeated, and cannot be allowed to prevail, and the half-measures of their response. When there is such a mismatch people suspect bullshit, and this is being exploited by the Russians and their fellow travellers online.
Western political leaders are trapped between fear of a Russian victory and fear of a Russian defeat, and this has created the incoherence that we see, but this stasis is not stable.
I can't help but be wistful about what might have been if Boris Johnson hadn't destroyed his political career. He seemed to understand that Putin and Russia had to lose. I don't get that sense from any political leader west of Poland, and obviously some of the leaders in the East have decided that accommodation with Russia is better than confrontation.
The gentleman, former 1980s/90s MP Mr Alan Amos, is aiui the entire Conservative Group on Worcester City Council.
Here pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists (WWC) have been diverted down the shared footway on the A449 because a bridge on their alternative route has collapsed, and cones then temporary bollards to protect WWCs are being installed, plus a temporary 30mph limit.
Councillor Amos' complaint is that said cones and bollards are a safety risk for lorries. He has a reputation as a bit of a wedge-driving politician where cycling is concerned.
If there was a useful safety related argument to be made here, one could understand it.
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/24488133.a449-malvern-road-cycle-path-cones-cyclists-dismount/
I know you think you are the centre of the universe, but I doubt anything I'd say would cause any damage to anything except your fragile ego.
And as someone else has already pointed out, Libertarians believe in small state not no state.