Also what anger must we confront? A mad man born and raised in Wales? Because he's Black? The protesters and rioters don't have any legitimate complaints.
People are too focused on vibes and rhetoric these days. The way to achieve what Will suggests is not by engaging in the “conversation”. We’ve had rather too much of that and it just ends up ugly. The last government perfected the art of talking tough and not actually doing anything.
The thing is to speak inclusively, welcomingly, and then use legislation to get immigration to a level the country can support. That, I think, is what Cooper and Starmer are aiming at.
I thought the same. I wonder if the shooting has knacked him. Wouldn’t be at all surprising
Please God let him withdraw and get a good sane firm Republican candidate
No, Trump needs to be defeated (humiliated) as Trump. Just like Labour needed 2019 to shake off Corbyn. Then the GOP can start being less weird.
Sounds like this press conference was a bit of a fiasco for him. But it won't turn off the faithful.
Listened to a bit of it. Stream-of-consciousness brain-dump. What you'd expect from him, I guess, but extraordinary when you think of it. And then imagine what he could be like in 5 years time, coming to the end of a second term, convinced he possesses the judgement of Solomon, and vindicated by an election victory...
Most people of those persuasions are great people frankly
There are a lot of differences however between those who have integrated and those that live in their own communities which I didn't understand till I lived in one of those communities because suddenly you are expected to live by their rules not the british rules
You see the same in migrant communities of Brits abroad. Some integrate and learn the language, most don’t. Except there’s a particularly irritating genre of Brit who is so proudly integrated that it becomes almost self-hating Britophobia. I think that tendency exists in pretty much every immigrant community.
I've noticed that this tendency is strongest in people who learn one and only one foreign language (or who are raised bilingual and don't learn any others).
Just picked up an email saying that my phone service - which gives me free phone calls all the time including to mobiles, and over which my internet and TV service comes, is losing its starter discount.
Many single posters will not appreciate or understand this. But the family are all in France and I am back here, working and paying the bills, before joining them a few days later.
We all love our families, our spouses and children. But a couple of days at home on one’s own (it was supposed to be 10 days but car theft put paid to that) is liberating.
I can do domestic jobs far more efficiently than if there were others involved. I can cook weird food without fear of rejection. I can put angostura bitters in a bottle of lager. I can iron clothes knowing they won’t be worn or soiled for another couple of weeks. I can leave washing out on the line in the rain by accident and then bring it inside without anyone noticing.
I don’t even need to see my friends. Years ago they all lived in London so a home alone night meant texting them and going out, which was nice and all that but now I have a choice because they’ve all fucked off to the provinces. So it’s a night in with angostura bitters and surplus lager.
Coincidentally I am also home alone (not counting the dog) as Mrs P. is spending a few nights with her father after his cataract operation.
Quite nice to chill and slob out a bit but I'll be getting lonely by Monday when she comes back.
Integration is a huge problem, I lived in slough, I worked well with ethnic minorites, many of my neighbours were ethnic minorities and we all got on well....then I bought a house in a part of town that was more working class....we were the only white people on the street. It was a very different experience with our new neighbours....indeed my live in girlfriend and I split up as she needed to get out moving back to dublins as it took a long time to sell the house.
She got spat on and called white trash two or three times a month by the children of our neighbours and she could no longer take it. Her crime? Wearing a t shirt
I think a lot here live in the suburbs, we did when renting and really didn't understand the antipathy. Till we bought a house in a non middle class area where we were definitely not a good fit as far as our neighbours were concerned
talking to yourself?
Oh do fuck off, get off your middle class high horse. I gave an honest assessment of what I experience you don't like it as it spits on your false assumptions
Here is a question for you.
You live in a house you are the only people of your ethnicity in the street or indeed the surrounding streets. When your girlfriend is spat on by a 15 year old and called white trash and you go knock on the parents door and they tell you its her fault for not covering her arms and wearing a niquab over her hair how would you feel?
When I lived in Jodhpur I was probably the only person of my ethnicity within 10 miles. When I lived in Kennington I was the only person of my ethnicity in my house. What’s your point exactly?
I thinking he is claiming that the middle class experience and embracing of diversity is different.
I don't think so. Most mixed race relationships are amongst the working class, for example.
No, he’s saying that poorer people have less choice as to where they live. And it can be no fun at all being the only white family in an entirely conservative Muslim neighbourhood. How is this hard to grasp?
Of course this goes both ways. Being the only minority family in a traditional WWC burb can surely be challenging, as well
See. Been there done that. Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years. It isn't all plain sailing. Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we. Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private. And in private. So did the neighbours.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
You’re a few days out of date though. That’s my point. He was crashing. That was after soaring on the back of the election win. Now, as of - what - a race across the world stopover of 36 hours, he’s back in the game. Well get the ratings next week.
Just picked up an email saying that my phone service - which gives me free phone calls all the time including to mobiles, and over which my internet and TV service comes, is losing its starter discount.
The Harris campaign may have a slight but possibly growing issue: Walz is a better campaigner and it may become an issue.
That isn't a real issue. Very few people will say, "I'd prefer Walz to be candidate than Harris, so I'm voting Trump".
He's a 60 year old loyalist, who is enjoying himself and doing well so far. That's no problem at all.
I'd also not overstate how good he is. He's credible and a good turn on the stump. He's not JFK.
I think the phenomenon I referred to a few threads ago of him reminding liberal millenials of their dads before they became polarised says something quite profound about modern politics. People were more at ease pre-woke, even if by contemporary standards society was in the dark ages on progressive issues.
Many single posters will not appreciate or understand this. But the family are all in France and I am back here, working and paying the bills, before joining them a few days later.
We all love our families, our spouses and children. But a couple of days at home on one’s own (it was supposed to be 10 days but car theft put paid to that) is liberating.
I can do domestic jobs far more efficiently than if there were others involved. I can cook weird food without fear of rejection. I can put angostura bitters in a bottle of lager. I can iron clothes knowing they won’t be worn or soiled for another couple of weeks. I can leave washing out on the line in the rain by accident and then bring it inside without anyone noticing.
I don’t even need to see my friends. Years ago they all lived in London so a home alone night meant texting them and going out, which was nice and all that but now I have a choice because they’ve all fucked off to the provinces. So it’s a night in with angostura bitters and surplus lager.
Coincidentally I am also home alone (not counting the dog) as Mrs P. is spending a few nights with her father after his cataract operation.
Quite nice to chill and slob out a bit but I'll be getting lonely by Monday when she comes back.
Integration is a huge problem, I lived in slough, I worked well with ethnic minorites, many of my neighbours were ethnic minorities and we all got on well....then I bought a house in a part of town that was more working class....we were the only white people on the street. It was a very different experience with our new neighbours....indeed my live in girlfriend and I split up as she needed to get out moving back to dublins as it took a long time to sell the house.
She got spat on and called white trash two or three times a month by the children of our neighbours and she could no longer take it. Her crime? Wearing a t shirt
I think a lot here live in the suburbs, we did when renting and really didn't understand the antipathy. Till we bought a house in a non middle class area where we were definitely not a good fit as far as our neighbours were concerned
talking to yourself?
Oh do fuck off, get off your middle class high horse. I gave an honest assessment of what I experience you don't like it as it spits on your false assumptions
Here is a question for you.
You live in a house you are the only people of your ethnicity in the street or indeed the surrounding streets. When your girlfriend is spat on by a 15 year old and called white trash and you go knock on the parents door and they tell you its her fault for not covering her arms and wearing a niquab over her hair how would you feel?
When I lived in Jodhpur I was probably the only person of my ethnicity within 10 miles. When I lived in Kennington I was the only person of my ethnicity in my house. What’s your point exactly?
I thinking he is claiming that the middle class experience and embracing of diversity is different.
I don't think so. Most mixed race relationships are amongst the working class, for example.
No, he’s saying that poorer people have less choice as to where they live. And it can be no fun at all being the only white family in an entirely conservative Muslim neighbourhood. How is this hard to grasp?
Of course this goes both ways. Being the only minority family in a traditional WWC burb can surely be challenging, as well
See. Been there done that. Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years. It isn't all plain sailing. Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we. Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private. And in private. So did the neighbours.
A very old lady in Taiwan once accosted me, and finding I was from the UK, threw her cane on the ground, spat on the ground, and told me in broken english "I spit on your Queen". Never worked out what her deal was. Perhaps she was Japanese?
I thought the same. I wonder if the shooting has knacked him. Wouldn’t be at all surprising
Please God let him withdraw and get a good sane firm Republican candidate
No, Trump needs to be defeated (humiliated) as Trump. Just like Labour needed 2019 to shake off Corbyn. Then the GOP can start being less weird.
Sounds like this press conference was a bit of a fiasco for him. But it won't turn off the faithful.
Listened to a bit of it. Stream-of-consciousness brain-dump. What you'd expect from him, I guess, but extraordinary when you think of it. And then imagine what he could be like in 5 years time, coming to the end of a second term, convinced he possesses the judgement of Solomon, and vindicated by an election victory...
Most people of those persuasions are great people frankly
There are a lot of differences however between those who have integrated and those that live in their own communities which I didn't understand till I lived in one of those communities because suddenly you are expected to live by their rules not the british rules
You see the same in migrant communities of Brits abroad. Some integrate and learn the language, most don’t. Except there’s a particularly irritating genre of Brit who is so proudly integrated that it becomes almost self-hating Britophobia. I think that tendency exists in pretty much every immigrant community.
I've noticed that this tendency is strongest in people who learn one and only one foreign language (or who are raised bilingual and don't learn any others).
RS Archer of TwiX notoriety is the self-parodic archetype. And I say that as a proud and militant remainer.
The Harris campaign may have a slight but possibly growing issue: Walz is a better campaigner and it may become an issue.
That isn't a real issue. Very few people will say, "I'd prefer Walz to be candidate than Harris, so I'm voting Trump".
He's a 60 year old loyalist, who is enjoying himself and doing well so far. That's no problem at all.
I'd also not overstate how good he is. He's credible and a good turn on the stump. He's not JFK.
I think the phenomenon I referred to a few threads ago of him reminding liberal millenials of their dads before they became polarised says something quite profound about modern politics. People were more at ease pre-woke, even if by contemporary standards society was in the dark ages on progressive issues.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
You’re a few days out of date though. That’s my point. He was crashing. That was after soaring on the back of the election win. Now, as of - what - a race across the world stopover of 36 hours, he’s back in the game. Well get the ratings next week.
It will be interesting
My suspicion is that Starmer is already on a long downwards slope. He was never popular to begin with - 33.7% on 60% turnout - and he’s done absolutely nothing to please people since then
Perhaps he is a Labour Thatcher, starting unpopular then growing to greatness. But do you really see that in him? Perhaps he will get a Falklands moment - we live in turbulent times, as you rightly point out
One thing has changed: his luck. Until now he’s been really lucky - a split enemy, Liz Truss, etc
But getting southport and then hideous race riots in your first six weeks as PM is decidedly UNlucky
The Harris campaign may have a slight but possibly growing issue: Walz is a better campaigner and it may become an issue.
That is less of an issue in US electoral politics than it is in Westminster systems. It is much harder to change the frontman, and the risk of alternative power bases is weakened simply by how powerful the president and presidential candidates are and how difficult it is to remove them.
If anything if Walz turns out to be really popular it's a good thing for the campaign generally - there's only one campaign with him on the ticket.
The Harris campaign may have a slight but possibly growing issue: Walz is a better campaigner and it may become an issue.
That isn't a real issue. Very few people will say, "I'd prefer Walz to be candidate than Harris, so I'm voting Trump".
He's a 60 year old loyalist, who is enjoying himself and doing well so far. That's no problem at all.
I'd also not overstate how good he is. He's credible and a good turn on the stump. He's not JFK.
I think the phenomenon I referred to a few threads ago of him reminding liberal millenials of their dads before they became polarised says something quite profound about modern politics. People were more at ease pre-woke, even if by contemporary standards society was in the dark ages on progressive issues.
Many single posters will not appreciate or understand this. But the family are all in France and I am back here, working and paying the bills, before joining them a few days later.
We all love our families, our spouses and children. But a couple of days at home on one’s own (it was supposed to be 10 days but car theft put paid to that) is liberating.
I can do domestic jobs far more efficiently than if there were others involved. I can cook weird food without fear of rejection. I can put angostura bitters in a bottle of lager. I can iron clothes knowing they won’t be worn or soiled for another couple of weeks. I can leave washing out on the line in the rain by accident and then bring it inside without anyone noticing.
I don’t even need to see my friends. Years ago they all lived in London so a home alone night meant texting them and going out, which was nice and all that but now I have a choice because they’ve all fucked off to the provinces. So it’s a night in with angostura bitters and surplus lager.
Coincidentally I am also home alone (not counting the dog) as Mrs P. is spending a few nights with her father after his cataract operation.
Quite nice to chill and slob out a bit but I'll be getting lonely by Monday when she comes back.
Integration is a huge problem, I lived in slough, I worked well with ethnic minorites, many of my neighbours were ethnic minorities and we all got on well....then I bought a house in a part of town that was more working class....we were the only white people on the street. It was a very different experience with our new neighbours....indeed my live in girlfriend and I split up as she needed to get out moving back to dublins as it took a long time to sell the house.
She got spat on and called white trash two or three times a month by the children of our neighbours and she could no longer take it. Her crime? Wearing a t shirt
I think a lot here live in the suburbs, we did when renting and really didn't understand the antipathy. Till we bought a house in a non middle class area where we were definitely not a good fit as far as our neighbours were concerned
talking to yourself?
Oh do fuck off, get off your middle class high horse. I gave an honest assessment of what I experience you don't like it as it spits on your false assumptions
Here is a question for you.
You live in a house you are the only people of your ethnicity in the street or indeed the surrounding streets. When your girlfriend is spat on by a 15 year old and called white trash and you go knock on the parents door and they tell you its her fault for not covering her arms and wearing a niquab over her hair how would you feel?
When I lived in Jodhpur I was probably the only person of my ethnicity within 10 miles. When I lived in Kennington I was the only person of my ethnicity in my house. What’s your point exactly?
I thinking he is claiming that the middle class experience and embracing of diversity is different.
I don't think so. Most mixed race relationships are amongst the working class, for example.
No, he’s saying that poorer people have less choice as to where they live. And it can be no fun at all being the only white family in an entirely conservative Muslim neighbourhood. How is this hard to grasp?
Of course this goes both ways. Being the only minority family in a traditional WWC burb can surely be challenging, as well
See. Been there done that. Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years. It isn't all plain sailing. Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we. Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private. And in private. So did the neighbours.
A very old lady in Taiwan once accosted me, and finding I was from the UK, threw her cane on the ground, spat on the ground, and told me in broken english "I spit on your Queen". Never worked out what her deal was. Perhaps she was Japanese?
I thought the same. I wonder if the shooting has knacked him. Wouldn’t be at all surprising
Please God let him withdraw and get a good sane firm Republican candidate
No, Trump needs to be defeated (humiliated) as Trump. Just like Labour needed 2019 to shake off Corbyn. Then the GOP can start being less weird.
Sounds like this press conference was a bit of a fiasco for him. But it won't turn off the faithful.
Listened to a bit of it. Stream-of-consciousness brain-dump. What you'd expect from him, I guess, but extraordinary when you think of it. And then imagine what he could be like in 5 years time, coming to the end of a second term, convinced he possesses the judgement of Solomon, and vindicated by an election victory...
Most people of those persuasions are great people frankly
There are a lot of differences however between those who have integrated and those that live in their own communities which I didn't understand till I lived in one of those communities because suddenly you are expected to live by their rules not the british rules
You see the same in migrant communities of Brits abroad. Some integrate and learn the language, most don’t. Except there’s a particularly irritating genre of Brit who is so proudly integrated that it becomes almost self-hating Britophobia. I think that tendency exists in pretty much every immigrant community.
I've noticed that this tendency is strongest in people who learn one and only one foreign language (or who are raised bilingual and don't learn any others).
RS Archer of TwiX notoriety is the self-parodic archetype. And I say that as a proud and militant remainer.
Some of the most amusing people on TwiX are the delusional Remoaners who think he’s real and telling true stories
Many single posters will not appreciate or understand this. But the family are all in France and I am back here, working and paying the bills, before joining them a few days later.
We all love our families, our spouses and children. But a couple of days at home on one’s own (it was supposed to be 10 days but car theft put paid to that) is liberating.
I can do domestic jobs far more efficiently than if there were others involved. I can cook weird food without fear of rejection. I can put angostura bitters in a bottle of lager. I can iron clothes knowing they won’t be worn or soiled for another couple of weeks. I can leave washing out on the line in the rain by accident and then bring it inside without anyone noticing.
I don’t even need to see my friends. Years ago they all lived in London so a home alone night meant texting them and going out, which was nice and all that but now I have a choice because they’ve all fucked off to the provinces. So it’s a night in with angostura bitters and surplus lager.
Coincidentally I am also home alone (not counting the dog) as Mrs P. is spending a few nights with her father after his cataract operation.
Quite nice to chill and slob out a bit but I'll be getting lonely by Monday when she comes back.
Integration is a huge problem, I lived in slough, I worked well with ethnic minorites, many of my neighbours were ethnic minorities and we all got on well....then I bought a house in a part of town that was more working class....we were the only white people on the street. It was a very different experience with our new neighbours....indeed my live in girlfriend and I split up as she needed to get out moving back to dublins as it took a long time to sell the house.
She got spat on and called white trash two or three times a month by the children of our neighbours and she could no longer take it. Her crime? Wearing a t shirt
I think a lot here live in the suburbs, we did when renting and really didn't understand the antipathy. Till we bought a house in a non middle class area where we were definitely not a good fit as far as our neighbours were concerned
talking to yourself?
Oh do fuck off, get off your middle class high horse. I gave an honest assessment of what I experience you don't like it as it spits on your false assumptions
Here is a question for you.
You live in a house you are the only people of your ethnicity in the street or indeed the surrounding streets. When your girlfriend is spat on by a 15 year old and called white trash and you go knock on the parents door and they tell you its her fault for not covering her arms and wearing a niquab over her hair how would you feel?
When I lived in Jodhpur I was probably the only person of my ethnicity within 10 miles. When I lived in Kennington I was the only person of my ethnicity in my house. What’s your point exactly?
I thinking he is claiming that the middle class experience and embracing of diversity is different.
I don't think so. Most mixed race relationships are amongst the working class, for example.
No, he’s saying that poorer people have less choice as to where they live. And it can be no fun at all being the only white family in an entirely conservative Muslim neighbourhood. How is this hard to grasp?
Of course this goes both ways. Being the only minority family in a traditional WWC burb can surely be challenging, as well
See. Been there done that. Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years. It isn't all plain sailing. Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we. Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private. And in private. So did the neighbours.
A very old lady in Taiwan once accosted me, and finding I was from the UK, threw her cane on the ground, spat on the ground, and told me in broken english "I spit on your Queen". Never worked out what her deal was. Perhaps she was Japanese?
Not heard of the Opium Wars, then?
Yes. But she can't have been born much before, say 1920. So she would have grown up under Japanese rule in Taiwan (1895-1945). The Japanese stamped out opium use in Taiwan pretty quickly.
An athlete at the Crossfit games drowned during the swimming event. From the video, it appears they might have had some sort of medical emergency and disappeared under the water. Appears no life guards in the water with them and not sure they noticed straight away.
The Harris campaign may have a slight but possibly growing issue: Walz is a better campaigner and it may become an issue.
That isn't a real issue. Very few people will say, "I'd prefer Walz to be candidate than Harris, so I'm voting Trump".
He's a 60 year old loyalist, who is enjoying himself and doing well so far. That's no problem at all.
I'd also not overstate how good he is. He's credible and a good turn on the stump. He's not JFK.
I think the phenomenon I referred to a few threads ago of him reminding liberal millenials of their dads before they became polarised says something quite profound about modern politics. People were more at ease pre-woke, even if by contemporary standards society was in the dark ages on progressive issues.
That’s a one sided reading. People were more at ease pre culture war. The left triggered some of the dislocation, but a lot came from the American (evangelical) right, overturning decades of consensus on issues like abortion and gender, and turning a non-partisan fight against climate change into an ideological battlefield. That last one has massively undermined global efforts to dig us out of the increasingly hot hole we find ourselves in.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
You’re a few days out of date though. That’s my point. He was crashing. That was after soaring on the back of the election win. Now, as of - what - a race across the world stopover of 36 hours, he’s back in the game. Well get the ratings next week.
It will be interesting
My suspicion is that Starmer is already on a long downwards slope. He was never popular to begin with - 33.7% on 60% turnout - and he’s done absolutely nothing to please people since then
Perhaps he is a Labour Thatcher, starting unpopular then growing to greatness. But do you really see that in him? Perhaps he will get a Falklands moment - we live in turbulent times, as you rightly point out
One thing has changed: his luck. Until now he’s been really lucky - a split enemy, Liz Truss, etc
But getting southport and then hideous race riots in your first six weeks as PM is decidedly UNlucky
I think "UNlucky" takes agency away from bad actors on the far-right.
There was clear political targeting going on - cf; Jess Philips' constituency, a few days ago.
Southport looks to have been a fairly random spark (I'm sure we'll find out in time), but what followed - and the locations - were not down to pure (bad?) luck.
The race riots are (let's hope, were) political violence, directed at - and with the intention of destabilising - Starmer and his new government.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
You’re a few days out of date though. That’s my point. He was crashing. That was after soaring on the back of the election win. Now, as of - what - a race across the world stopover of 36 hours, he’s back in the game. Well get the ratings next week.
It will be interesting
My suspicion is that Starmer is already on a long downwards slope. He was never popular to begin with - 33.7% on 60% turnout - and he’s done absolutely nothing to please people since then
Perhaps he is a Labour Thatcher, starting unpopular then growing to greatness. But do you really see that in him? Perhaps he will get a Falklands moment - we live in turbulent times, as you rightly point out
One thing has changed: his luck. Until now he’s been really lucky - a split enemy, Liz Truss, etc
But getting southport and then hideous race riots in your first six weeks as PM is decidedly UNlucky
Not sure I agree with you there.
Its given him a chance to come across as Prime Ministerial, saying that those who are engaged in violence will be dealt with - and they are being dealt with.
This plays right into his strength.
I said the other day my wife mentioned a moodshift with videos she sees on TikTok, splicing together videos of Keir saying that people breaking the law will regret it, with talk of 2011 and the rapid prosecution of rioters . . . by DPP Keir Starmer.
To another Prime Minister this past week could have been an unpleasant high speed bouncer while new at the crease, but its one that Starmer knows how to handle.
I thought the same. I wonder if the shooting has knacked him. Wouldn’t be at all surprising
Please God let him withdraw and get a good sane firm Republican candidate
No, Trump needs to be defeated (humiliated) as Trump. Just like Labour needed 2019 to shake off Corbyn. Then the GOP can start being less weird.
Sounds like this press conference was a bit of a fiasco for him. But it won't turn off the faithful.
Listened to a bit of it. Stream-of-consciousness brain-dump. What you'd expect from him, I guess, but extraordinary when you think of it. And then imagine what he could be like in 5 years time, coming to the end of a second term, convinced he possesses the judgement of Solomon, and vindicated by an election victory...
Most people of those persuasions are great people frankly
There are a lot of differences however between those who have integrated and those that live in their own communities which I didn't understand till I lived in one of those communities because suddenly you are expected to live by their rules not the british rules
You see the same in migrant communities of Brits abroad. Some integrate and learn the language, most don’t. Except there’s a particularly irritating genre of Brit who is so proudly integrated that it becomes almost self-hating Britophobia. I think that tendency exists in pretty much every immigrant community.
I've noticed that this tendency is strongest in people who learn one and only one foreign language (or who are raised bilingual and don't learn any others).
RS Archer of TwiX notoriety is the self-parodic archetype. And I say that as a proud and militant remainer.
Some of the most amusing people on TwiX are the delusional Remoaners who think he’s real and telling true stories
Loads of people on here think Leon is a real person rather than just Owen Jones letting his hair down, so let's not judge.
We are going to overcorrect here with the authoritarian streak we seem to get with Labour governments (after being anti it in opposition). We already have plenty of strong laws, when the authorities choose to use them, as we are seeing with all the knuckle draggers going to do serious porridge. A bloke has got 2 years for spitting at a police officer, normally that wouldn't probably even wouldn't get you arrested.
Walz: "The Republican party is stuck with Donald Trump. He's yours. You got him. You are welcome to it."
What a veep pick.
There isn't an insignificant chance of Walz or Vance becoming President. There are a lot of guns and nutters in America. Voters need to take this seriously.
And in Vance's case there are a lot of District Attorneys.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
We remain tantalisingly close to statistical parity with France in the medal table. They have one more silver and one more gold. So it would only take two events to get us there.
Britain and France are to all intents and purposes siblings that should have merged back in the 1950s when it was on the table. The same glorious dissonance that is what makes the Anglo-Scottish relationship so harmonious and productive.
Most people if given a choice would merge with North korea before merging with france
Done polling have you? Until then, speak for yourself.
Large tracts of it used to be ours.
Not done polling no, just experience that no one much has a good word to say about the french. Most of my team are scottish for example, a group that in theory should like the french from recent history. Most of them don't like the french either and if asked if they wanted to merge would go hell no!
You of course making the first claim if anyone showing a popular move to merge with the french not me
Have you been to France? I’ve just spent about 9 of the last 12 weeks there, all over the country
They are remarkably polite, friendly, honest, kind, certainly outside Paris. In fact it’s getting hard to find the traditional rude shrugging Frenchman
It really helps if you can say just two or three words of French. That makes them smile, then they happily accept that English is the lingua franca
And their country is much more beautiful than ours
I deny nothing you have said, however nothing you said indicates they want to merge with england so I don't see how it is remotely relevant
Oh but Pagan I am deadly serious about this.
Give it time and the peuples of les deux états will voir la lumière.
It could have been great. Third largest economy in the world.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
I believe the concern is that Labour's internal chosen definition is extremely wide ranging, more than the internationally agreed antisemitism one. Also, we already have laws against racism that can be deployed.
We are going to overcorrect here with the authoritarian streak we seem to get with Labour governments (after being anti it in opposition). We already have plenty of strong laws, when the authorities choose to use them, as we are seeing with all the knuckle draggers going to do serious porridge.
I hope not. A wise government would make the most of the powers already available to them instead of granting themselves more.
The most interesting thing will be Musk vs Starmer. That one isn’t going away. Can Starmer neutralise Elon without having to reach for new draconian media laws? W we know from Turkey and other places that Musky plays nice when faced with authoritarian regimes.
Many single posters will not appreciate or understand this. But the family are all in France and I am back here, working and paying the bills, before joining them a few days later.
We all love our families, our spouses and children. But a couple of days at home on one’s own (it was supposed to be 10 days but car theft put paid to that) is liberating.
I can do domestic jobs far more efficiently than if there were others involved. I can cook weird food without fear of rejection. I can put angostura bitters in a bottle of lager. I can iron clothes knowing they won’t be worn or soiled for another couple of weeks. I can leave washing out on the line in the rain by accident and then bring it inside without anyone noticing.
I don’t even need to see my friends. Years ago they all lived in London so a home alone night meant texting them and going out, which was nice and all that but now I have a choice because they’ve all fucked off to the provinces. So it’s a night in with angostura bitters and surplus lager.
Coincidentally I am also home alone (not counting the dog) as Mrs P. is spending a few nights with her father after his cataract operation.
Quite nice to chill and slob out a bit but I'll be getting lonely by Monday when she comes back.
Integration is a huge problem, I lived in slough, I worked well with ethnic minorites, many of my neighbours were ethnic minorities and we all got on well....then I bought a house in a part of town that was more working class....we were the only white people on the street. It was a very different experience with our new neighbours....indeed my live in girlfriend and I split up as she needed to get out moving back to dublins as it took a long time to sell the house.
She got spat on and called white trash two or three times a month by the children of our neighbours and she could no longer take it. Her crime? Wearing a t shirt
I think a lot here live in the suburbs, we did when renting and really didn't understand the antipathy. Till we bought a house in a non middle class area where we were definitely not a good fit as far as our neighbours were concerned
talking to yourself?
Oh do fuck off, get off your middle class high horse. I gave an honest assessment of what I experience you don't like it as it spits on your false assumptions
Here is a question for you.
You live in a house you are the only people of your ethnicity in the street or indeed the surrounding streets. When your girlfriend is spat on by a 15 year old and called white trash and you go knock on the parents door and they tell you its her fault for not covering her arms and wearing a niquab over her hair how would you feel?
When I lived in Jodhpur I was probably the only person of my ethnicity within 10 miles. When I lived in Kennington I was the only person of my ethnicity in my house. What’s your point exactly?
I thinking he is claiming that the middle class experience and embracing of diversity is different.
I don't think so. Most mixed race relationships are amongst the working class, for example.
No, he’s saying that poorer people have less choice as to where they live. And it can be no fun at all being the only white family in an entirely conservative Muslim neighbourhood. How is this hard to grasp?
Of course this goes both ways. Being the only minority family in a traditional WWC burb can surely be challenging, as well
See. Been there done that. Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years. It isn't all plain sailing. Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we. Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private. And in private. So did the neighbours.
A very old lady in Taiwan once accosted me, and finding I was from the UK, threw her cane on the ground, spat on the ground, and told me in broken english "I spit on your Queen". Never worked out what her deal was. Perhaps she was Japanese?
Not heard of the Opium Wars, then?
Yes. But she can't have been born much before, say 1920. So she would have grown up under Japanese rule in Taiwan (1895-1945). The Japanese stamped out opium use in Taiwan pretty quickly.
I suppose perhaps she was a mainlander.
Well, er, yes. Taiwan famously had QUITE the influx of “mainlanders” after World War 2. Perhaps you missed that
Linklaters partner banned from drinking at work events after Vienna trip
Magic Circle law firm issues final warning after partner accused of inappropriate behaviour
A partner at the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters has been banned from drinking alcohol at work events after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour during a business trip to Vienna.
The elite City institution is understood to have given the partner a final warning following a complaint that he had touched the bottom of a female associate during a work retreat in June.
The partner is also accused of making inappropriate comments to another female associate during the Vienna trip.
This includes remarks about coming up to her room and asking whether she would be going up to the room of another male partner, who was allegedly present during the evening drinks.
Linklaters is understood to have restricted the partner from drinking at work events and work socials after launching an investigation into the incident.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
You haven’t noticed Starmer’s approval ratings in free fall, then?
Still no VI...
I mean I know they’re all embarrassed by their polling failure in July but it would still be interesting to see movements vs pre election on the same sampling.
We can make our own mental adjustments. Just add a few percent to Tory VI, take a few off Labour, keep LD and Green as is, and take a couple off Reform.
I reckon immediately post election we’d have seen a polling bounce for Lab and Reform, and a further Tory slump. Then in the last week a brief Reform surge and Labour slump followed by a Reform fall and a Tory and Labour rebound, with both Green and LD slipping a bit. But we’ll never know.
Re: the discussion below about different communities and integration.
I have just returned from a city break in Prague. What I learnt about the history of the Jewish community in Bohemia from the middle ages to the recent past was fascinating and thought provoking. As society evolved to become more liberal, full integration became possible - and many Jews embraced a more modern secular lifestyle with strong support for good civic society. It didn't save them from the holocaust - they were still singled out as other using the same old evil tropes and excuses.
Britain only escaped those evils because we survived the Battle of Britain. The SS would have happily cleansed the UK of our Jewish population, and I think quite a few people would have cheered them on. We are not morally superior to other Europeans.
Thinking about our society today, I see the same pressure for Muslim communities to integrate. The same growing pressure to oppose the different and the other. If what I saw in Prague has a lesson it is that the law MUST be colour and faith blind, investigating and prosecuting all who break the law - to protect the minority from the majority and vice-versa. We must also be clear that freedom to live within our religion means that we must not be able to impose that religion on those who do not wish to follow it. That will be hard to do - so our politicians will try to just bash a few stupid heads and hope the problem goes away. It won't. But if they don't try to fix the problems then we may end up on a road that incrementally leads to pogroms and gas chambers. Even here.
We are going to overcorrect here with the authoritarian streak we seem to get with Labour governments (after being anti it in opposition). We already have plenty of strong laws, when the authorities choose to use them, as we are seeing with all the knuckle draggers going to do serious porridge.
I hope not. A wise government would make the most of the powers already available to them instead of granting themselves more.
The most interesting thing will be Musk vs Starmer. That one isn’t going away. Can Starmer neutralise Elon without having to reach for new draconian media laws? W we know from Turkey and other places that Musky plays nice when faced with authoritarian regimes.
We have been here before with previous Labour government,
In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the United Kingdom's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.[92] In 2009, he criticized homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free-speech clause in an anti–gay hate law.[93] Atkinson opposed the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 to outlaw inciting religious hatred, arguing that, "freedom to criticise ideas – any ideas even if they are sincerely held beliefs – is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. And the law which attempts to say you can criticise or ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed."[94][95]
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
Re: the discussion below about different communities and integration.
I have just returned from a city break in Prague. What I learnt about the history of the Jewish community in Bohemia from the middle ages to the recent past was fascinating and thought provoking. As society evolved to become more liberal, full integration became possible - and many Jews embraced a more modern secular lifestyle with strong support for good civic society. It didn't save them from the holocaust - they were still singled out as other using the same old evil tropes and excuses.
Britain only escaped those evils because we survived the Battle of Britain. The SS would have happily cleansed the UK of our Jewish population, and I think quite a few people would have cheered them on. We are not morally superior to other Europeans.
Thinking about our society today, I see the same pressure for Muslim communities to integrate. The same growing pressure to oppose the different and the other. If what I saw in Prague has a lesson it is that the law MUST be colour and faith blind, investigating and prosecuting all who break the law - to protect the minority from the majority and vice-versa. We must also be clear that freedom to live within our religion means that we must not be able to impose that religion on those who do not wish to follow it. That will be hard to do - so our politicians will try to just bash a few stupid heads and hope the problem goes away. It won't. But if they don't try to fix the problems then we may end up on a road that incrementally leads to pogroms and gas chambers. Even here.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
I believe the concern is that Labour's internal chosen definition is extremely wide ranging, more than the internationally agreed antisemitism one. Also, we already have laws against racism that can be deployed.
A word so often bandied about would benefit from an agreed definition, I'd have thought.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a legal take...but my moral take on people making bad tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
Let’s hope you’re right, eh?
Given that you’re often completely and risibly wrong, I’m not very consoled
I'm willing to bet any reasonable amount of money at evens that saying "Islam is a load of made up bollocks about a sky fairy, just like all other religions" will be protected free speech at the end of this Labour term.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
The level of influence / number of followers should, imo, be a really important factor.
In watching a few of the riotcams/streams over the last week, it was clear those holding the camera/hosting the streams saw themselves as "influencers" creating "content".
Dave, with 14 followers, posting an idiotic inflammatory opinion does not have a significant level of moral responsibility if his post/content subsequently goes viral and causes havoc.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
The issue here seems to be further communication of an untrue claim which has potential damaging impact.
That is the same principle as the Sally Bercow case, but in a criminal not civil context.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
Let’s hope you’re right, eh?
Given that you’re often completely and risibly wrong, I’m not very consoled
Let’s see what they come up with. If it’s about attacks on those who follow Islam, as opposed to the legitimate right to criticise any religion, then perhaps it won’t be damaging at all. If it’s a de facto blasphemy law, then bollocks to it.
I have my doubts about it, too., but you can’t really condemn a law that’s yet to be drafted.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
The level of influence / number of followers should, imo, be a really important factor.
In watching a few of the riotcams/streams over the last week, it was clear those holding the camera/hosting the streams saw themselves as "influencers" creating "content".
Dave, with 14 followers, posting an idiotic inflammatory opinion does not have a significant level of moral responsibility, even if his post/content goes viral. The law should reflect that.
That isn't what I said. I said is there a constant pattern of behaviour. I was just pointing that there are high profile people who do this constantly and they definitely then don't get the free pass of woopsie i did a boo boo and retweeted some absolute lies or made yet another offensive tweet.
The content creator angle is definite a problem across society. You can be photographed and filmed and that blown up all over the internet by absolute bellends looking for clicks. Its again a tricky legal area, because when the laws were first passed if somebody took a photo of you, in a weeks time they could get it developed and put it in an album to show a few friends. Today, the subject of that photo or video can be seen millions of times in minutes.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
Let’s hope you’re right, eh?
Given that you’re often completely and risibly wrong, I’m not very consoled
Let’s see what they come up with. If it’s about attacks on those who follow Islam, as opposed to the legitimate right to criticise any religion, then perhaps it won’t be damaging at all. If it’s a de facto blasphemy law, then bollocks to it.
I have my doubts about it, too., but you can’t really condemn a law that’s yet to be drafted.
Starmer is an instinctive authoritarian with Woke tendencies. My fear is that they will err on the side of censorship
As @FrancisUrquhart points out, we already have plentiful laws about hate crimes, hate speech, and protected characteristics (too many, to my mind, but that’s where we are)
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
"She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted."
Without all social media logs we will never know if this is true.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
Let’s hope you’re right, eh?
Given that you’re often completely and risibly wrong, I’m not very consoled
I'm willing to bet any reasonable amount of money at evens that saying "Islam is a load of made up bollocks about a sky fairy, just like all other religions" will be protected free speech at the end of this Labour term.
How much shall I have you down for?
As posted down below, when Labour went down this route 20 years ago, loads of comedians and actors came out and said actually we won't be able to do such comedy routines.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
"on suspicion of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred (S19 of the Public Order Act 1986) and false communications (S179 Online Safety Act 2023)."
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
The issue here seems to be further communication of an untrue claim which has potential damaging impact.
That is the same principle as the Sally Bercow case, but in a criminal not civil context.
A load of those people were constantly nudge nudge tweeting about VIP paedos, rather than was a one off I done a woopsie by repeating some false info I saw on the t'interwebs. Many thought they were being clever by doing the I am not saying its true, but...
My Council have a Public Space Protection Order in place which asserts that this gives them the right to close Public Footpaths, which are Rights of Way.
Concerning. PSPOs are always a dog's breakfast and often based on zero evidence. But this is rubbing out statute law, which is massive ultra vires.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
With the name of Spofforth, I would expect her to be a demon.
I’m struck this week by how quickly political tides can change when the weather is right.
Think over the last, what, 14 days…
Britain. SKS wins a landslide. First couple of weeks he can do no wrong, everyone’s just grateful we have grownups in charge. Then Reeves does a thoroughly predictable black hole speech and starts Sunacking future infrastructure investment. Then we get a child horrific mass murder in Southport and suddenly people are rioting and “two tier” Keir seems to be losing control of the narrative. Then just as quickly the riots die down, people start getting sentenced, and the former DPP now PM looks vindicated again while his opposition flail about.
America: a dominant Trump is bossing an increasingly senile and lost Biden. There’s a failed assassination attempt and the next Pulitzer Prize goes to the photo of him standing defiant with blood on his ears. Nothing can stop him. Then the democrats kick out Biden and Kamala comes along, Trump picks a complete lunatic as running mate, and the entire MAGA edifice seems to be crumbling. But for how long?
Ukraine: Russia is grinding out a slow but successful offensive taking more and more territory in the Donbas. They seem to be invincible with endless depths of people and équipement. Ukraine looks beaten after its much heralded 2023 counteroffensive crashed and burned. Then suddenly they’re in Kursk taking vast swathes of Russian terrain and Telegram channels are panicking.
Go a bit further back. RN comfortably win the first round of the French assembly elections after Macron’s gamble seems to have backfired. A week later they’re in third place and suddenly the Melenchon loony left have the balance of power.
Quite something. What does it teach us? Never just assume the current vibes will continue. Things can turn.
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
Yes. This case is on the edge of acceptability, for me
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
Not a proper legal take...but my moral take on people making bad or inaccurate tweets, do they have form, are they constantly doing this. If its a one off, we should accept an apology and move on, but if this is a consistent pattern of behaviour then all bets are off. We all know the high profile people who constantly tweeting either inaccurate things or borderline stuff.
The level of influence / number of followers should, imo, be a really important factor.
In watching a few of the riotcams/streams over the last week, it was clear those holding the camera/hosting the streams saw themselves as "influencers" creating "content".
Dave, with 14 followers, posting an idiotic inflammatory opinion does not have a significant level of moral responsibility, even if his post/content goes viral. The law should reflect that.
That isn't what I said. I said is there a constant pattern of behaviour. I was just pointing that there are high profile people who do this constantly and they definitely then don't get the free pass of woopsie i did a boo boo and retweeted some absolute lies or made yet another offensive tweet.
The content creator angle is definite a problem across society. You can be photographed and filmed and that blown up all over the internet by absolute bellends looking for clicks. Its again a tricky legal area, because when the laws were first passed if somebody took a photo of you, in a weeks time they could get it developed and put it in an album to show a few friends. Today, the subject of that photo or video can be seen millions of times in minutes.
Yeah, we're looking at different angles.
The interesting thing was the live-streamers seemed to know exactly how much engagement they were getting. There was, in some cases, apparently money being requested/gifted to keep the stream going and on one stream I briefly watched featuring anticipated, then actual, real-time violence, the "host" seemed to be exceptionally concerned, not about the violence, but about copyright.
It sounds like a too hasty, ill thought out response to current events.
I'm not sure if that will survive court challenges.
Does such exist in any other European country?
What makes it particularly tricky is that criticism of Islam is such a problem in Islamic societies.
Like the Middle East? Not many democracies there.
We are a democracy and this is not an Islamic society and there is no law, de facto or otherwise, preventing me from criticising Islam or any other sky fairy belief system.
There is no law, de facto or otherwise, against me being offensive in doing so by dismissing it as sky fairy either.
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
With the name of Spofforth, I would expect her to be a demon.
On examination, it should be quite easy to see if she invented this misinfo or merely erroneously repeated it
Apparently her account was the first on TwiX to use the ridiculous Ali Al wotsit name (which apparently means something like “I go to my apartment”)
Just trace that name back: if she invented that name, the CPS has a case?
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
Damn, that's saddening. I realise people who think they are God's Special Snowflake are annoying, but going from that to Tall Poppy Syndrome is going from one extreme to another. ☹️
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
With the name of Spofforth, I would expect her to be a demon.
On examination, it should be quite easy to see if she invented this misinfo or merely erroneously repeated it
Apparently her account was the first on TwiX to use the ridiculous Ali Al wotsit name (which apparently means something like “I go to my apartment”)
Just trace that name back: if she invented that name, the CPS has a case?
Quite a long history of promoting disinformation it seems. Even being banned from twitter for doing so.
Own clothing factory and £1.5 million Cheshire farmhouse doesn't sound one of the oppressed white lumpenproletariat either.
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
Damn, that's saddening. I realise people who think they are God's Special Snowflake are annoying, but going from that to Tall Poppy Syndrome is going from one extreme to another. ☹️
It’s hardly surprising, is it?
Marry that with declining IQs and voila, the modern world is explained
This is the only post-riot arrest that troubles me, so far
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
What isn't clear is where the dodgy name started. Without all social medias investigating, it is very difficult to tell if somebody is genuinely the one who made up nonsense or if they were repeating what they saw elsewhere on social media.
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
With the name of Spofforth, I would expect her to be a demon.
On examination, it should be quite easy to see if she invented this misinfo or merely erroneously repeated it
Apparently her account was the first on TwiX to use the ridiculous Ali Al wotsit name (which apparently means something like “I go to my apartment”)
Just trace that name back: if she invented that name, the CPS has a case?
Quite a long history of promoting disinformation it seems. Even being banned from twitter for doing so.
Own clothing factory and £1.5 million Cheshire farmhouse doesn't sound one of the oppressed white lumpenproletariat either.
For a year Twitter banned people for even mentioning the lab leak hypothesis. So that’s not a clincher, and her personal circs are irrelevant
It’s the false name she used that matters. Did she invent it or not? Does it predate her tweet, or not?
FPT: (In case no one has answered the questions already.)
Yes, US states do have written constitutions. One of the most interesting is Nebraska's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Legislature (Their legislature is unicameral and, officially nonpartisan, but partisan in practice.)
Just picked up an email saying that my phone service - which gives me free phone calls all the time including to mobiles, and over which my internet and TV service comes, is losing its starter discount.
What is a good plan these days?
No idea but check signal quality and bandwidth. A few years back I had both Vodafone and EE, primarily for data, and EE was far better. Several years later and wherever you are, things might be different.
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
Damn, that's saddening. I realise people who think they are God's Special Snowflake are annoying, but going from that to Tall Poppy Syndrome is going from one extreme to another. ☹️
It’s a really interesting story. It seems to chime with experience. The 1990s and noughties were peak liberalism. Berlin Wall down, let the good times roll. Gen X. Peak individualism. Then along came the financial crisis, and Chinese superpower status, and the apocalytic promise of climate change, and people started to move both left and right and shook off their individualism in favour of group identities.
I hope we can get back to the good times again. Cant be doing with this new group thymos. Give me atomised individualism coupled with live and let live tolerance any day.
On topic: Shy anti-Trumpers? There certainly are some, and I can think of one likely group they might come from: Women who disagree with the men in their lives, their husbands, boyfriends, fathers, and so on.
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
Damn, that's saddening. I realise people who think they are God's Special Snowflake are annoying, but going from that to Tall Poppy Syndrome is going from one extreme to another. ☹️
It’s a really interesting story. It seems to chime with experience. The 1990s and noughties were peak liberalism. Berlin Wall down, let the good times roll. Gen X. Peak individualism. Then along came the financial crisis, and Chinese superpower status, and the apocalytic promise of climate change, and people started to move both left and right and shook off their individualism in favour of group identities.
I hope we can get back to the good times again. Cant be doing with this new group thymos. Give me atomised individualism coupled with live and let live tolerance any day.
I think the Democrat pollwatchers do have to bear the Shy Trumpers idea in mind.
When you demonise something or someone then some people may feel less inclined to indicate their support for that which is demonised.
Shouldn't shy liberals be a factor then too?
They've been getting demonised by the GOP for a long time.
It wouldn't surprise me if the wives and daughters of MAGA rednecks were quite discrete about voting Harris/Walz.
The whole “he’s like my dad before MAGA tore us apart” thing is fascinating. Again, the folksiness. Something we really don’t have an equivalent of here. He’s an archetype written deep into the American family psyche. He’s Homer Simpson and Fred Flintstone. Perhaps that’s the secret to success.
Comments
The thing is to speak inclusively, welcomingly, and then use legislation to get immigration to a level the country can support. That, I think, is what Cooper and Starmer are aiming at.
He's a 60 year old loyalist, who is enjoying himself and doing well so far. That's no problem at all.
I'd also not overstate how good he is. He's credible and a good turn on the stump. He's not JFK.
Just picked up an email saying that my phone service - which gives me free phone calls all the time including to mobiles, and over which my internet and TV service comes, is losing its starter discount.
What is a good plan these days?
Me and the Missus were the only white people amongst 200k Chinese, Taiwanese and Polynesian aborigines for seven years.
It isn't all plain sailing.
Fortunately the Taiwanese are generally nice. But, then again, so were we.
Did we moan about 48 continuous hours Chinese Opera at the temple next door? Sure. In private.
And in private. So did the neighbours.
Misinformation is bad for democracy - but also for betting positions. The fact you can imagine Walz tweeting is enough though.
But, yes, amazing (in a bad way) that it's even that.
My suspicion is that Starmer is already on a long downwards slope. He was never popular to begin with - 33.7% on 60% turnout - and he’s done absolutely nothing to please people since then
Perhaps he is a Labour Thatcher, starting unpopular then growing to greatness. But do you really see that in him? Perhaps he will get a Falklands moment - we live in turbulent times, as you rightly point out
One thing has changed: his luck. Until now he’s been really lucky - a split enemy, Liz Truss, etc
But getting southport and then hideous race riots in your first six weeks as PM is decidedly UNlucky
If anything if Walz turns out to be really popular it's a good thing for the campaign generally - there's only one campaign with him on the ticket.
I suppose perhaps she was a mainlander.
“EXCLUSIVE
Labour is considering introducing an agreed definition of Islamophobia that it backed in opposition
MHCLG says it will “take into account a range of views and outline any updates on the Government’s position in relation to this in due course””
https://x.com/dominicpenna/status/1821656285257068842?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
It will be a de facto blasphemy law
There was clear political targeting going on - cf; Jess Philips' constituency, a few days ago.
Southport looks to have been a fairly random spark (I'm sure we'll find out in time), but what followed - and the locations - were not down to pure (bad?) luck.
The race riots are (let's hope, were) political violence, directed at - and with the intention of destabilising - Starmer and his new government.
Its given him a chance to come across as Prime Ministerial, saying that those who are engaged in violence will be dealt with - and they are being dealt with.
This plays right into his strength.
I said the other day my wife mentioned a moodshift with videos she sees on TikTok, splicing together videos of Keir saying that people breaking the law will regret it, with talk of 2011 and the rapid prosecution of rioters . . . by DPP Keir Starmer.
To another Prime Minister this past week could have been an unpleasant high speed bouncer while new at the crease, but its one that Starmer knows how to handle.
Islam is a load of bollocks, as is Christianity and any other organised religion.
And you can say that as protected free speech because there's no law against attacking beliefs and won't be.
You don't need to be a racist bigot to do so. You can debate a religion without attacking its adherents.
Given that you’re often completely and risibly wrong, I’m not very consoled
The most interesting thing will be Musk vs Starmer. That one isn’t going away. Can Starmer neutralise Elon without having to reach for new draconian media laws? W we know from Turkey and other places that Musky plays nice when faced with authoritarian regimes.
Therein lies one helluva problem.
Free speech exists in this country.
There is no law against it, de facto or otherwise.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/147367400@N02/53849614092
We can make our own mental adjustments. Just add a few percent to Tory VI, take a few off Labour, keep LD and Green as is, and take a couple off Reform.
I reckon immediately post election we’d have seen a polling bounce for Lab and Reform, and a further Tory slump. Then in the last week a brief Reform surge and Labour slump followed by a Reform fall and a Tory and Labour rebound, with both Green and LD slipping a bit. But we’ll never know.
I have just returned from a city break in Prague. What I learnt about the history of the Jewish community in Bohemia from the middle ages to the recent past was fascinating and thought provoking. As society evolved to become more liberal, full integration became possible - and many Jews embraced a more modern secular lifestyle with strong support for good civic society. It didn't save them from the holocaust - they were still singled out as other using the same old evil tropes and excuses.
Britain only escaped those evils because we survived the Battle of Britain. The SS would have happily cleansed the UK of our Jewish population, and I think quite a few people would have cheered them on. We are not morally superior to other Europeans.
Thinking about our society today, I see the same pressure for Muslim communities to integrate. The same growing pressure to oppose the different and the other. If what I saw in Prague has a lesson it is that the law MUST be colour and faith blind, investigating and prosecuting all who break the law - to protect the minority from the majority and vice-versa. We must also be clear that freedom to live within our religion means that we must not be able to impose that religion on those who do not wish to follow it. That will be hard to do - so our politicians will try to just bash a few stupid heads and hope the problem goes away. It won't. But if they don't try to fix the problems then we may end up on a road that incrementally leads to pogroms and gas chambers. Even here.
In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the United Kingdom's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.[92] In 2009, he criticized homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free-speech clause in an anti–gay hate law.[93] Atkinson opposed the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 to outlaw inciting religious hatred, arguing that, "freedom to criticise ideas – any ideas even if they are sincerely held beliefs – is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. And the law which attempts to say you can criticise or ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed."[94][95]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Atkinson#Political_views
Tommy Two Names, Fox, Barton, etc aren't magically getting away with appalling speech under the current laws. They are constantly in legal trouble.
The 55 year old woman that misidentified the Southport attacker. What if she simply made a mistake? Are people going to do time for inaccurate social media remarks?
Half of PB would get life sentences
“BREAKING: A 55-year-old woman from near Chester has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences relating to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport attacker, Cheshire Police has said.
Live updates: trib.al/ZoqC5r5
https://x.com/skynews/status/1821588802206347347?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
A fair few people have gone down the Telegram rabbit hole over COVID, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of crap circulates on there, which bubbles up onto twitter etc.
I can see the argument for prosecution: it’s the online equivalent of shouting Fire! in a theatre. But how on earth do you get evidence sufficient for a conviction, proving that she had malicious intent?
It sounds like a too hasty, ill thought out response to current events.
I'm not sure if that will survive court challenges.
Does such exist in any other European country?
How much shall I have you down for?
In watching a few of the riotcams/streams over the last week, it was clear those holding the camera/hosting the streams saw themselves as "influencers" creating "content".
Dave, with 14 followers, posting an idiotic inflammatory opinion does not have a significant level of moral responsibility if his post/content subsequently goes viral and causes havoc.
The law should reflect that.
That is the same principle as the Sally Bercow case, but in a criminal not civil context.
"One profile - belonging to a woman called Bernadette Spofforth - has been accused of making the first post featuring the false name of the Southport attacker. She denied being its source, saying she saw the name online in another post that has since been deleted.
Speaking to the BBC on the phone, she said she was “horrified” about the attack but deleted her post as soon as she realised it was false. She said she was “not motivated by making money” on her account.
“Why on earth would I make something up like that? I have nothing to gain and everything to lose,” she said. She condemned the recent violence.
Ms Spofforth had previously shared posts raising questions about lockdown and net-zero climate change measures. However, her profile was temporarily removed by Twitter back in 2021 following allegations she was promoting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine and the pandemic. She disputed the claims and said she believed Covid is real.
Since Mr Musk’s takeover, her posts have received more than a million views fairly regularly."
What is she being charged with?
I think if you've got millions of people viewing what you publish you have a moral responsibility to check the truth of things that you know are likely to be incendiary before posting them.
If it’s about attacks on those who follow Islam, as opposed to the legitimate right to criticise any religion, then perhaps it won’t be damaging at all.
If it’s a de facto blasphemy law, then bollocks to it.
I have my doubts about it, too., but you can’t really condemn a law that’s yet to be drafted.
The content creator angle is definite a problem across society. You can be photographed and filmed and that blown up all over the internet by absolute bellends looking for clicks. Its again a tricky legal area, because when the laws were first passed if somebody took a photo of you, in a weeks time they could get it developed and put it in an album to show a few friends. Today, the subject of that photo or video can be seen millions of times in minutes.
As @FrancisUrquhart points out, we already have plentiful laws about hate crimes, hate speech, and protected characteristics (too many, to my mind, but that’s where we are)
Just enforce those. Don’t make even more
No doubt now.
It is a fear vs hope election.
Not keep going vs change.
Trump has got himself into the fear camp and he will struggle to get out because he thinks fear is the only thing that motivates people.
Which is particularly ironic given how his veep Vance writes so well in is book about how he found hope and most of his peers did not.
Senate Poll - Arizona
🔵 Gallego 50% (+11)
🔴 Lake 39%
High ground #D - 500 LV - 8/5
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1821597907977486673
Without all social media logs we will never know if this is true.
Hope's dad is going to be on the winning ticket too.
Biden was running as "fear Trump - he's a threat to democracy".
Which was correct, he absolutely is. Fear is sometimes justified.
But the hope angle? That was missing.
I doubt the huge increase in the potential gap is because Gallego is that much better than Katie Hobbs was then.
Hopefully people will start to face consequences for refusing to concede and endlessly litigating their defeats. It isn't strength to deny reality.
My Council have a Public Space Protection Order in place which asserts that this gives them the right to close Public Footpaths, which are Rights of Way.
Concerning. PSPOs are always a dog's breakfast and often based on zero evidence. But this is rubbing out statute law, which is massive ultra vires.
An example:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.1258838,-1.2574604,3a,75y,192.97h,76.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sO4HXxg3MwGvEuiC51aKtxw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu
PSPO:https://www.ashfield.gov.uk/media/n2ocjnad/pspo-draft-april-2024-v3.docx
The carrier said it was "pausing" its service from the end of October until at least November next year.
Flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong will continue, BA added.
It comes amid weaker demand and a ban on UK flights over Russian airspace, which has resulted in longer journey times on some routes"
https://news.sky.com/story/british-airways-halts-flights-to-beijing-13193202
The interesting thing was the live-streamers seemed to know exactly how much engagement they were getting. There was, in some cases, apparently money being requested/gifted to keep the stream going and on one stream I briefly watched featuring anticipated, then actual, real-time violence, the "host" seemed to be exceptionally concerned, not about the violence, but about copyright.
Do we have confirmation from a reliable or serious source, or is this just shit-stirring?
We are a democracy and this is not an Islamic society and there is no law, de facto or otherwise, preventing me from criticising Islam or any other sky fairy belief system.
There is no law, de facto or otherwise, against me being offensive in doing so by dismissing it as sky fairy either.
When you demonise something or someone then some people may feel less inclined to indicate their support for that which is demonised.
https://x.com/DegenRolf/status/1821070008480346394
"Rolf Degen
@DegenRolf
Over the past two decades, people report a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/121937/202992/Changes-in-Need-for-Uniqueness-From-2000-Until?searchresult=1 Recent research and polling suggest that people may be more reluctant to express themselves and stand out than in previous years, but few studies have examined such societal trends in a systematic way. We examined changes in need for uniqueness among 1,339,160 Internet respondents from 2000 and 2020. Across the 20-year period, participants who completed the survey more recently reported a lower need for uniqueness, particularly in terms of not wanting to defend their beliefs in public forums and caring more about what others think about them. For individuals, these factors then might have resulted in lower levels of rule breaking tendencies, a heightened concern about what others think about them, and a lower willingness to defend their beliefs publicly. This reticence might stem from concurrent increases in social anxiety and social monitoring more generally.Theoretical insights, studies of other adjacent psychological characteristics, and public polling all point to the possibility that individuals feel that being unique and expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others and lead to being ostracized."
Apparently her account was the first on TwiX to use the ridiculous Ali Al wotsit name (which apparently means something like “I go to my apartment”)
Just trace that name back: if she invented that name, the CPS has a case?
They've been getting demonised by the GOP for a long time.
Those weren't his exact words, admittedly (and whilst his answers may be bizarre, I suppose at least he did take some questions).
Own clothing factory and £1.5 million Cheshire farmhouse doesn't sound one of the oppressed white lumpenproletariat either.
Marry that with declining IQs and voila, the modern world is explained
It’s the false name she used that matters. Did she invent it or not? Does it predate her tweet, or not?
Yes, US states do have written constitutions. One of the most interesting is Nebraska's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Legislature (Their legislature is unicameral and, officially nonpartisan, but partisan in practice.)
Yes, there are still a few states that do not require law degrees for lawyers. https://lawofficestudy.net/2023/03/17/states-you-can-become-a-lawyer-without-law-school/
I hope we can get back to the good times again. Cant be doing with this new group thymos. Give me atomised individualism coupled with live and let live tolerance any day.
The gap between men and women votes this year may well set a record -- and these days women are more likely than men to vote. Some evidence on the question: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/kamala-harriss-chances-in-november-could-hinge-on-a-womens-voting-surge/
(It's not all abortion, by the way. American women like peace abroad, and at home. They are right, of course.)