There's something really rather sad and pathetic about their demise. Buttler is a magnificent batsman and appears to be a likeable and decent bloke, but the side has disintegrated under him.
They just have to start again with a new captain and a new script.
English sport has a habit of imploding spectacularly after periods of success rather than quietly fading away.
Part of our gift to the world for inventing/codifying many sports is also to never dominate any of them for any length of time.
Wouldn’t be fair. Got to give the other chappies a turn
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
Free speech is not under attack.
Tell that to the teacher in Batley STILL IN HIDING WITH HIS FAMILY, you idiot
Anecdotes aren't useful data.
Anecdotes????
"What a teacher in hiding can tell us about our failure to tackle intolerance"
Yes, anecdotes. Single points of data. You are intelligent, don't pretend not to be.
I actually agree with you to an extent i.e. that we have a difficult balancing act to defend free speech in a multicultural and atomised society.
And I agree the example of the teacher is scary.
But edge cases make bad policy - if we had, say, statistics that indicated that increasing numbers of teachers were either (a) being hounded into hiding or (b) self-censoring then that would be useful to see if the problem is getting worse.
(b) isn't my experience in school, but that's another anecdote and doesn't mean much.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
Nothing to see here, especially if you are not looking for it.
More from that Guardian report:-
analysts at the agency [Cisa, the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency] were verbally informed that they were not to follow or report on Russian threats ... The Trump administration has also reassigned officials at Cisa who were focused on safeguarding elections from cyberattacks and other attempts to disrupt voting. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Interesting goings on in Lewisham today. We noticed an unusual number of armoured police vans outside the police station yesterday (“Europe’s largest”). This morning they are out in force and stationed outside pubs.
What’s it all about? It’s Crystal Palace vs Millwall this afternoon.
There's something really rather sad and pathetic about their demise. Buttler is a magnificent batsman and appears to be a likeable and decent bloke, but the side has disintegrated under him.
They just have to start again with a new captain and a new script.
English sport has a habit of imploding spectacularly after periods of success rather than quietly fading away.
Part of our gift to the world for inventing/codifying many sports is also to never dominate any of them for any length of time.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
With Western Europe being the only region to show an improvement.
The decline in the overall index score in 2024 was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exceptions of Western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points), and North America, whose score stayed the same. The other five regions registered a decline in their average index score, with the biggest regressions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa (-0.11) and Asia and Australasia (-0.10).
Warms your heart!
Democracy has come to mean maintaining liberal policies regardless of how people vote. The more deeply-embedded liberal policies are within the law, the more democratic, whether people like it or not.
And for everyone saying that Starmer was wrong yesterday to not give outspoken support to Zelenskyy, the latest is that Zelenskyy is coming to London to speak to the PM because he's the only European leader who still has open dialogue with Trump.
I'm not a fan of Starmer as many of you know, yet it was the right decision to keep his own counsel last night and not hastily post some feel good virtue signalling nonsense on Twitter last night like the rest of Europe's leaders. He's being vindicated today, Zelenskyy has come to London, not to Paris. Starmer got real commitments from Trump and has clearly been able to work with Trump better than the rest of them. We need that more than ever right now, not to hastily throw it away to make ourselves feel better for 5 minutes for being "on the right side of history".
I'd be surprised if Meloni doesn't have open dialogue with Trump? (Orban does too but he doesn't count)
I think the one positive to come from this fiasco is that it has driven a lot of the non-MAGA right in the US away from Trump and particularly Vance who many are questioning this morning as being disrespectful to a world leader and president of another country and making America look spiteful.
There's also a lot of chatter among the MAGA right wingers about why Vance seems so intent on MRGA and how helping Russia advances the MAGA agenda.
Lots of confusion among right wing talking heads across YouTube this morning and among reliable Trump supporters. They want the war to end but they also don't want to give Putin a victory and yesterday they saw Vance trying to bounce Ukraine into handing Putin a victory.
I don't think this is going to work in favour of Trump except in all but the hardcore 10% of MAGA ultras who support Putin and it seems as though Vance is in that 10%.
I haven't got a number for the 'hardcore of MAGA ultras', but I'd expect it to be like a peach - a stone insider, and a softer group surrounding, who may be attracted via rhetoric around talking points such as "woke", "immigration", "lawfare" and the rest.
I posted numbers the other day of around 1/3 of Trump's base being evangelical, who may imo be more firmly attached - being accustomed to holding to 'distinctive' social and political narratives, which in some places are sustained by 'Christendom'.
MAGA-identifiers with overlap other movements, to a greater or lesser extent, in a spoken or unspoken alliance of principle or convenience imo. Foci on nativism, white supremacism and anti-abortion may have this feature.
I'd go with Vance being in the hard core - he's a creature of Peter Thiel.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
It’s vulnerable. Autocracy, oligarchy, kleptocracy, are much more natural to human society.
Democracy’s strength is its weakness - that is subject to criticism, and that people often prefers utopias to reality.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
With Western Europe being the only region to show an improvement.
The decline in the overall index score in 2024 was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exceptions of Western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points), and North America, whose score stayed the same. The other five regions registered a decline in their average index score, with the biggest regressions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa (-0.11) and Asia and Australasia (-0.10).
Warms your heart!
Democracy has come to mean maintaining liberal policies regardless of how people vote. The more deeply-embedded liberal policies are within the law, the more democratic, whether people like it or not.
Tell that to Leon. If you're right then free speech is growing throughout the world on this study.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
Free speech is not under attack.
Yes it is. I invented the #pbfreespeech hashtag to specifically track it.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
With Western Europe being the only region to show an improvement.
The decline in the overall index score in 2024 was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exceptions of Western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points), and North America, whose score stayed the same. The other five regions registered a decline in their average index score, with the biggest regressions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa (-0.11) and Asia and Australasia (-0.10).
Warms your heart!
In spite of the totalitarian oppression of the EU? Strong springs the democratic instinct in freedom loving Europeans!
Interesting goings on in Lewisham today. We noticed an unusual number of armoured police vans outside the police station yesterday (“Europe’s largest”). This morning they are out in force and stationed outside pubs.
What’s it all about? It’s Crystal Palace vs Millwall this afternoon.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
The US in it's current form is falling apart. And we live in miserable times. But nothing like as miserable as the historic norm.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Again, I agree to some extent.
Though it reminds me of Dostoevksy's brilliant Notes from Underground. To paraphrase, he says: "An idiot can easily take action, the more intelligent you are the more you become stymied by all the possible consequences of the actions you take."
In a world of uncertainty, perhaps those infinite-data machines will become utterly incapable of making decisions at all.
Interestingly the American MAGA culture has left the country looking duplicitous, weak and alone. But in the American bubble unfortunately a lot believe they don’t need anyone - any conflict, wherever it is, somehow doesn’t affect them. It’s just odd.
And yet those eggs still get pricier.
Average Americans also believe they have the best healthcare in the world, best quality of life, most "equal" (in terms of social stratification) etc. It is a fiction they are force fed by the richest in America, while they slave to prop them up. It's as depressing as it ever was.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
Free speech is not under attack.
Yes it is. I invented the #pbfreespeech hashtag to specifically track it.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
With Western Europe being the only region to show an improvement.
The decline in the overall index score in 2024 was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exceptions of Western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points), and North America, whose score stayed the same. The other five regions registered a decline in their average index score, with the biggest regressions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa (-0.11) and Asia and Australasia (-0.10).
Warms your heart!
Democracy has come to mean maintaining liberal policies regardless of how people vote. The more deeply-embedded liberal policies are within the law, the more democratic, whether people like it or not.
What a load of bs about the death of democracy. The weakness of autocracy is laid bare for all to see. You cannot speak truth to autocratic power. You tell them what they want to hear. So they wallow in false information about tractor stats and triumphs that didn’t exist. Reality ultimately catches up. It always does. Means the competition in democracy allows a bit of fresh air and light to creep in from time to time.
What a load of bs about the death of democracy. The weakness of autocracy is laid bare for all to see. You cannot speak truth to autocratic power. You tell them what they want to hear. So they wallow in false information about tractor stats and triumphs that didn’t exist. Reality ultimately catches up. It always does. Means the competition in democracy allows a bit of fresh air and light to creep in from time to time.
Democracy isn't dead in America. But it is in the emergency room and ordinary americans are going to have to fight to keep it.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
The US in it's current form is falling apart. And we live in miserable times. But nothing like as miserable as the historic norm.
Don't overstate what is going on in the US.
The US, Like here and in most western democracies, is becoming a divided country politically. That doesn't mean that its falling apart.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
With Western Europe being the only region to show an improvement.
The decline in the overall index score in 2024 was driven by reversals in every region of the world with the exceptions of Western Europe, whose average index score improved by the smallest margin possible (0.01 points), and North America, whose score stayed the same. The other five regions registered a decline in their average index score, with the biggest regressions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa (-0.11) and Asia and Australasia (-0.10).
Warms your heart!
Democracy has come to mean maintaining liberal policies regardless of how people vote. The more deeply-embedded liberal policies are within the law, the more democratic, whether people like it or not.
Tell that to Leon. If you're right then free speech is growing throughout the world on this study.
It’s an interesting point.
I recall a conversation with someone who was insistent that *Switzerland* wasn’t a democracy. Because of the village that voted a lady out for complaining about cow bells.
Because to that person, democracy = nice policies.
Leaving aside Ukraine's situation for a moment. The level of urgency with which the Russian proxies like Orban and Trump are pushing for a place settlement has to be encouraging in a strategic sense - there must be concerns about how long Russia can sustain the conflict at this level of intensity before it needs a pause.
It all feels relatively good natured save that Trump keeps rambling about what a great idea it is of his to talk to Putin, and Zelensky wants to assert that Putin, actually, can’t be trusted.
But Zelensky is obviously frustrated to be inside this court of nodding dogs and when Vance makes a fatuous show of loyalty with some guff about Trump’s amazing powers of diplomacy, Zelensky can’t help but remind him that Putin has broken every ceasefire he’s ever agreed to.
Then Vance goes in for the kill.
It feels like both parties were expecting to sign the deal, with Zelensky perhaps hoping for some final firming up of language on security guarantees. Zelensky could have been more craven, but it’s really Vance that takes the lion’s share of blame for blowing it up.
I suspect this is not over yet, and I agree that Starmer is right not to follow Europe with an immediate assertion of undying support for Ukraine.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
The US in it's current form is falling apart. And we live in miserable times. But nothing like as miserable as the historic norm.
Don't overstate what is going on in the US.
The US, Like here and in most western democracies, is becoming a divided country politically. That doesn't mean that its falling apart.
Its institutions and structures are literally being annihilated by the centre. That is the definition of falling apart that I am using. They can't just be put back together again by fiat.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
The US in it's current form is falling apart. And we live in miserable times. But nothing like as miserable as the historic norm.
Don't overstate what is going on in the US.
The US, Like here and in most western democracies, is becoming a divided country politically. That doesn't mean that its falling apart.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Again, I agree to some extent.
Though it reminds me of Dostoevksy's brilliant Notes from Underground. To paraphrase, he says: "An idiot can easily take action, the more intelligent you are the more you become stymied by all the possible consequences of the actions you take."
In a world of uncertainty, perhaps those infinite-data machines will become utterly incapable of making decisions at all.
Thanks to the Uncertainty Principle, no amount of knowledge of the present can allow accurate predictions of the future.
Iain Banks didn’t understand this - I had a conversation with him, at a book signing in Oxford. He was adamant that a sufficiently large computer could get enough information etc.
Mind you, Von Neumann made the same mistake, at first, so he was in very good company.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
On the Facebook point.
You quoted an example yesterday of someone getting 3 years for posting on Facebook, without a case reference. Do you have a citation? (Serious queston - I think I know which case you, meant, but I would like to make a specific reply.)
Non-crime hate incidents have been a thing for about 30 years, I think one thing which has changed is that we have a couple of late middle-aged people shouting about it in the Telegraph and similar, and a number of bandwagon jumpers.
I'll be very interested to see how the Allison Pearson case develops, as her account seems to be significantly different from the police account.
I never mentioned any such thing, yesterday, and I am not going to waste my time schooling a dolt that won't learn
You're such a bullshit artist, @Leon , especially your inability to handle the mildest of challenges. One might conclude that you are some sort of columnist. It's actually worse, because you made it a general practice.
Here's your quote from yesterday, and the link:
Leon said: turbotubbs said:So this chap gets arrested and charged with a Section 5 Public Order offence for shouting 'Oi, you Chelsea rent boys'*. Where do people stand on this? Is this different from shouting ' 'Oi, you Chelsea wankers', 'Oi, you Chelsea twats' or any other of a range of not that offensive slurs?
You quoted an example yesterday of someone getting 3 years for posting on Facebook, without a case reference. Do you have a citation? (Serious queston - I think I know which case you, meant, but I would like to make a specific reply.)
Non-crime hate incidents have been a thing for about 30 years, I think one thing which has changed is that we have a couple of late middle-aged people shouting about it in the Telegraph and similar, and a number of bandwagon jumpers.
I'll be very interested to see how the Allison Pearson case develops, as her account seems to be significantly different from the police account.
I never mentioned any such thing, yesterday, and I am not going to waste my time schooling a dolt that won't learn
You're such a bullshit artist, @Leon , especially you inability to handle any debate. One might conclude that you are some sort of columnist. It's actually worse, because you made it a general practice.
So this chap gets arrested and charged with a Section 5 Public Order offence for shouting 'Oi, you Chelsea rent boys'*. Where do people stand on this? Is this different from shouting ' 'Oi, you Chelsea wankers', 'Oi, you Chelsea twats' or any other of a range of not that offensive slurs?
To repeat, You quoted an example yesterday of someone getting 3 years for posting on Facebook, without a case reference. Do you have a citation to such a case, or is it just generalised bullshit?
Got to the tagging stage. But the police can’t seem to do anything when he breaches the orders regarding tagging/location. Standing outside her house etc.
This is fucking her life up. Reduced to planing trips to when friends are about and sending her location, from her phone, live to other friends so they can track her.
I propose the following. An option for the magistrate is an order sending the tagging data to the victim of the stalking.
So she can fire up an app on her phone and see where the shit head is all the time.
This would explicitly get round the no-comment-GDPR excuse that the police seem to be using.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
It isn't, even Trump was elected, he may have been a nationalist protectionist but he still won the popular vote and EC.
Globally far more nations have elections than any century before too
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Depends on the what they are programmed to decide, they could have delivered the Holocaust very efficiently if the Nazis had programmed them for that
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Again, I agree to some extent.
Though it reminds me of Dostoevksy's brilliant Notes from Underground. To paraphrase, he says: "An idiot can easily take action, the more intelligent you are the more you become stymied by all the possible consequences of the actions you take."
In a world of uncertainty, perhaps those infinite-data machines will become utterly incapable of making decisions at all.
Thanks to the Uncertainty Principle, no amount of knowledge of the present can allow accurate predictions of the future.
Iain Banks didn’t understand this - I had a conversation with him, at a book signing in Oxford. He was adamant that a sufficiently large computer could get enough information etc.
Mind you, Von Neumann made the same mistake, at first, so he was in very good company.
There isn't a single future to be predicted.
There are multiple futures.
The one we actually thread and help create will depend, not only on powerful human actors, and multiple technologies with unforeseen consequences, but also "sliding door" events such as Al Gore's defeat by a few hundred votes.
Duncan is supremely unimaginative. It would be utterly fascinating.
A good friend of mine, ex-special forces, spent about a week there as a disaster relief recce.
He said he'd been to autocratic regimes all over the world, and had always seen the nod or wink to indicate that his minders knew that the pro-regime nonsense they were spouting was, indeed, nonsense.
Not a glimmer amongst the North Koreans - he said that from start to finish everyone presented as true believers.
It's up there with uncontacted Amazonian communities on the fascination level.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
Plus Japan and maybe South Korea and Singapore.
Though Latin America and Africa also are more democratic than they were
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Got to the tagging stage. But the police can’t seem to do anything when he breaches the orders regarding tagging/location. Standing outside her house etc.
This is fucking her life up. Reduced to planing trips to when friends are about and sending her location, from her phone, live to other friends so they can track her.
I propose the following. An option for the magistrate is an order sending the tagging data to the victim of the stalking.
So she can fire up an app on her phone and see where the shit head is all the time.
This would explicitly get round the no-comment-GDPR excuse that the police seem to be using.
Thoughts?
Find my stalker sounds unavoidable in that situation - it's not like the technology doesn't exists and it isn't stopping the stalker from doing anything it just allows the stalkee to check its safe to go out before heading out..
For reference I can see Mrs Eek is currently at her mum's, the Twins are in Southport (not a clue why) and my mum is somewhere in their oap complex in Wycombe..
And for everyone saying that Starmer was wrong yesterday to not give outspoken support to Zelenskyy, the latest is that Zelenskyy is coming to London to speak to the PM because he's the only European leader who still has open dialogue with Trump.
I'm not a fan of Starmer as many of you know, yet it was the right decision to keep his own counsel last night and not hastily post some feel good virtue signalling nonsense on Twitter last night like the rest of Europe's leaders. He's being vindicated today, Zelenskyy has come to London, not to Paris. Starmer got real commitments from Trump and has clearly been able to work with Trump better than the rest of them. We need that more than ever right now, not to hastily throw it away to make ourselves feel better for 5 minutes for being "on the right side of history".
I hope that the 12 month extension to Russia sanctions quoted as coming out of the Thursday visit is preserved; that would be a big help whilst Europe sorts itself out.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Struck me Trump is now so weak he had to have Captain Guyliner there to double-team Zelensky.
Weak and cowardly. That's Trump and anyone who demanded his re-election (like, um, Jenrick) need to explain their actions as well as condemning his. Otherwise it just looks like they are idiots (Jenrick and Badenoch) or bought and paid for (Farage).
There’s no point in demanding people apologise for their past misjudgements.
Badenoch, Jenrick and other leading Tories were strong last night in support of Ukraine and Zelensky. That’s what matters - don’t make it harder for them to do the right thing
In general I agree, as u-turning can be a good thing and should be encouraged where it is, though it can depend on how forcefully someone was pushing a previous position and whether they acknowledge they have in fact changed position.
I don't think supporting Trump’s re-election was remotely a misjudgement, and I doubt Jenrick or Badenoch regard it as such. That doesn't prevent them from being critical of Trump if he does something they disagree with - which is how UK politicians should be with all US presidents.
That's why I said it depends on the position someone has taken. If someone thinks some of what Trump proposes is a good thing they can say so (though he is so unpopular over here that does run a risk) whilst still criticising him, but if someone has gone full fanboyish over Trump or were to try to ape his behaviour it is tougher to disassociate from him subsequently. I don't think Badenoch or Jenrick have gone as full in on Trump support as someone like, say, Truss, which would be more difficult were she still an MP.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
It still needs to be fought for, and isn't dead, but there are a lot of people in The West who don't seem to care that much for democratic norms. Then you've got the kind of techbro weirdos who envisage some sci-fi corporate future like it's a good thing.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Only reason it took even a few weeks to get to this point is Trump had not gotten his base to hate Zelensky sufficiently yet, that took a little more effort to prepare them.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
I don’t think The Orange Thing is classy enough to pass the door check at a Hooters.
Was last night a tipping point? Possibly for many - I see the powerful comments of Robert Jenrick as a hopeful sign that a section of the right sees it that way now, but there's still work to be done. But supporting and defending Trump (and Vance) is rapidly becoming like supporting Putin and their invasion of Russia: a point of view that, if not quite yet, will shortly be seen as actively betraying our country. I see GB News has decided that it was all Zelenskyy's fault. I presume that that wll be Reform's line as well, as their tailwagging devotion to Trump continues.
Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on?
They are absolutely part of, and on the side of, global gangsterism. Which is, I think, how we should think about it from a "geopolitical alignment" point of view. It's got nothing to do with left/right or east/west.
Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, Orban: all use nationalism, but are most concerned, above all, with their own well-being.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
It isn't, even Trump was elected, he may have been a nationalist protectionist but he still won the popular vote and EC.
Globally far more nations have elections than any century before too
Elections are not everything. North Korea technically holds what they call elections, showing they at least pretend to believe democratic consent is important.
I think we are going to get more places dropping the pretence in years to come.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
It still needs to be fought for, and isn't dead, but there are a lot of people in The West who don't seem to care that much for democratic norms. Then you've got the kind of techbro weirdos who envisage some sci-fi corporate future like it's a good thing.
‘Twas ever thus.
See Socrates, his students and The Thirty.
“What we need is strong leadership to fix all the problems. Strangely, it turns out that we are the leadership needed”
Average Americans also believe they have the best healthcare in the world, best quality of life, most "equal" (in terms of social stratification) etc. It is a fiction they are force fed by the richest in America, while they slave to prop them up. It's as depressing as it ever was.
A good part of that is ignorance, I believe. Most Americans have no experience of life elsewhere. It's notable how different attitudes are in those who've actually spent some time in other parts of the world.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
It still needs to be fought for, and isn't dead, but there are a lot of people in The West who don't seem to care that much for democratic norms. Then you've got the kind of techbro weirdos who envisage some sci-fi corporate future like it's a good thing.
‘Twas ever thus.
See Socrates, his students and The Thirty.
“What we need is strong leadership to fix all the problems. Strangely, it turns out that we are the leadership needed”
Exactly. We've had a generation where we've deceived ourselves that the constant vigilance in favour of our current way of life is no longer necessary. In that generation we've incurred some debits on the account (appeasing Putin, allowing social media to become a hotbed of misinformation just as it also takes over mainstream news etc) and so find ourselves in a large hole with a smaller-than-adequate shovel (apols for the flagrant mixed metaphors). Just means we need to start digging, now, and get a sweat on, to extract ourselves from the hole we're in.
And for everyone saying that Starmer was wrong yesterday to not give outspoken support to Zelenskyy, the latest is that Zelenskyy is coming to London to speak to the PM because he's the only European leader who still has open dialogue with Trump.
I'm not a fan of Starmer as many of you know, yet it was the right decision to keep his own counsel last night and not hastily post some feel good virtue signalling nonsense on Twitter last night like the rest of Europe's leaders. He's being vindicated today, Zelenskyy has come to London, not to Paris. Starmer got real commitments from Trump and has clearly been able to work with Trump better than the rest of them. We need that more than ever right now, not to hastily throw it away to make ourselves feel better for 5 minutes for being "on the right side of history".
Wasn’t London pre arranged, ie pre the disrespecting the White House bollox?
He was supposed to arrive tomorrow for the event, he's instead come early to have a one on one discussion with the PM which wasn't previously planned.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
Also, anyone looking for good TV should definitely watch Severance, the second season is absolutely brilliant, hope they stick the landing in the final three episodes.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
It isn't, even Trump was elected, he may have been a nationalist protectionist but he still won the popular vote and EC.
Globally far more nations have elections than any century before too
Elections are not everything. North Korea technically holds what they call elections, showing they at least pretend to believe democratic consent is important.
I think we are going to get more places dropping the pretence in years to come.
They don't, certainly not competitive ones as there is only one party's candidates on the ballot
Also, anyone looking for good TV should definitely watch Severance, the second season is absolutely brilliant, hope they stick the landing in the final three episodes.
Glad to hear it, I couldn't really see where they would take it after Season 1.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
But there's the call of Putinisr Slavism in several of these countries.
Those people that said a European army was a bad reason to remain are looking very stupid today.
A European army is a bad idea.
Military action can’t be driven by consensus
It needs to be a smaller group of key partners IHT an intergovernmental structure
As the LibDem MP for Tunbridge Wells (an army veteran) is proposing, what is needed is a European defence framework not dissimilar to NATO. Nations retain their own armed forces - as we do now, within NATO - but with a much greater degree of standarisation and co-ordination of command and control.
As I say though it cannot be solely EU or even just European. It needs the flanks to be protected - which means Canada, Iceland and Turkey for a start.
The trouble with doing that is that it effectively forces the US out of NATO. Better to work on an EU+UK basis.
I think the US has forced itself out. I genuinely think we have come that far and I say that as someone who feels far closer to the US than to the EU.
But countries have joined and left NATO in the past - most notably France. And we already have the basis of other organisations such as the JEF which can be expanded until such times as the US returns to sanity.
The question now is whether staying tied to the US poses a greater risk to our security than breaking with them. Personally I think it does.
France didn’t leave NATO. They left certain unified command structures within NATO, but never left NATO and remained committed to the principle of mutual defence.
Got to the tagging stage. But the police can’t seem to do anything when he breaches the orders regarding tagging/location. Standing outside her house etc.
This is fucking her life up. Reduced to planing trips to when friends are about and sending her location, from her phone, live to other friends so they can track her.
I propose the following. An option for the magistrate is an order sending the tagging data to the victim of the stalking.
So she can fire up an app on her phone and see where the shit head is all the time.
This would explicitly get round the no-comment-GDPR excuse that the police seem to be using.
Thoughts?
This happened 20 years ago and attitudes have changed. And there are stalkers and stalkers. So I'm not recommending this. But this is what we did anyway.
A female friend of mine was being stalked. Her then husband was a long-haul airline pilot and so often abroad.
The stalker would turn up in his blue ford van and park in the quiet road outside her house where he could survey her entrance or exit to the house. When she left the house he would try to intercept her and ask to go out with her.
He was a self-styled cheeky chappy with an unreflective conviction of his own attractiveness to women.
He believed he couldn't be seen from the house. He could though from a side window in the attic.
The police had warned him. But this made no difference. He asserted his right to park in a public road.
Several of us turned up in our motors and parked in front of and behind his van. One of us double parked to his side, so it was impossible for him to leave.
We then just sat there, whilst he became agitated and tried to persuade us to move. We asserted our right to park in a public road and suggested he rang the police.
He became abusive.
We ignored him. We kept him there for several hours.
When we finally released him, Steven, a then front row prop, told him what might happen if he ever came back or harrassed the woman again.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
But there's the call of Putinisr Slavism in several of these countries.
Belarus and Hungary mainly, even the Law and Justice Party in Poland are anti Putin
Also, anyone looking for good TV should definitely watch Severance, the second season is absolutely brilliant, hope they stick the landing in the final three episodes.
Thanks, always on the lookout for decent sci-fi. Does it hold together on a series by series basis? I can't abide series endings that are transparently designed primarily to set up the next series and so keep you hooked (looking at you, Lost).
Dark matter is also excellent although, as ever, a poor second to the book.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
Civic reception in Stornoway, a guided tour of the black pudding factory and then some fudged up freedom of the island conferment from the Lord of the Isles in Lews Castle.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
It isn't, even Trump was elected, he may have been a nationalist protectionist but he still won the popular vote and EC.
Globally far more nations have elections than any century before too
Elections are not everything. North Korea technically holds what they call elections, showing they at least pretend to believe democratic consent is important.
I think we are going to get more places dropping the pretence in years to come.
They don't, certainly not competitive ones as there is only one party's candidates on the ballot
You said more nations have elections than ever before, and did not specify free or fair. I pointed out that North Korea 'technically' holds what they 'call' elections, so they can 'pretend' to have democratic consent.
My point, which was pretty clear and you now seem to have implicitly accepted by pretending it was the point you originally made, is that the mere holding of an election is not in itself a sign of strong democracy, it depends on the free and fairness of it, as well as other democratic safeguards.
Amongst all this, the biggest imponderable is what makes Starmer tick, what is his game here. Let me try.
There is a reception area at my daughter's ballet school and people, kids and parents come and go. One girl, top end of primary school age comes and talks to the adults, mainly women, on equal, mature terms, kind and thoughtful, discussing life and the world. The kind you notice and think her parents must be so proud, and a bit of third party, I'd be so proud of she were my daughter.
And yet, the conversation occasionally turns. There is a services worker in her family and one day she gave a clear, unemotional description of an RTA that was ultimately fatal. And, in all that maturity you realise it is all not quite right, it has been forged in family trauma and the pieces are not quite connected. The word preternatural is not one with wholly positive connotations for a reason, the maturity comes from something being wrong.
And Starmer reminds me of that. The article a year or so back of Starmer the tortoise, forged in the medical crises of his mother and brother, having to be old, to just do what needed to be done from a very young age, to get through each day. That's why the toolmaker story looms so large.
Just doing what needed to be done each day from such a young age - it's something most of us learn as adults not as kids. But even in his 60s, Starmer's manner in this presents a little as a kid, not as a result of conscious adult decisions. The why remains disconnected, preternatural - it is just how he has always acted. The handshake with Trump, there is something in Starmer's face in the photo - he almost looks 11 doing it.
And lastly his troubles. The family wants Taylor Swift tickets, sounds like a good idea, get it done. I don't think law told him to ask is it legal, then OK. I think the thought process predates his career, his being a lawyer themselves from that thought process, not the other way round.
Also, anyone looking for good TV should definitely watch Severance, the second season is absolutely brilliant, hope they stick the landing in the final three episodes.
Thanks, always on the lookout for decent sci-fi. Does it hold together on a series by series basis? I can't abide series endings that are transparently designed primarily to set up the next series and so keep you hooked (looking at you, Lost).
Dark matter is also excellent although, as ever, a poor second to the book.
It's definitely an ongoing story with cliffhangers, it's the one criticism I have with the series.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
Civic reception in Stornoway, a guided tour of the black pudding factory and then some fudged up freedom of the island conferment from the Lord of the Isles in Lews Castle.
Is a black pudding factory a real thing? As I too would like to visit.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
But there's the call of Putinisr Slavism in several of these countries.
Belarus and Hungary mainly, even the Law and Justice Party in Poland are anti Putin
Romania, Bulgaria, too. Democracy isn't that firmly established, and they don't have the visceral hatred of Russia that the Poles and Balts do.
What a load of bs about the death of democracy. The weakness of autocracy is laid bare for all to see. You cannot speak truth to autocratic power. You tell them what they want to hear. So they wallow in false information about tractor stats and triumphs that didn’t exist. Reality ultimately catches up. It always does. Means the competition in democracy allows a bit of fresh air and light to creep in from time to time.
Perhaps universal suffrage is the very thing that is undermining democracy by allowing it to degenerate into an arms race of manipulation and spin. This problem goes way beyond foreign interference.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
Free speech is not under attack.
Yes it is. I invented the #pbfreespeech hashtag to specifically track it.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Maybe but in some cases the hurty words thing is real. In the last week or so, a man drew six months for sending abusive emails to Jess Phillips whereas Mike Amesbury got his sentence for actual fisticuffs suspended.
For sending abusive emails to Phillips, Sadiq Khan and Matt Twist (four counts of sending malicious communications and one of using a public communication network to send offensive emails). He can presumably appeal his sentence, as Amesbury did.
What a load of bs about the death of democracy. The weakness of autocracy is laid bare for all to see. You cannot speak truth to autocratic power. You tell them what they want to hear. So they wallow in false information about tractor stats and triumphs that didn’t exist. Reality ultimately catches up. It always does. Means the competition in democracy allows a bit of fresh air and light to creep in from time to time.
Perhaps universal suffrage is the very thing that is undermining democracy by allowing it to degenerate into an arms race of manipulation and spin. This problem goes way beyond foreign interference.
The Thirty, in Athens, believed so. So they limited citizen rights to 3,000. Who they picked as Proper Athenians.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Burial place of Mr Churchill (more correctly the wee village kirkyard to the south, I forget the name).
Bladon hell! How could you forget that?
Because I'm more familiar with Bleadon in the Mendips and assumed that I was muddling it with that when 'Bleadon' dimly came to memory!
And for everyone saying that Starmer was wrong yesterday to not give outspoken support to Zelenskyy, the latest is that Zelenskyy is coming to London to speak to the PM because he's the only European leader who still has open dialogue with Trump.
I'm not a fan of Starmer as many of you know, yet it was the right decision to keep his own counsel last night and not hastily post some feel good virtue signalling nonsense on Twitter last night like the rest of Europe's leaders. He's being vindicated today, Zelenskyy has come to London, not to Paris. Starmer got real commitments from Trump and has clearly been able to work with Trump better than the rest of them. We need that more than ever right now, not to hastily throw it away to make ourselves feel better for 5 minutes for being "on the right side of history".
Indeed. Just be thankful this didn’t happen while we had loopy Liz in the big chair. Or indeed the lying clown.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
Civic reception in Stornoway, a guided tour of the black pudding factory and then some fudged up freedom of the island conferment from the Lord of the Isles in Lews Castle.
Is a black pudding factory a real thing? As I too would like to visit.
Struck me Trump is now so weak he had to have Captain Guyliner there to double-team Zelensky.
Weak and cowardly. That's Trump and anyone who demanded his re-election (like, um, Jenrick) need to explain their actions as well as condemning his. Otherwise it just looks like they are idiots (Jenrick and Badenoch) or bought and paid for (Farage).
There’s no point in demanding people apologise for their past misjudgements.
Badenoch, Jenrick and other leading Tories were strong last night in support of Ukraine and Zelensky. That’s what matters - don’t make it harder for them to do the right thing
In general I agree, as u-turning can be a good thing and should be encouraged where it is, though it can depend on how forcefully someone was pushing a previous position and whether they acknowledge they have in fact changed position.
I don't think supporting Trump’s re-election was remotely a misjudgement, and I doubt Jenrick or Badenoch regard it as such. That doesn't prevent them from being critical of Trump if he does something they disagree with - which is how UK politicians should be with all US presidents.
Everything Trump is doing now was predicted. So, yes, supporting Trump’s election was a misjudgement because it was supporting what has now come to pass.
And for everyone saying that Starmer was wrong yesterday to not give outspoken support to Zelenskyy, the latest is that Zelenskyy is coming to London to speak to the PM because he's the only European leader who still has open dialogue with Trump.
I'm not a fan of Starmer as many of you know, yet it was the right decision to keep his own counsel last night and not hastily post some feel good virtue signalling nonsense on Twitter last night like the rest of Europe's leaders. He's being vindicated today, Zelenskyy has come to London, not to Paris. Starmer got real commitments from Trump and has clearly been able to work with Trump better than the rest of them. We need that more than ever right now, not to hastily throw it away to make ourselves feel better for 5 minutes for being "on the right side of history".
Indeed. Just be thankful this didn’t happen while we had loopy Liz in the big chair. Or indeed the lying clown.
What a load of bs about the death of democracy. The weakness of autocracy is laid bare for all to see. You cannot speak truth to autocratic power. You tell them what they want to hear. So they wallow in false information about tractor stats and triumphs that didn’t exist. Reality ultimately catches up. It always does. Means the competition in democracy allows a bit of fresh air and light to creep in from time to time.
Perhaps universal suffrage is the very thing that is undermining democracy by allowing it to degenerate into an arms race of manipulation and spin. This problem goes way beyond foreign interference.
Indeed, while liberal, pro free market parties are in decline and nationalist, anti immigration and protectionist parties are on the rise that doesn't necessarily mean democracy is in decline. Indeed liberal, pro free market parties would probably be doing rather better at the moment if the franchise was again restricted to wealthy property owners as it was before the late 19th century or high earning graduates (who voted for Harris, Remain, Macron etc)
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
But there's the call of Putinisr Slavism in several of these countries.
Belarus and Hungary mainly, even the Law and Justice Party in Poland are anti Putin
Romania, Bulgaria, too. Democracy isn't that firmly established, and they don't have the visceral hatred of Russia that the Poles and Balts do.
Hardly surprising in Romania / Bulgaria as most of the people with the skill/ability to leave the country have left those countries.
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
None of this is his style. I read somewhere they were opening a Hooters in the Bigg Market in Newcastle, might be more up his alley.
Not his own style, certainly, but one he seems to enjoy the reflected glory in.
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
I doubt it, they spent decades under Soviet rule before they got democracy, they don't want to go back even if they do sometimes elect Nationalist parties
But there's the call of Putinisr Slavism in several of these countries.
Belarus and Hungary mainly, even the Law and Justice Party in Poland are anti Putin
Romania, Bulgaria, too. Democracy isn't that firmly established, and they don't have the visceral hatred of Russia that the Poles and Balts do.
Though even Putin and his party were elected in elections with other parties on the ballot
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
Yes, that's probably the best description I've seen for the US under Trump. The best way to placate him would be to lend Ukraine enough money on very long dated war bonds to pay back US monetary support.
Was just sent this nice example of grifting by an old school friend who lives in the US.
Corruption out in the open: the criminals becoming the oligarchs - by invitation. The Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped its prosecution of Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur who had been charged in March 2023 with securities fraud. After Trump was elected in 2024, Sun bought $30 million worth of Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto tokens, putting $18 million directly into Trump’s pockets. Since then, he has invested another $45 million in WLF. Altogether, Sun’s investments have netted Trump more than $50 million. SEC also appears to have dropped its case against the crypto trading platform Coinbase after the platform donated $75 million to a political action committee associated with Trump and donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
To attract Trump back to the UK to meet Zelensky before the state visit, you'd need something that appealed to his vanity, but also with the kind of aristocratic connotations he enjoys.
Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Churchill, birthplace of Chutchill, physically very beautiful setting, no Vance or Zelensky's team - just the two of them. If you're Starner you have to try every avenue like this.
Trump has already been there and done that
Also Balmoral, perhaps. Scotland + aristocratic.
Civic reception in Stornoway, a guided tour of the black pudding factory and then some fudged up freedom of the island conferment from the Lord of the Isles in Lews Castle.
Is a black pudding factory a real thing? As I too would like to visit.
There is though don’t know if they do tours. Charles Macleod is the primo pud butcher, colloquially known as Charlie Barley by the Lewis side of my family.
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
Talking about landlords, I was astounded to discover that one of my local pubs has had their hours curtailed because of a sound complaint from a short-term let owner. Apparently their Airbnb reviews mention the karoake.
The bloody cheek. These arseholes destroy the lives of people living in tenements, yet have no qualms about shutting down everything that makes living in a dense city so good. A local kebab place has also been forced to close early.
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
Interestingly, that's also one of the main themes of Varoufakis's book. Another unlikely audience it's reaching, perhaps, along with Bannon.
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
Talking about landlords, I was astounded to discover that one of my local pubs has had their hours curtailed because of a sound complaint from a short-term let owner. Apparently their Airbnb reviews mention the karoake.
The bloody cheek. These arseholes destroy the lives of people living in tenements, yet have no qualms about shutting down everything that makes living in a dense city so good. A local kebab place has also been forced to close early.
What really seemed to upset Vance and Trump was Zelensky campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democrats and that wasn't, in fairness, the smartest move. Thank goodness none of our parties were stupid enough to send supporters to campaign for Harris.
I agree this was definitely a trigger. In that context it's funny that Starmer got away with Labour's actions. Once again it shows that this was a hatchet job on Z.
Starmer didn't get away with anything Trump and Vance are seriously harsh about Starmer's restricting free speech and the Apple backdoor nonsense
Watch the WHOLE press conference
I mean specifically the Labour representatives going to campaign for Harris. I didn't see Trump or Vance use that against Starmer; did I miss it?
I think that all of this is a series of tactical exaggerations / misrepresentations, tbh.
Here is an FT piece about a group of Republicans coming to the UK in 2015 to help the Tories campaign in marginal seats. Campaigning with sister parties over the pond is just normal, and has been so since the time of Mrs Thatcher, and perhaps earlier (I wasn't around). https://www.ft.com/content/48d94f08-e82b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de
The President of Ukraine visiting a US Munitions plant with a representative of the US Govt to thank the workers for making shells for his country is actually exactly what Vance was demanding, ie gratitude. The issue is perhaps the Vance fantasises about the state as politicised against him. Vance's demands about "have you thanked us" are nonsense, the USA already having been thanked again at the start of the meeting. I say Vance's upset is entirely tactical.
The free speech stuff is weird. The examples in Vance's Munich speech were fabrications - whether because he's manipulating or because he's ignorant I cannot tell. "Facebook poster jailed for hurty words" claims I have seen have almost all been for far more serious offences, such as calling for hotels full of brown people to be burnt down with the brown people still in them. That's an attempted wedge issue by elements on the Right of our politics, in the hope of using talking points that used to belong to the BNP and similar to build a support base.
IMO it's all mainly Trump & Vance reacting to images they have projected on the inside of their own heads, or a deliberate political tactic. Vance gets seriously harsh when anyone refuses to kneel down and lick the boots.
Bollocks, people ARE doing jailtime for social media, and cops are knocking on doors for literally NON crime "hate incidents"
Free speech is under attack in the UK in a way we have not seen in many decades. Meanwhile we suddenly have a de facto blasphemy law that only protects Islam
There are many reasons to abhor Trump, one of them - for me - is this: his oafish, New Jersey Mafia Don impression is slowing the advance of the new right that will reverse all this shit. Cf Canada
It feels to me like Western Democracy - the amazing fruit of the Enlightenment - is dying.
What is clear is that Europe, plus Canada, Australia & NZ - these places will be the last bastions of Western Democracy, not the US.
The imminent failure of the US as key pillar of democarcy on the alt-right, no one else.
It really is dying. The stats don't lie
EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024
Not much of a surprise. Full democracies has never been as numerous as people in the West think, and several places are backsliding. Any going in the other direction need to be celebrated.
I believe, long term, that democracy is dead
Defeatist crap. You'd have said the same in the 30s.
Not defeatist, realist
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Chicken Licken as usual. You don't understand how machines work. They serve a purpose, and the purpose is us. A car is a relatively complicated machine that someone who has not learned how to cannot drive. In the same way these large data management systems that you call be the slightly misleading name of "artificial intelligence " could be very dangerous in untrained hands but equally could be as big a help to humanity as cars (or steelworks or satellites). Instead of bleating like a ninny, how about working how to use these systems for the greater good? The purposes we put these tools to are a matter of choice. They can be dangerous, like a car in untrained hands, or they can be good- when we choose to make them work for good purposes.
"Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singapore’s defense chief said on the sidelines of a security meeting," per Bloomberg.
Interestingly, that's also one of the main themes of Varoufakis's book. Another unlikely audience it's reaching, perhaps, along with Bannon.
Comments
analysts at the agency [Cisa, the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency] were verbally informed that they were not to follow or report on Russian threats
...
The Trump administration has also reassigned officials at Cisa who were focused on safeguarding elections from cyberattacks and other attempts to disrupt voting.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security
What’s it all about? It’s Crystal Palace vs Millwall this afternoon.
I posted numbers the other day of around 1/3 of Trump's base being evangelical, who may imo be more firmly attached - being accustomed to holding to 'distinctive' social and political narratives, which in some places are sustained by 'Christendom'.
MAGA-identifiers with overlap other movements, to a greater or lesser extent, in a spoken or unspoken alliance of principle or convenience imo. Foci on nativism, white supremacism and anti-abortion may have this feature.
I'd go with Vance being in the hard core - he's a creature of Peter Thiel.
Also, inevitable. Soon enough we will be run by machines that govern much better than humans, because- to take a random example - they won't feel personally insulted by things said in a room in Washington, and ergo nearly kick off World War 3. Instead, they will hum efficiently in spotless basements and make near-perfect decisions by drawing on near-infinite data
This is coming. It's probably for the best
Democracy’s strength is its weakness - that is subject to criticism, and that people often prefers utopias to reality.
Though it reminds me of Dostoevksy's brilliant Notes from Underground. To paraphrase, he says: "An idiot can easily take action, the more intelligent you are the more you become stymied by all the possible consequences of the actions you take."
In a world of uncertainty, perhaps those infinite-data machines will become utterly incapable of making decisions at all.
Average Americans also believe they have the best healthcare in the world, best quality of life, most "equal" (in terms of social stratification) etc. It is a fiction they are force fed by the richest in America, while they slave to prop them up. It's as depressing as it ever was.
The US, Like here and in most western democracies, is becoming a divided country politically. That doesn't mean that its falling apart.
I recall a conversation with someone who was insistent that *Switzerland* wasn’t a democracy. Because of the village that voted a lady out for complaining about cow bells.
Because to that person, democracy = nice policies.
It all feels relatively good natured save that Trump keeps rambling about what a great idea it is of his to talk to Putin, and Zelensky wants to assert that Putin, actually, can’t be trusted.
But Zelensky is obviously frustrated to be inside this court of nodding dogs and when Vance makes a fatuous show of loyalty with some guff about Trump’s amazing powers of diplomacy, Zelensky can’t help but remind him that Putin has broken every ceasefire he’s ever agreed to.
Then Vance goes in for the kill.
It feels like both parties were expecting to sign the deal, with Zelensky perhaps hoping for some final firming up of language on security guarantees. Zelensky could have been more craven, but it’s really Vance that takes the lion’s share of blame for blowing it up.
I suspect this is not over yet, and I agree that Starmer is right not to follow Europe with an immediate assertion of undying support for Ukraine.
Iain Banks didn’t understand this - I had a conversation with him, at a book signing in Oxford. He was adamant that a sufficiently large computer could get enough information etc.
Mind you, Von Neumann made the same mistake, at first, so he was in very good company.
Here's your quote from yesterday, and the link:
Leon said: turbotubbs said:So this chap gets arrested and charged with a Section 5 Public Order offence for shouting 'Oi, you Chelsea rent boys'*. Where do people stand on this? Is this different from shouting ' 'Oi, you Chelsea wankers', 'Oi, you Chelsea twats' or any other of a range of not that offensive slurs?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c1kjjw3rdd8o
Meanwhile the police have time to visit people who post bad words on social media, but not to investigate if your car is stolen. Priorities, hey.
And the MP who actually punched a voter to the ground gets a suspended sentence - as Facebook commenters get 3 years in jail
It is all so fucked up
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5136512/#Comment_5136512
To repeat, you stated yesterday that facebook commenters get 3 years. Do you have a citation to such a case, or is it just generalised bullshit?
Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social
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1h
I can’t understand why anyone would want to go on tourist trip to the DPRK.
Just baffles me.
First British tourists allowed back into North Korea tell BBC what they saw www.bbc.com/news/article...
https://bsky.app/profile/duncanweldon.bsky.social/post/3ljctfhzri22o
In fact the 2024 cases seem to have been handled relatively generously
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-08-09/we-will-find-you-police-issue-more-cctv-appeals-to-identify-disorder-suspects got 20 months
Lucy Connolly only got 31 months.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/tory-councillors-wife-lucy-connolly-jailed-for-31-months-for-inciting-race-hatred-b1188513.html
https://x.com/olddog100ua/status/1895737771958190192?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
A friend is being stalked.
Got to the tagging stage. But the police can’t seem to do anything when he breaches the orders regarding tagging/location. Standing outside her house etc.
This is fucking her life up. Reduced to planing trips to when friends are about and sending her location, from her phone, live to other friends so they can track her.
I propose the following. An option for the magistrate is an order sending the tagging data to the victim of the stalking.
So she can fire up an app on her phone and see where the shit head is all the time.
This would explicitly get round the no-comment-GDPR excuse that the police seem to be using.
Thoughts?
Globally far more nations have elections than any century before too
There are multiple futures.
The one we actually thread and help create will depend, not only on powerful human actors, and multiple technologies with unforeseen consequences, but also "sliding door" events such as Al Gore's defeat by a few hundred votes.
A good friend of mine, ex-special forces, spent about a week there as a disaster relief recce.
He said he'd been to autocratic regimes all over the world, and had always seen the nod or wink to indicate that his minders knew that the pro-regime nonsense they were spouting was, indeed, nonsense.
Not a glimmer amongst the North Koreans - he said that from start to finish everyone presented as true believers.
It's up there with uncontacted Amazonian communities on the fascination level.
Though Latin America and Africa also are more democratic than they were
For reference I can see Mrs Eek is currently at her mum's, the Twins are in Southport (not a clue why) and my mum is somewhere in their oap complex in Wycombe..
Scotland + aristocratic.
I think we are going to get more places dropping the pretence in years to come.
See Socrates, his students and The Thirty.
“What we need is strong leadership to fix all the problems. Strangely, it turns out that we are the leadership needed”
On the question of Europe, the question of the future of central Eastern and South Eastern Europe is really the most crucial. Greece and Cyprus will stay part of the West, for historical reasons, but the rest are highly vulnerable if democracy goes out of fashion.
We've had a generation where we've deceived ourselves that the constant vigilance in favour of our current way of life is no longer necessary. In that generation we've incurred some debits on the account (appeasing Putin, allowing social media to become a hotbed of misinformation just as it also takes over mainstream news etc) and so find ourselves in a large hole with a smaller-than-adequate shovel (apols for the flagrant mixed metaphors).
Just means we need to start digging, now, and get a sweat on, to extract ourselves from the hole we're in.
A female friend of mine was being
stalked. Her then husband was a long-haul airline pilot and so often abroad.
The stalker would turn up in his blue ford van and park in the quiet road outside her house where he could survey her entrance or exit to the house. When she left the house he would try to intercept her and ask to go out with her.
He was a self-styled cheeky chappy with an unreflective conviction of his own attractiveness to women.
He believed he couldn't be seen from the house. He could though from a
side window in the attic.
The police had warned him. But this made no difference. He asserted his right to park in a public road.
Several of us turned up in our motors and parked in front of and behind his van. One of us double parked to his side, so it was impossible for him to leave.
We then just sat there, whilst he became agitated and tried to persuade us to move. We asserted our right to park in a public road and suggested he rang the police.
He became abusive.
We ignored him. We kept him there for several hours.
When we finally released him, Steven, a then front row prop, told him what might happen if he ever came back or harrassed the woman again.
He never bothered M again.
Dark matter is also excellent although, as ever, a poor second to the book.
My point, which was pretty clear and you now seem to have implicitly accepted by pretending it was the point you originally made, is that the mere holding of an election is not in itself a sign of strong democracy, it depends on the free and fairness of it, as well as other democratic safeguards.
Democracy isn't that firmly established, and they don't have the visceral hatred of Russia that the Poles and Balts do.
The big loser is the United States, both within the US, and in its relationship with the rest of the world.
Russia is a short term winner but will be put back in its box by China and Europe.
Corruption out in the open: the criminals becoming the oligarchs - by invitation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped its prosecution of Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur who had been charged in March 2023 with securities fraud. After Trump was elected in 2024, Sun bought $30 million worth of Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto tokens, putting $18 million directly into Trump’s pockets. Since then, he has invested another $45 million in WLF. Altogether, Sun’s investments have netted Trump more than $50 million.
SEC also appears to have dropped its case against the crypto trading platform Coinbase after the platform donated $75 million to a political action committee associated with Trump and donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
The bloody cheek. These arseholes destroy the lives of people living in tenements, yet have no qualms about shutting down everything that makes living in a dense city so good. A local kebab place has also been forced to close early.
Another unlikely audience it's reaching, perhaps, along with Bannon.
Instead of bleating like a ninny, how about working how to use these systems for the greater good?
The purposes we put these tools to are a matter of choice. They can be dangerous, like a car in untrained hands, or they can be good- when we choose to make them work for good purposes.