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.
Interestingly, that's also one of the main themes of Varoufakis's book. Another unlikely audience it's reaching, perhaps, along with Bannon.
Is it the Techno feudalism book?
Yup.
The tech landlords. Did you get round reading it ? I remember mentioning it to you.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
"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.
I see AirBNB are blaming house price growth on the council's restrictions on AirBNB, such as they are.
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.
More relevant, look at which states in the US are going around banning books. And consider whether it’s the right or left that is doing it.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
"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.
I’ve absolutely detested these noise complainers since my then-local, “Filthy McNasty’s”, famed for its live music, was essentially forced to close down for the same reason.
Even though the concerts were pretty tame and all over by 11pm.
The neighbourhood in question, a pocket of Clerkenwell just inside Zone 1, is like a grave now.
"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.
As I've posted on here multiple times before we need to change the law so that holiday lets and similar are treated as residential properties for land tax purposes rather than business premises..
Then set the rate of council tax to be x times those for a full time residents and watch the market self regulate as it's currently doing in Wales.
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.
Do they do guga + black p. sausages?
Doubt it but I’d bet they’d be big sellers if they did. The Hebridean diaspora’s food nostalgia is as powerful as all its other manifestations.
"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.
I suspect the Singapore's defense chiefs real view is that Trump & co are Mafiosa but he's political astute enough to say that across the two comments rather than outright in a way even Trump would understand
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.
Sorry, but what silly twat flagged this? You don't flag debating points just because you disagree with them dumbarse. Too much flagging should result in a ban.
"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.
As I've posted on here multiple times before we need to change the law so that holiday lets and similar are treated as residential properties for land tax purposes rather than business premises..
Then set the rate of council tax to be x times those for a full time residents and watch the market self regulate as it's currently doing in Wales.
Already done in Scotland, in areas where the activated powers are activated, such as Edinburgh where it is 2x. Edinburgh also demands planning permission and licensing. It was much moaned about by the usual suspects on here.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
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.
Do they do guga + black p. sausages?
Doubt it but I’d bet they’d be big sellers if they did. The Hebridean diaspora’s food nostalgia is as powerful ans all its other manifestations.
Mm, gannets for gannets! (My mother always called me a gannet if I was being too enthusiastic a trencherman. Maybe a Lothian thing because of the Bass?)
A German word for being embarrassed by the actions of someone else is Fremdscham, or “foreign shame.” A similar word from Icelandic is aulahrollur, which is quite tricky to translate but basically means something along the lines of “cringe quake” or “douchebag chills”
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.
Leon could be half right. It's certainly not inconceivable that large chunks of the world come to be controlled by the billionaire who own and direct the AIs.
The danger isn't that they 'think' for themselves (for now pure speculation), but rather that they enable far greater concentration of power.
"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.
As I've posted on here multiple times before we need to change the law so that holiday lets and similar are treated as residential properties for land tax purposes rather than business premises..
Then set the rate of council tax to be x times those for a full time residents and watch the market self regulate as it's currently doing in Wales.
Already done in Scotland, in areas where the activated powers are activated, such as Edinburgh where it is 2x. Edinburgh also demands planning permission and licensing. It was much moaned about by the usual suspects on here.
Nope Scotland still has the If your property is available to holiday let for 140 days or more, and actually let out for 70 days or more over a financial year (1st April-31st March), it'll be liable for business rates not council tax.
Now I could suggest tighter terms for that but even they wouldn't fix the issue in Edinburgh / Glasgow.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
Different process entirely. An established AirBnB's owner who is licensed and pays the additional costs presumably has the same rights to make complaints as anyone else in the area who lives or has a business which is affected by the noise (and the reviews would be good evidence). How else can one do it?
But I ewxpect that any noise from that AirBnB will now get complained about even more vigorously.
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.
Leon could be half right.
It’s crazy speculation like that which got us into this mess in the first place.
"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.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
A German word for being embarrassed by the actions of someone else is Fremdscham, or “foreign shame.” A similar word from Icelandic is aulahrollur, which is quite tricky to translate but basically means something along the lines of “cringe quake” or “douchebag chills”
Being embarrassed on behalf of your country is a horrible feeling.
For most English people it was a regular feature of summers from the 1980s to the noughties as football hooligans tore up European town centres, and occasionally on holiday if boorish tourists acted like twats to the locals. A lot of us felt it very keenly in 2003 at the start of the Iraq war, and for some of us it was back again during the Brexit negotiations.
Most countries have things they’re embarrassed by. Politicians, tourists, their national sports teams. It must be nice to be, say, Canadian or Danish and not have this problem.
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.
Do they do guga + black p. sausages?
Doubt it but I’d bet they’d be big sellers if they did. The Hebridean diaspora’s food nostalgia is as powerful ans all its other manifestations.
Mm, gannets for gannets! (My mother always called me a gannet if I was being too enthusiastic a trencherman. Maybe a Lothian thing because of the Bass?)
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
Indeed, IBM supplied the Nazis with machines to do precisely that.
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..
You could even give simple "distance" information when outside e.g. a 5km exclusion zone which largely mitigates any (weak IMHO) privacy concerns.
I’ve had another 180 degree u turn, and now, after investigation, I have completely different view it. Ukraine signing the rare earth minerals deal for Trump, I used to think it was Trump bullying, or trying to exploit the desperate Ukraine situation, and it was making me cross - I now see it as an Ukraine wheeze, and I want to see it signed ASAP to make mugs of the Trump Administration.
My analysis starts by understanding it was never an original idea by the Trump Administration, but came from Ukraine. Seeking security guarantees and tying Washington into supporting the Z government, it was Ukraine who first offered it to Biden Administration - who pulled a wry smile and said, haha, nice try, but no Cuban. The electoral vote people keep saying this, and they have convinced me.
Secondly, and this is the interesting bit, I look for scientific analysis of Ukraine rare earth minerals, and the scientific community seems to disagree with each other. But there’s something about the ones who say, great deal for the US? Nah. That convinces me.
I’ll link to this one, for its brevity and nicely laid out.
Take outs. Some of it is estimates not certainties, one survey 50 years old. Extraction and processing costs, and huge Timeframes before profits start being made. If genuinely needing and on look out for a future proofing deal, even better options elsewhere in the world.
As I have been suggesting about the Trump psyche (and how to play him) it’s context that titillates him as much as material. “Get Ukraine to pay back the money Biden gave away for nothing.” Is what titillates and drives Trump in this context.
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.
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 stated yesterday that facebook commenters get 3 years. Do you have a citation to such a case, or is it just generalised bullshit?
++++++
Fair enough, I forgot one fleeting reference - en passant - amidst a debate about something else, and where I was barely engaged
But yes, my bad, apologies, I shall walk up Mount Sinai in penance
You remain a fucking weird sad low-IQ cretin with creepy tendencies that constantly tries to get me banned, so there’s that which is also preventing me from giving you lively debate
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
A few years ago I drank in a pub which had that problem. The building had been a pub for 200 or so years, but in the 1990’s a house was built next door. The owner regularly complained about the noise. Sadly, a few years ago, the pub owners put in an incompetent manager, who ran the place down and the owners had an excuse to sell it.
Weak European countries can't look after themselves but think they can get the US to provide their muscle by mocking US politicians as weak if they don't. Trump is portrayed as Putin's poodle simply because he isn't willing to play the role that Europeans want and instead has his own ideas about US interests.
"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.
I’ve absolutely detested these noise complainers since my then-local, “Filthy McNasty’s”, famed for its live music, was essentially forced to close down for the same reason.
Even though the concerts were pretty tame and all over by 11pm.
The neighbourhood in question, a pocket of Clerkenwell just inside Zone 1, is like a grave now.
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.
Weak European countries can't look after themselves but think they can get the US to provide their muscle by mocking US politicians as weak if they don't. Trump is portrayed as Putin's poodle simply because he isn't willing to play the role that Europeans want and instead has his own ideas about US interests.
It's not the only reason, as he is actively siding with Russia's arguments rather than just not wanting to perform the role the US has performed in the past as you suggest (and pretending that is all he has done is disingenuous). But there is a point that Europeans have gotten too used to that role and, despite warning, obviously did not think Trump was serious about changing it, and are lashing out in return.
There's also the fact that calling someone a poodle is an old, if lame, political attack - remember Blair? - so the hysterics at its use are a little overblown.
Jimmy Carr has some serious (non-comic) banter with the audience including some political views eg Musk, the minimum wage and Keir Starmer (language very nsfw):- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2DpctGhzQY
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
it is also, often, corrupt as all Koreamuffin
eg a friend of mine once opened a nightclub/venue in Hoxton, back when Hoxton was a dump. He and his company were absolute pioneers of gentrification in that quarter (Hoxton is now mega trendy thanks, in part, to my pal)
The venue was a huge success - everyone was happy - especially local pubs suddenly flooded with pre gig drinkers. However they then got a series of noise complaints from unexpectedly angry neighbours, lots and lots of them, until eventually the council imposed so many restrictions and abatements and the like, it wasn’t worth the effort and they shut down a much loved highly profitable business that brought life to a dismal nowhere-land
A couple of years later they discovered that REDACTED MCREDACTED a well known London-wide promoter was incensed by a new rival, taking his business, and he had bribed the local neighbours to complain about noise and then backhanded a few councillors as well
By then it was too late for my friend and co to fight back
The World Cup in 2026 and Olympics in 2028 have been mentioned on here - in terms of boycotting. That doesn't really seem realistic (especially as Mexico and Canada are co-hosts of WC).
However, there is a ban on Russia in football and across numerous sporting federations at the Olympics.
I can easily see Trump desperately trying to overturn these bans, so he can get Putin over to watch them with him. Outcome and response from other countries will be interesting, if he does this.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
it is also, often, corrupt as all Koreamuffin
eg a friend of mine once opened a nightclub/venue in Hoxton, back when Hoxton was a dump. He and his company were absolute pioneers of gentrification in that quarter (Hoxton is now mega trendy thanks, in part, to my pal)
The venue was a huge success - everyone was happy - especially local pubs suddenly flooded with pre gig drinkers. However they then got a series of noise complaints from unexpectedly angry neighbours, lots and lots of them, until eventually the council imposed so many restrictions and abatements and the like, it wasn’t worth the effort and they shut down a much loved highly profitable business that brought life to a dump
A couple of years later they discovered that REDACTED MCREDACTED a well known London-wide promoter was incensed by a new rival, taking his business, and he had bribed the local neighbours to complain about noise and then backhanded a few councillors as well
By then it was too late for my friend and co to fight back
You'd need to bribe a Cabinet Member to get that sort of thing to work (and probably bribing the officers would be more effective), your average councillor would not get anything more than a courtesy acknowledgement from officers for raising such an issue, since councillors raising trivialities or mundanities when they get local complaints is incredibly common. Incoming councillors in May who think normal processes will get dropped because they raise a matter are in for a rude awakening. So if they did give them a backhander it was probably a needless waste.
Now if they bribed neighbours to complain to provide the evidence for an action, then that would indeed be more effective.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
Its hard not to have some admiration for the way Trump has completely bypassed all rules or laws in respect of corruption, firstly by his use of Trump Media and his Truth Social network and then by the use of Crypto. He has monetised politics and power on a scale never even conceived of before earning himself billions of dollars, all technically within the rules (if not particularly compliant with conflict of interest requirements).
It is a lesson to us all how vulnerable democracies and the rule of law is. Trump has destroyed it before our eyes and he is a long way from finished. The Rubicon has been transformed into an underground sewer with an 8 lane highway built over the top of it. Its hard to see how we ever get back to where we thought we were only months ago.
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
Indeed, IBM supplied the Nazis with machines to do precisely that.
Weirdly that doesn't show up on the about page of their website. They have a few short bits about iconic moments in IBM history, which has an entry in 1928 (for punch cards) and then jumps to 1952 (magnetic tape data)
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
it is also, often, corrupt as all Koreamuffin
eg a friend of mine once opened a nightclub/venue in Hoxton, back when Hoxton was a dump. He and his company were absolute pioneers of gentrification in that quarter (Hoxton is now mega trendy thanks, in part, to my pal)
The venue was a huge success - everyone was happy - especially local pubs suddenly flooded with pre gig drinkers. However they then got a series of noise complaints from unexpectedly angry neighbours, lots and lots of them, until eventually the council imposed so many restrictions and abatements and the like, it wasn’t worth the effort and they shut down a much loved highly profitable business that brought life to a dump
A couple of years later they discovered that REDACTED MCREDACTED a well known London-wide promoter was incensed by a new rival, taking his business, and he had bribed the local neighbours to complain about noise and then backhanded a few councillors as well
By then it was too late for my friend and co to fight back
You'd need to bribe a Cabinet Member to get that sort of thing to work (and probably bribing the officers would be more effective), your average councillor would not get anything more than a courtesy acknowledgement from officers for raising such an issue, since councillors raising trivialities or mundanities when they get local complaints is incredibly common. Incoming councillors in May who think normal processes will get dropped because they raise a matter are in for a rude awakening. So if they did give them a backhander it was probably a needless waste.
Now if they bribed neighbours to complain to provide the evidence for an action, then that would indeed be more effective.
I bow to your superior knowledge of the intricacies of local politics
This villain - really well known at the time - definitely bribed the neighbours to complain about noise (a couple of them admitted it in shame, later, to my friend - they regretted it as the closure of the venue turned out to be bad for the burb). They said the villain had also bribed some people in authority, but maybe it was officials rather than councillors, if you are right? It was certainly someone and it was horribly effective
Turned out he had a history of doing this, as well. My friend’s venue was not the first victim
Weak European countries can't look after themselves but think they can get the US to provide their muscle by mocking US politicians as weak if they don't. Trump is portrayed as Putin's poodle simply because he isn't willing to play the role that Europeans want and instead has his own ideas about US interests.
Trump is bought and paid for by Putin. You don't like it? Tough shit.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
You get similar issues in villages where people buy houses and complain about the sound of church bells which predates them by several hundred years. It is a problem most churches with bells have had to deal with.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
it is also, often, corrupt as all Koreamuffin
eg a friend of mine once opened a nightclub/venue in Hoxton, back when Hoxton was a dump. He and his company were absolute pioneers of gentrification in that quarter (Hoxton is now mega trendy thanks, in part, to my pal)
The venue was a huge success - everyone was happy - especially local pubs suddenly flooded with pre gig drinkers. However they then got a series of noise complaints from unexpectedly angry neighbours, lots and lots of them, until eventually the council imposed so many restrictions and abatements and the like, it wasn’t worth the effort and they shut down a much loved highly profitable business that brought life to a dump
A couple of years later they discovered that REDACTED MCREDACTED a well known London-wide promoter was incensed by a new rival, taking his business, and he had bribed the local neighbours to complain about noise and then backhanded a few councillors as well
By then it was too late for my friend and co to fight back
You'd need to bribe a Cabinet Member to get that sort of thing to work (and probably bribing the officers would be more effective), your average councillor would not get anything more than a courtesy acknowledgement from officers for raising such an issue, since councillors raising trivialities or mundanities when they get local complaints is incredibly common. Incoming councillors in May who think normal processes will get dropped because they raise a matter are in for a rude awakening. So if they did give them a backhander it was probably a needless waste.
Now if they bribed neighbours to complain to provide the evidence for an action, then that would indeed be more effective.
I bow to your superior knowledge of the intricacies local politics
This villain - really well known at the time - definitely bribed the neighbours to complain about noise (a couple of them admitted in in shame, later, to my friend - they regretted it as the closure of the venue was bad for the burb). They said the villain had also bribed some people in authority, but maybe it was officials rather than councillors, if you are right? It was certainly someone and it was horribly effective
Turned out he had a history of doing this, as well. My friend’s venue was not the first victim
I can believe it. The system in a lot of areas is set up to reward and incentivize curtain twitchers, so whilst people reach or the corruption tag far too quickly, it is naiive to think people have never taken advantage of it or that it never happens.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
Its hard not to have some admiration for the way Trump has completely bypassed all rules or laws in respect of corruption, firstly by his use of Trump Media and his Truth Social network and then by the use of Crypto. He has monetised politics and power on a scale never even conceived of before earning himself billions of dollars, all technically within the rules (if not particularly compliant with conflict of interest requirements).
It is a lesson to us all how vulnerable democracies and the rule of law is. Trump has destroyed it before our eyes and he is a long way from finished. The Rubicon has been transformed into an underground sewer with an 8 lane highway built over the top of it. Its hard to see how we ever get back to where we thought we were only months ago.
And at least one justice on the Supreme Court gives every impression of being bought and sold. Musk, with the acquiescence of Congress and apparent approval of the President, awarding his own businesses contracts, while purging the regulators which oversee his businesses is another sign. The US is perhaps quite close to being a full on plutocracy/kleptocracy.
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
You get similar issues in villages where people buy houses and complain about the sound of church bells which predates them by several hundred years. It is a problem most churches with bells have had to deal with.
Not a new point! Dorothy L Sayers mentions it in 'The Nine Tailors', published ninety years ago in 1934 and set in 1930.
Weak European countries can't look after themselves but think they can get the US to provide their muscle by mocking US politicians as weak if they don't. Trump is portrayed as Putin's poodle simply because he isn't willing to play the role that Europeans want and instead has his own ideas about US interests.
You are simply wrong.
In standing together with the European democracies to defend Freedom, Democracy and Justice, for the USA it was, 'Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.'
It is the Trump Administration who have broken this Fellowship to pursue self interest.
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
More broadly, I think it comes down to noise being a genuine issue that councillors spend a lot of time dealing with. So they direct officers to crack down on it hard, and approve measures such as these when they come up.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
Presumably it's an old pub? (Just to check the point.)
You get similar issues in villages where people buy houses and complain about the sound of church bells which predates them by several hundred years. It is a problem most churches with bells have had to deal with.
Not a new point! Dorothy L Sayers mentions it in 'The Nine Tailors', published ninety years ago in 1934 and set in 1930.
THere have always been those who want to be bell ends.
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
Posted from a country that has a "Brandmauer" that means 20% of voters get ignored in the name of democracy.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
Its hard not to have some admiration for the way Trump has completely bypassed all rules or laws in respect of corruption, firstly by his use of Trump Media and his Truth Social network and then by the use of Crypto. He has monetised politics and power on a scale never even conceived of before earning himself billions of dollars, all technically within the rules (if not particularly compliant with conflict of interest requirements).
It is a lesson to us all how vulnerable democracies and the rule of law is. Trump has destroyed it before our eyes and he is a long way from finished. The Rubicon has been transformed into an underground sewer with an 8 lane highway built over the top of it. Its hard to see how we ever get back to where we thought we were only months ago.
And at least one justice on the Supreme Court gives every impression of being bought and sold. Musk, with the acquiescence of Congress and apparent approval of the President, awarding his own businesses contracts, while purging the regulators which oversee his businesses is another sign. The US is perhaps quite close to being a full on plutocracy/kleptocracy.
There is a strong sense that something must shift at some point before the full blown plutocratic gangster kleptocrat oligarchy tyranny is in place, but the pieces are being arranged. What is in the way? The freedom of speech tradition, the courts, congress, a still free press, the unions, a hundred million people, the armed forces. It ought to be enough, but it isn't working yet.
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
Posted from a country that has a "Brandmauer" that means 20% of voters get ignored in the name of democracy.
no surprise that you don't understand how democracy works.
The irony of all these European leaders getting their knickers in a knot and saying "Well we're going to kick Putin's arse outselves then!" is that that's exactly what Trump wants. Trump is going to un-sanction Russia, throw open his country to Russian billionaires, whilst getting whatever he can from Ukraine. Europe will continue to be at daggers drawn with Putin, and shut out Russian money and Russian gas. It's perfect for America. To mix metaphors, they stirred up the hornet's nest, and now they can sit back with popcorn.
If Europe *really* wanted strategic and defensive independence from the USA, they would do it, however unlikely it seems now, in coordination with Russia, offer an associate EU membership (without Shengen as Russia wouldn't have any people left). That's what would really upset America, and it's what they have skilfully avoided thus far.
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.
I’m not sure you can make that link as strongly as that juxtaposition makes it appear. The SEC prosecutions of crypto entrepreneurs was always an extension of their rules - I personally believed it was justified, but the courts haven’t always agreed. Trump and those around him have long rejected the interpretation of the rules as including crypto as a regulated investment.
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
Posted from a country that has a "Brandmauer" that means 20% of voters get ignored in the name of democracy.
I have some news for you about how parties win a majority of seats under FPTP.
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
Posted from a country that has a "Brandmauer" that means 20% of voters get ignored in the name of democracy.
I have some news for you about how parties win a majority of seats under FPTP.
That’s why our democracy is more advanced than theirs. We ignore more of the voters.
The irony of all these European leaders getting their knickers in a knot and saying "Well we're going to kick Putin's arse outselves then!" is that that's exactly what Trump wants. Trump is going to un-sanction Russia, throw open his country to Russian billionaires, whilst getting whatever he can from Ukraine. Europe will continue to be at daggers drawn with Putin, and shut out Russian money and Russian gas. It's perfect for America. To mix metaphors, they stirred up the hornet's nest, and now they can sit back with popcorn.
If Europe *really* wanted strategic and defensive independence from the USA, they would do it, however unlikely it seems now, in coordination with Russia, offer an associate EU membership (without Shengen as Russia wouldn't have any people left). That's what would really upset America, and it's what they have skilfully avoided thus far.
That's true. But there's one slight flaw in your plan, which is Putin's tendency to brutally invade neighbouring countries. Makes me wonder what your European 'defensive independence' is supposed to defend against.
On the topic of FPTP, how about this from Ontario? The Liberals won 30 per cent of the popular vote, translating into 14 seats. Yet the NDP, who won less than 19 per cent of the popular vote, won 27 seats.
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.
It's astonishing that in the land of supposed checks and balances this kind of fraud is flourishing so openly. It's like they genuinely have no idea why the US has been such an attractive investment destination and how easily that reputation can be trashed. In the weeks since Trump's inauguration we have seen the very idea of America dying before our eyes, it's incredible.
Its hard not to have some admiration for the way Trump has completely bypassed all rules or laws in respect of corruption, firstly by his use of Trump Media and his Truth Social network and then by the use of Crypto. He has monetised politics and power on a scale never even conceived of before earning himself billions of dollars, all technically within the rules (if not particularly compliant with conflict of interest requirements).
It is a lesson to us all how vulnerable democracies and the rule of law is. Trump has destroyed it before our eyes and he is a long way from finished. The Rubicon has been transformed into an underground sewer with an 8 lane highway built over the top of it. Its hard to see how we ever get back to where we thought we were only months ago.
And at least one justice on the Supreme Court gives every impression of being bought and sold. Musk, with the acquiescence of Congress and apparent approval of the President, awarding his own businesses contracts, while purging the regulators which oversee his businesses is another sign. The US is perhaps quite close to being a full on plutocracy/kleptocracy.
The US already is one - their mission is to extend the kleptocracy worldwide.
Any thoughts on how the past 24 hours will affect the upcoming three special elections (all Republican defenses) for the House. If all three switch, Dems would presumably have the majority. Also in NY21 why are there eight Republican candidates to 1 Dem? Will the GOP have to have a primary first or is it one of these situations where the top two, regardless of party, go through to a final ballot? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections
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.
you're actually copy-pasting from Saturday morning trolls now. beneath contempt.
Posted from a country that has a "Brandmauer" that means 20% of voters get ignored in the name of democracy.
I have some news for you about how parties win a majority of seats under FPTP.
That’s why our democracy is more advanced than theirs. We ignore more of the voters.
The irony of all these European leaders getting their knickers in a knot and saying "Well we're going to kick Putin's arse outselves then!" is that that's exactly what Trump wants. Trump is going to un-sanction Russia, throw open his country to Russian billionaires, whilst getting whatever he can from Ukraine. Europe will continue to be at daggers drawn with Putin, and shut out Russian money and Russian gas. It's perfect for America. To mix metaphors, they stirred up the hornet's nest, and now they can sit back with popcorn.
If Europe *really* wanted strategic and defensive independence from the USA, they would do it, however unlikely it seems now, in coordination with Russia, offer an associate EU membership (without Shengen as Russia wouldn't have any people left). That's what would really upset America, and it's what they have skilfully avoided thus far.
That's true. But there's one slight flaw in your plan, which is Putin's tendency to brutally invade neighbouring countries. Makes me wonder what your European 'defensive independence' is supposed to defend against.
All this talk of Chinese rapprochement does open the possibility of pushing Russia, or at least a greater Muscovy, towards Europe via the back door.
The World Cup in 2026 and Olympics in 2028 have been mentioned on here - in terms of boycotting. That doesn't really seem realistic (especially as Mexico and Canada are co-hosts of WC).
However, there is a ban on Russia in football and across numerous sporting federations at the Olympics.
I can easily see Trump desperately trying to overturn these bans, so he can get Putin over to watch them with him. Outcome and response from other countries will be interesting, if he does this.
Russia will almost certainly be at the next summer Olympics. World Cup they are too late for qualifying already (hopefully bar something quick and ridiculous).
If Europe *really* wanted strategic and defensive independence from the USA, they would do it, however unlikely it seems now, in coordination with Russia, offer an associate EU membership (without Shengen as Russia wouldn't have any people left). That's what would really upset America, and it's what they have skilfully avoided thus far.
Fine old Soviet joke:
On the day after Gorbachev signs the order allowing citizens the right to leave the country, he is awakened by a phone call. He picks up the phone and hears Prime Minister Ryzhkov on the other end . "Do you see, Mikhail Sergeyevich, what you Nave done with your order! Look out the window." Gorbachev looks out the window and sees completely empty streets. "What has happened, Nikolai Ivanovich? Has absolutely everybody left? Is it only the two of us left?" "What do you mean , two of us? I'm calling from Helsinki."
Watching Swallows and Amazons, a charming little palate cleanser after recent shite (though it does have a Russian/Soviet angle). Disappointingly Titty has been renamed Tatty.
Eh? Odd view from the Birble there. Rishi Sunak is very English indeed. Certainly no less English than Yousaf is Scottish.
It's one thing watching public figures disappear down the rabbit hole of social media radicalisation. It's another thing when they are responsible for the education of our children...
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
Well, we need to change that - pronto - because one thing linked to the death of democracy is a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
Extra-judicial killings and violence is normal. And that could include you.
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.
In Bulgaria, Russians are viewed as "brothers" for the role they played in liberating them from Ottoman rule. Eye of the beholder.
They share an alphabet, a similar language and religion as well.
Zelenskyy is apparently going to meet King Charles tomorrow . I’m really pleased about that and good to see Starmer pushing the boat out to make Zelenskyy feel loved which is true of how the vast majority of Brits feel about him .
"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.
Who approves decisions like these? It's barmy.
Could be Edinburgh Council's staff, or its relevant committee or it could be a Scottish Gmt inspector. Can't say on the info to hand. (Council is Slab/Scon/SLD, purportedly minority Slab.)
The issue is its multiple different departments (and laws) that don't talk to each other.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
Different process entirely. An established AirBnB's owner who is licensed and pays the additional costs presumably has the same rights to make complaints as anyone else in the area who lives or has a business which is affected by the noise (and the reviews would be good evidence). How else can one do it?
But I ewxpect that any noise from that AirBnB will now get complained about even more vigorously.
I’ve come up with the following.
Upon making complaints about a long standing premises or business, the premises or business should have the right to apply to the magistrates to have the complainant officially labelled as a “wan&er”
Said appilation to be written in ancient style and nailed to their front door, in an official ceremony.
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
Well, we need to change that - pronto - because one thing linked to the death of democracy is a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
Extra-judicial killings and violence is normal. And that could include you.
A lot of people like the idea of a strong man leader, a leviathan who who won't be constrained by the slowness of democratic systems and will do exactly what they want.
The problem is that one is equally likely to get a strong man leader who shares none of your views and values and who hates people like you: so @Leon ends up with a Jeremy Corbyn strongman, not a Marine Le Pen one.
And, then, of course: how do you get rid of them? The messiness of democracy suddenly looks a lot less unattractive.
What I think we need, though, is to tweak our democratic system so that politicians get the message they're making a mistake quicker. The Chagos deal, for example, is liked by (as far as I can tell) Starmer and... umm... Starmer's mum.
How do we introduce feedback systems around - say EU membership, or Chagos, or shooting up immigration, so that politicians can make smaller decisions quicker (incrementalism) rather than making massive changes (often over-corrections) every four years.
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
Well, we need to change that - pronto - because one thing linked to the death of democracy is a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
Extra-judicial killings and violence is normal. And that could include you.
A lot of people like the idea of a strong man leader, a leviathan who who won't be constrained by the slowness of democratic systems and will do exactly what they want.
The problem is that one is equally likely to get a strong man leader who shares none of your views and values and who hates people like you: so @Leon ends up with a Jeremy Corbyn strongman, not a Marine Le Pen one.
And, then, of course: how do you get rid of them? The messiness of democracy suddenly looks a lot less unattractive.
What I think we need, though, is to tweak our democratic system so that politicians get the message they're making a mistake quicker. The Chagos deal, for example, is liked by (as far as I can tell) Starmer and... umm... Starmer's mum.
How do we introduce feedback systems around - say EU membership, or Chagos, or shooting up immigration, so that politicians can make smaller decisions quicker (incrementalism) rather than making massive changes (often over-corrections) every four years.
But is this because people assume strongmen will be competent ?
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
Well, we need to change that - pronto - because one thing linked to the death of democracy is a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
Extra-judicial killings and violence is normal. And that could include you.
A lot of people like the idea of a strong man leader, a leviathan who who won't be constrained by the slowness of democratic systems and will do exactly what they want.
The problem is that one is equally likely to get a strong man leader who shares none of your views and values and who hates people like you: so @Leon ends up with a Jeremy Corbyn strongman, not a Marine Le Pen one.
And, then, of course: how do you get rid of them? The messiness of democracy suddenly looks a lot less unattractive.
What I think we need, though, is to tweak our democratic system so that politicians get the message they're making a mistake quicker. The Chagos deal, for example, is liked by (as far as I can tell) Starmer and... umm... Starmer's mum.
How do we introduce feedback systems around - say EU membership, or Chagos, or shooting up immigration, so that politicians can make smaller decisions quicker (incrementalism) rather than making massive changes (often over-corrections) every four years.
The one organisation in Western politics that has shown it has the ability to dispatch failing leaders quickly is the Conservative party, so perhaps we should expand the 1922 Committee model to national government.
We could let Graham Brady veto policies at his discretion if he receives an undisclosed number of letters.
Comments
The tech landlords. Did you get round reading it ? I remember mentioning it to you.
https://news.airbnb.com/en-uk/edinburghs-short-term-let-rules-one-year-on-hotel-prices-soar-no-housing/
Even though the concerts were pretty tame and all over by 11pm.
The neighbourhood in question, a pocket of Clerkenwell just inside Zone 1, is like a grave now.
Then set the rate of council tax to be x times those for a full time residents and watch the market self regulate as it's currently doing in Wales.
So you see issue 1 but don't grasp that issue 1 is only a problem because issue 2 exists and the department for issue 2 didn't fix the problem before issue 2 became a big problem.
A German word for being embarrassed by the actions of someone else is Fremdscham, or “foreign shame.” A similar word from Icelandic is aulahrollur, which is quite tricky to translate but basically means something along the lines of “cringe quake” or “douchebag chills”
It's certainly not inconceivable that large chunks of the world come to be controlled by the billionaire who own and direct the AIs.
The danger isn't that they 'think' for themselves (for now pure speculation), but rather that they enable far greater concentration of power.
Now I could suggest tighter terms for that but even they wouldn't fix the issue in Edinburgh / Glasgow.
But I ewxpect that any noise from that AirBnB will now get complained about even more vigorously.
But they miss why people wish to live in a city, and the agency (most) people have when choosing somewhere to live. That pub will undoubtedly depress the value of the flats above it, but the owners knew that when they bought it. I suspect the overall loss of value to the flats and businesses in proximity to a closed pub is greater in the long run - young people don't want to live in a ghosttown.
For most English people it was a regular feature of summers from the 1980s to the noughties as football hooligans tore up European town centres, and occasionally on holiday if boorish tourists acted like twats to the locals. A lot of us felt it very keenly in 2003 at the start of the Iraq war, and for some of us it was back again during the Brexit negotiations.
Most countries have things they’re embarrassed by. Politicians, tourists, their national sports teams. It must be nice to be, say, Canadian or Danish and not have this problem.
My analysis starts by understanding it was never an original idea by the Trump Administration, but came from Ukraine. Seeking security guarantees and tying Washington into supporting the Z government, it was Ukraine who first offered it to Biden Administration - who pulled a wry smile and said, haha, nice try, but no Cuban.
The electoral vote people keep saying this, and they have convinced me.
Feb28 Trump v. Zelenskyy: The Borscht Principle https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Feb28-1.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/27/politics/trump-ukraine-minerals-doubts-resources/index.html
Secondly, and this is the interesting bit, I look for scientific analysis of Ukraine rare earth minerals, and the scientific community seems to disagree with each other. But there’s something about the ones who say, great deal for the US? Nah. That convinces me.
I’ll link to this one, for its brevity and nicely laid out.
https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/02/27/us-ukraine-critical-minerals-deal/
Take outs. Some of it is estimates not certainties, one survey 50 years old. Extraction and processing costs, and huge Timeframes before profits start being made. If genuinely needing and on look out for a future proofing deal, even better options elsewhere in the world.
As I have been suggesting about the Trump psyche (and how to play him) it’s context that titillates him as much as material. “Get Ukraine to pay back the money Biden gave away for nothing.” Is what titillates and drives Trump in this context.
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?
++++++
Fair enough, I forgot one fleeting reference - en passant - amidst a debate about something else, and where I was barely engaged
But yes, my bad, apologies, I shall walk up Mount Sinai in penance
You remain a fucking weird sad low-IQ cretin with creepy tendencies that constantly tries to get me banned, so there’s that which is also preventing me from giving you lively debate
@eek has ably answered your other inquiry
Sadly, a few years ago, the pub owners put in an incompetent manager, who ran the place down and the owners had an excuse to sell it.
Imagine the cost for shitbags.
Weak European countries can't look after themselves but think they can get the US to provide their muscle by mocking US politicians as weak if they don't. Trump is portrayed as Putin's poodle simply because he isn't willing to play the role that Europeans want and instead has his own ideas about US interests.
They closed it down??
I too hate these curtain twitching fuckwits
Grow up
Doesn't seem that different from childish images.
There's also the fact that calling someone a poodle is an old, if lame, political attack - remember Blair? - so the hysterics at its use are a little overblown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2DpctGhzQY
eg a friend of mine once opened a nightclub/venue in Hoxton, back when Hoxton was a dump. He and his company were absolute pioneers of gentrification in that quarter (Hoxton is now mega trendy thanks, in part, to my pal)
The venue was a huge success - everyone was happy - especially local pubs suddenly flooded with pre gig drinkers. However they then got a series of noise complaints from unexpectedly angry neighbours, lots and lots of them, until eventually the council imposed so many restrictions and abatements and the like, it wasn’t worth the effort and they shut down a much loved highly profitable business that brought life to a dismal nowhere-land
A couple of years later they discovered that REDACTED MCREDACTED a well known London-wide promoter was incensed by a new rival, taking his business, and he had bribed the local neighbours to complain about noise and then backhanded a few councillors as well
By then it was too late for my friend and co to fight back
However, there is a ban on Russia in football and across numerous sporting federations at the Olympics.
I can easily see Trump desperately trying to overturn these bans, so he can get Putin over to watch them with him. Outcome and response from other countries will be interesting, if he does this.
Now if they bribed neighbours to complain to provide the evidence for an action, then that would indeed be more effective.
https://www.economicsobservatory.com/uk-national-security-what-have-we-learned-from-strategic-defence-reviews
It is a lesson to us all how vulnerable democracies and the rule of law is. Trump has destroyed it before our eyes and he is a long way from finished. The Rubicon has been transformed into an underground sewer with an 8 lane highway built over the top of it. Its hard to see how we ever get back to where we thought we were only months ago.
This villain - really well known at the time - definitely bribed the neighbours to complain about noise (a couple of them admitted it in shame, later, to my friend - they regretted it as the closure of the venue turned out to be bad for the burb). They said the villain had also bribed some people in authority, but maybe it was officials rather than councillors, if you are right? It was certainly someone and it was horribly effective
Turned out he had a history of doing this, as well. My friend’s venue was not the first victim
Musk, with the acquiescence of Congress and apparent approval of the President, awarding his own businesses contracts, while purging the regulators which oversee his businesses is another sign.
The US is perhaps quite close to being a full on plutocracy/kleptocracy.
In standing together with the European democracies to defend Freedom, Democracy and Justice, for the USA it was, 'Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.'
It is the Trump Administration who have broken this Fellowship to pursue self interest.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/icc-champions-trophy-2024-25-1459031/england-vs-south-africa-11th-match-group-b-1466424/live-cricket-score
If Europe *really* wanted strategic and defensive independence from the USA, they would do it, however unlikely it seems now, in coordination with Russia, offer an associate EU membership (without Shengen as Russia wouldn't have any people left). That's what would really upset America, and it's what they have skilfully avoided thus far.
https://x.com/miss_snuffy/status/1895793670450004112?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
The Liberals won 30 per cent of the popular vote, translating into 14 seats. Yet the NDP, who won less than 19 per cent of the popular vote, won 27 seats.
Also in NY21 why are there eight Republican candidates to 1 Dem? Will the GOP have to have a primary first or is it one of these situations where the top two, regardless of party, go through to a final ballot?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections
On the day after Gorbachev signs the order allowing citizens the right to
leave the country, he is awakened by a phone call. He picks up the phone
and hears Prime Minister Ryzhkov on the other end . "Do you see, Mikhail
Sergeyevich, what you Nave done with your order! Look out the window."
Gorbachev looks out the window and sees completely empty streets.
"What has happened, Nikolai Ivanovich? Has absolutely everybody left? Is
it only the two of us left?"
"What do you mean , two of us? I'm calling from Helsinki."
Disappointingly Titty has been renamed Tatty.
We should all be very grateful that Leon just took up writing.
Extra-judicial killings and violence is normal. And that could include you.
They share an alphabet, a similar language and religion as well.
I wondered what happened to this doofus.
Leon Trotsky? You could pick holes in that.
Upon making complaints about a long standing premises or business, the premises or business should have the right to apply to the magistrates to have the complainant officially labelled as a “wan&er”
Said appilation to be written in ancient style and nailed to their front door, in an official ceremony.
The problem is that one is equally likely to get a strong man leader who shares none of your views and values and who hates people like you: so @Leon ends up with a Jeremy Corbyn strongman, not a Marine Le Pen one.
And, then, of course: how do you get rid of them? The messiness of democracy suddenly looks a lot less unattractive.
What I think we need, though, is to tweak our democratic system so that politicians get the message they're making a mistake quicker. The Chagos deal, for example, is liked by (as far as I can tell) Starmer and... umm... Starmer's mum.
How do we introduce feedback systems around - say EU membership, or Chagos, or shooting up immigration, so that politicians can make smaller decisions quicker (incrementalism) rather than making massive changes (often over-corrections) every four years.
May claw a few points back.
It’s sad labour has no domestic record to cling to. This may work short term but labour needs to improve peoples loaves.
Reeves budget won’t do that.
https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/1895810146758271208?s=61
That is half way there. Now they need to cancel the Trump invitation.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/whsmith-high-streets-closure-vanish/
Mostly they aren’t.
We could let Graham Brady veto policies at his discretion if he receives an undisclosed number of letters.