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The next election: CON winning most seats & votes but Starmer PM? – politicalbetting.com

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  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 65,533
    Visegrád 24
    @visegrad24
    ·
    14m
    BREAKING:

    The leader of the Finns Party, Riikka Purra, just announced that she backs NATO membership for Finland.

    The highly respected former party leader, Jussi Halla-aho, Chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee also agrees.

    Finland could join NATO by the summer.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 65,029
    edited March 2022

    Answer the point. Why didn't you bring it up when Sunak was asked and also made a mess?

    Others here ask in good faith, you ask as a Tory trying to do politics. Which is fine - but it is pointless arguing with you so I will leave our conversation here.

    And I will remember this when you "waiver" and claim you might vote something other than Tory next time.

    Good day.
    Conservative trying to do politics is a new one on me

    I did not hear Rishi response and my issue with you this morning is simply you are trying to put this problem down to the conservative right stirring up problems which is simply untrue

    Indeed the fact you did not know JK Rowling abuse on this is remarkable in itself, let alone Starmer failing out with labour mp Rosie Duffield over it

    BBC News - Rosie Duffield: MP considers leaving Labour over 'obsessive harassment'
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-60188577
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568

    Question. Your red wall voter will be worse off and suffering worse services and paying higher taxes. Is "that woman has a cock" really enough to make them vote for more of the same?

    I'm asking because I see it as a strategy. But as a red waller I don't see how you persuade people to override their daily issues and vote based on fear of the ladyboy.
    The specific issue is not really what would drive away such a vote though, not exactly, it would be the pivot. Convince people Labour are barmy/ not to be trusted as demonstrated by their stance on X, and you might gain their vote despite doing a crap job, or at least persuade them to sit on their hands and not benefit Labour at least.

    I think that will work, but not to the point of making an overall win that much more likely. Just that it will blunt the effect of a Labour rise to some degree.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,569

    I am sure you must find it frustrating OKC, even if you get used to it as I have. I mostly just spell out my name now, even if it sounds condescending, them getting my name wrong constantly is also condescending.

    Hope you are keeping well.
    I'm normally relaxed about it ..... you're not the first and you won't be the last .... is my standard reply.
    I did get cross with someone once, not long ago, who argued with me about it.

    I blame my father for it, as for several things in my life!
  • Gary_BurtonGary_Burton Posts: 737
    kle4 said:

    Hasn't Labour recovered and improved it's already strong position amongst ethnic minority voters in recent years? If so then thus far this debate doesn't seem to have impacted there significantly.
    They dropped to 51% at one point with ethnic minority voters but they're back up to 59% now. I think this explains their strengthening position in London in the polls.
  • mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,771
    Cookie said:

    Nobody likes having to force language into inelegant contortions, do they? This isn't a trans thing - I find it just as clunky and awkward when using 'they' to refer to a non-specific individual e.g,, to pick an example out of thin air "pick a player and give them a card" - it's the disagreement between 'a player' and 'them'.
    It makes me wince in the same way that hearing 'disinterested' used to mean 'uninterested' does. But happily while I hear that construction its not one I'm ever forced to make.

    And yes, @mwadams et al, I know there is a precedent for using language this way - I just don't like it, that's all.
    Now that is a position I can get behind :)
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568

    Visegrád 24
    @visegrad24
    ·
    14m
    BREAKING:

    The leader of the Finns Party, Riikka Purra, just announced that she backs NATO membership for Finland.

    The highly respected former party leader, Jussi Halla-aho, Chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee also agrees.

    Finland could join NATO by the summer.

    Opposition party - what's the government saying?

    If they won't join now, they never will - and frankly given the threats come regardless might as well join.
  • 1 Dec 21: "All guidance was followed completely"

    A week later: "I've been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged there was no party and no rules were broken"

    12 Jan 22: "I believed implicitly this was a work event"

    24 Jan: "It was only 10 minutes"

    Today: 20 fines.

  • MattWMattW Posts: 26,650
    Sandpit said:

    My employer is sponsoring me to do an MBA, and has promised me a 25% raise on graduation.

    So in my experience, an MBA will lead to high wages :D
    I wonder whether the Chief Exec of P&O has an MBA?

    He certainly does not have a CPRP.
  • I'm normally relaxed about it ..... you're not the first and you won't be the last .... is my standard reply.
    I did get cross with someone once, not long ago, who argued with me about it.

    I blame my father for it, as for several things in my life!
    Without your father you would not be contributing here :)
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022

    I'm reluctant to join the trans debate, but for what it's worth, here goes. Of course women should have safe spaces, and I'm not in favour of making self-ID straightforward. These are complex issues, but I reckon I'm on the sensible left on these. I'm not far apart from JK Rowling, though I think she could express herself more sensitively.

    But this is what I really think. The risk to women from men who 'clam' to have become women is real, but fairly minor, and needs sorting out. But it pales into insignificance when compared to the risk that women face every day from proper 'masculine' men through low-level abuse, violence, rape and worse. Think Sarah Everard, the sisters murdered in North London, the misogynistic Met culture, and then multiply many, many times to account for the violence and intimidation faced by many women from 'toxic masculinity', for want of a better phrase.

    So, I'd be more convinced by those PBers on here showing their deep concern about the risk to women from 'trans' men if they showed the same concern for women subjected to everyday abuse from 'non-trans' men. A few do, but many don't.

    And finally, this is my answer for the Labour Party. Insist on changing the debate to the generic one of violence against women, of which the risk from self-certified trans men is but a tiny subset that needs resolving through a clear policy.

    That’s a good suggestion, to move the debate on to violence against women more generally - but in order to do that, they need to be able to define the word “woman” first.
  • They dropped to 51% at one point with ethnic minority voters but they're back up to 59% now. I think this explains their strengthening position in London in the polls.
    If they don't take Wandsworth Starmer will be having serious questions.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568

    I'm normally relaxed about it ..... you're not the first and you won't be the last .... is my standard reply.
    I did get cross with someone once, not long ago, who argued with me about it.

    I blame my father for it, as for several things in my life!
    It's a funny old thing, as even people who know you, and have done for years, will occasionally slip up particularly in text. Our fingers do not communicate well with the brain - happens to me and it's not even that my first name could be confused for a last name, just that the last name could be a first.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,651

    People who had surgery to change their sexual organs were called transsexual, at least in the past. Is transsexual used at all now? Is it used interchangeably with transgender, or did they have distinct meanings?

    For a campaign that places such an emphasis on language it seems to be very imprecise in its use of language.

    Is there a distinction in law between sex and gender?

    In my experience of databases, the two are used interchangeably, but it's interesting that people can obtain a "gender recognition certificate", but that the Equality Act prevents discrimination on the basis of "sex".

    Should we actually record a separate sex and gender for everyone (if we can be bothered)?
    There is no definition of transgender in law. The phrases used are in the GRA and are -

    - gender dysphoria,
    - gender identity disorder and
    - transsexualism.

    In the Equality Act the reference is in section 7 and is to a "transsexual person".
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,809
    Cyclefree said:

    To be fair, the 2019 manifesto also said this -
    "Ensure that the single-sex-based exemptions contained in the Equality Act 2010 are understood and fully enforced in service provision"

    But what Labour politicians do not explain is how self-ID is compatible with this.

    The only way it can be is if they make clear that you can continue to exclude someone from a single sex space on the grounds of their unchanged sex even if their gender has changed ie transwomen can be kept out of female only spaces. The Equality Act does permit this.

    But this is not what the TRAs want. And that is the problem with the Labour position - they are saying incompatible things to different groups and are now being found out.

    There is a way through all this and I have given my attempt upthread. But Labour aren't even trying - it's all impatient sighs and exasperation and contempt - and this simply will not do.
    The policy I'd hope to see is to make the GRC process easier and less medicalized - ie based on self id but a proper formalized and defined process with gravitas and controls - and then to have a default inclusion principle.

    So, not 'exclude unless ...' but 'include unless ....'

    Therefore in practice there won't be many areas where trans people would be excluded on account of their biology not matching their gender but there will probably be some. Details tbc, I'm no expert, but examples springing to my mind as requiring close consideration are (certain) pro sports and (aspects of) prisons.

    For me that's the right policy for Labour.

    But I think they might bottle it - stick with status quo - and I wouldn't blame them too much if they do. You really don't want to lose an election over this.

    The Scottish thing will be interesting anyway, won't it? AIUI they've done the reforms (or similar) so we'll be able to see how they work in practice.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568
    kle4 said:

    Opposition party - what's the government saying?

    If they won't join now, they never will - and frankly given the threats come regardless might as well join.
    I see also the Finns Party are the same as what used to be known as the True Finns. I guess thet got tired of the 'No True Finnish person' fallacy gags.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536

    I'm reluctant to join the trans debate, but for what it's worth, here goes. Of course women should have safe spaces, and I'm not in favour of making self-ID straightforward. These are complex issues, but I reckon I'm on the sensible left on these. I'm not far apart from JK Rowling, though I think she could express herself more sensitively.

    But this is what I really think. The risk to women from men who 'clam' to have become women is real, but fairly minor, and needs sorting out. But it pales into insignificance when compared to the risk that women face every day from proper 'masculine' men through low-level abuse, violence, rape and worse. Think Sarah Everard, the sisters murdered in North London, the misogynistic Met culture, and then multiply many, many times to account for the violence and intimidation faced by many women from 'toxic masculinity', for want of a better phrase.

    So, I'd be more convinced by those PBers on here showing their deep concern about the risk to women from 'trans' men if they showed the same concern for women subjected to everyday abuse from 'non-trans' men. A few do, but many don't.

    And finally, this is my answer for the Labour Party. Insist on changing the debate to the generic one of violence against women, of which the risk from self-certified trans men is but a tiny subset that needs resolving through a clear policy.

    BiB - Seriously? Would you care to name names? I made the point about Couzens that it was appalling that the judge used the fact that he was a serving police officer as the justification for giving him a whole life tariff. Anyone who commits such a heinous crime should be locked up for life and it shouldn't need much thinking about.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,822

    Question. Your red wall voter will be worse off and suffering worse services and paying higher taxes. Is "that woman has a cock" really enough to make them vote for more of the same?

    I'm asking because I see it as a strategy. But as a red waller I don't see how you persuade people to override their daily issues and vote based on fear of the ladyboy.
    I think the premise is that the economy would be shit Labour or Tory because if COVID and now Russia pushing up inflation. If Labour can't say what they would do differently or better (and they can't) the economy as a subject is neutralised for the Tories which means it will come down to wedge issues and middle England doesn't believe women have cocks. If Labour can't say that the Tories will make it clear that Labour believe women do have cocks.

    It will be the free broadband policy but culture wars. That was the moment Labour lost all credibility with voters. If Labour can't clearly come out and say "No Laura, women don't have penises" I don't see how they win in middle England. The Tories will crucify them.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 65,533
    kle4 said:

    Opposition party - what's the government saying?

    If they won't join now, they never will - and frankly given the threats come regardless might as well join.
    Government position from the defence minister:

    Kaikkonen explained that the government will deliver parliament an updated assessment in April of the country's changed security situation, putting the NATO debate firmly on the table.

    https://www.dw.com/en/is-nato-finally-in-finlands-future/a-61283265
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 19,161

    The 'they' thing confounds me far more than transgender stuff.

    Do they (ahem) think they're plurals?

    Singular they is very normal in contexts where the gender of the person in question is unknown.

    For example:

    "The Ukrainian soldier destroyed the Russian tank with a British-supplied NLAW. They fired at the tank while hidden in the forest beside the road."

    Not known whether the Ukrainian soldier is male or female, so the singular they is used. Of all the things to be controversial in this debate, the singular they really shouldn't be one of them.
  • Gary_BurtonGary_Burton Posts: 737
    edited March 2022

    If they don't take Wandsworth Starmer will be having serious questions.
    Yes although local issues also come in to play TBH such as low council tax and Labour already has 3 MPs there anyway. Winning Barnet and/or Westminster would be more totemic as a Labour majority has never happened in those before.

    It shouldn't just be about London and the real bellwether for Starmer should be somewhere like Plymouth.
  • mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,771

    1 Dec 21: "All guidance was followed completely"

    A week later: "I've been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged there was no party and no rules were broken"

    12 Jan 22: "I believed implicitly this was a work event"

    24 Jan: "It was only 10 minutes"

    Today: 20 fines.

    Does that imply Firing Squads in Wembley Stadium by November?
  • CorrectHorseBatteryCorrectHorseBattery Posts: 21,436
    edited March 2022

    Yes although local issues also come in to play TBH such as low council tax and the Labour already has 3 MPs there anyway. Winning Barnet and/or Westminster would be more totemic as a Labour majority has never happened in those before.

    It shouldn't just be about London and the real bellwether for Starmer should be somewhere like Plymouth.
    True, Westminster should surely be on the cards.

    Hope you are keeping well Gary.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 13,695
    Sandpit said:

    If someone has completely transitioned, then they are a woman in my mind, yes.

    If someone says that they are a woman because they say they are a woman, and need to go to the women’s prison despite a conviction for rape (to give one recent example of a court case), then yes, I have a problem with that.

    The starting point for this discussion is the legislation proposed by the government in Scotland, which enshrines such self-identification in law.
    I think the number of cases of people acting in bad faith is small but non-zero. We have self-assessment for income tax submissions even though some people act in bad faith, so I don’t think a small number of people acting in bad faith should be a complete block to gender self-identification. But maybe we need additional rules to handle the rare cases where people do act in bad faith.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,840

    Question. Your red wall voter will be worse off and suffering worse services and paying higher taxes. Is "that woman has a cock" really enough to make them vote for more of the same?

    I'm asking because I see it as a strategy. But as a red waller I don't see how you persuade people to override their daily issues and vote based on fear of the ladyboy.
    Superficially, trans issues look like another question of 'live and let live', so a lot of people's instinct is to think that anyone opposed to the direction of travel must be a reactionary bigot and should be dimissed. The problem is that this tendency leads them to end up dismissing a whole range of questions that are not in that category at all.
  • MaxPB said:

    I think the premise is that the economy would be shit Labour or Tory because if COVID and now Russia pushing up inflation. If Labour can't say what they would do differently or better (and they can't) the economy as a subject is neutralised for the Tories which means it will come down to wedge issues and middle England doesn't believe women have cocks. If Labour can't say that the Tories will make it clear that Labour believe women do have cocks.

    It will be the free broadband policy but culture wars. That was the moment Labour lost all credibility with voters. If Labour can't clearly come out and say "No Laura, women don't have penises" I don't see how they win in middle England. The Tories will crucify them.
    Almost makes me glad to be north of the wall. Whilst the SNP government are bonkers, this kind of issue isn't what people decide on when they vote. We have all kinds of new bonkers instead.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 31,302
    IanB2 said:

    SKY:

    Number 10 are braced for the prime minister and his inner circle to be among them [those fined]. After all, he was one of the first to be sent a legally binding questionnaire on 11 February. Some others contacted by the investigation only received a questionnaire last week.

    ..a prime minister even being investigated by the police is serious - being given a questionnaire equivalent to an interview under caution is unprecedented. If he is found to have broken COVID regulations, questions about his leadership are bound to return. Even the heavily edited report by senior civil servant Sue Gray blasted "failures of leadership and judgment" in Downing Street.



    Old news, and don't worry about the economic prospects for voters.

    The only topic of any interest to voters now is c**** in frocks. I read it on PB.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,569

    Without your father you would not be contributing here :)
    Some would say that's something else to blame him for!
  • Er, using which cubicle?
    Oh very good!
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,840

    Almost makes me glad to be north of the wall. Whilst the SNP government are bonkers, this kind of issue isn't what people decide on when they vote. We have all kinds of new bonkers instead.
    That's only because the SNP own both sides of the debate in Scotland, but it's very fiercely contested.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 45,365
    Sandpit said:

    That’s a good suggestion, to move the debate on to violence against women more generally - but in order to do that, they need to be able to define the word “woman” first.
    I think that's fairly irrelevant, as the problem is not just violence against women, but violence in society as a whole. Something many in here are in denial about.

    "3.1% of women (510,000) and 0.8% of men (138,000) aged 16 to 59 had experienced a sexual assault in the last year."
    https://www.sosrc.org/sexual-violence-stats/

    Broadening it further to domestic abuse, and the figures are staggering:
    "An estimated 2.0 million adults aged 16 to 59 years experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2018, equating to a prevalence rate of approximately 6 in 100 adults (Figure 2). Women were around twice as likely to have experienced domestic abuse than men (7.9% compared with 4.2%). This equates to an estimated 1.3 million female victims and 695,000 male victims"
    https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2018#prevalence-of-domestic-abuse

    The chances are most of us will know someone who suffers from domestic abuse, even if they are quite about it.

    It does not matter if the victim of violence or abuse is male, female, trans, white, black, Asian, or a little furry creature from Alpha Centuri: the violence or abuse can hurt them just the same.
  • EndillionEndillion Posts: 4,976

    I'm reluctant to join the trans debate, but for what it's worth, here goes. Of course women should have safe spaces, and I'm not in favour of making self-ID straightforward. These are complex issues, but I reckon I'm on the sensible left on these. I'm not far apart from JK Rowling, though I think she could express herself more sensitively.

    But this is what I really think. The risk to women from men who 'clam' to have become women is real, but fairly minor, and needs sorting out. But it pales into insignificance when compared to the risk that women face every day from proper 'masculine' men through low-level abuse, violence, rape and worse. Think Sarah Everard, the sisters murdered in North London, the misogynistic Met culture, and then multiply many, many times to account for the violence and intimidation faced by many women from 'toxic masculinity', for want of a better phrase.

    So, I'd be more convinced by those PBers on here showing their deep concern about the risk to women from 'trans' men if they showed the same concern for women subjected to everyday abuse from 'non-trans' men. A few do, but many don't.

    And finally, this is my answer for the Labour Party. Insist on changing the debate to the generic one of violence against women, of which the risk from self-certified trans men is but a tiny subset that needs resolving through a clear policy.

    Completely missing the point. There is no concern about "the risk to women from 'trans' men", because almost everyone (apart from the usual extremists) agree that such a risk is negligible. The entire issue is about proposed changes to legislation that could make it easier for the 'non-trans' men to commit acts of violence.

    So, the crux of your argument falls apart. It's not the case that we are obsessing over one risk to the exclusion of a much bigger one; they are one and the same risk. And your solution for Labour doesn't work, because it just focuses in on the inconsistency their policy engenders (so to speak).
  • MattWMattW Posts: 26,650
    Heh. These flags could be made out of plywood:



    https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1507338378467069979
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,785
    tlg86 said:

    BiB - Seriously? Would you care to name names? I made the point about Couzens that it was appalling that the judge used the fact that he was a serving police officer as the justification for giving him a whole life tariff. Anyone who commits such a heinous crime should be locked up for life and it shouldn't need much thinking about.
    Of course I'm not going to name names. And of course Couzens attracted huge opprobrium on PB, as high-profile cases do. But I'm not just talking about high-profile cases; more, the everyday, mundane misogyny, and sometimes violence, that women and girls are subjected to.

    Read through today's thread, and several others in recent months. More attention is paid to the risk faced by women from a very small subset of 'trans' men than to the exponentially more substantial risk faced by women from a much, much larger group of 'real' men. Seems pretty undeniable to me.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 38,114
    NEW: No 10 won’t say if PM will resign if issued with fine as hypothetical.

    PM’s spox refuses to say if he now accepts law has been broken.

    He reveals staff receiving fines not obliged to disclose.

    Rules out PM apologising for misleading House for insisting no rules broken.


    https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1508770128086941699
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,651

    I'm reluctant to join the trans debate, but for what it's worth, here goes. Of course women should have safe spaces, and I'm not in favour of making self-ID straightforward. These are complex issues, but I reckon I'm on the sensible left on these. I'm not far apart from JK Rowling, though I think she could express herself more sensitively.

    But this is what I really think. The risk to women from men who 'clam' to have become women is real, but fairly minor, and needs sorting out. But it pales into insignificance when compared to the risk that women face every day from proper 'masculine' men through low-level abuse, violence, rape and worse. Think Sarah Everard, the sisters murdered in North London, the misogynistic Met culture, and then multiply many, many times to account for the violence and intimidation faced by many women from 'toxic masculinity', for want of a better phrase.

    So, I'd be more convinced by those PBers on here showing their deep concern about the risk to women from 'trans' men if they showed the same concern for women subjected to everyday abuse from 'non-trans' men. A few do, but many don't.

    And finally, this is my answer for the Labour Party. Insist on changing the debate to the generic one of violence against women, of which the risk from self-certified trans men is but a tiny subset that needs resolving through a clear policy.

    I have spoken a lot about the risk to women from men. The risk to women from transwomen has not been properly studied. It may well be low. We simply do not know. People who say that it is low or non-existent are at risk of saying what they would like to be true. But note three things:-

    1. Women have been raped by transwomen in prison. There have been 4 such rapes already. Others will have been put in fear of this or suffered sexual assaults. Remember that indecent exposure is also a crime even if it is not always taken as seriously as it should be. Why should any woman suffer even one rape to assuage the feelings of a person with a male body? If transwomen who retain a male body rape why should they be put in a place where they can easily access female victims?

    2. There appears to be a higher than average number of men convicted of sexual offences against women and children who claim to be women. When I say higher than average, I mean higher than in the male population. If so, that creates a risk. More research is needed.

    3. The risk is that men who are not trans will use the loophole created by self-ID to gain easier access. You cannot tell the difference between a male body inhabited by a predator and one inhabited by a gentleman or one who thinks he is a woman. That is why you keep all of them out. Self-ID will allow all of them in and it is women who then bear the risk. Why the hell should we?
  • There's one user here who often talks about underage/very young women like they're pieces of meat, how "beautiful" they are and what "nice legs" they have. I am sure they will wade into this debate soon.
  • mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,771
    tlg86 said:

    BiB - Seriously? Would you care to name names? I made the point about Couzens that it was appalling that the judge used the fact that he was a serving police officer as the justification for giving him a whole life tariff. Anyone who commits such a heinous crime should be locked up for life and it shouldn't need much thinking about.
    Just so the main point isn't missed, I've emboldened the important bit.

    I think the point is that there is *vehement* discussion about the one thing, and the only time the other comes up is around egregious cases that invite consensus.

    A good example is the way that campaigns against "everyday" Domestic Abuse, such as the campaigns spearheaded by Jess Phillips https://www.anncrafttrust.org/jess-phillips-mp-and-the-domestic-abuse-bill/ are often conflated with examples like the Sarah Everard case, which as part of a continuum of misogynist violence, but the former is often forgotten, hidden away and ignored.

    That's not intended to be a criticism of anyone here at all - we are all (with a few exceptions, I'm sure) guilty of the out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach that allows DV to fester and thrive.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568

    I think the number of cases of people acting in bad faith is small but non-zero. We have self-assessment for income tax submissions even though some people act in bad faith, so I don’t think a small number of people acting in bad faith should be a complete block to gender self-identification. But maybe we need additional rules to handle the rare cases where people do act in bad faith.
    I think the bad faith impacts from⁷ self Id are of a more personally risky effect than for tax assessment and so the unlikely nature of it is not an acceptable risk in that case.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568

    Superficially, trans issues look like another question of 'live and let live', so a lot of people's instinct is to think that anyone opposed to the direction of travel must be a reactionary bigot and should be dimissed. The problem is that this tendency leads them to end up dismissing a whole range of questions that are not in that category at all.
    I think this is the key. It's the example of making that part simple when it is more complex, whilst making questions of sex etc more complex when biologically in most cases it is simpler.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,422
    For those interested in the Trans debate from a feminist perspective Kathleen Stock’s “Material Girls” is still available on Kindle for 99p.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,491
    edited March 2022
    The state of England cricket, these people have either been tried and failed, old / injury prone and the rest basically none are good enough...

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2022/03/29/twelve-players-should-englands-test-radar-summer/
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,180
    MaxPB said:

    The culture wars will carry Boris to another thumping majority. The idea of women having a cock is laughable to the vast majority of the nation and if Starmer can't do a Blair and tell the loonies to get fucked and state confidently that, "No Laura, women don't have penises" he's going to lose. Boris will have his red wall wedge issue.
    Whichj is precisely why the lefties on here are desperate to shut the topic down. They face the wrath of activists if they change course and the wrath of voters if they don't. It's really very simple.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,180
    Endillion said:

    Decent chance it also splits off a meaningful proportion of the Labour ethnic minority vote; we saw in Birmingham a few years back just how badly these issues play out with them.
    No chance Labour are very solid throughout the Midlands - oh wait, no they're really not. :smile:
  • PensfoldPensfold Posts: 191
    It seems that from July new cars will have a limiter on which stops them exceeding the speed limit. It's an EU law but the UK is expected to follow. (Source: AutoTrader)

    Anyone else come across this?

    Is it a libertarian issue to fight for?

  • felix said:

    No chance Labour are very solid throughout the Midlands - oh wait, no they're really not. :smile:
    London is though.
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379
    Cookie said:

    It's not fine if you're a pedant.
    Because they is plural.

    The English language used to have a word for third-person non-gender-specific. It was 'he'. Which was a sub-optimal situation for several reasons. We need another one. But 'they' is taken.
    'It' sounds a bit pejorative.
    'Xe' is unpronounceable and also sounds like xe is being deliberately awkward.

    Anything other than "he" or "she" risks sounding like the person is being deliberately awkward...
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536
    mwadams said:

    Just so the main point isn't missed, I've emboldened the important bit.

    I think the point is that there is *vehement* discussion about the one thing, and the only time the other comes up is around egregious cases that invite consensus.

    A good example is the way that campaigns against "everyday" Domestic Abuse, such as the campaigns spearheaded by Jess Phillips https://www.anncrafttrust.org/jess-phillips-mp-and-the-domestic-abuse-bill/ are often conflated with examples like the Sarah Everard case, which as part of a continuum of misogynist violence, but the former is often forgotten, hidden away and ignored.

    That's not intended to be a criticism of anyone here at all - we are all (with a few exceptions, I'm sure) guilty of the out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach that allows DV to fester and thrive.
    For what it's worth, I'd happily see much longer prison sentences for men convicted of domestic violence. Perhaps I don't get out enough, but it's not something I've witnessed or been aware of within my social circle. I'm not sure what I'm personally supposed to do about that.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,568
    Pensfold said:

    It seems that from July new cars will have a limiter on which stops them exceeding the speed limit. It's an EU law but the UK is expected to follow. (Source: AutoTrader)

    Anyone else come across this?

    Is it a libertarian issue to fight for?

    I'd say no, but I dont think self proclaimed libertarians are very consistent in any case about being happy to restrict things.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536
    Pensfold said:

    It seems that from July new cars will have a limiter on which stops them exceeding the speed limit. It's an EU law but the UK is expected to follow. (Source: AutoTrader)

    Anyone else come across this?

    Is it a libertarian issue to fight for?

    The issue with that is that it can only really be applied to motorways, which is where it is least needed. All it will do is piss off people whilst not making much difference to road safety figures.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,785
    Cyclefree said:

    I have spoken a lot about the risk to women from men. The risk to women from transwomen has not been properly studied. It may well be low. We simply do not know. People who say that it is low or non-existent are at risk of saying what they would like to be true. But note three things:-

    1. Women have been raped by transwomen in prison. There have been 4 such rapes already. Others will have been put in fear of this or suffered sexual assaults. Remember that indecent exposure is also a crime even if it is not always taken as seriously as it should be. Why should any woman suffer even one rape to assuage the feelings of a person with a male body? If transwomen who retain a male body rape why should they be put in a place where they can easily access female victims?

    2. There appears to be a higher than average number of men convicted of sexual offences against women and children who claim to be women. When I say higher than average, I mean higher than in the male population. If so, that creates a risk. More research is needed.

    3. The risk is that men who are not trans will use the loophole created by self-ID to gain easier access. You cannot tell the difference between a male body inhabited by a predator and one inhabited by a gentleman or one who thinks he is a woman. That is why you keep all of them out. Self-ID will allow all of them in and it is women who then bear the risk. Why the hell should we?
    I'm not disagreeing with you, and I don't include you in my comment, as it happens.

    I was making a simple point. The risk to women from trans men is, as you say, unknown. It may even be significant. But we can confidently say that it is nowhere near as high as the risk to women from 'proper' men. And we don't focus enough on the latter.
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673
    tlg86 said:

    For what it's worth, I'd happily see much longer prison sentences for men convicted of domestic violence. Perhaps I don't get out enough, but it's not something I've witnessed or been aware of within my social circle. I'm not sure what I'm personally supposed to do about that.
    We should have longer prison sentences for ANYONE convicted of domestic violence. Gender is irrelevant. The discrepancy in prison terms for the same offence is appalling.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536

    I'm not disagreeing with you, and I don't include you in my comment, as it happens.

    I was making a simple point. The risk to women from trans men is, as you say, unknown. It may even be significant. But we can confidently say that it is nowhere near as high as the risk to women from 'proper' men. And we don't focus enough on the latter.
    Alternatively, women already face enough danger, why risk making it worse?
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 127,043
    Starmer deep in conversation with Blackford at Prince Philip's Memorial Service.

    First stage in Labour and SNP confidence and supply talks? Given current polling that looks like the main way Starmer would become PM in a hung parliament

    https://twitter.com/jamesbundy/status/1508764496327806983?s=20&t=2oukdRMrMcWjzMwWasdsUQ
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 13,695
    If we’re talking about rules and people acting in bad faith, then today’s focus should be on Partygate!

    If someone on no. 10 is fined, should they have to reveal that to their employer? Isn’t someone who attracts FPNs a potential security risk?
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379

    No I didn't say that. I said this isn't an issue that is relevant to most people.

    I am happy to scrutinise their policies, just as I do the same for the Tories.
    Nor was the EU relevant to most people, until they realised how many things it was behind.

    Labour can't risk looking like it has the wrong instincts - if they do then policies, no matter how popular in the abstract, won't be enough.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,491
    edited March 2022
    Pensfold said:

    It seems that from July new cars will have a limiter on which stops them exceeding the speed limit. It's an EU law but the UK is expected to follow. (Source: AutoTrader)

    Anyone else come across this?

    Is it a libertarian issue to fight for?

    Even worse, cars will all be fitted with data loggers.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 13,695
    Cyclefree said:

    I have spoken a lot about the risk to women from men. The risk to women from transwomen has not been properly studied. It may well be low. We simply do not know. People who say that it is low or non-existent are at risk of saying what they would like to be true. But note three things:-

    1. Women have been raped by transwomen in prison. There have been 4 such rapes already. Others will have been put in fear of this or suffered sexual assaults. Remember that indecent exposure is also a crime even if it is not always taken as seriously as it should be. Why should any woman suffer even one rape to assuage the feelings of a person with a male body? If transwomen who retain a male body rape why should they be put in a place where they can easily access female victims?

    2. There appears to be a higher than average number of men convicted of sexual offences against women and children who claim to be women. When I say higher than average, I mean higher than in the male population. If so, that creates a risk. More research is needed.

    3. The risk is that men who are not trans will use the loophole created by self-ID to gain easier access. You cannot tell the difference between a male body inhabited by a predator and one inhabited by a gentleman or one who thinks he is a woman. That is why you keep all of them out. Self-ID will allow all of them in and it is women who then bear the risk. Why the hell should we?
    On (2), you may have some interest in the research of this person: https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/she-was-just-like-a-lassie-analysing-the-views-of-cis-women-in-cu Not answering your question, but tangentially related.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,180

    London is though.
    Yup and becuase of that London will not decide the next GE - very few seats they can gain there.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536
    Aslan said:

    We should have longer prison sentences for ANYONE convicted of domestic violence. Gender is irrelevant. The discrepancy in prison terms for the same offence is appalling.
    I agree that women can perpetrate domestic violence against men. I called out the BBC for shit-stirring in the case of Penelope Jackson:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-59096177

    That led the Six O'clock News and clearly the BBC were doing so because they thought it controversial that the jury didn't believe her claims that "her husband was violent and coercively controlling."

    However, I do think women have more leeway in this area. Take Layla Moran:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-47686844

    And take Jonathan Edwards:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-57803629

    I think it's only natural that Layla still has a career and Mr Edwards possibly doesn't.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,405
    Sandpit said:

    That’s a good suggestion, to move the debate on to violence against women more generally - but in order to do that, they need to be able to define the word “woman” first.
    I went to a comedy night last night (the headliner was a guy from Lewisham called Toussaint Douglass who was unbelievably good and I think will break through big time, he was the real deal). One of the comedians on the bill was a trans woman. Perhaps I am not very observant but I only knew she was trans because it was a big part of her act. I have no idea if she had a penis or not, she didn't show us and nobody asked.
    She looked like a woman to me, and she was clearly deeply committed to living as a woman. I think if she were made to use a male toilet she would probably put herself at risk of assault. As far as I'm concerned, she was a woman, in terms of how she was living her life. Biologically she was a man I suppose, but I don't know why anyone would feel a burning desire to tell her that she isn't a woman. She said that she was just the same as any other woman, except that she had no empathy.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,676

    Even worse, cars will all be fitted with data loggers.
    The AutoTrader article says the limit will be set at 112 mph, which most people don't really want to exceed, and you can switch it off if you're really into crime:

    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/mandatory-speed-limiters-on-uk-cars-from-2022?msclkid=94e09a11af5611ec913c4e37746eb1a8
  • TazTaz Posts: 17,625

    I think the other thing is the cancellation of JK Rowling - I havent met anyone in person who doesn't agree with her although I have probably only talked about it with my mum, mother in law and wife, and a load of blokes at the pub she is such a prominent figure that it provokes debate, as does the sport issues when women with male bodies / musculoskeletal development are winning against women who have always been women. Again I have never heard anyone support them, in fact when that white woman wanted to be black, and a black activist she got pilloried - i struggle to see how this is different. I am sure she felt black, felt a strong affinity to black people, wished when had been born black. It didn't make her black at the end of the day.
    JK Rowling said nothing unreasonable yet has been on the end of a torrent of hatred, she was excluded from a recent documentary on Harry Potter, she has had cast members disown her, she has received death threats and had her house posted online on social media and had her own views wildly misrepresented as if she wants trans people to be wiped off the face of the earth. She doesn’t.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,809
    Cyclefree said:

    There is no degrading appearance and interview before a panel quizzing a person on whether they are "sufficiently female" which is what some TRAs have claimed. It is a flat out lie. A report which does not understand the current process loses a fair amount of credibility.
    Could you please point to where the Report makes that claim? The section on the Panel is in Ch2 and runs for about 5 pages. I can't see where it talks about personal in-the-flesh grillings. The problems it highlights (as I read it) are to do with anonymity, transparency, speed, confidentiality.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,627
    Sandpit said:

    Sounds like they will use the fact that junior staff have received penalties, as the reason for sending them to the more senior staff and potentially ministers.

    Which is why everyone needs to be told to challenge any and all FPNs.
    Ministers? I've seen no evidence of ministerial involvement, aside of the PM, who was at home.

    This is the crazy thing for me. The rule breakers were the supposedly independent civil service, not the conservative party. The poor culture was the civil service culture in No. 10.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,335
    Pensfold said:

    It seems that from July new cars will have a limiter on which stops them exceeding the speed limit. It's an EU law but the UK is expected to follow. (Source: AutoTrader)

    Anyone else come across this?

    Is it a libertarian issue to fight for?

    Afaics the limiter can be switched off by the driver, though will restart automatically the next time the car has started? Doesn't seem a huge deal to me, mostly as I'm unlikely to be buying a new car in my remaining time on this mortal coil.

    Perhaps it and who's allowed in women's changing rooms will sweep the nation as the issues of the next GE?
    Or perhaps not.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 62,481
    Mr. Password, I understand 'they' as a pronoun for singular when the sex of the individual is unknown. But when it is known, that's where it seems rather peculiar.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,491
    edited March 2022

    The AutoTrader article says the limit will be set at 112 mph, which most people don't really want to exceed, and you can switch it off if you're really into crime:

    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/mandatory-speed-limiters-on-uk-cars-from-2022?msclkid=94e09a11af5611ec913c4e37746eb1a8
    No you are reading it incorrectly. It says Renault have currently set their cars to that. ALL cars in EU must be fitted with it and it is the speed limit of the road. It allows you to go over, but then throttles you back. Yes you can turn it off manually at start of each journey AT THE MOMENT.

    That is also why I say the data logger is worse. Its tracking everything all the time.

    Given all cars will shortly be internet connectrd devices and upgradable software, one should he concerned about this.
  • TazTaz Posts: 17,625

    Question. Your red wall voter will be worse off and suffering worse services and paying higher taxes. Is "that woman has a cock" really enough to make them vote for more of the same?

    I'm asking because I see it as a strategy. But as a red waller I don't see how you persuade people to override their daily issues and vote based on fear of the ladyboy.
    I don’t know anyone in my part of the red wall who cares about the latter but plenty care about the former.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,651
    edited March 2022
    In response to @Northern_Al, I wrote this about a year ago - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2021/03/14/one-womans-perspective/.

    Scroll through the comments.

    There are various groups: -

    1. The "oops we didn't realise. How ghastly".
    2. The "how dare you criticise all men. We're not like that".
    3. The "yes but what do you suggest we do" (the "women are responsible for sorting men out party)
    And then -
    4. The "this is how I got to shag lots of women group" and
    5. The poor incels group because women won't have sex with men who are rude, smelly and self-obsessed.

    It was a pretty personal header, frankly. Do you think the largely male reaction encourages women to talk frankly about this topic? Do you think the reaction to women who raise concerns about womens rights and safety in relation to the trans issue ("Terf", "bigot" and threats of violence) is conducive to sensible debate?

    I have tried to explain my concerns and why and support my arguments with facts. But a lot of the reaction is often very ad hominem, vile, personal and abusive (tho' generally not on here). Women are finally making their voices heard. They should be listened to. Starmer should meet with those womens' groups who have been asking to meet him and whom he has refused to meet. That would show character and leadership.

    It is not enough for men to talk about VAWG. What is needed above all is for men to listen, really listen to women.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,676
    felix said:



    Which is precisely why the lefties on here are desperate to shut the topic down. They face the wrath of activists if they change course and the wrath of voters if they don't. It's really very simple.

    Your evidence for this? I've never met a Labour activist who mentioned the issue, though I've met two Green activists who did.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,405

    Afaics the limiter can be switched off by the driver, though will restart automatically the next time the car has started? Doesn't seem a huge deal to me, mostly as I'm unlikely to be buying a new car in my remaining time on this mortal coil.

    Perhaps it and who's allowed in women's changing rooms will sweep the nation as the issues of the next GE?
    Or perhaps not.
    Does anyone seriously believe that trans women using female toilets would result in more assaults than trans women using male toilets?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 13,695

    Ministers? I've seen no evidence of ministerial involvement, aside of the PM, who was at home.

    This is the crazy thing for me. The rule breakers were the supposedly independent civil service, not the conservative party. The poor culture was the civil service culture in No. 10.
    Most of the people under investigation are civil servants, but we know of at least 3 non-civil service staff who were sent questionnaires: Boris Johnson, Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,335

    Afaics the limiter can be switched off by the driver, though will restart automatically the next time the car has started? Doesn't seem a huge deal to me, mostly as I'm unlikely to be buying a new car in my remaining time on this mortal coil.

    Perhaps it and who's allowed in women's changing rooms will sweep the nation as the issues of the next GE?
    Or perhaps not.
    Bloody shame that the UK hasn't left the EU and therefore has to submit to the TYRANNY of the EUSSRocrats.
  • TheWhiteRabbitTheWhiteRabbit Posts: 12,454

    Afaics the limiter can be switched off by the driver, though will restart automatically the next time the car has started? Doesn't seem a huge deal to me, mostly as I'm unlikely to be buying a new car in my remaining time on this mortal coil.

    Perhaps it and who's allowed in women's changing rooms will sweep the nation as the issues of the next GE?
    Or perhaps not.
    The article I read didn't really explain how "strong" the effect is. It implied that the car can go faster than the limit, but depending on the car, you might be slowed over time or have to use more force on the accelerator. Does anyone have an understanding for this?

  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 65,533
    HYUFD said:

    Starmer deep in conversation with Blackford at Prince Philip's Memorial Service.

    First stage in Labour and SNP confidence and supply talks? Given current polling that looks like the main way Starmer would become PM in a hung parliament

    https://twitter.com/jamesbundy/status/1508764496327806983?s=20&t=2oukdRMrMcWjzMwWasdsUQ

    isn't blackford packing it all in soon?
  • eekeek Posts: 29,736
    full on news day today


    CBS News
    @CBSNews
    BREAKING: CBS News and the Washington Post have obtained White House records turned over to the House, which show a gap in President Donald Trump's phone logs of seven hours and 37 minutes on January 6.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,840

    Your evidence for this? I've never met a Labour activist who mentioned the issue, though I've met two Green activists who did.
    So you didn't see anyone calling for the whip to be removed from Rosie Duffield at the last Labour conference?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,491
    French sportswear retailer Decathlon has backtracked and suspended its activities in Russia following criticism of its decision to stay. It said supply chain disruption meant it could no longer operate in the country but it would continue to support its 2,500 Russian staff.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60912746

    Bit like Renault, not a moral stance, one born out not having been able to trade due to reliance on supply chain.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022
    Aslan said:

    We should have longer prison sentences for ANYONE convicted of domestic violence. Gender is irrelevant. The discrepancy in prison terms for the same offence is appalling.
    Talking of gender discrepancies in sentencing:

    21 year old, in a position of responsibility and guardianship, convicted of twice having sex with a 15 year old pupil. Suspended sentence.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10660857/Teaching-assistant-21-took-schoolboy-15-home-sex-saying-age-just-number.html
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,209

    So you didn't see anyone calling for the whip to be removed from Rosie Duffield at the last Labour conference?
    1) Rosie Duffield raised the issue
    2) Only Tories raise the issue
    3) Therefore Rosie Duffield is a Tory
    4) Therefore it is completely understandable that no-one would notice a call to remove the Labour whip from a Tory.
  • Gary_BurtonGary_Burton Posts: 737

    isn't blackford packing it all in soon?
    Not confirmed although I don't think Alyn Smith/Stewart McDonald/whoever would change things much although Kirsten Oswald is a relatively weak media performer.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,335

    The article I read didn't really explain how "strong" the effect is. It implied that the car can go faster than the limit, but depending on the car, you might be slowed over time or have to use more force on the accelerator. Does anyone have an understanding for this?

    The info available seems mushy or contradictory. The Autotrader piece if I understand it right says that the accelerator will push back when approaching a speed limit but can be overridden by the driver also pushing down. Sounds fecking annoying if nothing else.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,676



    However, on one occasion when someone got it wrong it nearly cost me my life.

    You can't leave us hanging like that! Tell us more!
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,840
    @maxseddon
    Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to “fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernigiv” in order to “increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine.”


    https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1508774654940520448
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 45,365
    Cyclefree said:

    In response to @Northern_Al, I wrote this about a year ago - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2021/03/14/one-womans-perspective/.

    Scroll through the comments.

    There are various groups: -

    1. The "oops we didn't realise. How ghastly".
    2. The "how dare you criticise all men. We're not like that".
    3. The "yes but what do you suggest we do" (the "women are responsible for sorting men out party)
    And then -
    4. The "this is how I got to shag lots of women group" and
    5. The poor incels group because women won't have sex with men who are rude, smelly and self-obsessed.

    It was a pretty personal header, frankly. Do you think the largely male reaction encourages women to talk frankly about this topic? Do you think the reaction to women who raise concerns about womens rights and safety in relation to the trans issue ("Terf", "bigot" and threats of violence) is conducive to sensible debate?

    I have tried to explain my concerns and why and support my arguments with facts. But a lot of the reaction is often very ad hominem, vile, personal and abusive (tho' generally not on here). Women are finally making their voices heard. They should be listened to. Starmer should meet with those womens' groups who have been asking to meet him and whom he has refused to meet. That would show character and leadership.

    It is not enough for men to talk about VAWG. What is needed above all is for men to listen, really listen to women.

    "poor incels group because women won't have sex with men who are rude, smelly and self-obsessed."

    That comment might say more about your attitude than you intended...
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,809
    MaxPB said:

    The culture wars will carry Boris to another thumping majority. The idea of women having a cock is laughable to the vast majority of the nation and if Starmer can't do a Blair and tell the loonies to get fucked and state confidently that, "No Laura, women don't have penises" he's going to lose. Boris will have his red wall wedge issue.
    Per this take what's "laughable to the vast majority of the nation" is something which has been accepted for ages in this and most western countries and in several others too - ie a legal route to change gender without mandatory radical surgery.

    Therefore aren't you're implicitly saying that you - and iyo most of the public - want to rewind the clock by decades?

    Fair enough, if so, but this is hardly a risk free position for the Tories to take. Win an election by *rolling back* minority rights? That's no slam dunk imo.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022
    edited March 2022

    The info available seems mushy or contradictory. The Autotrader piece if I understand it right says that the accelerator will push back when approaching a speed limit but can be overridden by the driver also pushing down. Sounds fecking annoying if nothing else.
    It does appear that it applies only to new car models from July 2022, existing homologated models are not covered until they are replaced or retired by the manufacturer.

    Not a lot of detail around, for a change that’s so close.

    https://www.carscoops.com/2021/07/mandatory-speed-limiters-are-coming-and-theyll-be-even-worse-than-we-thought/
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,232
    What's going on with sanctions/Forex markets, Ruble at 93 to the Euro. Wasn't it supposed to weaken ?
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758

    @maxseddon
    Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to “fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernigiv” in order to “increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine.”


    https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1508774654940520448

    LOL the spirit of comical Ali lives on.
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,300
    I wish the gender debates were focussed on the bigger issues:

    - How to improve treatment (funding, waiting times) for those suffering from gender dysphoria
    - Clamp down on genuine acts of transphobia (e.g. assaults, harassment)
    - Raise awareness by showing positive examples to help normalise it in society

    Instead, it has become a campaign to remove any reference to a sex-based definition of women (strangely focussed the definition of women, not men); campaigning for self-identification with no regard to sex-based rights; and making sure everyone puts pronouns in email signatures...

    On much of the left it has been framed as a "right vs. wrong" issue, much in the way gay rights were 15 years ago, and not as a balancing act between the rights of two groups that face various forms of discrimination.
  • @maxseddon
    Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to “fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernigiv” in order to “increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine.”


    https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1508774654940520448

    Oh.

    They're getting beat.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536

    "poor incels group because women won't have sex with men who are rude, smelly and self-obsessed."

    That comment might say more about your attitude than you intended...
    Worth noting that some of the worst offenders didn't seem to have a problem in getting a partner. Sutcliffe, Bellfield, Huntley, and Couzens all had wives/girlfriends.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 22,203
    Keir is an idiot.
    He can’t afford to lose one vote on this trans issue.

    People who say only a small number of people care about it are burying their heads in the sand.
  • Scott_xP said:

    NEW: No 10 won’t say if PM will resign if issued with fine as hypothetical.

    PM’s spox refuses to say if he now accepts law has been broken.

    He reveals staff receiving fines not obliged to disclose.

    Rules out PM apologising for misleading House for insisting no rules broken.


    https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1508770128086941699

    How the hell do they hope to hold that line? "No rules were broken"? They said "there were no such events" and now people are being hit with fines for attending them.

    Boris lied to Parliament. I expect he will be called up to answer, will try and bullshit his way out and then his MPs will be told to whip that just because all these people have been prosecuted for breaching the rules at these parties in fact He didn't lie when he denied they took place.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 51,107
    Westminster voting intention:

    LAB: 39% (-)
    CON: 35% (-)
    LDEM: 11% (+1)
    GRN: 3% (-1)

    via @SavantaComRes, 25 - 27 Mar
    Chgs. w/ 20 Mar
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022

    @maxseddon
    Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to “fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernigiv” in order to “increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine.”


    https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1508774654940520448

    Did they get lost? They’re supposed to be peacekeeping in the Donbass.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,255

    The info available seems mushy or contradictory. The Autotrader piece if I understand it right says that the accelerator will push back when approaching a speed limit but can be overridden by the driver also pushing down. Sounds fecking annoying if nothing else.
    I saw some suggestions in a article last week that they were also considering the system used in some Arabic countries of a continuous audible alarm. It is fecking annoying but has the disadvantage for the authorities that it is only useful for the maximum speed limit - 70 MPH in the UK.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 22,203
    kinabalu said:

    Per this take what's "laughable to the vast majority of the nation" is something which has been accepted for ages in this and most western countries and in several others too - ie a legal route to change gender without mandatory radical surgery.

    Therefore aren't you're implicitly saying that you - and iyo most of the public - want to rewind the clock by decades?

    Fair enough, if so, but this is hardly a risk free position for the Tories to take. Win an election by *rolling back* minority rights? That's no slam dunk imo.
    I think Max puts his views too robustly, but I suspect he does so for effect.

    Nobody wants to roll back existing rights.

    They do object to being told to ignore the evidence of their own eyes (I am thinking of the Lia Williams case especially here).
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