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Punters think recent events help Labour and the Tories – politicalbetting.com

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  • RogerRoger Posts: 20,105

    He's a kethead, without question.

    Is he a fascist? Really? What's the evidence of it - and don't say the salute.

    If you actually examine Musk's positions they are often at the opposite end of the spectrum from fascism. Musk is a free speech absolutist. That's an absurd position btw, but fascists don't want free speech, they want to stop free speech. Musk wants industry to be unencumbered by state regulation. Fascism shackles industry to deliver what the state wants. Musk thinks there's lots of penpusher bureaucrats and whole departments that can be done away with. Fascism regulates every aspect of life to the nth degree. Musk wants more migration. MAGA and especially some of the far right parties he has hyped want zero or negative migration.

    "Musk is a fascist" doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny once you drop the emotional response and actually look at it.
    His boss has just introduced a WHITE South African open door policy. You don't need to see him goose stepping arounnd in a 1942 Hugo Boss suit to get the idea.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,399

    .

    He has been ramping Yaxley-Lennon which made me very angry. But he isn't ramping it because he supports that mindset. SYL wants to remove migrants. Musk is in America saying that migration is a good thing (which enrages many MAGA activists).
    So basically your argument is he is ramping right wing people for the lols not because he agrees with their viewpoint.

    While mine is that Trump is posting those item because he does agree with their viewpoint
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,973

    .

    He has been ramping Yaxley-Lennon which made me very angry. But he isn't ramping it because he supports that mindset. SYL wants to remove migrants. Musk is in America saying that migration is a good thing (which enrages many MAGA activists).
    I thought Musk was saying immigration is bad in Germany and the UK? Sounds kind of mindset supporting to me.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,216
    edited March 10

    He's a kethead, without question.

    Is he a fascist? Really? What's the evidence of it - and don't say the salute.

    If you actually examine Musk's positions they are often at the opposite end of the spectrum from fascism. Musk is a free speech absolutist. That's an absurd position btw, but fascists don't want free speech, they want to stop free speech. Musk wants industry to be unencumbered by state regulation. Fascism shackles industry to deliver what the state wants. Musk thinks there's lots of penpusher bureaucrats and whole departments that can be done away with. Fascism regulates every aspect of life to the nth degree. Musk wants more migration. MAGA and especially some of the far right parties he has hyped want zero or negative migration.

    "Musk is a fascist" doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny once you drop the emotional response and actually look at it.
    He's not a fascist, and I doubt he has given much time to thinking about political theory at all, but he's very interested in power.

    If he's anything, then he's a plutocrat. But of a kind which didn't even exist back in the Gilded Age.

    For someone who wants a separation between state and industry, he seems very keen to use his unelected political position to award himself contacts to run government functions.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472
    FF43 said:

    Even if true, the deal with the visa waiver program is that you can be immediately sent back on the total discretion of the border guard, not that you are placed indefinitely in solitary confinement at your expense. This is a change.
    Yup, it’s the behavioural change of the US government in its actions.

    Bit like tariffs by the US are not new, but the recent insanity is.

    In the case of the tattoo artist, it seems that she was occasionally vacationing in the US, while putting on Facebook that she was available for booking while in the US, and bringing her equipment with her.

    Under Biden (and other, previous, sane governments) they would have probably waited until she flew home, then blocked her entry.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    algarkirk said:

    I wish you were right. But I think you have made an offer and paid a large deposit on Brooklyn Bridge.

    https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/real-chilling-effects
    This is why Musk and MAGA will suffer a catastrophic breakdown in their relationship - they stand for directly opposing things. The list of words being censored by MAGA will be exactly the thing that Musk attacks.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 37,081
    For someone who is "not a fascist", he says and does a lot of fascist things
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,281
    edited March 10
    At the moment I think the likeliest outcome of the next general election is a Labour minority government with Labour most seats supported by the LDs and SNP.

    There is a chance still of a Reform and Tory government but Farage's closeness to Trump hasn't helped that. There is also now a split in Reform between those like Farage and Anderson who are ideologically close to the ERG right of the Tories and the AfD lite wing backed by Tommy Robinson supporters who want to deport most immigrants and are fiercely
    anti Islam and largely back Lowe
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,774
    Nigelb said:

    Flattery was always something of a delusion; what Trump wants is complete subservience.

    Donald Trump has 'gone cool' on Britain since King Charles welcomed Zelensky to Sandringham, diplomatic sources in Washington have claimed, - Daily Mail

    Allies of the US President have made clear to UK officials in America that pictures of the King with the Ukranian leader made him feel 'less special' about the monarch's invitation for a state visit to Britain.

    https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1898686677201150174

    If Trump refuses to come, that's Starmer's awkward position on the State Visit dealt with.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    eek said:

    So basically your argument is he is ramping right wing people for the lols not because he agrees with their viewpoint.

    While mine is that Trump is posting those item because he does agree with their viewpoint
    My argument is that he is ramping people who he thinks have been censored - SYL, AfD etc etc. It's bloody stupid, but it isn't fascism.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 6,163

    Would you buy a Polestar? Genuine, non-attack question.
    I don't know what Polestar is, but the internet suggests it's a Swedish subsidiary of a Chinese company.

    I don't know enough about Polestar to say much, but in general I am not boycotting everything that has anything to do with China (nor everything that has anything to do with the US), but I am actively trying to buy European first where possible.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    .

    He has been ramping Yaxley-Lennon which made me very angry. But he isn't ramping it because he supports that mindset. SYL wants to remove migrants. Musk is in America saying that migration is a good thing (which enrages many MAGA activists).
    "Musk is in America saying that migration is a good thing"

    No.

    He is saying *some* migration is a good thing. Mainly of rich, white people. That is a very different thing from what you said.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-backs-race-based-125757533.html
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    My argument is that he is ramping people who he thinks have been censored - SYL, AfD etc etc. It's bloody stupid, but it isn't fascism.
    Do you think he gave Nazi salutes?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,973
    Scott_xP said:

    For someone who is "not a fascist", he says and does a lot of fascist things

    Waving not heil-ing.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895
    Nigelb said:

    He's not a fascist, and I doubt he has given much time to thinking about political theory at all, but he's very interested in power.

    If he's anything, then he's a plutocrat. But of a kind which didn't even exist back in the Gilded Age.

    For someone who wants a separation between state and industry, he seems very keen to use his unelected political position to award himself contacts to run government functions.
    He believes in the supremacy of technological solutions, interplanetary travel and AI, and the tech monarchs who can achieve is.

    This is roughly in line with what his father brought him up with.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    Roger said:

    His boss has just introduced a WHITE South African open door policy. You don't need to see him goose stepping arounnd in a 1942 Hugo Boss suit to get the idea.
    Sure. But Musk is eulogising a visa system where people come to America from India, much to the horror of MAGA ideologues. Trump is not Musk is not Trump, despite their current marriage of convenience.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,216
    kamski said:

    I would say he's fucking toddler but that would be a terrible insult to all toddlers.
    Toddlers desire absolute control of their surroundings, but vanishingly few of them have the powers of the presidency.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    Sure. But Musk is eulogising a visa system where people come to America from India, much to the horror of MAGA ideologues. Trump is not Musk is not Trump, despite their current marriage of convenience.
    Only a relatively few people; and people carefully selected to be useful to he and his techbro friends.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 20,105

    You still have 4 more years to endure ( at least )

    If I boycotted every company that I'm not happy about the ethics of, I'd have to walk around naked, eat grass and drink river water.
    Someone, somewhere is almost certainly getting exploited, no matter where we spend our money.
    You have to be selective but don't tell me you were eating outspan oranges when Nelson was in jail?
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895
    Can *achieve this*, rather. Musk essentially believes in technological progress ahead of democracy, just like Thiel, and also the character he's named after. Anything else is somewhat self-deluding.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 25,737
    Eabhal said:

    "Women", "female", "black", "clean energy", "Native American", "disability", "race" are also among the suppressed words. Those who went along with the anti-woke, anti-DEI stuff were frankly childishly naive - it was always about reversing civil rights all the way back to the 60s.

    "Advocate" is also in there. First they came for the lawyers, and, understandably...
    And also ones like "Activist" and "Sex" and "Disability" and "MSM" and "Victim" and "Women". How the f*ck do you even have rational conversations if that is banned, and you put in place a "report your colleague who does not conform to our snitch-line" system, as they have?

    Anne Applebaum's conparisons with Eastern Europe under Communism and their secret police, plus the intimidation of the general population, and coming to life before our eyes. Take just the response of Trump's regime to the people critical at Town Hall meetings (what we would call something like "Meet your MP") with the voters:

    1) They are paid Democrat Party agents.
    2) Telling Republican representatives to deal with it by just not holding any Town Hall meetings.

    I think their ineptitude and their hubris will be the downfall. It reminds me (may not be true - @Malmesbury will know) of the apocryphal British decision *not* to try and assassinate Hitler, because him being alive would do more damage to the German war effort.
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,774
    edited March 10
    Nigelb said:

    He's not a fascist, and I doubt he has given much time to thinking about political theory at all, but he's very interested in power.

    If he's anything, then he's a plutocrat. But of a kind which didn't even exist back in the Gilded Age.

    For someone who wants a separation between state and industry, he seems very keen to use his unelected political position to award himself contacts to run government functions.
    Musk is more similar to the gangster oligarchs that surrounded Yeltsin and then Putin following the collapse of the Soviet Union than he is with anyone associated with Hitler IMO.

    On the should I buy a Tesla question, I think people would be worried about what other people think of the brand and residual values, even if they are cool with Musk as a person.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526

    Do you think he gave Nazi salutes?
    No, though I have been hugely entertained by the various side by side video clips. We don't even need to pull apart the mechanics of the salute and the very odd angle he was pulling vs the ramrod straight execution of the nazis doing it.

    The proof that so many people offer for Musk being a fascist is those salutes. You yourself appear to have fallen back onto them as the last redoubt of an argument that falls apart under scrutiny.

    Go back to my list of Musk vs Fascism positions. Discuss those point by point - those are relevant and would be whether or not a toddler moron has bounced around a stage like a 5 year old doung dodgy salutes, thumping the dias in excitement and doing absurd flag planting gestures complete with sounds.

    "But he did a salute". Yeah. Harry dressed up as one. Cosplaying fascism doesn't make you actually fascist.
  • BattlebusBattlebus Posts: 557
    MattW said:

    Indeed they have already gone after gay people. It's partly the obsession with traditional families (see the 1950s), keeping women in the house, and more white babies - as we also see over here now.

    Reportedly (AP), the photo of the Enola Gay - the plane that dropped the atom bomb - is on the Trump "scrub the Department of Defence website" list under "DEI".

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ90aLXmbVY

    The playbook is from the Loon Lobby. I did not know about the one from a decade ago where a Christian website replaced "gay" with "homosexual" and turned the sprinter Tyson Gay into Tyson Homosexual (from the Standard):

    https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/sport-olympics/london-2012-olympics-sprinter-referred-to-as-tyson-homosexual-because-of-websites-ban-on-word-gay-8015664.html

    They are completely nuts. And they are serious about being nuts - which is a big part of the problem.
    Insanity is in the eye of the beholder. What does your eye see?

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-war-hamas-red-heifers-from-texas-jerusalem-jewish-temple-al-aqsa
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,281

    .

    He has been ramping Yaxley-Lennon which made me very angry. But he isn't ramping it because he supports that mindset. SYL wants to remove migrants. Musk is in America saying that migration is a good thing (which enrages many MAGA activists).
    Provided it isn't Muslims Musk backs migration of skilled workers
  • kamskikamski Posts: 6,163
    .
    More bollocks from you. Musk is quite happy to suspend Twitter accounts when he doesn't like what they say. He is against free speech, but likes racists and neonazis.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,216

    Sure. But Musk is eulogising a visa system where people come to America from India, much to the horror of MAGA ideologues. Trump is not Musk is not Trump, despite their current marriage of convenience.
    They are quite similar in their will to power, lack of empathy, cultivation of the extreme right, and dubious taste.

    Anything else anyone can add to that ?
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526

    Only a relatively few people; and people carefully selected to be useful to he and his techbro friends.
    Sure! So here is the direct comparison.

    Did the Nazis selectively let Jews join the party and work their way up into positions of power?
    Does Yaxley-Lennon think that muslims should be allowed to stay here if they are doctors or senior business people?

    Fascists do not want outsiders in their country. If you are advocating the merits of swarthy looking people of dubious religions coming to your country to make loads of money off working people, you're not a fascist.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 13,664

    He's a kethead, without question.

    Is he a fascist? Really? What's the evidence of it - and don't say the salute.

    If you actually examine Musk's positions they are often at the opposite end of the spectrum from fascism. Musk is a free speech absolutist. That's an absurd position btw, but fascists don't want free speech, they want to stop free speech. Musk wants industry to be unencumbered by state regulation. Fascism shackles industry to deliver what the state wants. Musk thinks there's lots of penpusher bureaucrats and whole departments that can be done away with. Fascism regulates every aspect of life to the nth degree. Musk wants more migration. MAGA and especially some of the far right parties he has hyped want zero or negative migration.

    "Musk is a fascist" doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny once you drop the emotional response and actually look at it.

    Just a reminder of 14 marks of fascism, already often posted but worth checking out from time to time. I think all 14 are somewhere in the 'work in progress' stage in the USA.

    1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.

    2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.

    3. Identification of enemies/scape-goats as a unifying cause.

    4. The supremacy of the military/ avid militarism.

    5. Rampant sexism.

    6. A controlled mass media.

    7. Obsession with national security.

    8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.

    9. Power of corporations protected.

    10. Power of labour suppressed or eliminated.

    11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

    12. Obsession with crime and punishment.

    13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.

    14. Fraudulent elections.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,281
    Nigelb said:

    Flattery was always something of a delusion; what Trump wants is complete subservience.

    Donald Trump has 'gone cool' on Britain since King Charles welcomed Zelensky to Sandringham, diplomatic sources in Washington have claimed, - Daily Mail

    Allies of the US President have made clear to UK officials in America that pictures of the King with the Ukranian leader made him feel 'less special' about the monarch's invitation for a state visit to Britain.

    https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1898686677201150174

    Much to the King's relief as most of the people of his realms hate Trump but love Zelensky
  • glwglw Posts: 10,254
    Scott_xP said:

    For someone who is "not a fascist", he says and does a lot of fascist things

    The way people usually deflect these accusations is to say "See this item 17 on a list of things fascists do? Well he doesn't do that, therefore he is not a fascist." They ignore the dozen or more things on the list that he clearly does. It's barely worth engaging people in such arguments, they don't want to admit they might be wrong.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 6,163

    Do you think he gave Nazi salutes?
    undeniably fascist-style salutes, but arguably technically not Nazi salutes - no surprise that Musk apologists want to argue the technicality
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    MattW said:

    And also ones like "Activist" and "Sex" and "Disability" and "MSM" and "Victim" and "Women". How the f*ck do you even have rational conversations if that is banned, and you put in place a "report your colleague who does not conform to our snitch-line" system, as they have?

    Anne Applebaum's conparisons with Eastern Europe under Communism and their secret police, plus the intimidation of the general population, and coming to life before our eyes. Take just the response of Trump's regime to the people critical at Town Hall meetings (what we would call something like "Meet your MP") with the voters:

    1) They are paid Democrat Party agents.
    2) Telling Republican representatives to deal with it by just not holding any Town Hall meetings.

    I think their ineptitude and their hubris will be the downfall. It reminds me (may not be true - @Malmesbury will know) of the apocryphal British decision *not* to try and assassinate Hitler, because him being alive would do more damage to the German war effort.
    MAGA are trying to build a "Christian" theocracy. And just like in the fictional Gilead most of the leaders of this theocracy won't believe in it's teachings one bit.

    I've got various Agent Smiths attacking me this morning as if I matter, but its all a distraction from the horrors that MAGA are trying to build in Murica.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,199
    I don't see Reformers going back to Labour - though obviously if they stay home it would help Labour.

    Clearly they need to get their shit sorted out, and finding ever more inventive ways to discredit Rupert Lowe is an awful look that won't cut it.

    Machiavalli said (I paraphrase) that if you can't completely destroy your enemy, don't attack them. It was an awful error to 'wound' Lowe's career with what look to be a series of half-baked allegations, leaving him resentful and on the warpath. There's lots of youthful energy in Reform it seems, but very little sage wisdom. Placating Lowe was really the only way forward. The same goes for any of the five MPs really. And now Nigel needs to eat humble pie and patch it up.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,399
    kamski said:

    I don't know what Polestar is, but the internet suggests it's a Swedish subsidiary of a Chinese company.

    I don't know enough about Polestar to say much, but in general I am not boycotting everything that has anything to do with China (nor everything that has anything to do with the US), but I am actively trying to buy European first where possible.
    That’s not quite right it’s a Chinese company with a facade to make it look Swedish.

    Now the cars are rather good but I suspect EVs are very much of a muchness and I want something smaller so I’m way more likely to look at a Renault or Kia
  • No exodus to state sector after VAT added to private school fees, say English councils

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/10/no-exodus-to-state-sector-after-vat-added-to-private-school-fees-say-english-councils

    I am shocked.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472
    kamski said:

    I don't know what Polestar is, but the internet suggests it's a Swedish subsidiary of a Chinese company.

    I don't know enough about Polestar to say much, but in general I am not boycotting everything that has anything to do with China (nor everything that has anything to do with the US), but I am actively trying to buy European first where possible.
    It's owned by this chap - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Shufu

    His wikipedia article is carefully anodyne, but he is a full on supporter of Xi and has er... ties to the Uyghur situation.
  • I don't see Reformers going back to Labour - though obviously if they stay home it would help Labour.

    Clearly they need to get their shit sorted out, and finding ever more inventive ways to discredit Rupert Lowe is an awful look that won't cut it.

    Machiavalli said (I paraphrase) that if you can't completely destroy your enemy, don't attack them. It was an awful error to 'wound' Lowe's career with what look to be a series of half-baked allegations, leaving him resentful and on the warpath. There's lots of youthful energy in Reform it seems, but very little sage wisdom. Placating Lowe was really the only way forward. The same goes for any of the five MPs really. And now Nigel needs to eat humble pie and patch it up.

    When the immigration figures come down some voters will return to Labour. Whether it will be enough remains to be seen.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 37,081

    My argument is that he is ramping people who he thinks have been censored

    Your argument is demonstrably bollocks

    It's bloody stupid

    This bit is true
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895
    HYUFD said:

    Provided it isn't Muslims Musk backs migration of skilled workers
    There's a parallel people haven't noticed. Von Braun was very happy to use Jewish workers to build his rockets, and Von Braun is the man who created The Elon in his novel.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 25,737
    MattW said:

    And also ones like "Activist" and "Sex" and "Disability" and "MSM" and "Victim" and "Women". How the f*ck do you even have rational conversations if that is banned, and you put in place a "report your colleague who does not conform to our snitch-line" system, as they have?

    Anne Applebaum's conparisons with Eastern Europe under Communism and their secret police, plus the intimidation of the general population, and coming to life before our eyes. Take just the response of Trump's regime to the people critical at Town Hall meetings (what we would call something like "Meet your MP") with the voters:

    1) They are paid Democrat Party agents.
    2) Telling Republican representatives to deal with it by just not holding any Town Hall meetings.

    I think their ineptitude and their hubris will be the downfall. It reminds me (may not be true - @Malmesbury will know) of the apocryphal British decision *not* to try and assassinate Hitler, because him being alive would do more damage to the German war effort.
    Deep link to Anne Applebaum talking about these themes in early February:
    https://youtu.be/ZvNimQcdVZ8?t=881

    In my pessimistic thoughts the experiences of people like Václav Havel and Fr Jerzy Popiełuszko could become relevant very rapidly.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 9,764
    edited March 10

    I don't see Reformers going back to Labour - though obviously if they stay home it would help Labour.

    Clearly they need to get their shit sorted out, and finding ever more inventive ways to discredit Rupert Lowe is an awful look that won't cut it.

    Machiavalli said (I paraphrase) that if you can't completely destroy your enemy, don't attack them. It was an awful error to 'wound' Lowe's career with what look to be a series of half-baked allegations, leaving him resentful and on the warpath. There's lots of youthful energy in Reform it seems, but very little sage wisdom. Placating Lowe was really the only way forward. The same goes for any of the five MPs really. And now Nigel needs to eat humble pie and patch it up.

    Going back to Labour? The vast majority are either non-voters or former Conservatives. That's why the take that Reform's collapse is good for Labour are wrong. Overall, tafter aking into account the complexities of distributions across the country and flows between the parties, I think it nets out as a bad thing.
  • @Malmesbury as you’ve conceded, Starlink will stop working as soon as a train goes through a tunnel/cutting.

    Therefore for continuous connectivity they are going to have to supply trackside DAS or similar anyway.

    This issue will end up being a non-starter and will end up being replaced long term by the 4G/5G trackside solution when it’s rolled out country-wide.

    There is no replacement for that. Network Rail have accepted that. Apparently ScotRail are too dumb.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171

    No, though I have been hugely entertained by the various side by side video clips. We don't even need to pull apart the mechanics of the salute and the very odd angle he was pulling vs the ramrod straight execution of the nazis doing it.

    The proof that so many people offer for Musk being a fascist is those salutes. You yourself appear to have fallen back onto them as the last redoubt of an argument that falls apart under scrutiny.

    Go back to my list of Musk vs Fascism positions. Discuss those point by point - those are relevant and would be whether or not a toddler moron has bounced around a stage like a 5 year old doung dodgy salutes, thumping the dias in excitement and doing absurd flag planting gestures complete with sounds.

    "But he did a salute". Yeah. Harry dressed up as one. Cosplaying fascism doesn't make you actually fascist.
    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.

  • kamskikamski Posts: 6,163

    It's owned by this chap - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Shufu

    His wikipedia article is carefully anodyne, but he is a full on supporter of Xi and has er... ties to the Uyghur situation.
    then no. not that I'm about to buy a car anyway, but I'd rather support a European company. And when I say European I include the UK but exclude Russia, for the avoidance of doubt.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    No, though I have been hugely entertained by the various side by side video clips. We don't even need to pull apart the mechanics of the salute and the very odd angle he was pulling vs the ramrod straight execution of the nazis doing it.

    The proof that so many people offer for Musk being a fascist is those salutes. You yourself appear to have fallen back onto them as the last redoubt of an argument that falls apart under scrutiny.

    Go back to my list of Musk vs Fascism positions. Discuss those point by point - those are relevant and would be whether or not a toddler moron has bounced around a stage like a 5 year old doung dodgy salutes, thumping the dias in excitement and doing absurd flag planting gestures complete with sounds.

    "But he did a salute". Yeah. Harry dressed up as one. Cosplaying fascism doesn't make you actually fascist.
    Don't be a fool. Musk knew what he was doing with that salute, and knew how it would be taken, and who it would appeal to. You don't care.

    And BTW, I have not been headlining on "Musk is a fascist'. As I've said before, I don't think he or Trump are, at least yet. But they increasingly exhibit many traits of fascism, at least at a low level, and are getting worse. I'm also of the view that because of its nebulous definitions, fascism isn't a very useful term. What Trump/Musk becomes will probably gain a different definition.

    But whatever we do call it, it is clear that Musk's worldview is a terrible and dangerous one.

    But that's okay in your mind, because you like the products that make him his money.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.
    Tree cover and cuttings would also be interesting cases, given some of the connectivity problems I've seen people have.
  • I can’t see how an argument about welfare can go badly for Labour. They are the LABOUR party, they represent people in work.

    Every time they have one of these arguments, they make Sir Keir look less on the side of the left which frankly is probably better for his image. I remember these same people saying that expelling Corbyn would alienate the left. All it did was enhance his image as “not Corbyn”.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,281
    Roger said:

    His boss has just introduced a WHITE South African open door policy. You don't need to see him goose stepping arounnd in a 1942 Hugo Boss suit to get the idea.
    Though partly due to a new ANC law to remove some white farmers from their farms and not always with compensation
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,299
    Nigelb said:

    Flattery was always something of a delusion; what Trump wants is complete subservience.

    Donald Trump has 'gone cool' on Britain since King Charles welcomed Zelensky to Sandringham, diplomatic sources in Washington have claimed, - Daily Mail

    Allies of the US President have made clear to UK officials in America that pictures of the King with the Ukranian leader made him feel 'less special' about the monarch's invitation for a state visit to Britain.

    https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1898686677201150174

    Oh he's special alright. No argument there.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    .

    It's owned by this chap - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Shufu

    His wikipedia article is carefully anodyne, but he is a full on supporter of Xi and has er... ties to the Uyghur situation.
    Geely is Li Shufu, and that means a direct tie to Xi and all that that entails.

    But he isn't Musk, so there's definitely no moral issue. As I have had posted several times by people railing against Tesla!

    And it isn't just Polestar. Lovely Swedish safe centrist dad Volvo Cars. Owned by Geely. Lotus. Owned by Geely. London Electric Vehicle Company. Owned by Geely.

    You see that black cab you've just taken in London? You've just put money into the pockets of the guy who is a member of the equivalent of the Chinese parliament, literally writing policy proposals for Xi. You Bad Man you.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,399
    Eabhal said:

    Going back to Labour? The vast majority are either non-voters or former Conservatives. That's why the take that Reform's collapse is good for Labour are wrong, IMO. I think it's bad news.
    Depends where you are - I expect a lot of them round here are disillusioned voters who trend towards Labour when things are going well but have been lending their voters to any protest party likely to win - which is why Redcar has had Labour/ lib dem and Tory mps over the past 15 years
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.

    I actually disagree with you on both counts. I don't think he is a fascist, although as you say, he is showing many of the signs. But the history books will probably classify him as something different; though still bad.

    And IMV he knew very well what he was doing when he did that salute. And it was done to send messages, and to appeal to certain people. That's the difference from an idiot throwing out a random salute.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,644

    No, though I have been hugely entertained by the various side by side video clips. We don't even need to pull apart the mechanics of the salute and the very odd angle he was pulling vs the ramrod straight execution of the nazis doing it.

    The proof that so many people offer for Musk being a fascist is those salutes. You yourself appear to have fallen back onto them as the last redoubt of an argument that falls apart under scrutiny.

    Go back to my list of Musk vs Fascism positions. Discuss those point by point - those are relevant and would be whether or not a toddler moron has bounced around a stage like a 5 year old doung dodgy salutes, thumping the dias in excitement and doing absurd flag planting gestures complete with sounds.

    "But he did a salute". Yeah. Harry dressed up as one. Cosplaying fascism doesn't make you actually fascist.
    I think that labels (fascist, communist, anarchist, etc.) are only useful for people giving a casual glance at someone. Nearly everyone is more nuanced that a straightforward party programme. It's sufficient to say that Musk's policy preferences are alarmingly extreme for a close adviser to the President.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 9,764

    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.

    I can follow your argument but, taking a step back, the Nazi salute can hardly be taken as neutral as to whether Musk is a fascist or not. It's at the very least a teensy bit fascist.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171
    Eabhal said:

    Going back to Labour? The vast majority are either non-voters or former Conservatives. That's why the take that Reform's collapse is good for Labour are wrong. Overall, tafter aking into account the complexities of distributions across the country and flows between the parties, I think it nets out as a bad thing.
    I think this is probably correct. I had fallen into the trap of starting to think that a large proportion of the new Refrom vote was ex Labour but the latest data I can find from the end of January from Yougov shows that 33% of those who voted Tory in 2024 are now voting Reform compared with 9% of those who voted Labour and 8% who voted Lib Dem.

    Obviously that is only those who have changed to reform since the last election but I see no reason to think this is not reflective of the overall makeup of Reform voters.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,281

    I can’t see how an argument about welfare can go badly for Labour. They are the LABOUR party, they represent people in work.

    Every time they have one of these arguments, they make Sir Keir look less on the side of the left which frankly is probably better for his image. I remember these same people saying that expelling Corbyn would alienate the left. All it did was enhance his image as “not Corbyn”.

    Which got him a 1% increase in Corbyn's 2019 vote share and 6% less than Corbyn's 2017 voteshare.

    It was the split on the right between Tories and Reform that got Starmer his landslide and cutting welfare too much could send more leftwingers from Labour to the Greens
  • MattWMattW Posts: 25,737
    Here's one that came up at the weekend concerning the US Govt:

    US Department of Justice writes to Georgetown University saying that it will not consider any of their law graduates for jobs (ie will bin the applications) because the curriculum contains "DEI" content.

    DOJ says it won’t hire Georgetown Law Students because DOJ has “reliably” heard that Georgetown “continues to teach and promote DEI.” DOJ tells Georgetown “no applicant” who is a student at a school “that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered.” Putin does this.

    https://x.com/JoinTheUnionUS/status/1898071649787826581
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,712
    Discussion of whether Musk is an actual fascist or not seems a bit pointless to me.
    He's a c**t, and that's all we need to know.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,000
    Eabhal said:

    I can follow your argument but, taking a step back, the Nazi salute can hardly be taken as neutral as to whether Musk is a fascist or not. It's at the very least a teensy bit fascist.
    More Il Duce than Der Fuhrer, I thought.

    But still - dodgy as all fuck.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171
    Eabhal said:

    I can follow your argument but, taking a step back, the Nazi salute can hardly be taken as neutral as to whether Musk is a fascist or not. It's at the very least a teensy bit fascist.
    I think that depends on whether you think it was an intentional Nazi salute or just something that looked like it. As I said, there were plenty of examples being touted of other people doing similar salutes/gestures who were not even considered to be related to anything Nazi because of who was doing it.

    I think the salute thing is just reinforcement activity by observers - I think Musk is a Nazi therefore this must have been a Nazi salute
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472
    edited March 10

    @Malmesbury as you’ve conceded, Starlink will stop working as soon as a train goes through a tunnel/cutting.

    Therefore for continuous connectivity they are going to have to supply trackside DAS or similar anyway.

    This issue will end up being a non-starter and will end up being replaced long term by the 4G/5G trackside solution when it’s rolled out country-wide.

    There is no replacement for that. Network Rail have accepted that. Apparently ScotRail are too dumb.

    I don't know if you followed the end of the discussion last night - the trains ScotRail are using it from are in the remoter areas of Scotland, where the line will have been constructed for minimal cuttings and tunnels. And there is probably much less track side infrastructure.

    The overall point is that Starlink does work for many users. The whole point (apart from military use), is that by the time you add up a few percent of remote locations, planes, ships (and some trains), mobile users, backhaul for 4/5g etc, the world wide value of the market is many, many billions.

    Which brings us to an interesting point. On many occasions, countries have said that "we are going to stop depending on X". On many fewer occasions, do they actually do so.

    We can try and claim that Starlink doesn't work. And actually end up using it - it's in the process of rolling out on every airline in Europe, for example.

    Or we can build a competitor.

    In the case of Tesla, many countries around the world boast of how many high capacity, public chargers have been installed. Then you look at the how many are Tesla chargers.

    Which means that we need to actually build a decent, inter-compatible network of chargers that actually work, and take payments easily, and don't charge rip-off prices.

    This all goes against the Can't Doism of the Process State. But that is exactly where Musk comes from - when the system abdicates provision, that doesn't mean everyone sits with nicely folded hands.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,399

    .

    Geely is Li Shufu, and that means a direct tie to Xi and all that that entails.

    But he isn't Musk, so there's definitely no moral issue. As I have had posted several times by people railing against Tesla!

    And it isn't just Polestar. Lovely Swedish safe centrist dad Volvo Cars. Owned by Geely. Lotus. Owned by Geely. London Electric Vehicle Company. Owned by Geely.

    You see that black cab you've just taken in London? You've just put money into the pockets of the guy who is a member of the equivalent of the Chinese parliament, literally writing policy proposals for Xi. You Bad Man you.
    So paying money to a London Taxi driver who happens to have a London Taxi directly puts money into the hands of the Chinese Government.

    Just wanting to make you 100% aware of how stupid your post above is
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    Sure! So here is the direct comparison.

    Did the Nazis selectively let Jews join the party and work their way up into positions of power?
    Does Yaxley-Lennon think that muslims should be allowed to stay here if they are doctors or senior business people?

    Fascists do not want outsiders in their country. If you are advocating the merits of swarthy looking people of dubious religions coming to your country to make loads of money off working people, you're not a fascist.
    The Nazis evolved during their time in power; they got worse. Who knows where Musk/Trump will end up politically?

    If your argument is that anyone who is not Yaxley-Lennon is fine, then you're being silly. Musk wants immigration of a very small subset of people; either because they are like him (e.g. white South Africans), or because they are of use to him (engineers who will depress the pay of existing engineers).
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 3,283
    MattW said:

    Deep link to Anne Applebaum talking about these themes in early February:
    https://youtu.be/ZvNimQcdVZ8?t=881

    In my pessimistic thoughts the experiences of people like Václav Havel and Fr Jerzy Popiełuszko could become relevant very rapidly.
    AIUI, the US 2nd Amendment exists partly to make sure the people can protect themselves against an over-reaching government.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 64,684
    Morning Trump Watchers.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895
    I think people are underestimating the impact of childhood. If from a very early age you think the model to follow is to take over Mars, and that rockets and technology are more important than democracy, that"s obviously going to help inform your life.

    No-other tech magnates had these obsessions in the 1990's ; they're just he product of an atypical background.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171
    edited March 10

    More Il Duce than Der Fuhrer, I thought.

    But still - dodgy as all fuck.
    I have always thought the Trump-Mussolini similarities were uncanny. Particularly that 'head tilt stare into the distance whilst sticking out the bottom lip' thing.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,421
    Is Twitter/X down? Someone pulled the plugs on Musk?
  • kamskikamski Posts: 6,163

    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.

    I haven't seen a lot of videos ('photographed' is meaningless, of course people sometimes have an arm raised) of "people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes". What do you have in mind?

    Of course the interpretation depends partly on the context, and on the views that the person is known to be promoting. But Musk clearly performed fascist-style salutes at that rally. Maybe he was so off his head that he didn't have a clue what he was doing, and accidentally did them while not in control of his arms or something, but I find that a bit far-fetched.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171
    edited March 10
    MattW said:

    Here's one that came up at the weekend concerning the US Govt:

    US Department of Justice writes to Georgetown University saying that it will not consider any of their law graduates for jobs (ie will bin the applications) because the curriculum contains "DEI" content.

    DOJ says it won’t hire Georgetown Law Students because DOJ has “reliably” heard that Georgetown “continues to teach and promote DEI.” DOJ tells Georgetown “no applicant” who is a student at a school “that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered.” Putin does this.

    https://x.com/JoinTheUnionUS/status/1898071649787826581

    I think the only sensible reply from Georgetown University to that letter should be a swift

    "Dear Sir,

    Fuck you."
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 44,872

    I think people are underestimating the impact of childhood. If from a very early age you think the model to follow is to take over Mars, and that rockets and technology are more important than democracy, that"s obviously going to help inform your life.

    No-other tech magnates had these obsessions in the 1990's ; they're just he product of an atypical background.

    AFAIAA Musk did not have those obsessions from childhood.

    Interestingly, Bezos did. His graduation speech mentioned that he looked forward to the day that space would be colonised. A local newspaper quoted his intention "to get all people off the earth and see it turned into a huge national park". That was back in 1982.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,774

    Interestingly I think Musk is a fascist - or maybe proro-fascist is a better description given he hasn't really got going yet. But I think the salute is entirely irrelevant and misleading. Far more important are Algakirk's list of 14 indicators, most of which I think Trump and Musk are ticking to a greater or lesser degree.

    So the salute argument is pointless and ultimately wrong. You can find lots of examples of people we know are not fascists doing similar salutes and of course there are plenty of examples of people who we would happily class as fascists who have never been photographed making salutes. So it is rather daft to concentrate on this one irrelevant action.

    Somewhat contradicting my previous comment, I think there is something in this. I do think Musk believes in the ideology, while Zuckerberg and Bezos are purely acting in the oligarchic interest of their businesses. They all want to steal the national wealth so it comes to the same thing in the end, but only Musk runs the real risk of ending up behind bars for the other stuff he's doing.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 13,664
    Quasi betting post, though there won't bets on it I suspect:

    What are the probabilities/possibilities in the medium term term for USA post 20 January 2025. Here are five:

    Trump over time remains weird but normalises.

    Slow boiling frog: carry on as if this is a normal regime but weird, gradually tightening the screw but, eg, don't invade Canada. NATO debilitated but not abolished. Free and fair elections continue.

    Quicker boiling frog: we end up where it appears rational to MAGA to literally invade Canada. NATO stuffed. Elections rigged.

    Proper Trumpist coup: we wake up one day and find MSNBC, NYT, WSJ are closed, internet is down and Jon Stewart is in prison, elections cancelled, army on the street

    Proper counter coup: We wake up one day and find airports closed, media outlets occupied, Trump and Musk etc arrested and army on the street.

    Of these 5, assuming they cover the terrain, I would put the % at about 5% 35% 25% 20% 15%. Thoughts?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472
    kamski said:

    then no. not that I'm about to buy a car anyway, but I'd rather support a European company. And when I say European I include the UK but exclude Russia, for the avoidance of doubt.
    Yes.

    My point is that we need a change in the Global Free Trade model.

    Removing all dependence on a US car manufacturer and switching it to a Chinese one is to jump from frying pan into fire.

    See the slightly strange people on Twitter, claiming that they are switching to Chinese made Android phones. Which improves the situation by a *negative amount*, in objective terms.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,216
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,000

    I think that depends on whether you think it was an intentional Nazi salute or just something that looked like it. As I said, there were plenty of examples being touted of other people doing similar salutes/gestures who were not even considered to be related to anything Nazi because of who was doing it.

    I think the salute thing is just reinforcement activity by observers - I think Musk is a Nazi therefore this must have been a Nazi salute
    You'd think the Richest Man in the World could put together a panel of sensible folk who could advise him.

    "OK guys, I'm thinking of giving this gesture. A gesture that is me giving my heart to the world...."

    "Mate - no. At best, you look a dick. At worst, a fascist. So no. Oh - and - get rid of the twat hat. And wear a suit...."



  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526

    @Malmesbury as you’ve conceded, Starlink will stop working as soon as a train goes through a tunnel/cutting.

    Therefore for continuous connectivity they are going to have to supply trackside DAS or similar anyway.

    This issue will end up being a non-starter and will end up being replaced long term by the 4G/5G trackside solution when it’s rolled out country-wide.

    There is no replacement for that. Network Rail have accepted that. Apparently ScotRail are too dumb.

    That's somewhat of a rowing back vs last night where you stridently insisted it wouldn't work on a train at all out in the open.

    Connectivity on the move is hard. Stick enough masts alongside the railway and you can get decent cell coverage. In patches. Train WIFI is slow if it works at all and also disconnects in tunnels. Yes they're sticking some cellular coverage for some networks into some tunnels. But its very very patchy at best.

    Friend of mine in darkest Lincolnshire has just binned FTTC for 5G and its super fast! But where you don't have that option, Starlink works. My average FTTC speed was 35 up. My average 4G speed (there is no 5G) is 30ish up. My average Starlink speed is 130ish - and would be faster if I invested in a new mesh system to replace this old crappy one - or hard wire.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,973

    The Nazis evolved during their time in power; they got worse. Who knows where Musk/Trump will end up politically?

    If your argument is that anyone who is not Yaxley-Lennon is fine, then you're being silly. Musk wants immigration of a very small subset of people; either because they are like him (e.g. white South Africans), or because they are of use to him (engineers who will depress the pay of existing engineers).
    Also even through a Ket induced haze Musk realises railing against immigrants in a country to which he is an immigrant would be extra dumb. No such restraints for countries in which he doesn't live (though I read that Musk is 'spiritually' English).
  • I don't know if you followed the end of the discussion last night - the trains ScotRail are using it from are in the remoter areas of Scotland, where the line will have been constructed for minimal cuttings and tunnels. And there is probably much less track side infrastructure.

    The overall point is that Starlink does work for many users. The whole point (apart from military use), is that by the time you add up a few percent of remote locations, planes, ships (and some trains), mobile users, backhaul for 4/5g etc, the world wide value of the market is many, many billions.

    Which brings us to an interesting point. On many occasions, countries have said that "we are going to stop depending on X". On many fewer occasions, do they actually do so.

    We can try and claim that Starlink doesn't work. And actually end up using it - it's in the process of rolling out on every airline in Europe, for example.

    Or we can build a competitor.

    In the case of Tesla, many countries around the world boast of how many high capacity, public chargers have been installed. Then you look at the how many are Tesla chargers.

    Which means that we need to actually build a decent, inter-compatible network of chargers that actually work, and take payments easily, and don't charge rip-off prices.

    This all goes against the Can't Doism of the Process State. But that is exactly where Musk comes from - when the system abdicates provision, that doesn't mean everyone sits with nicely folded hands.
    The government would be much better off spending the money on rolling out the already planned 4G/5G coverage alongside the railway. They could do this for far less cost than building a Starlink competitor.

    I’m not saying they shouldn’t try and compete against Starlink but there are better uses of money.

    The SRN for its relatively low cost has been a good start.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895

    AFAIAA Musk did not have those obsessions from childhood.

    Interestingly, Bezos did. His graduation speech mentioned that he looked forward to the day that space would be colonised. A local newspaper quoted his intention "to get all people off the earth and see it turned into a huge national park". That was back in 1982.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos
    It's not so much the obsessions, first, as the impact of one's own name, and identity.

    His father must have told him from.a very age, why he was called Elon.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 50,831

    AFAIAA Musk did not have those obsessions from childhood.

    Interestingly, Bezos did. His graduation speech mentioned that he looked forward to the day that space would be colonised. A local newspaper quoted his intention "to get all people off the earth and see it turned into a huge national park". That was back in 1982.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos
    Wasn't his father a big fan of Werner Von Braun's science fictional stories of going to Mars, which is why Elon is named Elon in the first place?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,973
    edited March 10
    tlg86 said:

    Is Twitter/X down? Someone pulled the plugs on Musk?

    It is. Obviously Musk tripped over a cord as he staggered to bed after a marathon 30 hour gaming and tweeting session.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472
    AnneJGP said:

    AIUI, the US 2nd Amendment exists partly to make sure the people can protect themselves against an over-reaching government.
    On the British government and Hitler assassinations. By the time they got serious about it, it was late in the war. Germany was losing. The political consensus was that if they killed Hitler, it would just result in the war carrying on, but risked creating another Stab In The Back myth.

    There was a virtually unanimous belief (my grandfather speaks of it in his diaries) that the war needed to end with Allied troops marching through all the Axis capitals. To make sure the message was plain, this time.
  • The uptime on X since Elon brought it is surely way under the 99% typical SLA.
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    eek said:

    So paying money to a London Taxi driver who happens to have a London Taxi directly puts money into the hands of the Chinese Government.

    Just wanting to make you 100% aware of how stupid your post above is
    Its completely stupid. Deliberately. Because the "unless you sell your Tesla you're supporting the crushing of Ukraine" arguments which some people have posted are also stupid.
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,774
    viewcode said:

    As I have repeatedly pointed out, if you type the words "cis" or "cisgender" in a Tweet, the tweet will be hidden/muted/whatever the word is. Musk considers the terms to be slurs. Whatever else you may think of him, Musk is not, repeat not, a free speech absolutist.

    Can't be stressed enough. Musk is a "I get to decide what speech is allowed" absolutist. Which if not an necessarily an indication of fascism, does show him to be a despot
  • RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 29,526
    viewcode said:

    As I have repeatedly pointed out, if you type the words "cis" or "cisgender" in a Tweet, the tweet will be hidden/muted/whatever the word is. Musk considers the terms to be slurs. Whatever else you may think of him, Musk is not, repeat not, a free speech absolutist.

    Yup. Because Free Speech absolutism is absolutely not free.

    Which is why I came of Twitter.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,935
    algarkirk said:

    Quasi betting post, though there won't bets on it I suspect:

    What are the probabilities/possibilities in the medium term term for USA post 20 January 2025. Here are five:

    Trump over time remains weird but normalises.

    Slow boiling frog: carry on as if this is a normal regime but weird, gradually tightening the screw but, eg, don't invade Canada. NATO debilitated but not abolished. Free and fair elections continue.

    Quicker boiling frog: we end up where it appears rational to MAGA to literally invade Canada. NATO stuffed. Elections rigged.

    Proper Trumpist coup: we wake up one day and find MSNBC, NYT, WSJ are closed, internet is down and Jon Stewart is in prison, elections cancelled, army on the street

    Proper counter coup: We wake up one day and find airports closed, media outlets occupied, Trump and Musk etc arrested and army on the street.

    Of these 5, assuming they cover the terrain, I would put the % at about 5% 35% 25% 20% 15%. Thoughts?

    Not bad! Touch too high the last two. Somewhere between 2 and 3 definitely the likely path.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,299

    I actually disagree with you on both counts. I don't think he is a fascist, although as you say, he is showing many of the signs. But the history books will probably classify him as something different; though still bad.

    And IMV he knew very well what he was doing when he did that salute. And it was done to send messages, and to appeal to certain people. That's the difference from an idiot throwing out a random salute.
    He's achieved great things in other spheres but in politics he is dumb and he is nasty. Specifically, he dog-whistles to fascist sympathisers and he promotes racist far right politicians. As to *why* he does this, ie what is going on deep deep down in his psyche, who knows and I'm not sure it matters. As far as the rest of the world is concerned a person is what they choose to say and do.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,895
    A very *early* age, rather.
    I think Musk co-founded the Mars society in the late '90s. Bezos had a broader space-age interest, but don't forget he's also quite a bit older than Musk. The space-age stuff was much less typical in Musk's Generation X period.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,171

    It's not so much the obsessions, first, as the impact of one's own name, and identity.

    His father must have told him from.a very age, why he was called Elon.
    Named after a character written by a genuine Nazi party member
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,644
    MattW said:

    Second.

    What information do we think will be added by the Local Elections in a few weeks?

    (Apart from that the Conservatives will be mining hopium and copium on a Brobdingnagian scale, given that they hold around 1000 from 1600 seats up for election if my numbers are correct.)

    I've been canvassing quite intensively in Con/Lab/LD/Reform wards in Oxfordshire. They're quite hard to read, since "Nah, not Labour" might mean anything. But FWIW I think Lab's performance will be mediocre rather than awful, and Reform will do better than Tories. I think the spat among Reform MPs is completely passing most people by, though the preoccupation with that has ended the Reform momentum.
  • Yup. Because Free Speech absolutism is absolutely not free.

    Which is why I came of Twitter.
    Honestly the thing about Twitter that I am really confused about is that since Elon bought it, they’ve completely broken the algorithm.

    On every post now the related Tweets are either softcore porn, tweets from Elon himself or posts from Forgotten West. I have no idea how many times I have said “not interested”. I now just ignore them but it almost feels deliberate.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,472

    That's somewhat of a rowing back vs last night where you stridently insisted it wouldn't work on a train at all out in the open.

    Connectivity on the move is hard. Stick enough masts alongside the railway and you can get decent cell coverage. In patches. Train WIFI is slow if it works at all and also disconnects in tunnels. Yes they're sticking some cellular coverage for some networks into some tunnels. But its very very patchy at best.

    Friend of mine in darkest Lincolnshire has just binned FTTC for 5G and its super fast! But where you don't have that option, Starlink works. My average FTTC speed was 35 up. My average 4G speed (there is no 5G) is 30ish up. My average Starlink speed is 130ish - and would be faster if I invested in a new mesh system to replace this old crappy one - or hard wire.
    Hard wire. It's what I did when I moved house.

    So I have fibre (1Gb symmetrical) coming in the wall. Hard wire to the router cupboard. From there to each room and a whole bunch of cables to a wall panel behind the TV in the living room.

    So all the boxes under the TV have got the full bandwidth and no lag. Ping is reported as 1-2ms

    There's (non-meshed) wifi access points (UniFi with fancy beam forming etc) in most of the rooms. The access points also have hard ethernet ports.

  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 64,684

    Not bad! Touch too high the last two. Somewhere between 2 and 3 definitely the likely path.
    One thing that I don't think many americans have firmly grasped is that Trump is now in a Netanyahu situation.

    He has to stay in office to avoid significant interest from the law.

    Ergo he will do anything to remain in office. That includes rigging elections. But may include invading Canada so a national emergency can be declared.

  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 9,340
    Nigelb said:

    Flattery was always something of a delusion; what Trump wants is complete subservience.

    Donald Trump has 'gone cool' on Britain since King Charles welcomed Zelensky to Sandringham, diplomatic sources in Washington have claimed, - Daily Mail

    Allies of the US President have made clear to UK officials in America that pictures of the King with the Ukranian leader made him feel 'less special' about the monarch's invitation for a state visit to Britain.

    https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1898686677201150174

    So it’s working then?

    The subtle art of diplomacy
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,261

    Named after a character written by a genuine Nazi party member
    I didn't know that until today. I do sometimes wonder if I am living in some kind of absurdist satire.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,582

    ARMAGEDDON ALERT Donald Trump says ‘monster’ nukes could be ‘end of the world’ in stark nuclear war warning over missile stockpiles
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33761941/donald-trump-monster-nukes-end-of-world/

    President Trump has floated a new arms control agreement.


    Russia keeps theirs, rest of the World hands theirs over to Russia for safekeeping?
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