What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
From WSJ: “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’… Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.” https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1977498061854355794
If the Democrats fail to retake Congress next year, there's a real danger this becomes permanent.
With a President that the Supreme Court has rules is effectively unconstrained by the law.
This from the same people who told us Biden was in excellent health
My relative-in-law quite upset today. A large family tour of impeccably liberal, anti-Netanyahu relatives of my wife went on a large family tour to north-east London for retrace the roots and steps of their Jewish ancestors. . All was going well, and a lovely family day out in the autumn sun, until a passer-by, possibly from Somalia or somewhere in the same region, overhead that the group was Jewish. He started swearing and threatening the whole group, and screaming at them to stop bombing the Palestinians, in between spitting on them. Two of the group were very liberal healthcare workers who calmed him down, from both a professional and political point of view, before he got violent.
Family day partially ruined. The hatred out there is still very raw and real, particularly after two years of the conflict.
The irony is that Gaza, though tragic, is an irrelevant distraction to the conflict that really matters to the free world, which is in Ukraine. But many people are much more passionate about Gaza. Putin can only be delighted by that. However the war ends, I think future generations will judge us harshly for not helping the brave Ukrainians a lot more.
Indeed.
And the brave Venezuelans, Greenlanders and Canadians when Trump sends in the gunboats. How many will stand by them?
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
Two points:
*) we are nearly living in such a dystopia; it is just private companies misusing your data rather than the state. Some think that's fine; others are really concerned about it. This is not a reason to go ahead with state ID cards; far from, in fact; but it does need recognising. And I am unsure how to put that genie back into the bottle.
*) you might think that Reform/MAGA is the way not to turn into some type of 1984-style dystopia. But that's because you're white, British and male. If you were a member of a minority, or female, or disabled, then you might find a MAGA-style party *is* worse than a 1984-style dystopia. Their mantra is simple: control anyone who is different to us.
Real-time monitoring of the entire population, both physical and online, combined with AI, facial recognition, cloud-based computing, will enable the Government to know every detail and action of your life and retrieve it at a moment's notice .
Why do technologists look at the dystopic parts of speculative fiction for inspiration?
On Blair, I'm not surprised he is supportive of ID cards, but isn't he basically in the pocket of the Oracle bloke now, so has to back up any techn idea going?
Blair wanted ID cards decades ago, and even passed an Identity Cards Act that was later repealed by the coalition.
Has anyone done a study on the issue of muscle loss associated with using the weight loss drugs. I wonder if we are storing up a problem for the future. What we do know is that people who are physically active as they go into old age, and have good muscle mass, do much better in terms of staying active and out of hospital.
It's a good question. However, I would note that most of my friends who are on one of the weight loss drugs have also taken up exercise.
I've had a break from the extensive walking in Sept, and now I'm gearing up to get a better habit rolling for winter with the intention of being as far as I can manage under 100kg by spring. Medium term target is 90kg, but I'm not going onto a carnivore diet like Bart.
I'm told I can't use such concoctions, so it's back to the old fashioned methods.
At least I get to feel smug.
I suspect it is best to do the traditional "moderation in all things". I'm seeing too many Shlock Horror pieces about people who have lost X stone, and are now complaining they can't get free skin-flap removal surgery.
Real-time monitoring of the entire population, both physical and online, combined with AI, facial recognition, cloud-based computing, will enable the Government to know every detail and action of your life and retrieve it at a moment's notice .
Why do technologists look at the dystopic parts of speculative fiction for inspiration?
(Snip)
They don't; not always. The iPad is somewhat based on a whole series of product designs that were influenced by the Kay's Dynabook from 1972 or the earlier Rand Tablet. It was even on the big screen as the 'Newspad' in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
There's an excellent book that highlights the way that science has stolen from science fiction, and science fiction has stolen from science, in a sort of virtuous circle. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the book's name.
From WSJ: “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’… Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.” https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1977498061854355794
If the Democrats fail to retake Congress next year, there's a real danger this becomes permanent.
With a President that the Supreme Court has rules is effectively unconstrained by the law.
This from the same people who told us Biden was in excellent health
Repubican staffers told us Biden was in excellent health?
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Here in Malaysia everyone carries their ID card with them at all times but no one seems to be too bothered about that. When you buy petrol there is a 25% discount for ID card holders. When you show your ID card at hospital/doctors you get charged a fraction of what a foreign passport holder has to pay (ie me). The government is paying every IC card holder 100MYR (18GBP, usable on food and essentials every three months. There are other benefits as well that are only accessible if you have an ID card. That's a great way of ensuring people sign onto the idea of having an ID card in the first place.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
The recent removal of the exemption for fully EV cars is somewhat odd. Fifteen year old Volvo? That will be £20 please, modern cheap EV? £200.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Real-time monitoring of the entire population, both physical and online, combined with AI, facial recognition, cloud-based computing, will enable the Government to know every detail and action of your life and retrieve it at a moment's notice .
Why do technologists look at the dystopic parts of speculative fiction for inspiration?
(Snip)
They don't; not always. The iPad is somewhat based on a whole series of product designs that were influenced by the Kay's Dynabook from 1972 or the earlier Rand Tablet. It was even on the big screen as the 'Newspad' in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
There's an excellent book that highlights the way that science has stolen from science fiction, and science fiction has stolen from science, in a sort of virtuous circle. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the book's name.
Science fiction and fantasy generally reflects contemporary fears, so most imaginary worlds are dystopian. So, you get extremely advanced forms of technology coexisting with widespread chattel slavery.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
A problem is 'the law' you mention conflicts with other laws, such as refugee law. Many of this web of laws are international agreements. Hence a simple statement: "We should be able to deport illegal immigrants" becomes a quagmire of rights and responsibilities that lawyers can argue over.
The question is whether these laws should, and can, be changed - especially where they are international agreements.
There are also practical matters: where should they be deported to, and what happens if that place doesn't want them either?
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
The recent removal of the exemption for fully EV cars is somewhat odd. Fifteen year old Volvo? That will be £20 please, modern cheap EV? £200.
The whole EV system needs more thinking about than either I or the government can manage at 6am. Subsidising EVs to get polluting ICEs off the road is undoubtedly good. Subsidising the car industries of foreign and potentially hostile nations – is that so admirable?
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
The recent removal of the exemption for fully EV cars is somewhat odd. Fifteen year old Volvo? That will be £20 please, modern cheap EV? £200.
If they didn’t, eventually there would be no money coming in, and the earlier done, the easier
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
The recent removal of the exemption for fully EV cars is somewhat odd. Fifteen year old Volvo? That will be £20 please, modern cheap EV? £200.
The whole EV system needs more thinking about than either I or the government can manage at 6am. Subsidising EVs to get polluting ICEs off the road is undoubtedly good. Subsidising the car industries of foreign and potentially hostile nations – is that so admirable?
The other angle to this is that modern EVs are so much better and cheaper to run than petrol cars that they hardly really need subsidizing any more.
Arguably keeping the old Volvo running is actually OK since building a new car has quite a big environmental cost that you only make up for when it's used. The place to make the Volvo driver pay is when they actually drive the car around, which you can do better with the petrol tax.
From WSJ: “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’… Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.” https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1977498061854355794
If the Democrats fail to retake Congress next year, there's a real danger this becomes permanent.
With a President that the Supreme Court has rules is effectively unconstrained by the law.
There was a clip last week where Steven Miller asserted live on air that Trump has 'plenary powers'. Others here will know far better than me what that means - aiui unlimited & unquestionable executive powers.
"Under Title 10 of the US Code, the President has plenary authority."
There's a short analysis here, from a lefty viewpoint by Phil Moorhouse (he's one I agree with often but by no means always): https://youtu.be/pT7FG0QzSt0?t=37
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Before you deport your illegals you first need to identify them. That's where the surveillance state comes into being, whether you are for it or against it.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Before you deport your illegals you first need to identify them. That's where the surveillance state comes into being, whether you are for it or against it.
Is this so hard to understand?
The problem isn’t identifying them. They are routinely ignored. Why would this change?
Has anyone done a study on the issue of muscle loss associated with using the weight loss drugs. I wonder if we are storing up a problem for the future. What we do know is that people who are physically active as they go into old age, and have good muscle mass, do much better in terms of staying active and out of hospital.
It's a good question. However, I would note that most of my friends who are on one of the weight loss drugs have also taken up exercise.
I've had a break from the extensive walking in Sept, and now I'm gearing up to get a better habit rolling for winter with the intention of being as far as I can manage under 100kg by spring. Medium term target is 90kg, but I'm not going onto a carnivore diet like Bart.
I'm told I can't use such concoctions, so it's back to the old fashioned methods.
At least I get to feel smug.
I suspect it is best to do the traditional "moderation in all things". I'm seeing too many Shlock Horror pieces about people who have lost X stone, and are now complaining they can't get free skin-flap removal surgery.
It's pretty easy if you can ruthlessly cut out carbs like sugar, bread and pasta.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
Not often taking much notice, I'd thought the Nobel prizes were annual things and that this very real achievement was just too late for this one but a solid entry for the next. Wouldn't it be contrary to the spirit of the thing to judge the scale of the effort / achievement / impact just because they don't care for the bloke?
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
Yesterday I read that the violence had already started between the various factions.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
That’s a very good quote to remember!
Yes the whole cable news business is dying a death, Paramount are hoping they can can get CBS News ahead of the curve and move to a mostly online business model as quickly as possible. Hence buying out an existing successful online property, and bringing in their people to turn things around. Not an easy job we agree.
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
This isn't just journos it was announced by Shadow Minister for I can't remember what (Chicken Runs?) Ric Holden.
It does seem like an example of the sort of tax a cheerless fun vacuum like Reeves would adopt.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
Trump made the point himself that he'd told Netanyahu he couldn't continue to back him against the whole of the rest of the world. So it's arguable that Starmer's shift on recognising Palestine had a minor effect.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
Billionaires buying up legacy media properties like this one isn't really about the business case, though, is it ?
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
Real-time monitoring of the entire population, both physical and online, combined with AI, facial recognition, cloud-based computing, will enable the Government to know every detail and action of your life and retrieve it at a moment's notice .
Why do technologists look at the dystopic parts of speculative fiction for inspiration?
(Snip)
They don't; not always. The iPad is somewhat based on a whole series of product designs that were influenced by the Kay's Dynabook from 1972 or the earlier Rand Tablet. It was even on the big screen as the 'Newspad' in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
There's an excellent book that highlights the way that science has stolen from science fiction, and science fiction has stolen from science, in a sort of virtuous circle. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the book's name.
Science fiction and fantasy generally reflects contemporary fears, so most imaginary worlds are dystopian. So, you get extremely advanced forms of technology coexisting with widespread chattel slavery.
It makes perfect sense. Technology now enables constant surveillance and tracking of actions. Ban money and every transaction can be taxed by the government, every purchase logged, a record made of every location. The rush of technology is sacrificing freedom, anonymity, and privacy in exchange for convenience, efficiency, and dependence upon devices and algorithms.
There is outrage in the classic car world because apparently Rachel Reeves plans to jettison the 40 year old plus classic car vehicle excise duty exemption.
I have no idea if this is true or not. I hope not, but the source is reliable. It is non other than PB favourite and the man who gave us Currygate, Durham and Essex's very own Ric Holden.
Ric has found a shed load of other taxes Rachel Reeves is about to drop on you too.
I missed out the crucial word (EXEMPTION) that makes the removal of the classic car tax exemption so incendiary. Sorry about that.
A measure that will raise about £2.50 – this is yet another example of bored journalists and trolls brainstorming every measure imaginable and claiming Reeves is considering it. Then afterwards, said journalist or political opponent looks like a genius if it happens or a saviour if it does not, since they can claim it is their publicity which made Reeves back off.
The recent removal of the exemption for fully EV cars is somewhat odd. Fifteen year old Volvo? That will be £20 please, modern cheap EV? £200.
The primary role of tax is to raise money.
There is no longer really any need to subsidise electric cars, and by doing so you are subsidising wealthy people who can afford new cars, and not poor people who desperately need a car to get them to work because public transport is so shit.
What is needed are measures to ensure that people can change at home.
There's now a string of German polls showing AfD overtaking CDU as Germany's lead party. AfD is riding popular discontent on immigration and will keep growing unless the political center finally confronts this issue. If the center is "too posh" to do that, AfD will keep rising...
Germany’s net immigration in 2024 was 2.5% of what it was in 2022. Not down 2.5%, no. It was just 2.5% of what it was: 36,954 in 2024 compared to 1,462,000. That suggests to me that the political centre has confronted the issue of immigration.
Real-time monitoring of the entire population, both physical and online, combined with AI, facial recognition, cloud-based computing, will enable the Government to know every detail and action of your life and retrieve it at a moment's notice .
Why do technologists look at the dystopic parts of speculative fiction for inspiration?
(Snip)
They don't; not always. The iPad is somewhat based on a whole series of product designs that were influenced by the Kay's Dynabook from 1972 or the earlier Rand Tablet. It was even on the big screen as the 'Newspad' in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
There's an excellent book that highlights the way that science has stolen from science fiction, and science fiction has stolen from science, in a sort of virtuous circle. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the book's name.
Science fiction and fantasy generally reflects contemporary fears, so most imaginary worlds are dystopian. So, you get extremely advanced forms of technology coexisting with widespread chattel slavery.
It makes perfect sense. Technology now enables constant surveillance and tracking of actions. Ban money and every transaction can be taxed by the government, every purchase logged, a record made of every location. The rush of technology is sacrificing freedom, anonymity, and privacy in exchange for convenience, efficiency, and dependence upon devices and algorithms.
Good morning, everyone.
This is Wizard of Oz stuff. Reality behind the curtain is that those using the information (which is usually corrupted in some way) are not very good.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Taz, I cannot see it lasting, Hamas needed breathing space , thousands of them left and they are going nowhere. They will be running Gaza overtly or covertly in the future and will not be cuddling Israelis.
From WSJ: “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’… Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.” https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1977498061854355794
If the Democrats fail to retake Congress next year, there's a real danger this becomes permanent.
With a President that the Supreme Court has rules is effectively unconstrained by the law.
This from the same people who told us Biden was in excellent health
A little sidepoint on Ukraine: the fight for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut lasted a year, and ended with Russian victory in May 2023. I thought I'd just take a look at the current frontlines (1) to see how far Russia had progressed from the town in over two years. I was expecting a long way.
The frontlines are about fifteen kilometres from the centre of the town. In over two years.
When we talk about Russian advances, we should not think of the Blitzkrieg; instead, we should think of General Melchett's map of the ground taken.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Deportations are up under Labour compared to what they had become under the Tories.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
You’d think she’d be briefed if she’s doing the morning tv rounds
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
Not often taking much notice, I'd thought the Nobel prizes were annual things and that this very real achievement was just too late for this one but a solid entry for the next. Wouldn't it be contrary to the spirit of the thing to judge the scale of the effort / achievement / impact just because they don't care for the bloke?
Good morning, everyone.
I thought that I had read that it was more to do with the insider trading opportunities. The only way I see to make loads of money off a Trump nomination for a Nobel is not to give it to him.
There's now a string of German polls showing AfD overtaking CDU as Germany's lead party. AfD is riding popular discontent on immigration and will keep growing unless the political center finally confronts this issue. If the center is "too posh" to do that, AfD will keep rising...
Germany’s net immigration in 2024 was 2.5% of what it was in 2022. Not down 2.5%, no. It was just 2.5% of what it was: 36,954 in 2024 compared to 1,462,000. That suggests to me that the political centre has confronted the issue of immigration.
That's an astonishing figure. It also shows how little political benefit there is to cutting immigration.
The anti-immigration mob wants more, they want the ethnic cleansing of re-migration, of legal immigrants and citizens too.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
I am struggling to see what political slant Ms Weiss brings to bear on CBS. She claims to be a "left leaning centrist" yet her detractors call her right wing. Her body of work would very much suggest she is a Zionist. She is apparently a lesbian who disapproves of trans rights.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Deportations are up under Labour compared to what they had become under the Tories.
I’m not making this party political, it’s the difference between sod all and next to sod all. The British state had somehow decided that it was fine to turn a blind eye to illegal migration and the black economy it sustains.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
Not often taking much notice, I'd thought the Nobel prizes were annual things and that this very real achievement was just too late for this one but a solid entry for the next. Wouldn't it be contrary to the spirit of the thing to judge the scale of the effort / achievement / impact just because they don't care for the bloke?
Good morning, everyone.
Nominations close end of January. If it holds then he will deserve the prize, albeit likely shared with Bibi and the leader of Hamas (however unpleasant that might be)
There's now a string of German polls showing AfD overtaking CDU as Germany's lead party. AfD is riding popular discontent on immigration and will keep growing unless the political center finally confronts this issue. If the center is "too posh" to do that, AfD will keep rising...
Germany’s net immigration in 2024 was 2.5% of what it was in 2022. Not down 2.5%, no. It was just 2.5% of what it was: 36,954 in 2024 compared to 1,462,000. That suggests to me that the political centre has confronted the issue of immigration.
That's an astonishing figure. It also shows how little political benefit there is to cutting immigration.
The anti-immigration mob wants more, they want the ethnic cleansing of re-migration, of legal immigrants and citizens too.
Well, it hasn't made much difference in the short term. There are still 1.4 million people who moved to Germany three years ago.
I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel. In particular, I want to recognize the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
I drove up from Dundee to Inverness yesterday evening. There did, in fairness, seem to be a serious chunk of dualling going on north of Aviemore. I don't know if it was that we were all more focused on the football commentary but there was also less Kamikaze overtaking than normal. Both the Aviemore turn off and the junction with House of Bruar had their moments though. The scenery is great but its not a fun road.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
And one would assume showing their citizenship is sufficient for them to be released? I’m sure they’ll be cases of over officious bad behaviour, but it won’t be out of kilter to general law enforcement.
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
There's now a string of German polls showing AfD overtaking CDU as Germany's lead party. AfD is riding popular discontent on immigration and will keep growing unless the political center finally confronts this issue. If the center is "too posh" to do that, AfD will keep rising...
Germany’s net immigration in 2024 was 2.5% of what it was in 2022. Not down 2.5%, no. It was just 2.5% of what it was: 36,954 in 2024 compared to 1,462,000. That suggests to me that the political centre has confronted the issue of immigration.
That's an astonishing figure. It also shows how little political benefit there is to cutting immigration.
The anti-immigration mob wants more, they want the ethnic cleansing of re-migration, of legal immigrants and citizens too.
Well, it hasn't made much difference in the short term. There are still 1.4 million people who moved to Germany three years ago.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
I agree - though the safety aspect of dualling is a bit overdone IMO - a lot cheaper and immediately effective to drop the speed limit to 40mph at Ralia, Carrbridge, the Aviemore junctions. I do 40mph there anyway because I don't fancy get smashed off the road by a tourist. I concede that some of the horrific head-ons where people forget it's not dualled would be resolved however.
From an economic perspective, the biggest bang-for-buck would be bypassing Nairn, Elgin and Keith. Dualling the A9 and A96 have become central belt shibboleths - virtue signalling Highland credentials. Do the low-hanging fruit as a matter of priority and then we can think about the rest.
From WSJ: “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’… Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.” https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1977498061854355794
If the Democrats fail to retake Congress next year, there's a real danger this becomes permanent.
With a President that the Supreme Court has rules is effectively unconstrained by the law.
There was a clip last week where Steven Miller asserted live on air that Trump has 'plenary powers'. Others here will know far better than me what that means - aiui unlimited & unquestionable executive powers.
"Under Title 10 of the US Code, the President has plenary authority."
There's a short analysis here, from a lefty viewpoint by Phil Moorhouse (he's one I agree with often but by no means always): https://youtu.be/pT7FG0QzSt0?t=37
US code (legislation) also places extremely strict limits on the domestic use of the military. And also places limits on its use overseas.
So "plenary" in this context does not mean unlimited. The President has unquestioned commanding authority over the armed forces, but only within the constraints set by law.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
Every day a learning day - please can you tell me what 'secular' means in this context?
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
And one would assume showing their citizenship is sufficient for them to be released? I’m sure they’ll be cases of over officious bad behaviour, but it won’t be out of kilter to general law enforcement.
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
No one opposes deporting illegal immigrants.
It's the carrying of ID documents that people are opposing. In effect this would be compulsory under Faragism for everyone who is not white with a local accent.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
It's worse: your neighbours will be in on the action.
I've never been more disappointed in people than I was during Covid, when everyone was quite happy (even pleased) to snitch on each other and then stop other people having social lives and having fun even when it was allowed.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
I drove up from Dundee to Inverness yesterday evening. There did, in fairness, seem to be a serious chunk of dualling going on north of Aviemore. I don't know if it was that we were all more focused on the football commentary but there was also less Kamikaze overtaking than normal. Both the Aviemore turn off and the junction with House of Bruar had their moments though. The scenery is great but its not a fun road.
Do your homework, check out the amount of duelling that has been completed in the last 18 years of either the A9 or A96 routes, and also the amount of accidents that have happened in the non duelled areas of the roads particularly the A9 compared to the duelled arears of the routes! By the way, Dundee remains a fecking nightmare to navigate at any time, a real pain considering its the main route from Aberdeen heading South to Perth but again, its a real SNP heartland....
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
Tony Blair's video upthread just extolled the benefits of facial recognition cameras in busy places like train stations and airports, and to help find missing people from police control centres.
The implication: you'll be monitored and tracked in the public realm all the time.
Managing sucks! It sucks even when you like the people you’re managing and it’s a low-stress position! And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: running CBS News is not a low-stress position. You are going to get blamed by everyone above you for decisions that are made by people below you, and you are going to get blamed by people below you for the decisions that are made by people above you. You’re also going to get blamed for your own decisions, just for kicks. You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!
Watching the American media totally lose their mind, over the appointment of someone that five years ago they would have described as a role model for young gay women, has been rather amusing to watch. They’re all absolutely terrified that she might succeed.
She definitely has quite the challenge ahead, but the biggest part of it will be dealing with those inside the organisation who desparately want her to fail. Good luck to her.
I have been a Free Press subscriber for a long time, and I think Nate Silver got this one absolutely right (as he gets many things absolutely right): this is a fucking shitty terrible job. "But my one (1) fresh take is that a management job where many people don’t want you there doesn’t sound very fun. Like if Paramount offered me $150m and the EIC job at CBS News, I’d counter with $150m and I never have to step within 100 yards of the CBS News building."
I have a feeling that the $150m buyout of TFP was somewhat conditional on Ms Weiss taking the job at CBS News.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
Of course: they bought The Free Press to buy Ms Weiss's talents.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
Every day a learning day - please can you tell me what 'secular' means in this context?
It means the industry itself is in long term (probably inexorable) decline, rather than the particular business being on the slide.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
And one would assume showing their citizenship is sufficient for them to be released? I’m sure they’ll be cases of over officious bad behaviour, but it won’t be out of kilter to general law enforcement.
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
No one opposes deporting illegal immigrants.
It's the carrying of ID documents that people are opposing. In effect this would be compulsory under Faragism for everyone who is not white with a local accent.
Wouldnt it be better for all of us if the current administration didn't set up the apparatus that would allow him to do that? Shouldnt all of us think about how our enemies would use the powers and laws we advocate our friends to have over us?
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
This is all very weird. Deporting illegal immigrants is not an extreme fa right position. It is the law and until about 5 minutes ago not controversial, and you don’t need a court order to do it.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
Deportations are up under Labour compared to what they had become under the Tories.
I’m not making this party political, it’s the difference between sod all and next to sod all. The British state had somehow decided that it was fine to turn a blind eye to illegal migration and the black economy it sustains.
That ship sailed long ago.
A relative in the building business was told in the early 2000s that it was unofficial policy to ignore illegal building work (cash in hand, illegal employment, sub minimum wage) generally.
Told someone in the Cabinet Office - he’d been trying to get some movement on the problem. Which was there were large areas of London where running legitimate, tax paying building company was next to impossible.
Because it was good for the economy.
The estimate, these days, is that a million people are working here illegally. Shut that down and you have a recession, immediately.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
Tony Blair's video upthread just extolled the benefits of facial recognition cameras in busy places like train stations and airports, and to help find missing people from police control centres.
The implication: you'll be monitored and tracked in the public realm all the time.
Don’t worry. The bit where facial recognition unfairly targets random black people won’t happen here. Despite the software being the same as in the US where it has happened multiple times.
It’s like Boom & Bust. It’s not a Tory Surveillance State. It’s a Labour Surveillance State. When they shoot random electricians for being a bit dark, they feel bad about it.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
That’s not what the Tories suggested it.
“Modelled on” does not mean “identical to”
Which bit then? The balaclavas? Or the shite cardio?
A little sidepoint on Ukraine: the fight for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut lasted a year, and ended with Russian victory in May 2023. I thought I'd just take a look at the current frontlines (1) to see how far Russia had progressed from the town in over two years. I was expecting a long way.
The frontlines are about fifteen kilometres from the centre of the town. In over two years.
When we talk about Russian advances, we should not think of the Blitzkrieg; instead, we should think of General Melchett's map of the ground taken.
I don’t know specifically, but I wouldn’t be surprised if 80% of that ground was captured within 2 weeks of the fall of Bakhmut as the Ukrainians regrouped and they have moved very little since then
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
You’d think she’d be briefed if she’s doing the morning tv rounds
She had been. “We had nothing to do with it but you can’t say that so make something up”
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
You’d think she’d be briefed if she’s doing the morning tv rounds
She had been. “We had nothing to do with it but you can’t say that so make something up”
FFS
Q - “Was the British Government involved?” A - “At this delicate juncture, talking about who did what, would be counter productive. The government is working in every way we can to help bring about a lasting and just peace in the region. As are many, many other countries.”
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
And one would assume showing their citizenship is sufficient for them to be released? I’m sure they’ll be cases of over officious bad behaviour, but it won’t be out of kilter to general law enforcement.
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
No one opposes deporting illegal immigrants.
It's the carrying of ID documents that people are opposing. In effect this would be compulsory under Faragism for everyone who is not white with a local accent.
Wouldnt it be better for all of us if the current administration didn't set up the apparatus that would allow him to do that? Shouldnt all of us think about how our enemies would use the powers and laws we advocate our friends to have over us?
Further, it isn’t the carrying ID cards that quite a lot of people object to. See driving licenses.
An ID card in the style of most countries around the world isn’t a problem.
It’s the idea of joining up all the data in a Minority Report style, all encompassing system with no access control. Just like Blair was pushing the last time.
So a random council official can ask the system to list all the Muslims (say), with name and addresses in a specific area.
Nothing could possibly go wrong with that. No sir.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Or in Kemi's case, passports won't be needed because her ICE thugs will just put up facial recognition cameras.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
Tony Blair's video upthread just extolled the benefits of facial recognition cameras in busy places like train stations and airports, and to help find missing people from police control centres.
The implication: you'll be monitored and tracked in the public realm all the time.
Don’t worry. The bit where facial recognition unfairly targets random black people won’t happen here. Despite the software being the same as in the US where it has happened multiple times.
It’s like Boom & Bust. It’s not a Tory Surveillance State. It’s a Labour Surveillance State. When they shoot random electricians for being a bit dark, they feel bad about it.
Well, it's not that they feel bad about it, it's that the electrician feels good about it, as he knows it was done sensitively and equitably in the cause of a better, kinder society.
What's the Green Party's attitude to ID cards? Is it too much to ask for that they might be against the idea.
You are obsessed! Are you an asylum seeker?
I'm totally obsessed with the country not turning into some type of 1984-style dystopia where the government monitors everything people do. Is there something wrong with that? Or perhaps you read the book and thought — this sounds quite attractive.
People will have to carry their passports when Farages ICE thugs start sweeping the streets for deportations without due legal process.
The threat to civil liberties there is real not theoretical.
Rolls eyes
Why? That's what both the Conservatives and Reform have suggested. You might quite like the sound of that but it's not hyperbole to suggest a lot of British citizens will get caught up in it, because that's exactly what is happening in the US.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
And one would assume showing their citizenship is sufficient for them to be released? I’m sure they’ll be cases of over officious bad behaviour, but it won’t be out of kilter to general law enforcement.
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
No one opposes deporting illegal immigrants.
It's the carrying of ID documents that people are opposing. In effect this would be compulsory under Faragism for everyone who is not white with a local accent.
Wouldnt it be better for all of us if the current administration didn't set up the apparatus that would allow him to do that? Shouldnt all of us think about how our enemies would use the powers and laws we advocate our friends to have over us?
Further, it isn’t the carrying ID cards that quite a lot of people object to. See driving licenses.
An ID card in the style of most countries around the world isn’t a problem.
It’s the idea of joining up all the data in a Minority Report style, all encompassing system with no access control. Just like Blair was pushing the last time.
So a random council official can ask the system to list all the Muslims (say), with name and addresses in a specific area.
Nothing could possibly go wrong with that. No sir.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
Trump made the point himself that he'd told Netanyahu he couldn't continue to back him against the whole of the rest of the world. So it's arguable that Starmer's shift on recognising Palestine had a minor effect.
Phillipson was ridiculous.
One of the government’s only vaguely decent points of messaging/narrative is that Starmer is some kind of international relations guru (your mileage would very much vary on that), so it doesn’t surprise me that ministers were told to big up our contribution when doing the rounds.
My relative-in-law quite upset today. A large family tour of impeccably liberal, anti-Netanyahu relatives of my wife went on a large family tour to north-east London for retrace the roots and steps of their Jewish ancestors. . All was going well, and a lovely family day out in the autumn sun, until a passer-by, possibly from Somalia or somewhere in the same region, overhead that the group was Jewish. He started swearing and threatening the whole group, and screaming at them to stop bombing the Palestinians, in between spitting on them. Two of the group were very liberal healthcare workers who calmed him down, from both a professional and political point of view, before he got violent.
Family day partially ruined. The hatred out there is still very raw and real, particularly after two years of the conflict.
The irony is that Gaza, though tragic, is an irrelevant distraction to the conflict that really matters to the free world, which is in Ukraine. But many people are much more passionate about Gaza. Putin can only be delighted by that. However the war ends, I think future generations will judge us harshly for not helping the brave Ukrainians a lot more.
Morning,.P.B.
Indeed, although I think for some people, prejudices will always remain. The lunatic yesterday was also shouting that the area didn't need Jewish money.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
Yes should have been done many years ago when Tories and Labour raped and pillaged Scotland to send all our money to rebuild London and English motorways. Get a grip, only a looney Tory could come out with the guff that it is solely SNP's problem.
7 hostages transferred to the Red Cross, on their way to the IDF.
All good. Tbh I'd been bracing myself for extremists on one side or the other committing some outrage to provoke their enemies into calling off the deal, but it seems to be holding. Huzzah for President Trump (and Keir Starmer, apparently, which is where the header comes in) and boo to the Nobel committee for awarding the peace prize a week too early.
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
If Trump gets this over the line and gets a form of peace he deserves the Nobel prize.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
Dunno but it was enough to get Starmer a ticket. It might be that recognition of Palestine gave Hamas and others on that side enough of a fig leaf to get their agreement but I doubt Bridget Phillipson would have been involved anyway.
Trump made the point himself that he'd told Netanyahu he couldn't continue to back him against the whole of the rest of the world. So it's arguable that Starmer's shift on recognising Palestine had a minor effect.
Phillipson was ridiculous.
One of the government’s only vaguely decent points of messaging/narrative is that Starmer is some kind of international relations guru (your mileage would very much vary on that), so it doesn’t surprise me that ministers were told to big up our contribution when doing the rounds.
He seems desperate to get his airmiles up for sure, hardly ever in the UK.
Just catching up with PB over last couple of days and I feel incredible strongly about this issue that Big G NorthWales brought up. Its a bloody disgrace that the A9 and the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen remain such dangerous roads, add to that the amount of pregnant women who have to travel both roads to give birth when in labour in all weathers. That is now on the awful and incompetent SNP Government of the last eighteen years, most of whom don't live anywhere near these areas!!
FPT. Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth . Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK ______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
I drove up from Dundee to Inverness yesterday evening. There did, in fairness, seem to be a serious chunk of dualling going on north of Aviemore. I don't know if it was that we were all more focused on the football commentary but there was also less Kamikaze overtaking than normal. Both the Aviemore turn off and the junction with House of Bruar had their moments though. The scenery is great but its not a fun road.
Do your homework, check out the amount of duelling that has been completed in the last 18 years of either the A9 or A96 routes, and also the amount of accidents that have happened in the non duelled areas of the roads particularly the A9 compared to the duelled arears of the routes! By the way, Dundee remains a fecking nightmare to navigate at any time, a real pain considering its the main route from Aberdeen heading South to Perth but again, its a real SNP heartland....
You are not biased at all No Sir. David showing you what a sensible Tory sounds like.
Comments
And the brave Venezuelans, Greenlanders and Canadians when Trump sends in the gunboats. How many will stand by them?
*) we are nearly living in such a dystopia; it is just private companies misusing your data rather than the state. Some think that's fine; others are really concerned about it. This is not a reason to go ahead with state ID cards; far from, in fact; but it does need recognising. And I am unsure how to put that genie back into the bottle.
*) you might think that Reform/MAGA is the way not to turn into some type of 1984-style dystopia. But that's because you're white, British and male. If you were a member of a minority, or female, or disabled, then you might find a MAGA-style party *is* worse than a 1984-style dystopia. Their mantra is simple: control anyone who is different to us.
I'm told I can't use such concoctions, so it's back to the old fashioned methods.
At least I get to feel smug.
I suspect it is best to do the traditional "moderation in all things". I'm seeing too many Shlock Horror pieces about people who have lost X stone, and are now complaining they can't get free skin-flap removal surgery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook
There's an excellent book that highlights the way that science has stolen from science fiction, and science fiction has stolen from science, in a sort of virtuous circle. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the book's name.
Yes it must be pretty horrible to work as a manager in an environment where many of the staff hate your guts. Presumably she’s been given wide authority to start firing people who get in the way of what Paramount management want to achieve, which is to be fair a pretty wholesale transformation of the channel. I’d say they’re looking to replicate TFP but in broadcast, probably aiming for something not too dissimilar to the BBC. Which would make it just about the only watchable US news channel.
But it's all OK, because she's also promised to scrap stamp duty.
The shocking thing is that illegals are no longer routinely deported when caught.
It ‘went on fire’ again last night. 🔥
https://x.com/osinttechnical/status/1977484288414154758
The question is whether these laws should, and can, be changed - especially where they are international agreements.
There are also practical matters: where should they be deported to, and what happens if that place doesn't want them either?
Arguably keeping the old Volvo running is actually OK since building a new car has quite a big environmental cost that you only make up for when it's used. The place to make the Volvo driver pay is when they actually drive the car around, which you can do better with the petrol tax.
"Under Title 10 of the US Code, the President has plenary authority."
There's a short analysis here, from a lefty viewpoint by Phil Moorhouse (he's one I agree with often but by no means always):
https://youtu.be/pT7FG0QzSt0?t=37
Is this so hard to understand?
What comes next? There's an awful lot of rubble to be replaced, and there have been reports of Hamas shoring up their people on the ground against other Palestinian candidates for governance and policing roles in the new Gaza.
God knows what we did. Bridget Phillipson couldn’t say when pressed.
I am reminded, though, of the Warren Buffett quote:
When a management with a reputation for brilliance takes over a business with a reputation for mediocrity, it is usually the business which keeps its reputation.
No matter how good Ms Weiss is, she's joining a business in secular decline, which also has seven seas of political shit attached.
Good morning, everyone.
Yes the whole cable news business is dying a death, Paramount are hoping they can can get CBS News ahead of the curve and move to a mostly online business model as quickly as possible. Hence buying out an existing successful online property, and bringing in their people to turn things around. Not an easy job we agree.
It does seem like an example of the sort of tax a cheerless fun vacuum like Reeves would adopt.
Phillipson was ridiculous.
Masked, unidentifiable and non-local state officials with assault rifles pulling random non-white people off the streets because they are unable to obtain a warrant from a judge. They're now targeting the people protesting it too. #pbcivicliberties
Good morning, everyone.
There is no longer really any need to subsidise electric cars, and by doing so you are subsidising wealthy people who can afford new cars, and not poor people who desperately need a car to get them to work because public transport is so shit.
What is needed are measures to ensure that people can change at home.
https://x.com/tphuang/status/1977560731236352084
The frontlines are about fifteen kilometres from the centre of the town. In over two years.
When we talk about Russian advances, we should not think of the Blitzkrieg; instead, we should think of General Melchett's map of the ground taken.
(1): https://liveuamap.com/
The anti-immigration mob wants more, they want the ethnic cleansing of re-migration, of legal immigrants and citizens too.
Something of an enigma.
FPT.
Big_G_NorthWales said:
» show previous quotes
We have travelled from Llandudno to Lossiemouth countless times and use the M6, M74, then to Perth, A9 to Aviemore, then on to Elgin and Lossiemouth
.
Occasionally we have gone via Edinburgh and the M90 but the first route is our preferred choice
The lack of dualling the A9 to Inverness is disgraceful and it remains one of the most dangerous roads in UK
______
The A9 should have been duelled years ago, and it would have saved so many lives, ditto the awful A96. I came from Aviemore and most locals living along the full length of both routes all know the notorious accident blackspots, there is a horrible junction leading onto the A9 outside Aviemore and one leading onto the A96 from Aberdeenshire that we rarely use for good reason, seriously heart in mouth!! I sadly know people who have lost their lives on these roads.
@SEPeaceMissions
I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel. In particular, I want to recognize the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.
https://x.com/SEPeaceMissions/status/1977613594499199390
People are really losing their minds about something that people thought was been done routinely anyway, and is probably coming a bit of a shock that is no longer done.
I would imagine the support for the removal of illegal immigrants in the uk is really quite high, and why wouldn’t it be?
From an economic perspective, the biggest bang-for-buck would be bypassing Nairn, Elgin and Keith. Dualling the A9 and A96 have become central belt shibboleths - virtue signalling Highland credentials. Do the low-hanging fruit as a matter of priority and then we can think about the rest.
NEW THREAD
So "plenary" in this context does not mean unlimited. The President has unquestioned commanding authority over the armed forces, but only within the constraints set by law.
It's the carrying of ID documents that people are opposing. In effect this would be compulsory under Faragism for everyone who is not white with a local accent.
I've never been more disappointed in people than I was during Covid, when everyone was quite happy (even pleased) to snitch on each other and then stop other people having social lives and having fun even when it was allowed.
The implication: you'll be monitored and tracked in the public realm all the time.
A relative in the building business was told in the early 2000s that it was unofficial policy to ignore illegal building work (cash in hand, illegal employment, sub minimum wage) generally.
Told someone in the Cabinet Office - he’d been trying to get some movement on the problem. Which was there were large areas of London where running legitimate, tax paying building company was next to impossible.
Because it was good for the economy.
The estimate, these days, is that a million people are working here illegally. Shut that down and you have a recession, immediately.
It’s like Boom & Bust. It’s not a Tory Surveillance State. It’s a Labour Surveillance State. When they shoot random electricians for being a bit dark, they feel bad about it.
“Modelled on” does not mean “identical to”
Q - “Was the British Government involved?”
A - “At this delicate juncture, talking about who did what, would be counter productive. The government is working in every way we can to help bring about a lasting and just peace in the region. As are many, many other countries.”
Can I get a job in government comms, please?
An ID card in the style of most countries around the world isn’t a problem.
It’s the idea of joining up all the data in a Minority Report style, all encompassing system with no access control. Just like Blair was pushing the last time.
So a random council official can ask the system to list all the Muslims (say), with name and addresses in a specific area.
Nothing could possibly go wrong with that. No sir.
Indeed, although I think for some people, prejudices will always remain. The lunatic yesterday was also shouting that the area didn't need Jewish money.