General News

[grobyfox1990]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

At least, in that regard, what Mandelson said had at least some basis in truth.

 

In any case, the point stands that the UK should expect zero respect from this incoming administration unless they are prepared to kiss their rectal passages on every single matter.

 

Trump, and those that follow him, have sycophants and enemies. They do not have friends.

 

It is the very idea of the everywhere "product" at all, that every aspect of human progress, development, life and health appears to have to be packaged as a commodity that has a price and then has to be marketed and sold that I loathe.

 

Not out of any particular moral principle other than the preservation of life, because that and the tribal nature of humanity will, inevitability, lead nowhere good when facing some of the challenges to come.

Yeh I agree, but ofc I would as a millennial who’s not benefitted from the commoditisation of everything. The western capitalist world has created a post war generation of people who live unbelievably luxurious lives off the back of average skills and work ethic. The down side is the raging inequality and ravaged world we’re now seeing 

[Electric Yetis]

My son has not long got back from a week in Germany with school visiting the Christmas markets. Terrible the thought of what could have happened and what has happened to those poor people.

Edited 20 December 2024 by Electric Yetis

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Yeh I agree, but ofc I would as a millennial who’s not benefitted from the commoditisation of everything. The western capitalist world has created a post war generation of people who live unbelievably luxurious lives off the back of average skills and work ethic. The down side is the raging inequality and ravaged world we’re now seeing 

Which are pretty serious downsides.

 

But yes, totally likewise agreed on how we've got here. The issue is now how best to change the whole thing - as it must, or the consequences will be truly fearsome.

[Paninistickers]

So within two hours of the attack, the state minister has decided the guy has acted alone. 

 

No waiting for a police investigation. No review of any files of the security services. Nope, a politician has decided everything inside twice hours

[st albans fox]

3 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

So within two hours of the attack, the state minister has decided the guy has acted alone. 

 

No waiting for a police investigation. No review of any files of the security services. Nope, a politician has decided everything inside twice hours

Misreported or translated ?

perhaps he was saying that they aren’t looking for anyone else at this time - people would perhaps worry that there could be more attackers 

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, Electric Yetis said:

Jesus, my son, has not long got back from a week in Germany with school visiting the Christmas markets. Terrible the thought of what could have happened and what has happened to those poor people.

God?!

[Trav Le Bleu]

If you're insane enough, just about anything can be turned into a weapon.

 

[Electric Yetis]

13 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

God?!

Speak

[LFox99]

1 hour ago, Paninistickers said:

So within two hours of the attack, the state minister has decided the guy has acted alone. 

They are the chancellor's and public broadcasting's favourite words "Einzeltäter" and "Einzelfall". 

The ARD, German equivalent of the BBC said in the evening broadcast "Tonight in Magdeburg, a car drove into a group of people on a Christmas market". No word of any potential attack, or the fact that the car didn't do that itself but was driven BY someone. I would consider myself to stand somewhere in the middle if not slightly left in the political spectrum but until the likes of the Greens, SPD finally accept that you can't deal with the issue by pretending it doesn't exist for fear of being labelled a racist or xenophobe, the far right will only grow. I despise their ideas, their ideology, their words but I can no longer blame people who vote for them. I disagree with every fibre of my being but they, however wrong, offer (or pretend to anyway) solutions to the very problem people are worried about.

[Trav Le Bleu]

8 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

 

Errare humanum est

 

* all my Latin is from Asterix books

[Umbungo78]

12 minutes ago, LFox99 said:

They are the chancellor's and public broadcasting's favourite words "Einzeltäter" and "Einzelfall". 

The ARD, German equivalent of the BBC said in the evening broadcast "Tonight in Magdeburg, a car drove into a group of people on a Christmas market". No word of any potential attack, or the fact that the car didn't do that itself but was driven BY someone. I would consider myself to stand somewhere in the middle if not slightly left in the political spectrum but until the likes of the Greens, SPD finally accept that you can't deal with the issue by pretending it doesn't exist for fear of being labelled a racist or xenophobe, the far right will only grow. I despise their ideas, their ideology, their words but I can no longer blame people who vote for them. I disagree with every fibre of my being but they, however wrong, offer (or pretend to anyway) solutions to the very problem people are worried about.

Keir would have the victims jailed within a week..look at the religious demographic percentage in the uk vs the same percentage in council positions or parliament representation and tell me it's not skewed? 

[Lionator]

I’m amazed that only two people have been killed in Germany based on what I’ve just seen on the internet. Absolutely horrible stuff

[Mickyblueeyes]

Wall Street Journal saying that the attacker was an anti-Muslim activist and member of a far right party in Germany. Why is the nut job attacking a German Christmas Market if he hates another group (who are not celebrating) so much. 
 

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/several-wounded-after-car-rams-german-christmas-market-06678562

[Robo61]

7 hours ago, Umbungo78 said:

Keir would have the victims jailed within a week..look at the religious demographic percentage in the uk vs the same percentage in council positions or parliament representation and tell me it's not skewed? 

I'd love to see your evidence for the assertion.  As far as I can ascertain minority religions are slightly under represented in Parliament compared to the general population and christianity slightly over. Certainly nothing to be worried about either way.

 

Incidently forced deportations have risen considerably since the July election, but you won't see the mail, express, torygraph etc reporting that anytime soon.  Then that doesnt fit the narrative superbly elequented in your first sentance.

Edited 21 December 2024 by Robo61

[hejammy]

10 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

Could be. And the authorities will probably claim it's 'not terror related' ....but I'd be happy to have a bet. 

 

Some German cities (along with some Belgian, Swedish and Dutch cities) are in a real mess immigration/ integration wise 

Ah the irony. Allegedly the guy was anti-muslim, far right supporter and had a real issue with the German government immigration stance. 

Thoughts are with the victims and families. Must have been horrendous 

[Lionator]

What’s the point of Ukrainians doing this?

 

 

[st albans fox]

7 hours ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

Wall Street Journal saying that the attacker was an anti-Muslim activist and member of a far right party in Germany. Why is the nut job attacking a German Christmas Market if he hates another group (who are not celebrating) so much. 
 

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/several-wounded-after-car-rams-german-christmas-market-06678562

Very odd

he's alive so we would eventually find out what his motivation was 

could it make any sense ? Struggling to see that 

Whilst we should be relieved that this doesn’t seem to be  an ‘islamist terror attack’, in the public arena that die is already cast by the fact he’s from Saudi. 

[Robo61]

52 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Very odd

he's alive so we would eventually find out what his motivation was 

could it make any sense ? Struggling to see that 

Whilst we should be relieved that this doesn’t seem to be  an ‘islamist terror attack’, in the public arena that die is already cast by the fact he’s from Saudi. 

As I understand it he had been given refugee status some years ago.  Unlikely therefore that he is a supporter of the Suadi islamist state.  More likely an Arab Christian. However non of us know and we should not speculate and let the authorities investigate without unneccesary hindrance.

[st albans fox]

5 minutes ago, Robo61 said:

As I understand it he had been given refugee status some years ago.  Unlikely therefore that he is a supporter of the Suadi islamist state.  More likely an Arab Christian. However non of us know and we should not speculate and let the authorities investigate without unneccesary hindrance.

His social media says he’s no supporter of Saudi. Infact Saudi had apparently tried to extradite him - not clear what for.  I wouldn’t assume anything about his religious affiliation. he may have none whatsoever.  as I said in my post, the fact that he’s a Saudi will have placed this being an Islamist terror attack into the minds of the majority out there. They will have moved onto the big decisions of whether they’ve bought enough booze for the week. 

[Super_horns]

10 hours ago, Lionator said:

I’m amazed that only two people have been killed in Germany based on what I’ve just seen on the internet. Absolutely horrible stuff

Yes agree .

 

Thank  goodness in some ways but obviously still horrific .

[Paninistickers]

2 hours ago, hejammy said:

Ah the irony. Allegedly the guy was anti-muslim, far right supporter and had a real issue with the German government immigration stance. 

Thoughts are with the victims and families. Must have been horrendous 

What irony? He's a Saudi national. Not a German. 

 

Whether these attacks are committed  in some misguided crusade for Islamism is irrelevant. 

 

These ultra cowardly attacks on soft targets at concerts, markets or children's play groups are almost exclusively committed by immigrants (or the children of immigrants) .... regardless of their 'cause' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[leicsmac]

10 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

What irony? He's a Saudi national. Not a German. 

 

Whether these attacks are committed  in some misguided crusade for Islamism is irrelevant. 

 

These ultra cowardly attacks on soft targets at concerts, markets or children's play groups are almost exclusively committed by immigrants (or the children of immigrants) .... regardless of their 'cause' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citation rather needed, I think.

 

And the last time I checked, that wasn't necessarily true universally anyway - mass shootings in the US, for instance, often tend to be mostly home-grown.

 

But generalisations of demographics seem to be the thing that policy runs on right now given recent election results in various places so I guess a deeper look isn't actually all that important.

[Paninistickers]

2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Citation rather needed, I think.

 

And the last time I checked, that wasn't necessarily true universally anyway - mass shootings in the US, for instance, often tend to be mostly home-grown.

 

But generalisations of demographics seem to be the thing that policy runs on right now given recent election results in various places so I guess a deeper look isn't actually all that important.

Ok, fairs. In Europe. But you knew I meant that. 

 

And yep, I'll wait for you to now find the occasional outlier, Brevik, Michael Ryan etc. Dunblane. 

 

But as you well know, almost all these super soft target attacks in Europe are committed by immigrants or first gen immigrants. You know that. You'd probably not just admit the ugly truth. 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Paninistickers said:

Ok, fairs. In Europe. But you knew I meant that. 

 

And yep, I'll wait for you to now find the occasional outlier, Brevik, Michael Ryan etc. Dunblane. 

 

But as you well know, almost all these super soft target attacks in Europe are committed by immigrants or first gen immigrants. You know that. You'd probably not just admit the ugly truth. 

I know nothing of the sort, and it's not up to me to prove a claim I haven't made in any case.

 

Pardon me for not choosing the quicker and easier path of generalisation and round condemnation (or "ugly truth", I guess).

[st albans fox]

plenty of stuff in SM 

the fella had beef with the German authorities 

Other stuff that police had been warned about him - no idea if true