General News

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

It’s suspected arson not the killer climate 

The entire LA basin is parched. In most areas there has been zero rainfall since last May. The Santa Ana winds are a very hot dry katabatic Föhn effect, which originating in the hot dry desert interior of high pressure systems in the American West as warm desert air, migrates south and west into southern California, where it is forced over the the Sierra Nevada mountains shedding most of what little moisture it has and blasts down to the coast having descended over the mountains. As the air sinks, it dries further and accelerates in speed. Wind speeds can also be increased as they funnel through the canyons, valleys and gorges north and east of LA. It's like a bellows effect, compressing, therefore heating and channeling the air then fanning the flames. The Santa Ana event occurs during the cooler months, usually October - May, possible two or three events a season and typically last a couple of days

 

Yes, LA County is susceptible to fire due to its physical geography, topography and location. What is unprecedented here however is the sustained wind speed, the duration and the extent. The advance, spread and speed of this is terrifying.  I have friends all over LA and one has lost half his roof to the wind alone. 70 - 90 mph has been recorded and it's threatening metropolitan areas that have previously been unscathed. So yes, climate change. It doesn't matter whether the conflagrations were caused by arsonists, a discarded cigarette, or even, as can happen, a lightning strike, due to the tinderbox conditions of the oily, dry chaparral vegetation - it's like tossing a lit match onto petrol and it only takes a small flame or a spark. 

 

Whether the ability to respond to this known hazard, which over the years has been exacerbated by rapid climate change has been hampered by negligence and betrayed by politicians is another matter and we will obtain a greater picture during subsequent enquiries. 

Edited 10 January 2025 by SpacedX

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

It’s suspected arson not the killer climate 

Also, from what I have gathered this morning an arsonist was arrested in association with a newer blaze, the Kenneth fire, which was unrelated to Palisades and Eaton. And to reiterate again, irrespective of how these fires started, the lethal conditions and circumstances allowing such a rapid spread have been stoked by climate change. 

 

Last summer a friend sent me this...

 

 

This was in El Monte, East LA. These are Sonoran desert temperatures, not suburban LA. 

[Wymsey]

Interesting..

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7e3qzpn9xo

 

[Tommy G]

1 hour ago, Wymsey said:

Interesting..

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7e3qzpn9xo

 

They can meet all they like but it will depend on what Ukraine want to conced as part of a deal. 

 

It needs to stop for all involved, first and foremost with the death toll of innocent people, and it's also costing everyone a ****ing fortune. 

[Sampson]

6 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

They can meet all they like but it will depend on what Ukraine want to conced as part of a deal. 

 

It needs to stop for all involved, first and foremost with the death toll of innocent people, and it's also costing everyone a ****ing fortune. 

What counts as stopping though? Forcing Ukraine to cede land and give up ideas of NATO membership so that Russia can regroup and go again for more in 5 years time after they’ve spent years influencing elections in Europe and North American to get more pro-Russian and pro “strong man” leaders in?

Edited 10 January 2025 by Sampson

[Dunge]

12 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

They can meet all they like but it will depend on what Ukraine want to conced as part of a deal. 

 

It needs to stop for all involved, first and foremost with the death toll of innocent people, and it's also costing everyone a ****ing fortune. 

 

8 minutes ago, Sampson said:

What counts as stopping though? Forcing Ukraine to cede land and give up ideas of NATO membership so that Russia can regroup and go again for more in 5 years time after they’ve spent years influencing elections in Europe and North American to get more pro-Russian and pro “strong man” leaders in?

Yeah, you have to answer the question “What stops Russia coming back in the future?”

 

Or alternatively Trump doesn’t bother answering that question because it’s too hard, too cold and there’s golf to be played.

[Robo61]

Just the ever patriotic Daily Mail calling for the taking over of the OK by a foreign power. Nothing to see here.

 

[bovril]

1 minute ago, Robo61 said:

Just the ever patriotic Daily Mail calling for the taking over of the OK by a foreign power. Nothing to see here.

 

A lot of the British right just want to be American. 

[Sampson]

3 hours ago, Dunge said:

 

Yeah, you have to answer the question “What stops Russia coming back in the future?”

 

Or alternatively Trump doesn’t bother answering that question because it’s too hard, too cold and there’s golf to be played.

My concern with all this is Trump and Musk in the lead up to the election have already primed people to turn on Ukraine. I give it until February until you get the first shouts of “it’s Zelensky who is not negotiating peace whilst innocent people are dying. We need the war to end” from the populist right. 
 

I’d hope the British public, as living in a European country, have a lot more skin in the game than the American public in not wanting to see Russia invade another European country, grind it out for a couple of years before the support from the West gives up because it’s too expensive and then Russia just gets everything it wants, showing a clear blueprint that they (and potentially China) can easily do it again in the future. But I already saw enough depressing stuff from the both the public in the UK and in other European countries during the US election campaign to think that isn’t going to be the case.

Edited 10 January 2025 by Sampson

[leicsmac]

19 minutes ago, Robo61 said:

Just the ever patriotic Daily Mail calling for the taking over of the OK by a foreign power. Nothing to see here.

 

No thanks Dick, I prefer women to have freedom of bodily autonomy, decent anti-discrimination regs, kids to go to school not in danger of being shot, to have an appendectomy without wondering if I'm going to be bankrupted afterwards, and generally not being part of a society mostly based on death-worshipping social Darwinism (often in the name of a deity who actually shares none of those values).

 

Appreciate the offer, though.

[Brizzle Fox]

48 minutes ago, bovril said:

A lot of the British right just want to be American. 

Well Littlejohn certainly does bearing in mind he lives in the US.

 

Proper patriot.

[Clogger_]

7 hours ago, leicsmac said:

No thanks Dick, I prefer women to have freedom of bodily autonomy, decent anti-discrimination regs, kids to go to school not in danger of being shot, to have an appendectomy without wondering if I'm going to be bankrupted afterwards, and generally not being part of a society mostly based on death-worshipping social Darwinism (often in the name of a deity who actually shares none of those values).

 

Appreciate the offer, though.

Well done on reading that k**b's drivel. I CBA

[leicsmac]

10 minutes ago, Clogger_ said:

Well done on reading that k**b's drivel. I CBA

It is a refrain all too familiar to me.

 

It would be amusing but for the consequences were it to run unchecked enough to influence political policy in too many places.

[Clogger_]

20 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

It is a refrain all too familiar to me.

 

It would be amusing but for the consequences were it to run unchecked enough to influence political policy in too many places.

Drip, drip, drip.

 

Same old grifters spouting their dodgy money-funded opinions on the subject of the moment, be it trans rights, net zero, "cultural Marxism" (*so* ignorant!), DEI, unions, the EU, "metropolitan elite"(!!!)...

 

So wearing isn't it. They'll never tire though. It's literally their career!

 

All of it with one purpose in mind. So murky and yet so transparent. I am genuinely sad for those sucked in by this BS.

 

(Littlejohn's yesterday's news, as is the Mail. There are bad actors with much greater hold/sway over the gullible, that Musk character being a recent egregious example.)

[The Horse's Mouth]

16 hours ago, Robo61 said:

Just the ever patriotic Daily Mail calling for the taking over of the OK by a foreign power. Nothing to see here.

 

Our country is completely ****ed but people like this have got mental illness 

[Robo61]

2 hours ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

Our country is completely ****ed but people like this have got mental illness 

The irony is it is people like Littlejohn and the bile they talk that has got us here.

[Parafox]

On 10/01/2025 at 13:53, leicsmac said:

No thanks Dick, I prefer women to have freedom of bodily autonomy, decent anti-discrimination regs, kids to go to school not in danger of being shot, to have an appendectomy without wondering if I'm going to be bankrupted afterwards, and generally not being part of a society mostly based on death-worshipping social Darwinism (often in the name of a deity who actually shares none of those values).

 

Appreciate the offer, though.

 

RL is and always has been, a right wing shit-spout and fakes a living writing for the DM.

 

That paper is probably the only mainstream rag that would ever employ him because he fits their narrative.

 

Or maybe The Sun, where I think he has been a columnist before.

 

 

[urban.spaceman]

On 11/01/2025 at 06:17, The Horse's Mouth said:

Our country is completely ****ed but people like this have got mental illness 

They’re actual traitors. 

[Sampson]

Genuinely don’t understand why so many on the right would rather side with the US than the EU. In terms of culture, legal protections, geopolitics, our economy, the EU is clearly the better option in each case. Not saying anything against the US, a lot of it is down to simple geography. But so many politicians and journalists who were the driving force behind Brexit are now seemingly begging us to hurtle away from the EU and towards the US as if we're an isolated island country in the middle of the Atlantic who has equal access to both, rather than one just off the coast of France, with a train connection to them and land border with Ireland and a huge ocean away from the US.

[leicsmac]

44 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Genuinely don’t understand why so many on the right would rather side with the US than the EU. In terms of culture, legal protections, geopolitics, our economy, the EU is clearly the better option in each case. Not saying anything against the US, a lot of it is down to simple geography. But so many politicians and journalists who were the driving force behind Brexit are now seemingly begging us to hurtle away from the EU and towards the US as if we're an isolated island country in the middle of the Atlantic who has equal access to both, rather than one just off the coast of France, with a train connection to them and land border with Ireland and a huge ocean away from the US.

I think it comes down to ideological similarity, nothing more.

 

These people are also often fans of Orban, the AfD and Marine Le Pen in Europe and they had nothing good to say about the US when Biden has been in charge, after all. If (may the powers that govern the universe forbid) that particular brand of gross, supremacist nationalism gets hold in various places in Europe again, those same talking heads will very likely view Europe in a more positive light (not the EU, of course, because that is inimical to the idea of borders, guns and nationalist supremacy that they espouse).

 

 

Edited 12 January 2025 by leicsmac

[samlcfc]

25 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Genuinely don’t understand why so many on the right would rather side with the US than the EU. In terms of culture, legal protections, geopolitics, our economy, the EU is clearly the better option in each case. Not saying anything against the US, a lot of it is down to simple geography. But so many politicians and journalists who were the driving force behind Brexit are now seemingly begging us to hurtle away from the EU and towards the US as if we're an isolated island country in the middle of the Atlantic who has equal access to both, rather than one just off the coast of France, with a train connection to them and land border with Ireland and a huge ocean away from the US.

The US seems pretty marketable as a concept to the disenfranchised at the moment.

Compared to a relatively understood entities of European politics, a limited understanding of the US along with the Musk / Trump cult of personality could be ideologically appealing to many who are considering their lot in life.

 

The wave of popularity is tempting to ride for politicians looking to grow their personal or party popularity. Seems you can gather a decent crowd with a lot of talk and little else at the moment, and Musk is willing to use his significant influence to platform you as a politician if your ideology aligns with his goals.

[leicsmac]

18 minutes ago, samlcfc said:

The US seems pretty marketable as a concept to the disenfranchised at the moment.

Compared to a relatively understood entities of European politics, a limited understanding of the US along with the Musk / Trump cult of personality could be ideologically appealing to many who are considering their lot in life.

 

The wave of popularity is tempting to ride for politicians looking to grow their personal or party popularity. Seems you can gather a decent crowd with a lot of talk and little else at the moment, and Musk is willing to use his significant influence to platform you as a politician if your ideology aligns with his goals.

Exactly.

 

It's a triumph of marketing, not of any substance, and that's bad news long term for everyone - even those folks that feel disenfranchised.

[bovril]

1 hour ago, Sampson said:

Genuinely don’t understand why so many on the right would rather side with the US than the EU. In terms of culture, legal protections, geopolitics, our economy, the EU is clearly the better option in each case. Not saying anything against the US, a lot of it is down to simple geography. But so many politicians and journalists who were the driving force behind Brexit are now seemingly begging us to hurtle away from the EU and towards the US as if we're an isolated island country in the middle of the Atlantic who has equal access to both, rather than one just off the coast of France, with a train connection to them and land border with Ireland and a huge ocean away from the US.

 

I think a lot of it comes down to Brits not really trusting or even understanding countries who don't speak English.

[Dunge]

I understand why the right like Trump, Trumpism, Musk, etc.

 

These are groups and individuals who are convinced that their greatest enemy is The Left. People who support feminism, which goes against their sexual and societal desires and instincts. People who support immigration, which worries them for reasons of safety, societal change and - sometimes - race. People who support social policies that they find perverse for whatever reason. You name a traditionally conservative aspect of society, someone on the left is trying to tear it down.

 

These are people who are repeatedly slapped in the face with morality. The idea from the people who do that is to persuade them to their viewpoint. But that’s not what’s happening: What’s happening is that these people, insistent upon not losing, are turning their backs on truth. They’re turning to leaders like Trump and Musk, who are amoral, who don’t stand for anything. They don’t represent the goodness or hope in the human heart. They represent a fightback against “the liberal elite”, the moralising do-gooders who constantly pop up to tell them “you can’t do/say/think that”. And yes, you could argue people are being manipulated to thinking that through big money donations and easy answers. But I believe these are people who are ready and willing to be seduced because they’re not happy with modern, liberal life and are rebelling against it.

 

What I struggle with far more is why people, particularly in Europe, are willing to consider The Left as a greater threat than Russia, who would quite clearly happily enslave them given the chance.

Edited 12 January 2025 by Dunge

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, Dunge said:

I understand why the right like Trump, Trumpism, Musk, etc.

 

These are groups and individuals who are convinced that their greatest enemy is The Left. People who support feminism, which goes against their sexual and societal desires and instincts. People who support immigration, which worries them for reasons of safety, societal change and - sometimes - race. People who support social policies that they find perverse for whatever reason. You name a traditionally conservative aspect of society, someone on the left is trying to tear it down.

 

These are people who are repeatedly slapped in the face with morality. The idea from the people who do that is to persuade them to their viewpoint. But that’s not what’s happening: What’s happening is that these people, insistent upon not losing, are turning their backs on truth. They’re turning to leaders like Trump and Musk, who are amoral, who don’t stand for anything. They don’t represent the goodness or hope in the human heart. They represent a fightback against “the liberal elite”, the moralising do-gooders who constantly pop up to tell them “you can’t do/say/think that”. And yes, you could argue people are being manipulated to thinking that through big money donations and easy answers. But I believe these are people who are ready and willing to be seduced because they’re not happy with modern, liberal life and are rebelling against it.

 

What I struggle with far more is why people, particularly in Europe, are willing to consider The Left as a greater threat than Russia, who would quite clearly happily enslave them given the chance.

I can imagine it is a moral argument for a lot of people, but honestly for me it's not - unless one considers the long term survival of both our species and the civilisation it has built and is building as a species a moral question.