General News

[jgtuk]

22 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

Start of the end for Greyhound racing?

 

Used to be big business on Tv once .

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c241p7pnmdzo.amp

Let’s hope so. 

[Foxdiamond]

4 hours ago, bungy said:

Actually taking steps to end 2 awful wars which Biden did absolutely nothing to stop. Explaining previous US governments actively pushed Ukraine into this madness with false promises of NATO membership which was promised would NEVER happen to Russia.

Trying to end this disastrous illegal migration which is destabilising countries all across the globe.

Ending woke madness etc

Also reading this forum lately about the Ukraine war the lack of knowledge is staggering. I think the vast majority on here  had never even heard of Ukraine 4 years ago. Had absolutely no idea about how right wing and corrupt it is and probably wouldn’t find it on a map if their life depended on it.! But all of a sudden everyone is an expert only by watching MSM. 
You are one of very few I’d bother engaging with! 

Tend to agree with this. I know Peter Hitchens is not everybody's cup of tea but he spoke on the subject rather well imo

[Bellend Sebastian]

Krasnov!! LOLZ

[Salisbury Fox]

14 hours ago, bungy said:

Actually taking steps to end 2 awful wars which Biden did absolutely nothing to stop. Explaining previous US governments actively pushed Ukraine into this madness with false promises of NATO membership which was promised would NEVER happen to Russia.

Trying to end this disastrous illegal migration which is destabilising countries all across the globe.

Ending woke madness etc

Also reading this forum lately about the Ukraine war the lack of knowledge is staggering. I think the vast majority on here  had never even heard of Ukraine 4 years ago. Had absolutely no idea about how right wing and corrupt it is and probably wouldn’t find it on a map if their life depended on it.! But all of a sudden everyone is an expert only by watching MSM. 
You are one of very few I’d bother engaging with! 

History has shown that the terms of ending wars are really important if you don’t want flare ups in the future. I don’t see how giving Russia pretty much everything they want will lead to a more stable world, in fact I would suggest that it will make things much worse. In terms of destabilising countries through illegal migration, well Russia has literally been doing that in Finland and through Belarus. 
 

I should also add that I haven’t seen Zelensky doing nazi salutes yet, perhaps that will come given how right wing Ukrainians must be.

Edited 22 February 2025 by Salisbury Fox

[blabyboy]

14 hours ago, Sly said:

What’s occurring with Apple and the UK Government then? 

Great press for the Govt. politics-wise, but bloody awful for UK plc going forward on any digital economy front, and it could get a lot worse.

 

Seems that, just like the club atm, there are some bad advisors looking at short term gains and leaders who are not clued in.

[ChickenNugents]

16 hours ago, leicsmac said:

...I wonder what any of our esteemed members who were totally OK with Trump winning the election (and there are quite a few, if I remember right) think of his first month or so running the show?

 

Would be interesting to hear any grounded perspective on that score.

A lot of then were banned as the forum doesn’t generally allow conservative views

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, ChickenNugents said:

A lot of then were banned as the forum doesn’t generally allow conservative views

Well, we've heard from one of them at least.

 

I'm still interested in hearing how the kind of governance that Trump et al espouse would guarantee the continuity of civilisation, given that their focus appears to be very much on other humans rather than the consequences caused by a changing world they really shouldn't ignore.

[ChickenNugents]

19 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Well, we've heard from one of them at least.

 

I'm still interested in hearing how the kind of governance that Trump et al espouse would guarantee the continuity of civilisation, given that their focus appears to be very much on other humans rather than the consequences caused by a changing world they really shouldn't ignore.

You’re essentially saying that the only metric one can measure the success or failure of a government is by its climate change policies. It’s pretty clear to both Democrat voters and Republican voters that Trump’s administration is not making that it’s primary focus.

 

I would say that if Trump ends the wars he’s, potentially inadvertently, doing more good for the environment than Biden’s administration did. 

[blabyboy]

27 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Well, we've heard from one of them at least.

 

I'm still interested in hearing how the kind of governance that Trump et al espouse would guarantee the continuity of civilisation, given that their focus appears to be very much on other humans rather than the consequences caused by a changing world they really shouldn't ignore.

Trump has already said climate related policy is not his focus and the attempted disabling and defunding of projects that fave towards the Earth from Space is an actual demonstration of that. 

[leicsmac]

51 minutes ago, ChickenNugents said:

You’re essentially saying that the only metric one can measure the success or failure of a government is by its climate change policies. It’s pretty clear to both Democrat voters and Republican voters that Trump’s administration is not making that it’s primary focus.

 

I would say that if Trump ends the wars he’s, potentially inadvertently, doing more good for the environment than Biden’s administration did. 

 

45 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

Trump has already said climate related policy is not his focus and the attempted disabling and defunding of projects that fave towards the Earth from Space is an actual demonstration of that. 

Allow me to elaborate a little here as I did earlier; climate change is only one part of a much bigger issue involving loss of biodiversity through that, physical pollution and habitat destruction, to name just a few causes. This is an ongoing issue which is already causing consequences and will cause more severe ones as time goes by if it isn't addressed.

 

Will stopping this particular conflict really address that in any meaningful fashion? I'm not sure.

 

It's patently obvious that Trump is choosing not to make this issue a priority. What I'd like to hear is an explanation of exactly why it's a good, or even acceptable thing and why one shouldn't worry about the consequences coming down the line, some of which are already here.

 

I would have thought that the 6th mass extinction event, of which it would appear humanity is the cause, is everyone's problem. If not, then I would welcome knowing why not.

 

Edit: this is an area of focus because while I've heard defences of the Trump administration on a variety of other important issues - some of them with legitimacy - I've not heard one regarding this.

Edited 22 February 2025 by leicsmac

[Sampson]

Moving away from the US, the German elections tomorrow are huge for the UK and Europe as a whole tomorrow. Especially if US is going to be a loose cannon over the next 4 years, UK’s alliances with Germany and France are going to be crucial in the next few years 

[blabyboy]

31 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

Allow me to elaborate a little here as I did earlier; climate change is only one part of a much bigger issue involving loss of biodiversity through that, physical pollution and habitat destruction, to name just a few causes. This is an ongoing issue which is already causing consequences and will cause more severe ones as time goes by if it isn't addressed.

 

Will stopping this particular conflict really address that in any meaningful fashion? I'm not sure.

 

It's patently obvious that Trump is choosing not to make this issue a priority. What I'd like to hear is an explanation of exactly why it's a good, or even acceptable thing and why one shouldn't worry about the consequences coming down the line, some of which are already here.

 

I would have thought that the 6th mass extinction event, of which it would appear humanity is the cause, is everyone's problem. If not, then I would welcome knowing why not.

I would have thought that stopping the use of depleted uranium, phosphorus and attacking operating and derelict nuclear power stations that could go into meltdown would be beneficial for civilisation in the short to medium term? .. certainly for localised civilisation and all civilisation in the longer term. It helps to minimise one of the variables identified that can threaten human continued survival.

[leicsmac]

Just now, blabyboy said:

I would have thought that stopping the use of depleted uranium, phosphorus and attacking operating and derelict nuclear power stations that could go into meltdown would be beneficial for civilisation in the short to medium term? .. certainly for localised civilisation and all civilisation in the longer term. It helps to minimise one of the variables identified that can threaten human continued survival.

It does indeed, as does reducing conflict reduces consumption of vital resources.

 

I wouldn't be sure that is more than one piece in a rather large and complex puzzle and quite a few of the others are needing attention too, though.

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Moving away from the US, the German elections tomorrow are huge for the UK and Europe as a whole tomorrow. Especially if US is going to be a loose cannon over the next 4 years, UK’s alliances with Germany and France are going to be crucial in the next few years 

Agreed. The direction Europe takes will be both influenced by Germany and highly vital to the way things play out in the next few years.

[blabyboy]

2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

It does indeed, as does reducing conflict reduces consumption of vital resources.

 

I wouldn't be sure that is more than one piece in a rather large and complex puzzle and quite a few of the others are needing attention too, though.

Agreed. But I don't think you can load all of those pieces at the door of the US or even Trump. That is lazy and populist thinking in its own right.

 

As you well know, and have said multiple times, the problem rests with all the World's governments and I think your time might be better spent identifying governments that are persuadable to your argument. The US is quite clearly not in listening mode at present.

[blabyboy]

20 minutes ago, Sampson said:

Moving away from the US, the German elections tomorrow are huge for the UK and Europe as a whole tomorrow. Especially if US is going to be a loose cannon over the next 4 years, UK’s alliances with Germany and France are going to be crucial in the next few years 

If Merz gets in, then it's all starting to feel 1930s.. 

[Zear0]

1 minute ago, blabyboy said:

If Merz gets in, then it's all starting to feel 1930s.. 

He is a bit Von Papen

[blabyboy]

4 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

He is a bit Von Papen

indubitably

[leicsmac]

14 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

Agreed. But I don't think you can load all of those pieces at the door of the US or even Trump. That is lazy and populist thinking in its own right.

 

As you well know, and have said multiple times, the problem rests with all the World's governments and I think your time might be better spent identifying governments that are persuadable to your argument. The US is quite clearly not in listening mode at present.

The US are a major player in matters that require the whole world though, such as this one - with great power comes great responsibility and all that.

 

If they choose to look inwards rather than helping out then that's of course their prerogative - and people should look for leadership from elsewhere. However, should the worst come to pass, it will also be right to view them as responsible and hold them accountable for all the consequences that ensue.

[blabyboy]

9 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

The US are a major player in matters that require the whole world though, such as this one - with great power comes great responsibility and all that.

 

If they choose to look inwards rather than helping out then that's of course their prerogative - and people should look for leadership from elsewhere. However, should the worst come to pass, it will also be right to view them as responsible and hold them accountable for all the consequences that ensue.

Ok, I'll bite.

 

How will you hold them accountable? ...and how would you punish them?

[leicsmac]

5 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

Ok, I'll bite.

 

How will you hold them accountable? ...and how would you punish them?

I wouldn't, and nor can anyone else while the world remains as it is. The power disparity is too big.

 

But should the world change drastically, as it might, that may change too, and I can't speak for those who are left in that worse world who would be looking for someone to blame. And what form their retribution would take would be up to them.

 

Edit: with all that being said, In not sure why folks should accept such lack of empathy and concern for the future as a done deal anyway.

Edited 22 February 2025 by leicsmac

[kenny]

5 hours ago, Sampson said:

1. Moving away from the US, the German elections tomorrow are huge for the UK and Europe as a whole tomorrow. Especially if US is going to be a loose cannon over the next 4 years, UK’s alliances with Germany and France are going to be crucial in the next few years 

I've been in Germany this week and the AFD are everywhere.

 

They had a stall in the marketplace today and the people looking were of various ethnicities. I wonder if we will see a similar pattern to the USA.

[blabyboy]

4 hours ago, leicsmac said:

 

 

Edit: with all that being said, In not sure why folks should accept such lack of empathy and concern for the future as a done deal anyway.

What makes you think people are accepting it as a done deal, or that they have a lack of empathy or concern? What metrics are causing you to think this way?

[leicsmac]

4 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

What makes you think people are accepting it as a done deal

I don't think people are accepting it, and I think that they shouldn't.

 

6 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

or that they have a lack of empathy or concern?

I think, with good reason (I hope), that the current policies of this administration - environmental, equal rights, immigration and similar - seek to benefit no one outside of those who voted for them (and even then it's a bit debatable concerning all of them) and show a lack of concern for anyone else and indeed for themselves in the future. They speak, often very loudly, for themselves.

 

If I'm mistaken and policy can be pointed out that does in fact show concern for people outside of the orbit those in this administration find favourable or show concern for the welfare of non-human life and biodiversity whatsoever, then I'd be happy to hear about them.

 

9 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

What metrics are causing you to think this way?

The details of the policies and orders themselves - a simple one being reversing the restrictions on plastic straws and the pollution they cause. Numerous other examples exist.

 

Like I said, if I'm wrong and this is actually a caring and empathetic administration, I'd be happy to be proven wrong, because if I am, it means that civilisation has a better chance of lasting longer. For me, this isn't ideological - unless you count the preservation of life and of a world that is (roughly) the way it is as an ideology.

[Sampson]

 

Thought this was a very good interview and summary of the state of affairs by the former head of MI6.