General News Thread

[Zear0]

37 minutes ago, Samilktray said:

The amount of extreme right wing nonsense I'm seeing on twitter seems to have ramped massively up over night. I only go on there for boobs and opta stats 

Same, plus the "Brilliant Maps" account which is brilliant.

[st albans fox]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

Worth pointing out Kirk’s stronger opinions disnt stop at Gun ownership. Comments about Ukraine should give over land to Russia and pro Israeli in their stance on Gaza. Personally why I find the all he did is debate comments quite selective 
 

The nature of his murder looks like it’s a very well trained assassin. Incredibly calculated aim. 
 

As a couple of others have said, the insane amount of noise about pointing towards thing whilst division is further sown and benefits the ‘darker’ sources of the world 

He was entitled to his opinions. Irrespective of whether you agree with them or not, afaik, he never justified violence re political debate/protests.  If more people engaged with each other as he did with those who disagreed with him, the world would be a better place.  That’s not to excuse some of his opinions and stances (which I didn’t agree with) but jaw jaw is always better. 

 

1 hour ago, ClaphamFox said:

I certainly agree that social media has acted as an accelerant to extremist views. But at this stage none of us knows whether social media played a role in Kirk’s assassination (politicians were being murdered thousand of years before twitter). And we don’t even know whether it was politically motivated, or if it was, from which side (political assassinations have been conducted by people on the same side as their victims).

 

Thanks for clarifying. In which case I’d suggest that ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ probably wasn’t a great choice of phrase to express your view as it suggests something far more brutal than the opinion you outline above.

 

I wasn’t specifically referencing this murder

 

55 minutes ago, Bert said:

And this is why I just can’t stand politics.
 

A man has lost his life and his wife and kids have not only got to live the rest of their lives without him, but have had to see it. You’ve got people celebrating his death, people arguing about right and left nonsense. Then you’ve got the conspiracy theorists coming out with all other kinds of stuff. It’s absolutely wild. 
 

it’s getting worse Bert 
 

39 minutes ago, RobHawk said:

Who's celebrating? I've seen nothing of the sort...

sadly there are plenty 

and many asking why the media has suddenly moved away from their particular issue to discuss this. 
loads of whataboutery 

jeez we’re in a dark place 

 

 

[bmt]

28 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Some people on here reacted positively last night but then fully retracted when called out on it - posts and reactions have been deleted but plenty of people saw.

Sorry, my mistake. As above I thought you meant on other platforms (e.g. twitter)

[Jon the Hat]

2 hours ago, Bilo said:

I condemn the assassination absolutely, but would say that Kirk's stance was a little more extreme than 'in favour of gun ownership.'

 

 

 

 

Yes this is what I meant when I said he says this assuming he and his would not be those who are acceptably killed as a price of allowing guns.

[st albans fox]

incidentally, if our Gary can beat ant and dec to the NTA, then farage can absolutely be the next PM ………

 

single issue politics can deliver a big percentage of votes 

[Tommy G]

9 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And seeing as we're on the topic of political violence and people demanding grief and decorum about it:

 

Remember Heather Heyer.

*frantically searches the internet for a left wing victim of political violence*

 

Whilst your point is correct you are bringing something up from 8 years ago, her life means as much as any other victim of violence - but you are trying to stoke a political divide here and all your posts have that undertone - which is fine in normal circumstances as everyone loves a debate but after someone has been murdered is just bad taste.

 

Who is ''demanding grief and decorum'' I think people are just shocked that we exist in a world where you can be publicly executed for you opinion. 

 

Whilst I respectfully disagree with a lot of your viewpoints, I think your take on this has been in bad taste and maybe think how you would feel if this happened to someone in your family - husband, wife etc - and a moment for their children who will watch that video back for the rest of their lives. 

[Muzzy_no7]

Ultimately the world has lost a good bloke.
 

I didn’t agree with some of his views but certainly a good portion of what he had to say made sense and he often backed up his points with a lot of substance. 
 

At the end of the day if there were more like him, the world could only really be a better place. 
 

As for some of the comments, posts and of course reactions on here it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. 

[st albans fox]

‘I vehemently oppose what you say but I will absolutely defend your right to say it’ (assuming what you say isn’t inciting violence) 

 

this is where we need to get back to and not with screaming and shouting at each other 

[StanSP]

1 minute ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

At the end of the day if there were more like him, the world could only really be a better place

Strong disagree considering his comments about Gaza/Palestinians and Ukraine... 

[Rusko187]

9 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Nobody has yet been arrested for his murder, so it would probably be wise not to have a go at 'the left' until it's confirmed his killer is indeed from 'the left'. Trump's shooter last year was a registered republican voter. 

Absolutely this, everyone is jumping on conclusions as to who this shooter is - just wait for the facts.

 

9 hours ago, MC Prussian said:

Which one? Routh's political views are sketchy, to say the least. Same goes for Crooks.

 

Nobody has made allegations Kirk's shooter is from the "Left", btw. As for me, I was pointing out the poisonous politics/media mix in the US.

There's been a lot of assertions that it's a radical left individual, and let's be honest it could probably be (I'm speculating, not pointing the finger)... but it's still important to sit tight and wait for the info. I have seen US Media making all sorts of comments about who it was, even one suggesting it was "a Charlie Kirk fan shooting a gun in celebration" - What on earth kind of thinking is that?!

 

6 hours ago, Sly said:

I think we can all acknowledge in the UK, we have an issue with knife crime.

 

You can run away from someone who’s trying to stab you realistically. 
 

The reality is, you can’t outrun a bullet. 
 

Can you imagine what it would be like in the UK if we had the same gun laws as the US? it would be carnage. 
 

Unfortunately the rabbit is out of the box in the states and it is such a big issue in terms of how do we deal with removing all weapons, that no one will oppose it. The secondary issue is that they feel they need the guns, to protect  against others with guns. 
 

In reality, with the current political uncertainty, if you own a gun, would you want to give that up, knowing that crazy Dave (or Gill) might not give up the one they own?

I’m anti gun, anti violence, however putting yourself in that persons shoes and seeing it from the perspective they stand in, I don’t see a quick and easy way back from the madness. 

It's a massive problem that unfortunately I don't think you could ever turn around, unless you perhaps go down the route of halting the sale of ammunition and starve out gun owners, then eventually begin an amnesty on handing guns over. They don't want it though, if school shootings aren't enough to make them think about outlawing guns then I don't know what will.

 

I've seen the video of Charlie speaking up for the second amendment, I don't personally agree with his view but if it's  in the context of "If guns are out there and owned by the masses, then it's reasonable to want one to protect your family" then I'd have to conclude he probably is right, it's a form of protection even though it's archaic and crazy. 

 

I hate guns, I hate how media glorifies them and I hate how in America they are so accessible. Me and my family go America quite a bit and it's never lost on us that there could be some crazy carrying a weapon, I know that's true of knives over here but I'd rather take my chances with a blade over a pistol.

The more you think about how prevalent guns are in America,  the more scary it is going off the tourist track... I have a friend who went out to Florida, took a drive out and was nearly car jacked... could quite easily have ended in him being shot but thankfully he got away before anything could happen - but Americans won't change no matter how much you argue them on this point... it's futile! 

[Samilktray]

6 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Ultimately the world has lost a good bloke.
 

I didn’t agree with some of his views but certainly a good portion of what he had to say made sense and he often backed up his points with a lot of substance. 
 

At the end of the day if there were more like him, the world could only really be a better place. 
 

As for some of the comments, posts and of course reactions on here it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. 

Shamelessly farming for likes here, fair play I can respect it 

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Ultimately the world has lost a good bloke.
 

I didn’t agree with some of his views but certainly a good portion of what he had to say made sense and he often backed up his points with a lot of substance. 
 

At the end of the day if there were more like him, the world could only really be a better place. 
 

As for some of the comments, posts and of course reactions on here it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. 

Had a text discussion with one of my daughters earlier - a year out of uni and your assumptions about her politics are correct. 
I have a lot of text discussions with her as I try and put forward balancing viewpoints.  Mostly I’m accused of not having empathy on a wide range of issues.
I can confirm that there was no empathy this morning for mr Kirk from her end.  

 

[CosbehFox]

27 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

He was entitled to his opinions. Irrespective of whether you agree with them or not, afaik, he never justified violence re political debate/protests.  If more people engaged with each other as he did with those who disagreed with him, the world would be a better place.  That’s not to excuse some of his opinions and stances (which I didn’t agree with) but jaw jaw is always better. 

He never justified violence and that wasn't my point. Neither is it a justification for what's occurred. I am arguing that Kirk was a fair 'debater'. 

 

My point was his debate veered into antagonism and therefore we are not far on incitement. Therefore it was part of the sad melting pot ongoing in the world. He was part of the events which hosted people who would eventually go on to storm the Capitol Building. 

 

Some of his comments towards people of colour were outright abhorrent. That wasn't reasoned debate saying he gets nervous if an aeroplane pilot was black. 

Edited 11 September 2025 by CosbehFox

[Muzzy_no7]

2 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Had a text discussion with one of my daughters earlier - a year out of uni and your assumptions about her politics are correct. 
I have a lot of text discussions with her as I try and put forward balancing viewpoints.  Mostly I’m accused of not having empathy on a wide range of issues.
I can confirm that there was no empathy this morning for mr Kirk from her end.  

 

Imagine my shock reading this 😂

[st albans fox]

8 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Strong disagree considering his comments about Gaza/Palestinians and Ukraine... 

of course you do but he debated his stances in a respectful and constructive way. Of course his oratory skills meant rally came out on top but at least people could listen to both viewpoints made respectfully. 
 

Discussing things respectfully would make the world a better place - surely that’s not open to debate ?

[Muzzy_no7]

2 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

He never justified violence and that wasn't my point. Neither is it a justification for what's occurred. 

 

My point was his debate veered into antagonism and therefore we are not far on incitement. Therefore it was part of the sad melting pot ongoing in the world. 

 

Some of his comments towards people of colour were outright abhorrent. 

Go on….

[st albans fox]

3 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

He never justified violence and that wasn't my point. Neither is it a justification for what's occurred. 

 

My point was his debate veered into antagonism and therefore we are not far on incitement. Therefore it was part of the sad melting pot ongoing in the world. 

 

Some of his comments towards people of colour were outright abhorrent. 

Wasn’t aware of this and I will do some digging 

[leicsmac]

22 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

*frantically searches the internet for a left wing victim of political violence*

 

Whilst your point is correct you are bringing something up from 8 years ago, her life means as much as any other victim of violence - but you are trying to stoke a political divide here and all your posts have that undertone - which is fine in normal circumstances as everyone loves a debate but after someone has been murdered is just bad taste.

 

Who is ''demanding grief and decorum'' I think people are just shocked that we exist in a world where you can be publicly executed for you opinion. 

 

Whilst I respectfully disagree with a lot of your viewpoints, I think your take on this has been in bad taste and maybe think how you would feel if this happened to someone in your family - husband, wife etc - and a moment for their children who will watch that video back for the rest of their lives. 

I'm not sure where expressing the viewpoint that the death of this man, while tragic, is typical of gun violence in the US and it is no more noteworthy just because he's famous is stoking a divide or in bad taste, but each to their own. 

 

WRT the last paragraph, personal is not always, or even often, the same as important. 

 

Edit: if you wanted a more recent example of such violence, I could have used Emerita Melissa Hortman or any one of a number of others. 

Edited 11 September 2025 by leicsmac

[StanSP]

2 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

of course you do but he debated his stances in a respectful and constructive way. Of course his oratory skills meant rally came out on top but at least people could listen to both viewpoints made respectfully. 
 

Discussing things respectfully would make the world a better place - surely that’s not open to debate ?

Okay but I didn't disagree with any of that. 

 

On the other hand, someone can respectfully debate all they want but if what they're saying is something to strongly disagree with and abhor, I don't see the issue? If what they say actually sows division but they say it nicely, does that make them better than someone else? 

[CosbehFox]

9 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Go on….

"I'm sorry. If I see a Black pilot, I'm going to be like, 'Boy, I hope he's qualified,'

 

“ is that the death toll likely would not have been as high if it wasn’t for DEI.” - when referring to the Texas Floods and the Black lead fire officer of Austin 

 

I am subtracting all the stuff I would call racism as well but others wouldn't. However they are two outright disgraceful comments. His comments on women are on a similar line to Andrew Tate. 

Edited 11 September 2025 by CosbehFox

[Zear0]

1 minute ago, CosbehFox said:

"I'm sorry. If I see a Black pilot, I'm going to be like, 'Boy, I hope he's qualified,'

 

“ is that the death toll likely would not have been as high if it wasn’t for DEI.” - when referring to the Texas Floods and the Black lead fire officer of Austin 

 

I am subtracting all the stuff I would call racism as well but others wouldn't. However they are two outright disgraceful comments. 

There's nothing anyone can say to justify murdering someone even if all of the above is disgusting.

 

Really need to make a strong distinction between words and actions that somehow seem equivalent to some.  I strongly disagree with the incitement argument that words are enabling actions of others and it's somehow equivalent.  It isn't.

[StanSP]

Just now, Zear0 said:

There's nothing anyone can say to justify murdering someone even if all of the above is disgusting.

I think he was just pointing out some of the racist stuff he spouted, after he was asked to point it out... 

[Muzzy_no7]

18 minutes ago, Samilktray said:

Shamelessly farming for likes here, fair play I can respect it 

Ahahaha if I was on here for likes I would shift my opinion left to something more ‘cool’ 😂

[Zear0]

2 minutes ago, StanSP said:

I think he was just pointing out some of the racist stuff he spouted, after he was asked to point it out... 

Was more aimed at "My point was his debate veered into antagonism and therefore we are not far on incitement. "...

[Samilktray]

2 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Ahahaha if I was on here for likes I would shift my opinion left to something more ‘cool’ 😂

Whatever you say buddy