General News Thread

[st albans fox]

Tbh, it will take them so long to get it ready to launch that we’ll be onto the next government by then and technology may well have made it effectively redundant 

 

as long as the development is done with uk companies and uk staff (and someone with a commercial brain is agreeing the margins) then the spend will be into the uk economy and that element isn’t the end of the world.  
 

just be swept up under ‘government IT waste’ which is a massive amount over the past few decades.  

[Brizzle Fox]

On 26/09/2025 at 22:21, Sampson said:

High ups in Reform UK admitting being bribed by Russia? Who’d have thunk it?

This is such a big story, going to the very roots of some of the recurring accusations swimming around UKIP, Reform, Brexit etc and this guy is one of the few Farage allies that he has stayed with all the way through this timeline.

 

In any normal country this would be headline news but not here unfortunately it would seem.

[Bellend Sebastian]

2 hours ago, Brizzle Fox said:

This is such a big story, going to the very roots of some of the recurring accusations swimming around UKIP, Reform, Brexit etc and this guy is one of the few Farage allies that he has stayed with all the way through this timeline.

 

In any normal country this would be headline news but not here unfortunately it would seem.

We're seemingly collectively obsessed with the idea of society being undermined by actual people coming here, but have a complete blind spot when it comes to any other type of outside influence - foreign ownership of our media, weird US dark money going into think tanks and lobbying groups, Russian bot farms, Johnson shaking off his security detail so he can go to a party with that Lebedev guy, etc etc

 

Not very patriotic is it? The word treason gets bandied around on social media to the extent it's lost all meaning but how these f**kers who look like they're actively acting against our interests barely get scrutinised let alone held to account is a mystery to me

[Trav Le Bleu]

 

Greta Thunberg denies claims Gaza flotilla is a publicity stunt - BBC News

 

https://share.google/8903fKesucZgGiAoE

 

Phwoooaaaar! Eh, @Wymsey?

[davieG]

Not sure it's to be trusted

 

“Jimmy Kimmel just lit the fuse no network dared touch — and Colbert lit it with him. But the real gasoline was poured by Simon Cowell. Yes, that Simon Cowell — the TV kingmaker who turned global television upside down with American Idol and The X Factor. Now he’s stepped off the judging panel and into the media battlefield, igniting a war no one thought possible.”

What began as fallout from one controversial remark about Charlie Kirk’s killing has spiraled into nothing less than a media rebellion. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, once rivals, shocked the nation by announcing the launch of an uncensored, unscripted news channel outside ABC and CBS control. No approval. No filter. No safety net. Just a vow to report what the networks won’t.

But then came the Cowell twist. The man synonymous with brutal honesty and global stardom declared that he would back the project — not as talent, but as architect and financier. “Television has become weak,” Cowell said bluntly. “It’s sanitized, it’s corporate, and it insults the intelligence of the audience. I know what people really want: the truth, raw and uncut.”

His words sent shockwaves through both Hollywood and Washington. Why would Kimmel risk his career at ABC now? Why would Colbert abandon his CBS empire to stand with a rival? And why would Cowell, of all people, throw his weight behind a crusade against censorship?

Insiders whisper that Cowell’s involvement could give “Truth News” something Kimmel and Colbert alone couldn’t deliver: legitimacy and global reach. With Cowell’s track record of turning ordinary talent into household names, fans and critics alike are asking — will he now turn two late-night hosts into the faces of America’s most disruptive news experiment?

The implications are staggering. A network run not by politicians, not by corporate boards, but by entertainers turned rebels — with Cowell’s no-nonsense vision shaping its DNA. If successful, “Truth News” wouldn’t just change late-night; it could rewrite the very future of American

 

[Md9]

There has been another shooting in America apparently a church in Michigan. Wife is due to go there in December to see her friend and it just seems way to crazy to go there . Was it genuinely this bad the last 4 years or so in America? 

[Lionator]

Moldovan election today. Talk of declaring it null if the pro Russians win which I would agree with. 

[Lionator]

Just now, Md9 said:

There has been another shooting in America apparently a church in Michigan. Wife is due to go there in December to see her friend and it just seems way to crazy to go there . Was it genuinely this bad the last 4 years or so in America? 

Yes it’s been horrendous for 15 years or so now. Mass shootings are still wrong place wrong time type events. If you’re in a crowded place, the perpetrator would get shot before they could do anything anyway. 
 

I saw something the other day that despite being at war, a person is around 100x more at risk of being shot in America than being killed in Kyiv as a result of warfare. 

[Md9]

22 minutes ago, Lionator said:

Yes it’s been horrendous for 15 years or so now. Mass shootings are still wrong place wrong time type events. If you’re in a crowded place, the perpetrator would get shot before they could do anything anyway. 
 

I saw something the other day that despite being at war, a person is around 100x more at risk of being shot in America than being killed in Kyiv as a result of warfare. 

I knew it was bad for a while but the last few months just seem like chaos on top of chaos every few days something new happens . 

[Lionator]

Just now, Md9 said:

I knew it was bad for a while but the last few months just seem like chaos on top of chaos every few days something new happens . 

The absolute majority of gun crime occurs in neighbourhoods that no tourist would ever travel anywhere near but the obvious risk is that any Tom dick or Harry could open fire in a way that would be impossible in pretty much any other country 

[leicsmac]

I wish I could say that firstly I was surprised about the way things are proceeding in the US (Project 2025 in progress pretty much down to the crossed "t") and secondly that they won't get much worse barring a drastic growing of spine from the legislature, the high level political opposition to the current administration, and quite frankly, more people at ground level over there.

 

 

[st albans fox]

37 minutes ago, Lionator said:

Moldovan election today. Talk of declaring it null if the pro Russians win which I would agree with. 

Has there been clear interference from Moscow ??

[Lionator]

15 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Has there been clear interference from Moscow ??

You’ll have to ask the EU/moldovan government but does the sun rise in the east? Russia are scum.

Edited 28 September 2025 by Lionator

[Zear0]

17 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Has there been clear interference from Moscow ??

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5kl0n5d2o

 

Yes

[Lionator]

3 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5kl0n5d2o

 

Yes

It will probably be choppy over the next days but we should all be supporting the current Moldovan government if we’re not traitors. Oh and also donate to Ukrainian causes. 

[Lionator]

STAND UP AGAINST RUSSIA

[Trav Le Bleu]

39 minutes ago, Lionator said:

STAND UP AGAINST RUSSIA

But don't kneel for justice...

 

FBI fires agents pictured kneeling at George Floyd protest, US media report - BBC News

 

https://share.google/vtQ4Lkxo9S5kVOQm0

[st albans fox]

What the view on ‘first cousin marriages’ ?

 

i raise this because the telegraph are reporting that the NHS have said they’re linked to ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’ . I haven’t seen the NHS report and it could be that this phrase has been taken out of context completely with this being one side of an equation. 

 

my ignorant view would have been that it’s not great for genetics and the NHS would presumably be at the forefront of dealing with some of the consequences.  Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives ??  I’m open to be ‘educated’. 
 

 

[Dr The Singh]

1 hour ago, st albans fox said:

What the view on ‘first cousin marriages’ ?

 

i raise this because the telegraph are reporting that the NHS have said they’re linked to ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’ . I haven’t seen the NHS report and it could be that this phrase has been taken out of context completely with this being one side of an equation. 

 

my ignorant view would have been that it’s not great for genetics and the NHS would presumably be at the forefront of dealing with some of the consequences.  Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives ??  I’m open to be ‘educated’. 
 

 

Ask Ben Chaud......

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 hours ago, st albans fox said:

What the view on ‘first cousin marriages’ ?

 

i raise this because the telegraph are reporting that the NHS have said they’re linked to ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’ . I haven’t seen the NHS report and it could be that this phrase has been taken out of context completely with this being one side of an equation. 

 

my ignorant view would have been that it’s not great for genetics and the NHS would presumably be at the forefront of dealing with some of the consequences.  Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives ??  I’m open to be ‘educated’. 
 

 

I thought that to knowingly marry a cousin (I know of someone who didn't find out until later) then one of you had to have the snip, so genetically you're not a problem.

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 hours ago, st albans fox said:

What the view on ‘first cousin marriages’ ?

 

i raise this because the telegraph are reporting that the NHS have said they’re linked to ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’ . I haven’t seen the NHS report and it could be that this phrase has been taken out of context completely with this being one side of an equation. 

 

my ignorant view would have been that it’s not great for genetics and the NHS would presumably be at the forefront of dealing with some of the consequences.  Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives ??  I’m open to be ‘educated’. 
 

 

I thought that to knowingly marry a cousin (I know of someone who didn't find out until later) then one of you had to have the snip, so genetically you're not a problem.

 

Edit: Quick Goggle search reveals you don't need to, but surely could make it a requirement.

[Trav Le Bleu]

15 hours ago, davieG said:

Not sure it's to be trusted

 

“Jimmy Kimmel just lit the fuse no network dared touch — and Colbert lit it with him. But the real gasoline was poured by Simon Cowell. Yes, that Simon Cowell — the TV kingmaker who turned global television upside down with American Idol and The X Factor. Now he’s stepped off the judging panel and into the media battlefield, igniting a war no one thought possible.”

What began as fallout from one controversial remark about Charlie Kirk’s killing has spiraled into nothing less than a media rebellion. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, once rivals, shocked the nation by announcing the launch of an uncensored, unscripted news channel outside ABC and CBS control. No approval. No filter. No safety net. Just a vow to report what the networks won’t.

But then came the Cowell twist. The man synonymous with brutal honesty and global stardom declared that he would back the project — not as talent, but as architect and financier. “Television has become weak,” Cowell said bluntly. “It’s sanitized, it’s corporate, and it insults the intelligence of the audience. I know what people really want: the truth, raw and uncut.”

His words sent shockwaves through both Hollywood and Washington. Why would Kimmel risk his career at ABC now? Why would Colbert abandon his CBS empire to stand with a rival? And why would Cowell, of all people, throw his weight behind a crusade against censorship?

Insiders whisper that Cowell’s involvement could give “Truth News” something Kimmel and Colbert alone couldn’t deliver: legitimacy and global reach. With Cowell’s track record of turning ordinary talent into household names, fans and critics alike are asking — will he now turn two late-night hosts into the faces of America’s most disruptive news experiment?

The implications are staggering. A network run not by politicians, not by corporate boards, but by entertainers turned rebels — with Cowell’s no-nonsense vision shaping its DNA. If successful, “Truth News” wouldn’t just change late-night; it could rewrite the very future of American

 

To quote Pontius Pilate, "What is truth?"

[Sampson]

2 hours ago, st albans fox said:

What the view on ‘first cousin marriages’ ?

 

i raise this because the telegraph are reporting that the NHS have said they’re linked to ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’ . I haven’t seen the NHS report and it could be that this phrase has been taken out of context completely with this being one side of an equation. 

 

my ignorant view would have been that it’s not great for genetics and the NHS would presumably be at the forefront of dealing with some of the consequences.  Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives ??  I’m open to be ‘educated’. 
 

 

That seems more like a Shelbyville idea.

[kenny]

38 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I thought that to knowingly marry a cousin (I know of someone who didn't find out until later) then one of you had to have the snip, so genetically you're not a problem.

 

Edit: Quick Goggle search reveals you don't need to, but surely could make it a requirement.

Having children with your first cousin isn't a big issue really as long as it happens once. Where is becomes an issue, is where generations of families keep having children with their cousins it narrows the gene pool.

 

The reason its not been an issue here before, is because it typically happens once then doesn't happen again for many generations.

 

Other cultures view this differently.

[Zear0]