General News Thread

[leicsmac]

Peter Thiel apparently relocating to Argentina. 

 

There's a joke made around 1945 in there, I think.  

[kenny]

12 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And I can supply correlatory graphical data as mine (they've been shown here before), but I guess it's easy to make the argument that correlation doesn't equal causation if someone wanted, as easily as I could mention that one HS's work on the numbers doesn't prove by itself that political will alone is responsible or that Brexit is not. 

 

So we're at something of an impasse, which personally I think is fine - this isn't an exact hard science anyway. 

If Mahmood has achieved what is literally and absolutely impossible after Brexit (according to @leicsmac from FT) then it makes her very swift reduction in immigration numbers even more impressive.

 

I shall doff my cap again and I am not a double doffer.

[leicsmac]

5 minutes ago, kenny said:

If Mahmood has achieved what is literally and absolutely impossible after Brexit (according to @leicsmac from FT) then it makes her very swift reduction in immigration numbers even more impressive.

 

I shall doff my cap again and I am not a double doffer.

I appreciate the tongue in cheek, mon ami. A little humour in these times when there's not a lot to find humourous is important. 

[bovril]

Some irony in Brexiter's frustration at people blaming everything especially immigration on Brexiting when they spent years blaming everything especially immigration on not Brexiting.

[MPH]

Delighted to find out there is a mini ‘Campaign’ gathering pace  to get Donald Trumps face on a Dollar Bill. They will have to invent a new $250 Bill to accommodate him and change a law that stops a living person being on a bill, but the U.S treasury secretary was just talking about it so, unbelievably, this is actually all true!

[Lionator]

European WAR time!

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y708l015mo

 

A former chief of staff of UK Special Forces has told a public inquiry he believed war crimes allegations against the SAS were not referred to military police out of concern an investigation could disrupt operations and negatively affect morale.

The officer, the second highest ranking in special forces at the time, said another factor in the decision was that evidence had in part come via a rival special forces regiment.

The decision meant that military police did not learn for years of special forces concerns that the SAS was carrying out extra-judicial killings and submitting falsified reports.

The testimony came from closed-door evidence to the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan.

The inquiry is investigating allegations that the SAS committed war crimes on operations between 2010 and 2013, including the killing of children and civilians. The latest batch of testimony was heard in 2024 but only released in summarised form by the inquiry on Friday.

 

Well... that's not a good look. 

[oakman]

19 hours ago, davieG said:

Sure I read somewhere that this was implemented (in part) for the benefit of Harold Wilson - in later life the Wilsons had major financial problems due to the associated care costs of his Alzheimers and were looking at having to sell his political and personal archives to cover the cost of his ongoing care.

[davieG]

2 minutes ago, oakman said:

Sure I read somewhere that this was implemented (in part) for the benefit of Harold Wilson - in later life the Wilsons had major financial problems due to the associated care costs of his Alzheimers and were looking at having to sell his political and personal archives to cover the cost of his ongoing care.

I'm sure some pension is probably deserved in many cases but it should be related at least to length of service. Also is it contributary? I assume they also get an MPs pension on top of that as well. 

 

Then they get a payment if they lose an election, why is it double the statutory payment?

 

Payouts for Losing an Election (Loss of Office Payment)

Redundancy Pay: If an MP loses their seat at a general election, they are eligible for a "Loss of Office Payment" (LOOP). [1]

The Amount: This payment is equivalent to double the statutory redundancy entitlement, which generally amounts to a few months of their salary. It is intended to help them transition back into civilian life and support their staff during the immediate handover.

 

My gripe is so many of them talk about cutting pensions and other benefits whilst receiving much better themselves.

 

It's like when they voted to stop paying for University courses having all benefitted from those payments themselves, which the Scots, Welsh and NI get a much better deal.

[Zear0]

Not a great day for news out the judiciary today.
 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

[Raj]

The country is on its knees.....Disgraceful.

[oakman]

9 minutes ago, davieG said:

I'm sure some pension is probably deserved in many cases but it should be related at least to length of service. Also is it contributary? I assume they also get an MPs pension on top of that as well. 

 

Then they get a payment if they lose an election, why is it double the statutory payment?

 

Payouts for Losing an Election (Loss of Office Payment)

Redundancy Pay: If an MP loses their seat at a general election, they are eligible for a "Loss of Office Payment" (LOOP). [1]

The Amount: This payment is equivalent to double the statutory redundancy entitlement, which generally amounts to a few months of their salary. It is intended to help them transition back into civilian life and support their staff during the immediate handover.

 

My gripe is so many of them talk about cutting pensions and other benefits whilst receiving much better themselves.

 

It's like when they voted to stop paying for University courses having all benefitted from those payments themselves, which the Scots, Welsh and NI get a much better deal.

Agree with everything you've said. I was just commenting that it started for a semi-altruistic reason and, like most things benifiting politicians, has become another way to line their pockets.

[ajthefox]

29 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

Not a great day for news out the judiciary today.
 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

Crazy. I can't believe they're only on the sex offenders list for 2 and a half years as well.

[Rubbersoul]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

Not a great day for news out the judiciary today.
 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

Women & Girls in this country are being massively let down. 

[leicsmac]

32 minutes ago, Rubbersoul said:

Women & Girls in this country are being massively let down. 

I'm not sure, given even a cursory look at history, that is in any way a new phenomenon. 

[Rubbersoul]

5 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

I'm not sure, given even a cursory look at history, that is in any way a new phenomenon. 

True. 

[nnfox]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

I'm not sure, given even a cursory look at history, that is in any way a new phenomenon. 

You're absolutely right but there's a level of awareness around it now that has never been seen before.  More initiatives than ever and you'll probably find every police force in the country has violence against women and girls as one of their top priorities.

 

Yet again, the judiciary are stuck in the dark ages.

 

I'm all for not criminalising children unnecessarily, to protect and nurture them and show them a better way, but there has to be a line that, if crossed, they get the book thrown at them.  If raping children isn't a sufficient line then what the hell is? 

[leicsmac]

4 minutes ago, nnfox said:

You're absolutely right but there's a level of awareness around it now that has never been seen before.  More initiatives than ever and you'll probably find every police force in the country has violence against women and girls as one of their top priorities.

 

Yet again, the judiciary are stuck in the dark ages.

 

I'm all for not criminalising children unnecessarily, to protect and nurture them and show them a better way, but there has to be a line that, if crossed, they get the book thrown at them.  If raping children isn't a sufficient line then what the hell is? 

Absolutely no disagreement whatsoever there. 

 

I fear it's not just the judiciary who are stuck in those dark ages or seek to return to them, either. 

[FoxesDeb]

3 hours ago, Rubbersoul said:

Women & Girls in this country are being massively let down. 

It has always been the same. Similar to racism. Misogyny and racism abound whether we like it or not.

[Rubbersoul]

26 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

It has always been the same. Similar to racism. Misogyny and racism abound whether we like it or not.

Yes you’re right. I guess it’s just the amount of depressing stories coming out at the moment. 
 

Some of the stories I hear from friends that are teachers about teenage boys are frankly terrifying 

[st albans fox]

12 hours ago, Lionator said:

European WAR time!

I read a tweet yesterday that said we should expect Russia to prod and poke NATO defences over the next couple weeks to see what the response is. They seemed to favour the Baltic states but perhaps this Romania incident is part of it. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 hours ago, Rubbersoul said:

Yes you’re right. I guess it’s just the amount of depressing stories coming out at the moment. 
 

Some of the stories I hear from friends that are teachers about teenage boys are frankly terrifying 

You have friends that teach you about teenage boys?

[Rubbersoul]

7 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

You have friends that teach you about teenage boys?

You can do better than that 

[Trav Le Bleu]

5 minutes ago, Rubbersoul said:

You can do better than that 

That's what she said.

[Foxdiamond]

13 hours ago, nnfox said:

You're absolutely right but there's a level of awareness around it now that has never been seen before.  More initiatives than ever and you'll probably find every police force in the country has violence against women and girls as one of their top priorities.

 

Yet again, the judiciary are stuck in the dark ages.

 

I'm all for not criminalising children unnecessarily, to protect and nurture them and show them a better way, but there has to be a line that, if crossed, they get the book thrown at them.  If raping children isn't a sufficient line then what the hell is? 

This 100%. The boys are over the age of criminal responsibility. Rape and that it was aggravated is well over any measure surely of the concerns about criminalising children. Of course rehabilitation is required but there has to be sufficient punishment and recognition that victims and the general public expect them to be removed from our midst for a considerable time.