General News Thread

[Zear0]

6 minutes ago, bovril said:

It wasn't just lying on his CV

So at what point is the extent of the press intrusion leading to his act today acceptable?

 

CV, biography, chat in the pub? Need some help here.

[bovril]

Just now, Lionator said:

He wasn’t in the public eye until the scandal became a scandal though! Then people leapt onto it because of their own agenda’s. 

He was relatively well known and judging by his behavior he doesn't strike me as someone that wanted to shy away from the public eye.

[Strokes]

2 minutes ago, Lionator said:

He wasn’t in the public eye until the scandal became a scandal though! Then people leapt onto it because of their own agenda’s. 

He was a panellist on question time and appeared on Kuenssberg several times, he was in the public eye.

[bovril]

13 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

So at what point is the extent of the press intrusion leading to his act today acceptable?

 

CV, biography, chat in the pub? Need some help here.

I read extensively about his fall from grace and his lies because I admittedly found it quite interesting and somewhat amusing.

 

After that I haven't followed it and I don't know what further "press intrusion" there has been. For example hounding someone and their family at their home is not something I would ever think of as acceptable, if that's what's happened, and I have no interest in reading about his personal life. I don't like the humiliation ritual aspect of Anglo culture at all but it's not only directed at black academics. 

 

But he didn't just lie about his CV. The schadenfraud people felt over his demise was more I am sure because he fabricated stories of abuse and also because he made a complaint to the police about someone who was investigating him, happily ruining someone's life to further his own career.

 

I seriously doubt he was derided more than anyone else would be who had done similar. 

Edited 14 August by bovril

[Innovindil]

The more important general news is that Strokes is back, almost as mysteriously as he disappeared. 

[The Bear]

Press intrusion and criticism might cross the line sometimes, but that still doesn't mean they are responsible for someone taking their own life. Mental heath is more complex than that. Contributing to his poor mental state yes. But not to blame. 

[when_you're_smiling]

19 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

The more important general news is that Strokes is back, almost as mysteriously as he disappeared. 

Hard To Explain.

[Jaspa]

In other news, it is quite clearly Pakistan Independence day according to the increasing racket outside. 

 

I did check to see if there was a cricket result initially, but no.

[bovril]

Digressing a bit and I know it's a sensitive topic but I had someone in my family who was an extreme fantasist and narcissist and who invented stories of abuse she faced. She never took it that far but she threatened suicide on more than one occasion as a way to gain sympathy, in my opinion. I'm clearly not an expert and obviously it's extremely complex but I'm not looking forward to the discourse around Arday being pushed over the edge by the racist bullying press, which is inevitably coming. That in its own way is manipulating a complex topic for ones own agenda. 

Edited 14 August by bovril

[Izzy]

13 hours ago, Strokes said:

He was a panellist on question time and appeared on Kuenssberg several times, he was in the public eye.

Bloody hell it's Strokes!

 

[davieG]

Assuming this is a nationwide problem worthy of posting in here as well as the 'Leicester Dump' thread

 

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported
Parts of Leicestershire saw the number of sex offences soar by more than 10 per cent

 

Women in Leicester say they do not feel safe walking around the city centre at night - that's as new data shows thousands of sexual offences have been reported in the area.

New Home Office figures reveal police recorded nearly 4,000 sexual offences across Leicestershire in the year ending March 2026, with the city centre recording one of the highest rates of sex crimes in the East Midlands.

Police recorded 1,669 sexual offences in the city last year, including 645 rapes, the equivalent of 4.3 crimes per 1,000 residents - the joint 36th-highest rate among more than 300 council areas in England and Wales.

It's a series of statistics backed up by residents and city-goers who simply don't feel safe in Leicester.

 

More here

 

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported | Leicestershire Live

 

 

Having young granddaughter at Uni in Loughborough I worry about her all the time as I know here parents do.

 

It must be absolutely frightening to be a women.

[leicsmac]

20 minutes ago, davieG said:

Assuming this is a nationwide problem worthy of posting in here as well as the 'Leicester Dump' thread

 

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported
Parts of Leicestershire saw the number of sex offences soar by more than 10 per cent

 

Women in Leicester say they do not feel safe walking around the city centre at night - that's as new data shows thousands of sexual offences have been reported in the area.

New Home Office figures reveal police recorded nearly 4,000 sexual offences across Leicestershire in the year ending March 2026, with the city centre recording one of the highest rates of sex crimes in the East Midlands.

Police recorded 1,669 sexual offences in the city last year, including 645 rapes, the equivalent of 4.3 crimes per 1,000 residents - the joint 36th-highest rate among more than 300 council areas in England and Wales.

It's a series of statistics backed up by residents and city-goers who simply don't feel safe in Leicester.

 

More here

 

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported | Leicestershire Live

 

 

Having young granddaughter at Uni in Loughborough I worry about her all the time as I know here parents do.

 

It must be absolutely frightening to be a women.

As alarming as these reports are, I'm inclined to think it's always been frightening to be a woman for the reasons given above - this day and age just gives more awareness of exactly why for those who wish to know. 

[Narborough Road Fox]

55 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

As alarming as these reports are, I'm inclined to think it's always been frightening to be a woman for the reasons given above - this day and age just gives more awareness of exactly why for those who wish to know. 

I'm a woman in my mid 50s. I've never felt safe walking the streets at night. We were advised not to when I was young back in the 90s.

 

[Super_horns]

15 hours ago, The Bear said:

Press intrusion and criticism might cross the line sometimes, but that still doesn't mean they are responsible for someone taking their own life. Mental heath is more complex than that. Contributing to his poor mental state yes. But not to blame. 

Apparently this all started with some bloke who had previously been sacked by Cambridge Uni outing  Jason Arday after somehow gaining access to his CV and written work for his PhD.

[leicsmac]

1 hour ago, Narborough Road Fox said:

I'm a woman in my mid 50s. I've never felt safe walking the streets at night. We were advised not to when I was young back in the 90s.

 

I don't doubt that at all. 

 

It's truly dreadful that there appears to be not much useful progress on this matter, after all this time. 

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8en2z9jp2xo

 

South Korea's president has proposed talks with its northern neighbour on officially ending the war between the two that is technically still active.

Lee Jae Myung suggested a "multi-layered security system" to avoid flare-ups along the countries' de-facto border, known as the demilitarised zone (DMZ), and offered to discuss practical ways of halting Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

North Korea has continually tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which has been perceived in Seoul and nearby Japan as an attempt to intimidate and project power.

The conflict between the two occupants of the Korean peninsula has been effectively frozen since an armistice was signed in 1953.

 

Better international news. 

 

Jong-un was keen to talk to Moon Jae-in on this one, let's hope he's similarly keen to talk to Myung on it too. 

[Heathrow fox]

2 hours ago, leicsmac said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8en2z9jp2xo

 

South Korea's president has proposed talks with its northern neighbour on officially ending the war between the two that is technically still active.

Lee Jae Myung suggested a "multi-layered security system" to avoid flare-ups along the countries' de-facto border, known as the demilitarised zone (DMZ), and offered to discuss practical ways of halting Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

North Korea has continually tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which has been perceived in Seoul and nearby Japan as an attempt to intimidate and project power.

The conflict between the two occupants of the Korean peninsula has been effectively frozen since an armistice was signed in 1953.

 

Better international news. 

 

Jong-un was keen to talk to Moon Jae-in on this one, let's hope he's similarly keen to talk to Myung on it too. 

Read somewhere a few weeks ago that NK had dropped any mention of renunifaction from it’s new constitution 

[leicsmac]

47 minutes ago, Heathrow fox said:

Read somewhere a few weeks ago that NK had dropped any mention of renunifaction from it’s new constitution 

They did, but given they change their minds as often as most folks change their underwear and their overall objective is reunification too (by one means or another), IMO it's rather possible that they may be open at least to conversation on the topic. 

[Lionator]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

They did, but given they change their minds as often as most folks change their underwear and their overall objective is reunification too (by one means or another), IMO it's rather possible that they may be open at least to conversation on the topic. 

The South need it because they know they can’t rely on the US now if things get hairy. It wouldn’t be in the North’s interest right now to negotiate sadly. But you never know, if Trump and Kim become pals again. 

[leicsmac]

3 minutes ago, Lionator said:

The South need it because they know they can’t rely on the US now if things get hairy. It wouldn’t be in the North’s interest right now to negotiate sadly. But you never know, if Trump and Kim become pals again. 

Myung did come to power on a platform that included this, so I reckon he was going to go for it with or without Trump being his usual dickish self anyway. I'm also inclined to think that the South could at the very least hold its own in any conflict with the North without help from the US. So, I reckon now isn't a bad time to talk, all things considered. 

 

NB. I'm also thinking if the US are going to step away, the Chinese will be seeing an opportunity to step in as some kind of neutral mediator between both sides, given things going bad would hurt them directly too.

[Lionator]

5 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Myung did come to power on a platform that included this, so I reckon he was going to go for it with or without Trump being his usual dickish self anyway. I'm also inclined to think that the South could at the very least hold its own in any conflict with the North without help from the US. So, I reckon now isn't a bad time to talk, all things considered. 

 

NB. I'm also thinking if the US are going to step away, the Chinese will be seeing an opportunity to step in as some kind of neutral mediator between both sides, given things going bad would hurt them directly too.

I’ve read some things about China being very concerned about the North’s relationship with Russia and that they basically don’t have them on a leash anymore. China also have better relations with South Korea these days although not Japan yet. 

[leicsmac]

4 minutes ago, Lionator said:

I’ve read some things about China being very concerned about the North’s relationship with Russia and that they basically don’t have them on a leash anymore. China also have better relations with South Korea these days although not Japan yet. 

And China do have things the North needs in terms of vital resources - food, machinery to process raw materials etc. They might think that given they're on about an equal diplomatic keel with both North and South right now, it would be a good time to put something forward, if the US are no longer interested enough to intervene.

Edited 15 August by leicsmac

[bovril]

Good article from across the pond on the Arday affair:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/world/europe/jason-arday-cambridge-hiring-questions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5lA.8wns.ahFBr55yfoc_&fbclid=IwY2xjawTttVFwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAGJyaWQRMEVIWW5ldFh4T1o5S2h3T3JzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeyWbBrdnLUK7SxkY2m7R4TkHiAlwfyClx9s-JR7AsbJiVrfXVNiZvUosA6aE_aem_DkPCVvGcm7uyzlDEABdXoA

[Super_horns]

So Reform are another party who seem to band every genuinely disabled person getting PIP and other benefits with those who just don’t work because they find it easier to gain benefits?

Edited 15 August by Super_horns

[Lionator]

8 hours ago, Super_horns said:

So Reform are another party who seem to band every genuinely disabled person getting PIP and other benefits with those who just don’t work because they find it easier to gain benefits?

Yes that’s the point, create a two tier society that you can blame all your problems on. Including people with cancer, chronic health conditions etc while at the same time advocating for policies like bringing back smoking in indoor spaces and encouraging heavy binge drinking.