General News Thread

[Trav Le Bleu]

6 hours ago, leicsmac said:

My source (IMF projected 2026 figures) indicated 32.4%.

 

 

Though, once again, the whole idea of the US apparently simply wanting a more level playing field is a complete red herring anyway. 

Not sure you can trust Ethan Hunt.

[leicsmac]

7 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Lost me when she attributed the hole in the ozone layer to hairspray. If anything the repair of the ozone shows that massive societal change works.

 

Then the Gosh (how very middle England) sentence about cults. It might be fine to refer to people of differing beliefs as cults, down at the pub, but it's not going to win over anyone in a serious news article.

TBF at this point I'd happily create a sourced news article explaining how those still in hock to MAGA are a cult, because they tick practically all the boxes for identifying one. Mdme Person, on the other hand, has no such proof.

 

7 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I'd argue that they are the nation that most needs NATO. They're certainly the only nation that's ever used it.

A fact those same MAGA appear conveniently to forget whenever it comes up.

 

7 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Not sure you can trust Ethan Hunt.

I dunno, his methods are pretty unorthodox but he tends to come up with the right problem and solution most of the time in the end. 

[davieG]

9 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

1886 - car invented.    1916 - tank invented

1903 - 1st powered flight  1914 - 1st fighter

1926 - liquid fueled rocket 1944 - v2

 

The jet engine was created to make fighters go faster and atomic power to kill millions.

 

Various Date - Prescription drugs. Used for spiking and sexually assaulting/raping women and probably men. 

[st albans fox]

13 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

1886 - car invented.    1916 - tank invented

1903 - 1st powered flight  1914 - 1st fighter

1926 - liquid fueled rocket 1944 - v2

 

The jet engine was created to make fighters go faster and atomic power to kill millions.

 

I could argue that on balance, it’s saved more lives than it’s taken 

[Trav Le Bleu]

5 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

I could argue that on balance, it’s saved more lives than it’s taken 

I think you miss my point.

 

All of these were of benefit to mankind, but we're rapidly turned to killing (hence the dates) or were initially developed to kill people.

 

A lot of money to be made killing people.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Not only reported in the pages of the excitingly titled Civil Service World but if you cannot trust them, who can you trust? 

 

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/pm-announces-new-national-unit-to-fight-hostile-state-information-attacks

 

Long overdue, but better late than never. 

 

Apparently broad cross party consensus on this that this is a good idea, with one exception, a particularly outspoken high profile politician claiming "This will be like George Orwell’s Ministry of Information". You'll NEVER guess who that was

[bovril]

9 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Not only reported in the pages of the excitingly titled Civil Service World but if you cannot trust them, who can you trust? 

 

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/pm-announces-new-national-unit-to-fight-hostile-state-information-attacks

 

Long overdue, but better late than never. 

 

Apparently broad cross party consensus on this that this is a good idea, with one exception, a particularly outspoken high profile politician claiming "This will be like George Orwell’s Ministry of Information". You'll NEVER guess who that was

Do they mean ministry of truth? Because I wouldn't describe it as "George Orwell's ministry of information" although he did work there.

[Bellend Sebastian]

28 minutes ago, bovril said:

Do they mean ministry of truth? Because I wouldn't describe it as "George Orwell's ministry of information" although he did work there.

Well I've not read it so I didn't pick up on this, but I wouldn't have thought the person in question would be a great lover of literature

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c32l8y8kygdvo

 

This continual encroachment of military activity in space, whoever is doing it, is deeply messed up. 

 

Space is a global commons, and if anyone thinks otherwise, they, like Mike Pompeo when he first mentioned it a while ago, can go fvck themselves.

[bovril]

1 hour ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Well I've not read it so I didn't pick up on this, but I wouldn't have thought the person in question would be a great lover of literature

Not sure any British writer has been used and abused more than Orwell especially in recent years 

[leicsmac]

13 minutes ago, bovril said:

Not sure any British writer has been used and abused more than Orwell especially in recent years 

Right?

 

I mean, come on people, other dystopic depictions of grossly horrible authoritarian regimes are available. 

Edited 18 hours ago by leicsmac

[Parafox]

21 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

1886 - car invented.    1916 - tank invented

1903 - 1st powered flight  1914 - 1st fighter

1926 - liquid fueled rocket 1944 - v2

 

The jet engine was created to make fighters go faster and atomic power to kill millions.

 

Neither of these statements is true.

 

The jet engine was developed and designed as a jet engine with no intent for fighting.

 

Atomic power developed as a result of scientific progress, not to become a weapon.

 

Unfortunately the progress and development of these over the decades has got to the point where the situation the world faces now, is the outcome of these and other inventions that were meant for good, have been used and developed for bad.

 

AI is the next big threat to humanity.

 

There's thousands of keyboard geeks in this world that can get around any security that homeland security can implement.

 

 

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Parafox

[Foxdiamond]

20 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Neither of these statements is true.

 

The jet engine was developed and designed as a jet engine with no intent for fighting.

 

Atomic power developed as a result of scientific progress, not to become a weapon.

 

Unfortunately the progress and development of these over the decades has got to the point where the situation the world faces now, is the outcome of these and other inventions that were meant for good, have been used and developed for bad.

 

AI is the next big threat to humanity.

 

There's thousands of keyboard geeks in this world that can get around any security that homeland security can implement.

 

 

 

 

And just to add the aeroplanes of 1914 were scouts rather than fighters.

[Blarmy]

19 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

And just to add the aeroplanes of 1914 were scouts rather than fighters.

But then they sent up other planes to stop the scout planes and, well, here we are. 

[Super_horns]

More cuts at the BBC coming as they really make the effort to reduce costs and keep the TVL going .

 

https://deadline.com/2026/09/bbc-announce-tv-radio-closures-bbc-three-1237111317/

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, Parafox said:

Neither of these statements is true.

 

The jet engine was developed and designed as a jet engine with no intent for fighting.

 

Atomic power developed as a result of scientific progress, not to become a weapon.

 

Unfortunately the progress and development of these over the decades has got to the point where the situation the world faces now, is the outcome of these and other inventions that were meant for good, have been used and developed for bad.

 

AI is the next big threat to humanity.

 

There's thousands of keyboard geeks in this world that can get around any security that homeland security can implement.

 

 

 

 

So are you saying the first jet engine was fitted to a commercial airliner? 

 

Or that nuclear power plant was built before the nuclear bomb?

 

As it stands, the first nuclear reactor was built as part of the Manhattan Project.

[Trav Le Bleu]

4 hours ago, bovril said:

Do they mean ministry of truth? Because I wouldn't describe it as "George Orwell's ministry of information" although he did work there.

 

4 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Well I've not read it so I didn't pick up on this, but I wouldn't have thought the person in question would be a great lover of literature

It was the ministry of informations job to suppress free thinking, that only Big Brother was correct and reliable.

 

Sounds like MAGA to me.

[Trav Le Bleu]

53 minutes ago, Blarmy said:

But then they sent up other planes to stop the scout planes and, well, here we are. 

I just checked and the first bombers were even earlier, pre- WW1 in 1911.

 

Having said that I seem to recall balloons being used for bombing even earlier.

[UniFox21]

An open Ai agent just hacked Australia's Medicare system back in June. Wonder how many more there have been

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

An open Ai agent just hacked Australia's Medicare system back in June. Wonder how many more there have been

I wonder if this is the reason (or one of) that the big players in that industry have suddenly decided caution is not a bad idea after all. 

 

Of course, Felon#47 is only seeing his own personal legacy and fueling some "reds under the bed" nationalist bullshit regarding China on the matter, so that's a problem. 

[Foxdiamond]

10 hours ago, Blarmy said:

But then they sent up other planes to stop the scout planes and, well, here we are. 

Only after pilots and observers started taking pot shots with revolvers and rifles. Inevitable I suppose. 

[UniFox21]

2 hours ago, leicsmac said:

I wonder if this is the reason (or one of) that the big players in that industry have suddenly decided caution is not a bad idea after all. 

 

Of course, Felon#47 is only seeing his own personal legacy and fueling some "reds under the bed" nationalist bullshit regarding China on the matter, so that's a problem. 

It would make sense, there's probably a few more rumbling in the background that we haven't heard yet.

 

The number happening is now getting increasingly concerning

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

It would make sense, there's probably a few more rumbling in the background that we haven't heard yet.

 

The number happening is now getting increasingly concerning

It is indeed. 

 

It may well represent a threat as large as the kind of weapons that are already regulated internationally (indeed, one of the threats is that it could create any one of a number of circumstances where those weapons are much more likely to be used), so similar, binding and enforced international regulation is called for here, too. 

[Zear0]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

I wonder if this is the reason (or one of) that the big players in that industry have suddenly decided caution is not a bad idea after all. 

 

Of course, Felon#47 is only seeing his own personal legacy and fueling some "reds under the bed" nationalist bullshit regarding China on the matter, so that's a problem. 

Not sure he'll be able to sell that position with his nose firming up Xi's backside.

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

Not sure he'll be able to sell that position with his nose firming up Xi's backside.

Fair point well made. 

 

Either way, there really needs to be global agreement and regulation, and soon.