General News Thread

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Shows the benefits of being an Islamic state

The last time I was in London they barely seemed to be enforcing Islamic law AT ALL and when I asked a police officer about this he didn't answer because he was too busy sewing a Pride flag

[danny.]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Shows the benefits of being an Islamic state

Keeps MI5 busy at least

[Dr Marco]

"Bomb, bomb, bomb

Bomb , bomb Iran..." : Donald trump, worst American president ever

 

 

[bovril]

Americans need to bully other countries with their military hardware to compensate for their microscopic penises 

[st albans fox]

48 minutes ago, Dr Marco said:

"Bomb, bomb, bomb

Bomb , bomb Iran..." : Donald trump, worst American president ever

 

 

This isn’t new ?

I mean even he wouldn’t put that out the day before he’s due to decide what he’s doing!

[foxes1988]

15 hours ago, Leicesterpool said:

There's threats around the world possible invasions here there everywhere, thousands crossing the channel on boats yet Starmer is more bothered about Grok. 

Didn't he literally last week discuss and pledge to send UK troops to Ukraine in the case of peace deal?  Seemed pretty important to me 

[Dr Marco]

25 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

This isn’t new ?

I mean even he wouldn’t put that out the day before he’s due to decide what he’s doing!

waiting for his new video! dunno which song he will use then

[st albans fox]

on bbc website re sink hole that appeared in Harpenden 
I mean they didn’t really get sucked into publishing that - surely !

 

Hertfordshire Council added: "We are aware of a sink hole in Park Avenue North, Harpenden, this morning and our Hertfordshire Highways team are on site along with Affinity Water. 

"Park Avenue North, is currently closed for residents' safety and while we investigate the cause."

A spokesperson for Affinity Water said: "We're aware of the situation and are looking into it."

[Mike Oxlong]

1 hour ago, Dr Marco said:

"Bomb, bomb, bomb

Bomb , bomb Iran..." : Donald trump, worst American president ever

 

 

But the US  are only contemplating doing this because they hate seeing a government take the lives of legitimate protesters 🤔

[FrankieADZ]

why arent some of the ppl protesting about the iran stuff thats happening?, tbf not alot in the media either

cos some of that stuff looks really bad, for all of ppl in iran

 

Edited 12 January by FrankieADZ

[st albans fox]

27 minutes ago, FrankieADZ said:

why arent some of the ppl protesting about the iran stuff thats happening?, tbf not alot in the media either

cos some of that stuff looks really bad, for all of ppl in iran

 

There are protests near the Iranian embassy with British based Iranians who are clearly anti regime.  But there doesn’t seem to be much sympathy for the protesters in Iran - shutting down the internet has been important in that because there will be some pretty awful videos that haven’t got out yet. 

[Lionator]

2 hours ago, foxes1988 said:

Didn't he literally last week discuss and pledge to send UK troops to Ukraine in the case of peace deal?  Seemed pretty important to me 

There won’t be a peace deal if the whole plan is to send British troops to Ukraine? Why would Putin ever agree to that? 

[foxes1988]

36 minutes ago, Lionator said:

There won’t be a peace deal if the whole plan is to send British troops to Ukraine? Why would Putin ever agree to that? 

Maybe not but that wasn't my point in the slightest though. I was merely using that example to dispell @Leicesterpools notion that Starmer is more bothered about Grok.

[Parafox]

On 11/01/2026 at 20:28, bovril said:

I can only assume I haven't been banned or restricted because the mods have me on ignore 

I think I haven't been banned because I'm a bit thick.

 

Then again, there's some who HAVE been banned for the same reason.

Edited 12 January by Parafox

[Parafox]

5 hours ago, Dr Marco said:

"Bomb, bomb, bomb

Bomb , bomb Iran..." : Donald trump, worst American president ever

 

 

No soundtrack on that video 

[Parafox]

4 hours ago, bovril said:

Americans need to bully other countries with their military hardware to compensate for their microscopic penises 

 

Canadians are notoriously well hung @Jattdogg

[Jattdogg]

3 hours ago, Parafox said:

 

Canadians are notoriously well hung @Jattdogg

Otherwise known as GSP (Gigantic Solid Penis)

[Jon the Hat]

5 hours ago, FrankieADZ said:

why arent some of the ppl protesting about the iran stuff thats happening?, tbf not alot in the media either

cos some of that stuff looks really bad, for all of ppl in iran

 

In short, because a lot of people think Israel = bad therefore Iran cannot = bad as they are anti-Israel and Israel bombed them and stuff.  They are ****wits.  By any measure you care to use, the Iranian Regime is awful, and one should support the uprising of the people even if that means you presently happen to agree with Trump, Netanyahu and select other arseholes.

[Sly]

18 hours ago, Brizzle Fox said:

I thought Reform were meant to be a refreshing move away from the "Uniparty" political establishment in the UK.

 

Kind of feels they are properly evolving into a really shit Conservative tribute act, with more and more Tory has beens moving across, maybe reaching its nadir with that ultimate chancer Zahawi making the very small leap today. 

 

You would have to think this will royally backfire on them at some point.

 

 

Ultimately it also clears the Conservative Party out of the “Boris brigade” and gets them back to being a more stable offering (hopefully). 
 

 

[Sly]

6 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

In short, because a lot of people think Israel = bad therefore Iran cannot = bad as they are anti-Israel and Israel bombed them and stuff.  They are ****wits.  By any measure you care to use, the Iranian Regime is awful, and one should support the uprising of the people even if that means you presently happen to agree with Trump, Netanyahu and select other arseholes.

It’s a bit like the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. 
 

The entire section of Middle East has been a political boiling spot since Persian times, as it is trade corridor and has had a massive mix of religion, politics, resources and aggressive empire builders through history. 

 

I think the challenge is now, with the rise of instant media, it’s just blown up. What was an entire region  sitting on a bed of sand is easily destabilised. 
 

Iran has now had nationwide protests since the end of December, which was largely uncovered by media originally. The imposed social media and internet blackout would have played a part in that.

 

I’m not massively up to date on what’s happening, however it seems they’ve had economic collapse with inflation going through the roof. They’ve the started protesting, which has then turned into anti government protests. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

My earlier piss-take post about London proving quite popular so thanks for that but those of us that still dip into Facebook from time to time know that if I put it on there you'd get replies like "too right" and "yes I've been there and that's the sort of thing that happens all the time".

 

Perhaps that's what you lot were thinking as well

[Trav Le Bleu]

7 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

In short, because a lot of people think Israel = bad therefore Iran cannot = bad as they are anti-Israel and Israel bombed them and stuff.  They are ****wits.  By any measure you care to use, the Iranian Regime is awful, and one should support the uprising of the people even if that means you presently happen to agree with Trump, Netanyahu and select other arseholes.

The phrase "they deserve each other" springs to mind.

[Lionator]

23 hours ago, Alf Bentley said:

Fancy some good news for a change?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/12/london-homicide-rate-drops-to-lowest-in-more-than-a-decade

 

I'm sure some will question the figures and it certainly doesn't mean crime isn't a problem in London, but....

 

"London’s murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world. [...] 

 

In 2025, the Metropolitan police recorded 97 homicides in London, down from 153 in 2019, and down from 109 in 2024. In terms of longer term trends, a decade ago there were 120 homicides; in 2005, 181 homicides were recorded, with the peak this century being 216 in 2003. Homicides of those aged under-25 have fallen dramatically, with 18 recorded in 2025 compared with a peak of 69 in 2017.

 

[...] The fall in the number of homicides comes despite a rise in London’s population, to 9.1 million compared with 8.1 million in 2010. Thus the chance of being a victim of homicide has fallen and according to Met figures there were, in 2025, 1.1 killings for every 100,000 residents of London, compared with 3.2 for Berlin, 2.9 in Brussels and 1.6 in Paris. According to the figures, London is safer than many if not all major North American cities, having a fraction of their homicide rate, which in New York is 2.8 for every 100,000 members of the city’s population, 5.6 in Los Angeles, 10.5 in Houston and 12.3 in Philadelphia. For young people in London who were at a greater risk of homicide, they are now at lower risk than older adults. In 2017, there were 2.51 killings for every 100,000 people aged under-25, while the rate for adults was 1.65. In 2025, the figure for adults was 1.1 for every 100,000, while for those under-25 the rate was 0.65".

Sorry Alf but my Auntie Pat from Blaby said this is a lie by the deep state ran by Sadiq Khan. 

[Lionator]

Weird that Sadiq Khan is probably the most effective Labour political operator, I suppose you could throw Burnham in there too. You’d think that would teach them that giving power away from Westminster might actually be a good thing but Starmer seems to be properly Westminster pilled.

[StanSP]

In absolutely no surprise at all...