General News Thread

[Stevosevic]

3 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

... which we of course have the luxury of discussing from our screens while other people suffer and die.

 

If that change for the better ever even happens, of course. There's not a great many recent examples from which to draw and given the parties involved,  the odds aren't exactly in favour. Which would make all that death and suffering not only tragic but pointless. 

Many are here to criticise from behind their screens also. Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? Or are we happy to let it continue? 

[leicsmac]

3 minutes ago, Stevosevic said:

Many are here to criticise from behind their screens also. Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? Or are we happy to let it continue? 

Such systems have collapsed under their own inertia over time before, often with much better results than outside military intervention. 

 

Additionally, I'm not sure the answer to ending the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people is to select a course of action that has a significant nonzero probability of inflicting more of both upon them than they already have. 

 

In short, there are no good options, but I'm not sure why anyone would see outside military action as the best bad option. 

[Innovindil]

13 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

... which we of course have the luxury of discussing from our screens while other people suffer and die.

 

If that change for the better ever even happens, of course. There's not a great many recent examples from which to draw and given the parties involved,  the odds aren't exactly in favour. Which would make all that death and suffering not only tragic but pointless. 

Only have to glance at Afghanistan to see how much it would take to bring real, lasting change. 

 

Which makes all this Iran bugaboo seem even more pointless. Especially when you hear it was started without even a semblance of a plan in place for what the end of it looked like. 

[leicsmac]

2 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

Only have to glance at Afghanistan to see how much it would take to bring real, lasting change. 

 

Which makes all this Iran bugaboo seem even more pointless. Especially when you hear it was started without even a semblance of a plan in place for what the end of it looked like. 

And especially when it's reasonably clear that the two parties involved on the one side of this bugaboo are interested far more in power and gain for themselves than any positive outcome for the Iranian people, regardless of what soundbites they might come up with. 

[MPH]

8 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

If Mossad were that good they might have found out where Iran keeps all the drones.

 

 

I’ve read up on a lot of what Mossad do and I’m astounded by them every time. They are simply a work of art.

 

[danny.]

43 minutes ago, Stevosevic said:

Many are here to criticise from behind their screens also. Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? Or are we happy to let it continue? 

It feels like something changed for the Islamic Republic of Iran, to change it from a nice society for a really bad one for a lot of people, sort of 50 years ago or so.

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

 

I’ve read up on a lot of what Mossad do and I’m astounded by them every time. They are simply a work of art.

 

[leicsmac]

5 minutes ago, danny. said:

It feels like something changed for the Islamic Republic of Iran, to change it from a nice society for a really bad one for a lot of people, sort of 50 years ago or so.

A nice society backed up by the SAVAK.

 

A cursory Google shows that agency was... interesting. 

 

Edit: there's a lot to trace back regarding Iran over the last century or more, and there's a lot of it that wasn't good. 

Edited 4 March by leicsmac

[CornwallFox]

56 minutes ago, Stevosevic said:

Many are here to criticise from behind their screens also. Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? Or are we happy to let it continue? 

Sorry but will you stop with this bs.

The idea anything will change from missiles and airplanes is for the birds. 

Individuals might die but the regime is still all there. Iran has a huge military that isn't going to just disappear. 

It's not legal nor anything to do with other countries now a country is governed. It's utter codswallop to pretend the people of Iran are the main concern here.

You're simply trying to find a way to say trump is doing the right thing. He isn't. I bet your do nothing but complain about Tony Blair and Iraq. 

[Guesty]

52 minutes ago, Stevosevic said:

Many are here to criticise from behind their screens also. Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? Or are we happy to let it continue? 

Regime change is very complicated. There are no easy answers. History shows it rarely works out. Even if it does in the short-term, long-term if often backfires. Like for example in Iran in 1953. They had a leader who was progressive and wanted what was best for his people. To the point that he wanted his people to profit from all of Iran's oil reserves. So the UK and the US used MI6 and the CIA to launch a coup and  overthrow him.

 

The thing about people behind screens talking about regime change is: people who are negative/cautious tend to be consistent in most conflicts until it spills out into war in other countries.

 

People who are pro: often change their tune depending on the regime. Putin isn't great to his own people; he sees Ukrainians as his people. You okay with sending our troops into Ukraine and Russia and bombing Moscow, St Petersburg and Crimea? If you're consistent fair play to you; but a lot won't be. Lot's of people behind screens are happy to cheer on regime change and missiles flying - until there's the remote chance the missiles might start flying back at them behind their screen and their loved ones. 

 

 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

By the time HMS Dragon gets to Cyprus the FIFA Peace award winner will have moved onto his next war.

[danny.]

21 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

A nice society backed up by the SAVAK.

 

A cursory Google shows that agency was... interesting. 

 

Edit: there's a lot to trace back regarding Iran over the last century or more, and there's a lot of it that wasn't good. 

Yea, not perfect at all. But then women could walk around without being executed for not wearing a hijab, so... every cloud eh!

[ramboacdc]

5 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

By the time HMS Dragon gets to Cyprus the FIFA Peace award winner will have moved onto his next war.

If the claim we were asked if we wanted to send a ship 2 weeks ago is true, this looks bad to worse. Even if it goes full tilt all the way there its a week away. 

 

Especially if the Turkey rockets start landing, we are really not positioned here well for air defence as we could be.

[bovril]

1 hour ago, Stevosevic said:

Any other realistic suggestions from your side to end the suffering and oppression of the Iranian people? 

Just throwing it out there but perhaps not bombing school kids?

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, danny. said:

Yea, not perfect at all. But then women could walk around without being executed for not wearing a hijab, so... every cloud eh!

It's incredibly sad that Iranians have had to choose between one kind of awful oppression and another kind for over a century, really. 

[Jimothy]

BBC News - Partner of Labour MP arrested on suspicion of spying for China, BBC told

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7955ewj7gwo

 

 

[danny.]

1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

It's incredibly sad that Iranians have had to choose between one kind of awful oppression and another kind for over a century, really. 

I don't think many of them got a choice...

[MPH]

20 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

haha yes indeed. I mean it in the same way I would mean that hitler was a skilled leader, whilst disassociating myself from his moral objectives

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, danny. said:

I don't think many of them got a choice...

And that's one of the saddest parts.

 

9 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

haha yes indeed. I mean it in the same way I would mean that hitler was a skilled leader, whilst disassociating myself from his moral objectives

Of course - they appear to be incredibly skilled at what they do. It's just a shame as to what that is and the necessity (or not) of it.

[Samilktray]

Currently reading Prisoners Of Geography and given everything going on, seems quite an apt book.
 

Nothing else to add here except read more books drop less bombs imho

[WigstonWanderer]

4 hours ago, Sampson said:

Sadly some of the UK right wing press and certainly Farage have started putting America’s interest over Britain’s since Trump came back to power. Like it’s some international MAGA movement like the old international communist movements in the 80s, it’s weird. 

How popular is trump in the UK?

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, WigstonWanderer said:

How popular is trump in the UK?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/879835/british-perceptions-on-donald-trump/

 

Not great. 

[Sampson]

2 minutes ago, WigstonWanderer said:

How popular is trump in the UK?

This is from last week so just before the Iran stuff but fair to say not very 

 

https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54187-how-popular-is-donald-trump-in-europe-february-2026
 

United Kingdom

February’s tracker poll found that 13% of British respondents had a favourable opinion of Donald Trump and 83% had an unfavourable opinion.

This represents a slight decrease in popularity since January’s survey, with the number of British people holding a favourable view three points lower and the number with an unfavourable view remains largely the same

 

Still better than the Danes…

 

February’s tracker poll found that 3% of Danish respondents had a favourable opinion of Donald Trump and 95% had an unfavourable opinion.

Edited 4 March by Sampson

[WigstonWanderer]

2 hours ago, Innovindil said:

Only have to glance at Afghanistan to see how much it would take to bring real, lasting change. 

 

Which makes all this Iran bugaboo seem even more pointless. Especially when you hear it was started without even a semblance of a plan in place for what the end of it looked like. 

Or Libya

[ramboacdc]

HMS Dragon wont leave until next week. 2 wildcat helicopters of ours will reach Cyprus first. 

 

US warplanes now expected on UK bases "in the coming days"