Elon Musk's galactic ego sows chaos in European politics It's been a busy month in the political brain of Elon Musk. The tech, automotive, and space entrepreneur has gone from mulling a donation to the Reform UK party worth around $100 million to calling its leader unfit. Musk may have founded SpaceX, which is credited with transforming private sector space transport, but his …
KittenHuffer,
There's no law against saying civil war is inevitable. And surely it's better he be allowed to say it in public, so we can all see how little he knows - than to give him the false cachet of having his statement banned?
Also, he definitely suffered the consequences of saying advertisers can go fuck themselves. They fucked off and left Twitter instead.
The only consequence-free one is being allowed to get away with calling an innocent person pedo guy. At least there's an upside to that though. He's personally gone to court and paid lawyers to allow me to legally call Elon Musk Pedo Guy without consequences. What's sauce for the goose etc...
There's no law against saying civil war is inevitable. And surely it's better he be allowed to say it in public, so we can all see how little he knows - than to give him the false cachet of having his statement banned?
Not sure KittenHuffer was necessarily suggesting that Xitter should be banned - merely abandoned. Starmer can - and should - instruct the Cabinet Office to abandon all UKGov accounts. Stop updating them.
Twitter was a useful social platform. Now it's the personal political vehicle of a foreign national, seeking to influence UK politics. There's literally no reason for UKGov or senior politicians to carry on using it, any more than they should feel obliged to use Baidu, VK or Truth Social. If Starmer nuked enough political Xitter accounts, it'd break the network effects for the Westminster politics corner of the Xitterverse and pretty much force people elsewhere - press releases, gov.uk, BlueSky, etc. Musk could scream into the void but we wouldn't be listening. Just as I'm welcome to write whatever I like on a personal blog but nobody is obliged to read - much less respond - to it.
My biggest objection is the conduct of the media, who breathlessly report all this and therefore enable Musk. At what point did we decide that the leaders of European nations should be obliged to answer daily questions about the musings of a private South African/US/Canadian citizen? Musk is at liberty to predict civil war - that doesn't mean our dear leaders are obliged to dignify it with a response. If I start a blog, should political editors quiz Starmer on my opinions too? I do at least have a UK vote!
"Now it's the personal political vehicle of a foreign national"
Now? It always has been. Just like with the 'fact' checkers. You check the 'facts' in accordance with whoever is paying you.
The problem is that social media has been accepted as a 'town square' for communications by so many companies, governments and government agencies that leaving them will cut off vital communications with millions of people. Its simply too late.
Now? It always has been.
It was always a foreign platform, but I'm not sure the owners in San Fran were behind various Russian disinformation campaigns. In fact they went to some efforts to stop that sort of thing.
Of course they undoubtedly turned a blind eye to any US-based propaganda, but all that was quite a way from the owner and CEO actively trolling foreign leaders.
Just like with the 'fact' checkers. You check the 'facts' in accordance with whoever is paying you.
None of the major fact checking outlets - Politifact, FullFact, Factcheck.org or even Snopes can really be accused of political bias. It may be that they debunk more "right-wing" material than "left-wing", but this is hardly surprising when the overwhelming majority of Anti-Vax, Holocaust-Denial, burn-the-5G-masts nonsense comes form the far-right.
Nonetheless, Factcheck.org's "Whoppers of 2024" is remarkably even-handed. They write:
Several of Trump’s biggest falsehoods over the last 12 months were about immigration, including his bizarre claim that Haitian immigrants were “eating the pets” of people in an Ohio community. In addition, he incorrectly blamed “migrant crime,” as he coined it, for the not-at-all “Worst Crime Wave in History!”
He also took historical revisionism to new levels...
But Trump wasn’t alone in misinforming the public. His political foes did so as well.
Our jaws dropped when President Joe Biden claimed that the annual rate of inflation, which spiked during his administration, already “was 9%” when he took office. And the Democratic presidential ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz kept calling the conservative Project 2025 playbook Trump’s “agenda,” and Walz falsely claimed that it calls for a federal registry to monitor “all pregnancies.”
The problem is that social media has been accepted as a 'town square' for communications by so many companies, governments and government agencies that leaving them will cut off vital communications with millions of people. Its simply too late.
Quite. It's the same basic story as shopping malls in the US. There was an era where people said "We'll meet by the fountain" or "at the food court". They had a feel of a town square, but they were never a public space - it was always private domain, and you could be kicked out by security at any time if you said the wrong thing, looked the wrong way or had the wrong face.
Social media is the new shopping mall. It looks and feels like a high street, but it's not. Under the old management, it went unnoticed because Twitter went to some effort to deal with actual racism, hate speech, and address botnets. Under the new - less benevolent - management, people are starting to figure out that it was never theirs. They were welcome for as long as the hosts chose to entertain them.
The original Twitter owner was too busy being stoned out of his gourd. Something people seem to take objection with about Musk.
"can really be accused of political bias"
Probably as they reenforce your worldview. The reality being all these orgs you list are funded by orgs and people with certain worldviews and you're not going to annoy your source of funding. You're happy to accept 'facts' from factcheckers largely funded by Meta and Google but I really doubt you'd accept 'facts' from one funded by say Elon Musk.
Anti-vax used to be a bastion of the left. Funny how that flipped and now the granola eating paisley wearers are classed as right wing. On your other point we must not forget that in the last year or so there has been a HUGE amount of abuse coming from the pro-Palestine factions.
"already “was 9%” when he took office."
The factcheckers were pretty late to the party on this one, only after the actual truth was doing the rounds did they follow up. And everyone tried to cover up the 'garbage' comment. You also have the major issue that in the interviews where Biden made the 9% claim the interviewer made no attempt to correct him yet Trump will get 'corrected' live (remember people were demanding live fact checking for the debates?) even if Trump was right.
Mall culture is not something that really translates outside of North America. The US (and lesser extent Canada) are really the home of the mega malls. Europeans just don't get it. Hence the 'town square' name.
And there has always been such things on social media but a blind eye was turned due to the owners being of the right political class.
Probably as they reenforce your worldview.
Or the fact that having independently verified their findings for a sample of stories, I trust them to be generally decent.
That's the thing about facts - they're true whether you like them or not. It's sad that Democrats have told fibs. But I accept they do it, albeit less frequently then the Reps, and usually in a manner which doesn't incite hatred or violence against minority groups.
"independently verified their findings"
How? How would a fact checker verify the Hunter Biden laptop story? Or the Wuhan lab leak? Go to Wuhan and check for themselves? Are the fact checkers sufficiently trained in the right fields to make an informed verification of a 'fact'?
I think you will actually find that their 'fact' checking is largely based on consensus opinion.
The dems have been repeating the fine people hoax, inject bleach hoax, steele dossier, police beaten to death on jan 6th, dems don't object to election results, his ear was not hit by a bullet... the list goes on.
Musk could scream into the void but we wouldn't be listening.
He does, and most of us don't. But for some reason, governments do and the EU is currently panicing and threatening that if Musk's interview gets 'above average' engagement, they'll fine him bigly. Politics has gotten very weird lately.
Musk is at liberty to predict civil war - that doesn't mean our dear leaders are obliged to dignify it with a response.
But the media seems to expect it. Our leaders don't need to respond. DNFTT and all that. Our police and security services may raise an eyebrow, and start tracking sales of pitch forks and piano wire. The statement is probable a great big nothing burger because Musk doesn't really have that much influence over the masses. At some point, if conditions in the UK continue to deteriorate, we may have more protests and maybe another civil war. The UK has a long tradition of doing this, and governments rule by consent. If consent is withdrawn, governments might fall. Problem for the UK is the official way to do this is via a vote of no confidence, which may be unlikely given Labour's majority.
The very weird thing though is there's a Musk-effect that rivals Streisand. The media, this site included seem to love running stories about Musk and amplify his every utterance, which is strange when there isn't really an IT angle, other than the way IT is used to promote Musk. If we just ignored him, then he would be screaming into the void.. But then it 'drives engagement', which generates clicks, which generates ad revenue.
"Don't Feed The Troll" works when the majority of readers can recognise a troll, for example (hopefully!) here. It doesn't work so well when most of the troll's 200+ million followers believe the last soundbite they heard in their favourite echo chamber.
I think that political leaders have to respond to these accusations because their silence is more likely to be taken as an admission of guilt than the contempt which the original statement deserves. Unfortunately the troll's followers are not likely to see or believe the responses, but they should be on record.
"He does, and most of us don't. But for some reason, governments do and the EU is currently panicing and threatening that if Musk's interview gets 'above average' engagement, they'll fine him bigly. Politics has gotten very weird lately."
To me the scary thing is that politicians seem to believe the tripe that come from Elon. They give what he says credence and buy the products/services that come from the companies he (nominally) runs. The even give those companies big fat contracts and expect that this time, he'll deliver when he promised.
John Crace's Political Sketch...
"tweets posted by a far-right billionaire strung out on ketamine. A man with no real interest in child grooming gangs. Just someone indulging his own megalomania as he enjoys watching foreign politicians crawl up his bum. Politics has seldom felt more depressing."
Musk can be banned from countries where he foments or supports hate crime or the perpetrators of it. Any money he gives to UK extremists can be pocketed by the state. They can use it to build more turbines.
However, having failed with Mosley, the Cambridge Five, and Brexit (which did more damage to the UK than China and Russia could do combined), I suspect MI5 will fail to deal with right wing extremists in the UK. I'm not sure if they are incompetent, right wing extremists themselves or run from Moscow. Instead of spending all of their time on Jihadists, China and ecowarriors, they maybe need to address the right wing threat at home and in Washington. As do other European regimes.
Starmer needs to grow a pair. Trump preys on weakness. Switch LNG supplies from the US to the Gulf States (or even Russia if need be). Ignore the trolling and abuse. Musk and Trump are now the number one threat to Western economies and democracies. Recognise that and deal with it appropriately. Appeasement will work as well against Trump and Musk as it worked against Hitler. So man up.
-- Any money he gives to UK extremists can be pocketed by the state. --
I presume your definition of extremist is anyone who disagrees with you?
-- They can use it to build more turbines. --
Brilliant idea. Let's remove more useful land and dedicate it to the green religion. Now if you want to suggest it could be part payment for a few nukes I'd be happy to agree. (does that mean I'm not an extremist?)
Brilliant idea. Let's remove more useful land and dedicate it to the green religion. Now if you want to suggest it could be part payment for a few nukes I'd be happy to agree. (does that mean I'm not an extremist?)
Yup. We've been wasting billions on 'Net Zero' and I'd rather our dear leaders invested instead in things like building more ships for our Navy. Our dear leaders have been busily creating enemies, and curent events show we're ill equipped to deal with them or respond to crises. But knowing our leaders, they'd probably want to go back to the good'ol days and have fully-rigged frigates, like we had in our glory days of the Age of Sail.
Yup. We've been wasting billions on 'Net Zero' and I'd rather our dear leaders invested instead in things like building more ships for our Navy.
Good idea. Get rid of the green crap and go back to being reliant on Mother Russia for gas. Who needs energy security? Always weird how discussions of national security seem to start and end with military spending, when things like "OPEC have no power here because we don't need their oil" would also be very effective (for everyone except BAE shareholders).
That being said, we could do with building more naval vessels. The question is... are you also proposing conscription? National Service? The Navy have a lot of trouble manning the ships they've got.
Minister acknowledges Royal Navy 'recruitment challenges'
Armed forces recruitment falls short of targets
We should of course acknowledge the good work within the MoD to secure UK supply chains and actually take matters seriously - they've just bought back the Married Quarters Estate from Annington (~36,000 homes) - although estimate that the taxpayer spent £8Bn more than it needed to during that dalliance with the "efficient" private sector, who efficiently rinsed the MoD of millions per year in rental costs whilst failing to update, renovate or de-mold the properties.
They also bought Sheffield Forgemasters to secure domestic access to specialist castings. Military procurement is typically lumpy and the public sector can tolerate a £20m loss one year evened out by a £20m profit the next (literally a rounding error on UKGov's annual budget of ~£1Tn). When one understands how government spending works, something that provides a national security function whilst basically breaking even(!) over a time horizon of more than 6 months is a no-brainer. Also brings into perspective how Cameron scotched the "unaffordable" £100m government loan to SFIL in 2010, which would have allowed them to tool for nuclear reactor casings and bid on Hinckley Point/Sizewell work. But the MoD are now investing an apparently-affordable £400m for defence-critical plant and infrastructure.
If only the rest of Government would catch up and purge the private sector from dodgy PFI schemes that allow them to rent fixed assets like hospitals back to the public sector in perpetuity (TCO always works out cheaper to own over a 40-year timespan, which a government can happily finance - no private firm can ever borrow cheaper than the Treasury).
Look you - stop with this sense and well thought out argument. Where do you think you are?
This is the internet... such reasoned debate has no place here; besides which, you used way over the (apparent) 200 character limit for Internet messages...
Have a mid-week pint to take the sting out of the return to work.
Good idea. Get rid of the green crap and go back to being reliant on Mother Russia for gas. Who needs energy security? Always weird how discussions of national security seem to start and end with military spending, when things like "OPEC have no power here because we don't need their oil" would also be very effective (for everyone except BAE shareholders).
We need energy security. Problem is our insane politicians desire to tilt at windmills lead directly to the dependence on gas for when the wind wasn't blowing, and the Sun wasn't shining. But we were never reliant, or dependent on Russian gas. The only dependency is really the bonkers concept of 'global gas price' when the reality is whatever price gas traders can negotiate for tankers of LNG, pipeline deliveries or futures contracts.
Plus of course we produce gas, oil and coal, even though our 'leaders' have been blowing up coal power stations and banning fraccing because of microagressions. I mean microtremors.
And if we continue Millibrains love of windmils and don't build reliable, baseload generation, we'll continue to be dependent on gas. Trump's made it very clear that he wants EUrope hooked on expensive US LNG, even though that has no hope of meeting demand. But energy security is already dependent on foreign suppliers, but for 'renewables', and for fuels. If we're going to try and import LNG from Oman, Qatar etc, those LNG tankers need security, which means we need a stronger Navy.. Not to mention all those other essentials & luxuries this island nation imports by sea.
>”they'd probably want to go back to the good'ol days and have fully-rigged frigates…”
Trouble is we’ve yet to actually fully plant the 27 Trafalgar Woods - one for each ship in the original fleet. Although the majority are too small to provide sufficient timber needed to build a ship, Plus even if we had, it’s going to be another good few decades before the timber will be ready (some of the timber used in HMS Victory was estimated to be over 400 years old at time of construction)…
Trouble is we’ve yet to actually fully plant the 27 Trafalgar Woods - one for each ship in the original fleet. Although the majority are too small to provide sufficient timber needed to build a ship,
But on a positive note.. My grandfather was a shipwright before being drafted to build Mosquitos. But I inherited his collection of books on shipbuilding, which I donated to Greenwich. One was old & fascinating that explained how to plant, then train your trees, shaping them so that after quite a while, they could be felled and require less work to turn into ships timbers. Plus he used to grumble about tree huggers and talk of 'ancient forests', with those people realising that many of our forests were man-made and part of our strategic reserve for the Navy and military in general.
But yep, it'd be a long-term project. Especially as oak trees will live & die before Starmer ever made a sensible decision. Or just be warped and twisted after all the u-turns.
> 'ancient forests'
I go along with The Woodland Trust’s definition of an ancient forest: land that has been continuous forest for at least the last 400 years, and thus have more evolved ecosystems.
So yes agree the majority of the forests the UK (including Scotland) have been shaped by generations of men rather than being left wild (*). Some friends own an “ancient wood” that has been coppiced, they coppice it as part of the SSSI. It is a bit odd to look at a clump of tree stems which are only 20~30 years old and comprehend they are all from a single 400+ year old tree stump,at has been repeatedly coppiced over the centuries
(*) like we perceive the tropical rainforests to have been. Although in saying that, archaeology of south/Central America is showing how comparatively recent much of their rain forest is.
I go along with The Woodland Trust’s definition of an ancient forest: land that has been continuous forest for at least the last 400 years, and thus have more evolved ecosystems.
Yep, but that can get into some fun debates about whether that is really true & healthy, especially in some of the man-made forests. So oaks are pretty evil, racist and practice chemical warfare dropping tanin bombs (aka acorns) that poison the land for other species. So healthy forests still need management to create healthy ecosystems and avoid monocultures that may have their own risks. Something Californians are discovering. High fuel loads of oil-rich plants, those Santa Ana winds, and now a very nasty fire that's been fuelled by mismanagement, not 'global warming' as the Bbc tries to blame.
(*) like we perceive the tropical rainforests to have been. Although in saying that, archaeology of south/Central America is showing how comparatively recent much of their rain forest is.
Yep. Some was also planted for timber. Fun one is clear-cutting for agriculture, which has been exposing ancient settlements. And some of those were very large, which meant they'd have needed extensive agriculture to support the populations we know existed there. But we can blame the Spanish for that, and their attempts to civilise the natives, along with introducing exciting new diseases. So populations were forcibably migrated, or died off and nature reclaimed the land. Then there's some racism/neo-Orientalism trying to depict the natives as 'noble savages' rather than pretty sophisticated builders and farmers. Plus inventing a much more fun form of football (although could be hard on the losing team) and things like freeze-dried potato long before we did. There's also some debate about whether agriculture and subsequent re-wilding were responsible for climate changes, but I suspect if true, would have been localised.
And Trimp said many times that he needed them to vote for him just the once and that they'd never have to vote again.
That tells me that he will become 'dictator for life' on Jan21st. No more elections in the USA even for dog catcher.
Trump 2.0 will destroy the USA as we once knew it. THe plans to make the FBI HQ a museum is just the start. The Capital building will make a fine workhouse for the homeless.
"hopefully USA v2 will be an improvement"
On this side of the ocean, I don't really give two hoots about Americans shitting in their beds, democratic election and all that...
...but one would need to be highly delusional to imagine that the chaos and effects would be limited to the US. So no bag of popcorn, maybe a Made In China flack jacket instead.
@Steve Davies 3
"And Trimp said many times that he needed them to vote for him just the once and that they'd never have to vote again."
And of course can you now provide what he actually said and the context?
"That tells me that he will become 'dictator for life' on Jan21st."
Sounds like you got suckered into the propaganda instead of what he said. Either you are a highly delusional sufferer of TDS or somehow missed what was said and the context.
"Trump 2.0 will destroy the USA as we once knew it"
Is this a continuation of the claims from 2016? He didnt destroy the US back then, instead he did so well Obama tried and still tries to take credit for it.
"THe plans to make the FBI HQ a museum is just the start"
Hopefully. Did you miss the events of around the last decade? The severe corruption within the FBI to willingly break the law and go after a presidential candidate on evidence they knew to be a lie! To protect the Bidens from the law! The raid for documents in that farce.
"The Capital building will make a fine workhouse for the homeless."
Remember the doors open from the inside.
Can you NOT use a search engine Mr Codejunky?
Surely you can put a search with terms like "trump you only have to vote once"
You will get dozens of links that will give you the context.
As for the so called raid on Mar-A-Lardon... They found Top Secret documents that if you had them, you would have been carted off to jail right then an there. It was legal in that a judge granted the warrant and was timed to take place when neither he nor Melania were there.
It sounds like you are a MAGA cult member with a made in china 'Red Hat'. You have gone with the 'Biden Crime Family' meme yet Jordan and Comer found nothing that could lead to an indictment. Now, Biden has immunity for anything her did while POTUS thanks to your Orange Jesus.
Trump said that he will become a dictator on day 1.
Search for "trump dictator on day 1"
That 1 day could easily turn into 4 years or longer. To me, the jury is out on that one.
Please carry on worshiping the ground that he walks on. The rest of us will watch him and the rest of his buddies mess up the USA (again).
@Not also known as SC
"Sorry. Is this better?"
Yes it really is. I even give you an upvote! Because now when we have a conversation I know it is still you I am conversing with instead of some troll/bot/idiot who jumps in. Also from past exchanges I might have a better idea of what your actual opinions are instead of just some idiot making a worthless post.
@AC
"If you are so set on de-Anonymizating commentards, why don't you post with your real name,"
Why would any of us on here use our real name? But if I respond to you, you clearly see "codejunky" and can follow the conversation. In this case you have made a very stupid comment as a coward. Are you 'Not also known as SC'? If so then having this comment tied to your account would expose a level of idiocy which people would attribute to him, but if not then you potentially stain his name with your stupid coward comment.
However with intermingling cowards of varying levels of intelligence in a conversation the only safe assumption is the same coward and is as intelligent as the stupidest coward comment.
There are legitimate reasons to post as coward where someone who does know you could identify you because of your handle, but is often used to post stupid posts like yours or general trolling.
If however you have created an account and your handle is your real name but you dont want your name out there I suggest you did something stupid and should make a new account maybe. Or be assumed as stupid as the stupidest coward.
If you didnt create an account with your handle as your real name then you are more stupid than your comment makes you appear to be.
@Steve Davies 3
"Can you NOT use a search engine Mr Codejunky?"
I can and I assume you have the ability which is why I am surprised you could believe something so well debunked.
"Surely you can put a search with terms like "trump you only have to vote once""
Wow, I understand your difficulty. It is amazing the best you got for that was propaganda bull before fact checking (or ignoring it). Hell I even changed your search to "trump you only have to vote once fact check" and it took until page 3 to see a fact check!-
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/vote-four-years/
A source with the fact checking used to come up on page one (not necessarily snopes) so I am surprised. But anyway he was talking to Christians who dont tend to go out and vote. He told them to go out and vote, they only need to do it this once.
"As for the so called raid on Mar-A-Lardon... They found Top Secret documents that if you had them, you would have been carted off to jail right then an there. It was legal in that a judge granted the warrant and was timed to take place when neither he nor Melania were there."
And they were ordered to turn off the security cameras (thankfully didnt) and barred any legal presence for Trump. In the end they violated the terms of the warrant (searched beyond where they were permitted) for a made up national security reason and apparently they were declassified otherwise the case wouldnt have so easily dissolved. A case that fell apart when the role of the President was explained to the prosecution by the Supreme Court and Jack is running out of the door before Trump can kick him.
"It sounds like you are a MAGA cult member "
To someone with TDS I can believe that. Anyone not entirely anti-Trump and refusing to push the lies that have been debunked might seem like a cult supporter of Trump to you but thats a problem with you. I can criticise Trump on facts not fiction.
"You have gone with the 'Biden Crime Family' meme"
Eh? What meme? Hunter was criminal, Joe pardoned him for any crimes he committed or involved in way back since Joe was VP. Joe himself committing a worse documents crime than Trump yet wont be prosecuted because of his mental state. Which part did you miss?
"Now, Biden has immunity for anything her did while POTUS thanks to your Orange Jesus."
The Supreme Court explained what has always been the case, the President has immunity for official acts. It hasnt changed. The dems tried to redefine the executive office to 'get' Trump and failed.
"Trump said that he will become a dictator on day 1."
Again a very well debunked 'claim'. You learn to search for the facts. He said he wouldnt be a dictator, then jokingly said except on day one closing the border and drill. I am amazed by your search results for your search terms try- "trump dictator day one" and the top result (AP news) even explains it. But again you are repeating debunked claims which is probably why you believe such a daft idea.
"Please carry on worshiping the ground that he walks on."
Again I dont, yet by not bowing to lies apparently that makes me a Trump cultist. Attack him on something real. Go after his protectionist policies for example. Just dont bother with the made up stuff.
"The rest of us will watch him and the rest of his buddies mess up the USA (again)."
So bad that Obama still tries to claim credit for Trumps success and Biden forgot he had a covid jab thanks to Trump. If only Biden could have failed and brought such success.
So this is what the brainwashed look like. Its a difficult one, getting people like you to wake up.
You'll see how shit it gets with his next four years. All those jobs that will be lost, prices rising and just enriching himself. But you'll all just blame it on the "dems". Instead of your orange jesus.
You'll see how shit it gets with his next four years. All those jobs that will be lost, prices rising and just enriching himself. But you'll all just blame it on the "dems". Instead of your orange jesus.
Perhaps. But.. what if jobs are created, prices fall and the US economy improves? Problem with predictions is they can be easily falsified, and then will you continue to believe the people that made those predictions? The Dems blamed Trump for their abysmal performance. Trump will blame the Dems for creating the problems he's inherited. So far, so normal for politics in the West because incoming governments always blame their predecessors.
"But.. what if jobs are created, prices fall and the US economy improves?"
That's unlikely to happen when those in charge throw a bunch of unnecessary impediments to trade in the way. You know, like all those import tariffs that Florida Man has pledged.
If you want examples, just look at the UK and Brexit. No matter how much the delusional Tories try to say otherwise, there just aren't any positives to be found.
You can't throw a huge spanner into your country's trade and not expect it to have dramatic effects.
If you want examples, just look at the UK and Brexit. No matter how much the delusional Tories try to say otherwise, there just aren't any positives to be found.
There are, if you choose to open your mind and overcome your prejudices. The UK is no longer tied to the sinking shi.. p that is the EU. So Trump's threatening to sanction and apply tariffs to the EU. Guess what? We're not in the EU any more, so those won't apply to the UK. Unless Trump decides to lump us in with the EU. The EU is threatening to fine nations that don't comply with EU environmental diktats. So Quatar's said 'Fine. Fine, and no more LNG'. Guess what? We're not in the EU, so would still be able to buy LNG. Then maybe we could do an India and relable Quatar LNG as err.. British Gas and flog it on to the EU for a fat profit.
The UK has slowly been negotiating trade and other deals, which is something we couldn't do whilst tied to the EU's exclusive (in)competence. We probably could be doing more, but that's politics. We're now sovereign (ish), so our 'leaders' can't blame the EU for making us do crazy stuff like, I dunno, sanctioning Russia and creating an inflation and energy crisis.
>” so our 'leaders' can't blame the EU for making us do crazy stuff like, I dunno, sanctioning Russia and creating an inflation and energy crisis.
Yes one of the “nice” things has been watching how, without a scapegoat to deflect blame onto, just how incompetent Westminster has become (although, distant memory does suggest things weren’t much better before we joined…)
So currently, we are sanctioning Russia, yet continue to follow economic policies that will only worsen our energy crisis.
The worrying thing about climate change is that all that gas under Russia and frozen in the tundra is going to get into the atmosphere somehow, burning methane is possibly one of the best and simplest ways of reducing the amount of methane that gets released into the atmosphere…
"If you want examples, just look at the UK and Brexit. No matter how much the delusional Tories try to say otherwise, there just aren't any positives to be found."
VAT reduction on female hygiene products and VAT on private school fees. Both impossible if still in the EU.
"VAT reduction on female hygiene products"
Yes, that's completely shit and I say that as a Y-chromosome carrier.
Unfortunately in Europe they are considered a "consumer product", which means not only are they taxed (though France classes them as essentials at the lower 5.5% rate), there's also no obligation to say what they're actually made of (which is worrying when you consider they spend a lot of time in contact with sensitive body parts). This hasn't gone unnoticed, and France (and I think Germany?) want tighter regulation here, and maybe lowering or dropping the tax on them.
The UK did at least also have them at the lower VAT rate by the time the EU wide rules about sales tax came into force.
I also forgot the EU rules about what can be called 'ice cream'. And I didn't believe this at first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfM7yZD0PlE
It used to be the case that in the UK ice cream had to contain a minimum 5% dairy fat and 2.5% milk protein. However EU regulation No 1169/2011 was implemented in the UK as the Food Information Regulations 2014, where we adopted the European industry standards (EUROGLACES) which state that 'Ice Cream' does not need to contain any dairy products at all. The upside being the vegans can enjoy their emulsified soybean oil and guar gum frozen desert and believe it is ice cream.
So I was pretty staggered that in continental Europe, a place known for food FAR superior to what we get here in the freezing hell hole of old Blighty, would allow something without any dairy at all to be called ice cream.
Other AC> However EU regulation No 1169/2011 ...
Are you SURE? That's about food labeling isn't it?
Can't see mention of Ice Cream. Proper citation required.
Also, Tampax: So many males get hung up on them. VAT free in Ireland. Which is a member of [checks notes] the EU. So that is just total Brexit Bollocks, yet again.
Dear oh dear oh dear...
From the EU itself on sales tax rates and categories:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-rules-rates/index_en.htm
"Some EU countries are allowed to apply special VAT rates on certain supplies. These special rates apply to EU countries that were applying them on 1 January 1991.
They were originally meant to be transitional arrangements for a smoother shift to the EU VAT rules when the Single Market came into force on 1 January 1993, and were intended to be gradually phased out."
https://www.thejournal.ie/period-poverty-report-5348657-Feb2021/
"In Ireland, while tampons and sanitary towels are zero-rated for VAT purposes, newer period products introduced to the market after 1991 cannot be zero rated, with the standard rate of 23% applying."
Following the UK's lead the EU has actually been looking at reducing the sales tax
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/259400/PolDep%20policy%20brief.pdf
This fixing of what things get what rate had some odd results in the UK. Steel toe boots and many other PPE items are zero rated for VAT but steel toe SHOES are (or at least were) full VAT rated.
As for food labelling, from the UK government:
https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/fir-guidance2014.pdf
Page 13, near the bottom:
"The compositional requirements associated with descriptions such as ‘ice cream’ and ‘dairy ice cream’ will not be retained. The European industry standards(14) for ice cream will apply. This will allow ore flexibility for product innovation. "
Now go sit in the naughty corner.
Now, now.
Weedling out of the Irish example of setting zero rated VAT. Tut Tut.
You're referencing a uk.gov doc. Show where it states what you are saying in the EU doc re: the definition of an Ice Cream product.
I guess you need to go read ref 14 from the UK doc. ( Hint: It doesn't say what you claim it says.)
You can retract your false claim at any time.
Toodle Pip.
All information needed has been supplied. Not sure what you are doing reading page 14, its about flour. Try page 13, the one with '13' right at the bottom of the page. I even quoted the relevant line.
After you're done on the naughty stool maybe a trip to specsavers is in order.
I'm looking at the EUROGLACES standards doc right now, it confirms exactly what I said.
I said "we adopted the European industry standards (EUROGLACES) which state that 'Ice Cream' does not need to contain any dairy products at all."
ANNEX IV – COMPOSITIONAL STANDARDS, denomination 3.2, Ice Cream:
Dairy Proteins - Optional
Edible Fats - Dairy and/or non-dairy
I'm not talking about 'dairy ice cream'. I'm talking about 'ice cream'. 2 words, not 3. I never mentioned 'dairy ice cream'. No wonder you are confused! I even made this clear by saying 3.2.
Yes, DAIRY ice cream has to contain dairy as its in the bloody name.
For reference the US regulations on the product sold as 'ice cream' with no mention of the word 'dairy'.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-58/subpart-W/section-58.2825
VAT reduction on female hygiene products and VAT on private school fees. Both impossible if still in the EU.
There's other fun stuff. So the EU has spent the last 4yrs kissing Biden's ring and sucking up to the US. Now, it's pretty much entirely dependent on them. Trump knows this, which is why he's trolling the EU mercilessly. Case in point being Greenland. It's currently adminstered by Denmark, and by extension the EU. But although Denmark should, in theory be sovereign regarding Greenland, the EU of course exercises exclusive (in)competency over foreign policy, trade etc. So if the US wants to put pressure on the EU with tariffs etc, the EU might trade away Denmark, or put pressure on Denmark to trade it away.
Of course the same could happen if the US decided it wanted, say, the Falkland Islands, but at least we're vaguely sovereign.
>” Of course the same could happen if the US decided it wanted, say, the Falkland Islands, but at least we're vaguely sovereign.”
Except for the various US airbases… Trump is sufficiently brassed necked to decide they are needed as forward defences against a non-compliant EU, without caring what Westminster or the resident of 10 Downing Street think (regardless of their political colour).
Trump, acting to form, would relish restoring Greenham Common to US operati9nal status…
@steviebuk
"So this is what the brainwashed look like. Its a difficult one, getting people like you to wake up."
Its amazing how we can have the same opinion of each other. But it is pretty easy to change my mind, you just need to reply with facts showing I am wrong... and yes this is most likely the moment you go silent.
"You'll see how shit it gets with his next four years."
Maybe. Or maybe it will go well, I honestly dont know. I do know Obama was trying to claim credit for the economy under Trump last time.
"All those jobs that will be lost, prices rising and just enriching himself."
Didnt he lose money being President unlike the various Presidents before him?
"But you'll all just blame it on the "dems". Instead of your orange jesus."
For things the dems have done yes. But Trump will be to blame for what he does. I dont just blame Trump for anything and everything real or made up whoever did what. Why you need him to be some 'orange jesus' character I dont know.
Mr. Trump said last Friday to a gathering of Christian conservatives: “I love you. You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/trump-christians-vote-ingraham.html
@AC
Thank you for providing that, I was hoping Steve Davies 3 would go and look because he seems to be having issues with his searches which leads him to believe the lie about Trump being a dictator vs what actually happened. I am not assuming the worst of Steve and based on the searches he provided I just think he hasnt had the information for what actually happened and then we all know some dems and anti-Trumpers who just lie for lying sake.
>And Trimp said many times that he needed them to vote for him just the once and that they'd never have to vote again.
>That tells me that he will become 'dictator for life' on Jan21st. No more elections in the USA even for dog catcher.
The President elect is 78, somewhere between obese and morbidly obese, displaying signs of dementia, his only exercise his swinging a golf stick and he apparently lives on diet coke and McDonalds. Even the best medical science in the world can't work miracles. He'll be lucky to make the date of the next election alive.
Isn't that a prerequisite of running for office in the US now? The senate and house are pretty much elderly care facilities.
Yup. Biden was as sharp as a tack, until that fateful debate and then he went into cognitive decline practically overnight, and was unceremoniously booted out of the election race. Whatever may happen, popcorn futures are probably a good investment.
The President elect is 78, somewhere between obese and morbidly obese, displaying signs of dementia, his only exercise his swinging a golf stick and he apparently lives on diet coke and McDonalds. Even the best medical science in the world can't work miracles. He'll be lucky to make the date of the next election alive.
Fingers crossed! But then the US get JD Vance, who won't be any better.
Why Labour Party and the Left in general is so afraid of the rape gangs public enquiry?
Is it because the enquiry will find that it is the Left propensity to call everyone “far right” and accuse them of “Islamophobia” that was the reason why the authority were afraid to investigate the rape accusations?
The Labour is still using the same tricks to avoid scrutiny.
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The second Jay Report was released in 2022. Unfortunately, many of the recommendations were for money to be spent on areas that the Conservative government are ideologically opposed to spending money on. Like social services, education or the police.
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The problem being that the reports found that government itself and government bodies/departments/agencies at pretty much every level were at fault and it is incredibly hard to actually punish anyone in the civil service. Systemic failures are very hard to solve when the system has been setup in such a way as to protect those who fail.
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Why not AC?
The police sadly are not, never have been and never will be apolitical. Especially now we have the stupid PCCs. The police forces also report to government and if the edict from on high is to ignore the silly little girls silly claims then they get ignored.
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These gangs were predominantly in Labour dominated areas and have existed for many decades, pre-dating the 2010 tory govt and in some cases even the 1997 Blair govt. Many of these issues were only formally recognised after 2010 and the change of govt.
Some of the root causes of why they were allowed to go so long is people in power not really giving a hoot about the working class and the political correctness of the Blair years.
Bollocks.
This is the inevitable consequences of the right wing looting of the country. English Zionism, who wear Labour's corpse as a shroud, are indistinguishable from BlueKip.
There are areas of acute social deprivation throughout the UK. In these areas, accommodation is cheaper and so they've become warehousing for the problem inhabitants of more expensive places.
These areas have less work available, and so the staff hired to supervise these at-risk children are drawn from local availability.
The result is at every level from the people looking after them, to the management, through local and national government. Nobody is looking after them with a view to ensuring their wellbeing, it's about doing the impossible without any money, or support, or training.
The actual residences are largely private companies which bill the local authority for the provision of care be that adult, or child social care placements.
In short, there are place where the locals know they have access to poorly supervised people - that's on the predatory filth that victimise, to some degree, it's on all of us for not demanding a fully integrated national care service. So the basic issue of lack of accountability through privatisation is addressed, but also a named person is responsible for each person under the care of the state. That person who should go to prison if something happens to the person under the care of the state.
Now you're going to need to pay people a lot more money to take that risk, and it should include the entire management chain all the way up to the PM. Start sending a few MP's, PM, Health Sec, to prison, we'll suddenly see supervision of children/vulnerable adults be taken seriously.
Why are the Conservatives and the right so afraid of the revisions to UK law, Labour are introducing this week? Too many mate, donors with dubious businesses and personal lives…
Another enquiry effectively kicks any changes to the law down the road for another 8 plus years…
Add this to all the other public enquiries that delivered reports between 2010 and 2024, which some Tory MP stood up and said “lessons will be learnt” and proceeded to do nothing, you could say the Tories are using all the same tricks to avoid scutiny and accountability for their inaction.
A day is a long time in politics.
Starmer could end this today by simply putting out word that UKGov no longer uses Xitter and that departments should stop updating their accounts (if he wants to ghost Musk. Or delete entirely if he wants to be a bit more on-the-nose). A similar edict to Labour MPs (or at least senior MPs/Cabinet) would torpedo the Westminster-politics corner of Xitter. It would suddenly become much less useful to political journos, who would have to pick up other channels (Facebook/Bluesky/websites/press releases/actually talking to and interviewing sources(!)). This in turn would starve Fromage and 'eau de Musk of UK attention.
Seal the deal by resolutely ignoring any question that starts with "What is your response to the recent comment by Elon Musk that...?", or responding with "Sorry, do you have a relevant question? We're discussing the <NHS/education/whatever> today, and the investments we're making to improve the lives of British people."
Shaming journalists is a tricky business, but in this case I'm happy for Starmer to challenge them with "Why are you asking me daily about the personal opinions of a private foreign individual who has no involvement in UK affairs?"
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The Left is about bannng everyone who disagrees with them. It is always the case, and it is clearly seen here on the Register.
And it is no surprise that the Left is so afraid of the public enquiry about rape gangs - they know that such ensquiry will show that it is the Left propensity to ban “inconvenient truth” that lead to the perpetrators able to commit their heinous crimes for very long time - it is the Left who accused everyone raising the issue at the time of “Islamophobia”.
> And it is no surprise that the Left is so afraid of the public enquiry about rape gangs ..
And it is of no surprise that the former minister, who would of known all about these rape gangs when he was minister and in a position to act, decided to do nothing and wait until they were in a position to do nothing, before calling for a public enquiry…
Whilst ignorance of anything remotely associated with the real world doesn't seem to be a problem for some UK politicians, the whiff of scandal risks anyone seen as a leader being hounded out of office. Across the Pond, scandal seems to be worn as a badge of honour - and propels one into office.
Absolutely, Musk teamed with Trump's MAGA cult. Trump (the adjudicated rapist and felon) previously endorsed Roy Moore, a man who was a little too fond of teenage girls. Former congressman Matt Gaetz, who was suspect of having sex with a minor and using drugs. Not to mention all the racist and neo-nazis who flock to it. It's a party full of the worst kind of people who use wealth and power to avoid consequences and their idiotic followers praise them for it and helped them.
Has anyone else been considering referring to him as "Schoolie" Gaetz?
And why he isn't talking to the cops might not be entirely unrelated that "Daddy" Gaetz, as his father is known (and not just to Schoolie), is a big wheel in Florida state politics.
Got to wonder how far the apple has fallen from the tree?
You might like to check Florida's age-of-consent law, Mr AC.
The "She looked older" defence is explicitly disallowed.
And given that it appears to have been a private party I strongly doubt anyone was checking ID, least of all Schoolie's pimp pal and current convict.
In case you haven't quite twigged why people are disgusted by him it's not the drugs, or the hookers, or the underage hookers.
It's the hypocrisy that this guy trashed McCarthy as Speaker (who wouldn't quash the investigation) and then resigned to avoid it becoming public, and then Moses Mike wades in to CYA because the Orange Jesus told him to. Not to mention he was the only Congressman to vote against an interstate trafficking bill.
Under normal circs this would only be an issue for his wife. But this PoS wanted to be Attorney General
And a great AG he would have made. Infinitely better than the current one.
The feds determined at the evidence was iffy at best with unreliable witnesses. The only reason the lefties wanted the release of the ethics investigation was to have something to screech about.
Age is just a number. The left in the US wants to be more European so maybe they can adopt European ages of consent and abortion limits :) If it had happened in one of the states where the age is 16 then there would be nothing for you to froth at the mouth about. Again state lines are just lines on a map. If you support people coming across from Mexico without following the correct legal process then you've not really got a leg to stand on about people moving between states.
And 30 years is the amount the most famous singer of that lyric is getting.
"It's probably why they became libertarians."
Among their more extreme members is a belief that everything should be legal so it can be taxed and regulated.
Including IIRC CP.
Hmmm. You might be onto something there.
He bought and did illegal drugs while he was a member of congress.
Fake ID doesn't matter, it's still statutory rape.
He was also accused of having sex with his press secretary, Joel Valdez by three separate people
Nope, he was just buying prostitutes and being investigated for sex trafficking along with his buddy Joel Greenberg (who btw is in prison unlike Gaetz).
Nope, he was just buying prostitutes and being investigated for sex trafficking along with his buddy Joel Greenberg (who btw is in prison unlike Gaetz).
Apparently in America, this is no longer a crime. Nor is lying on a firearms purchase, expensing hookers and drugs, and not paying taxes on those transactions. Or any other crimes that may have been committed since between 2014 and 2024. Well, if you're a Biden anyway..
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Seems Musk has a serious case of rich mans sickness, and believes that firing off his thoughts is a cure. .... Beach pebble
If the world's richest man has probable cause and a mind to sue, here be probable news identifying two worthy, very sick future parrots .....
You can tell that Elon Musk must have overstepped the mark when even Kemi Badenoch has taken a break from tweeting her support for the ketamine-riddled world’s richest man. ...... says John Crace and The Guardian .... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/07/jenrick-shape-shifts-on-air-with-reality-bending-today-interview
Why?
That comes under fair comment and freedom-of-speech protections.
The only "law" it breaks is the "I'm-the-richest-man-in-the-world-and-people-can't-say-anything-mean-about-me" Law, which probably only exists inside Musk's head.
Now if I were to refer to him as "Space Karen" that might be viewed as offensive.
He was happy with black cars, it was black people he didn't like, which is presumably why he was so fond of the KKK. He was also a notorious anti-semite.
On the other hand Henry Ford started a car company, unlike Musk.
(who bought an existing company, and forced the founders to sign an NDA banning them from mentioning that they were the real founders)
Henry Ford and Adolf Hitler were admirers of each other:
"When you think of Ford, you think of baseball and apple pie," said Miriam Kleinman, a researcher with the Washington law firm of Cohen, Millstein and Hausfeld, who spent weeks examining records at the National Archives in an attempt to build a slave labor case against the Dearborn-based company. "You don't think of Hitler having a portrait of Henry Ford on his office wall in Munich."
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/nov98/nazicars30.htm
See also
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/hitlers-american-friends-henry-ford-and-nazism/
Well, politically, Greenland is part of Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/07/donald-trump-jr-greenland-visit
"Donald Trump Jr touched down in Greenland on Tuesday, hours after his father reiterated his interest in taking control of the Arctic autonomous territory, pledging to “make Greenland great again”.
After arriving in the Greenlandic capital in a Trump-branded plane, he told a waiting crowd in the Nuuk airport arrivals hall – some wearing red Make America Great Again caps – that he was “very excited to be here”. It was, he said, “a little colder here than it is in Florida”, adding that the US president-elect “says hello to everyone in Greenland”.
Asked about his plans, he said he was visiting as a tourist, had no plans to meet politicians and declined to talk about US interest in Greenland, saying he was merely there to “see a lot of the sights, talk to some people and have a good time”.
He was later pictured outside a controversial statue of Hans Egede, a Danish-Norwegian missionary who is seen as a symbol of Danish colonialism."
No offence to the local population, but 'Make Greenland Great Again' confuses me. When was Greenland great in the past?
No offence to the local population, but 'Make Greenland Great Again' confuses me. When was Greenland great in the past?
Actually, Greenland has a long tradition of welcoming sharp salespeople that started with Erik the Red. The US has long had ambitions to possess Greenland for its strategic location, or just mineral resources.
...saying he was merely there to “see a lot of the sights, talk to some people and have a good time”.
And I'm sure that this-
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5066186-greenland-independence-donald-trump/
Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede announced a desire to obtain independence from Denmark in the wake of President-elect Trump’s comments about buying the island territory.
“The Greenlandic people’s opportunity for independence has been adopted through the provisions of the Self-Government Act, thereby creating a legal basis for how independence can be achieved,” Egede said in a Wednesday speech in honor of the new year.
Has nothing to do with the visit. Egede may have stated that after a referendum, an 'independent' Greenland still wouldn't be for sale, but I'm fairly sure Egede would be open to an assortment of leases.
...saying he was merely there to “see a lot of the sights, talk to some people and have a good time”.
I do hope he had time to see the ice sheets shrinking due to global warming:
Due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the ice sheet is now the warmest it has been in the past 1000 years, and is losing ice at the fastest rate in at least the past 12,000 years.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_ice_sheet#:~:text=Due%20to%20anthropogenic%20greenhouse%20gas,cliffs%20calve%20into%20the%20sea.
But I suspect a few hours for a 'day trip' is not long enough.
I do hope he had time to see the ice sheets shrinking due to global warming:
He may find time to visit a museum, or even some of the archeaological sites showing 'viking' artefacts and settlements uncovered by those retreating ice sheets. Damn clever those norse farmers, figuring out ways to grow crops under the ice..
He also reminds me somewhat of Charles Lindbergh whose tech-oriented achievements spoke for themselves (like Ford and Musk) and whose political involvement was highly misguided (isolationist, pro-eugenics, Nordicism, suspected Nazi sympathizer ...). He later changed views when faced with evidence of the Nazi's degenerate evil but one would have hoped for him to become wiser earlier, or just plain shut up.
As noted above by MyffyW, Musk's hormonal splurts are déjà-vu, in an "early 1930s bingo card" kind of way!
Let him spew his ignorant, hyperbolic and infantile opinions and show himself up as the unpleasant egotist he really is.
Mind you, it was hilarious watching Farage suck up to him so abjectly, only to be thrown under the bus later the same day for daring to voice disagreement with one of the drug addled fool's holy pronouncements. Would love to have been able to see the look on Farage's face though as he realised his much hoped for $100 million donation was now fluttering away into the distance, never to return.
Perhaps our media need to learn not to feed the trolls?
I know the media has always basically been based on being somewhat troll-like. The old, "if it bleeds it leads" cliche exists for a reason. But maybe not always breathlessly reacting to professional trolls like Trump and Musk would keep everything a bit calmer.
Saw a headline on the Beeb a few days ago about how their journo predicted that Musk would be an important force in UK politics this year. Why? He's of very little relevance to UK politics so far - apart from making a lot of noise.
If he really did donate £100m to Reform that would be an illegal donation - he's not a UK citizen. Although I guess he could set up a UK company to donate for him - I don't know if there's a law to stop that? Or do it via Tesla UK (if there is one) so long as the other shareholders don't mind.
He's of very little relevance to UK politics so far - apart from making a lot of noise.
But that noise is influencing those who agree with what he says, who also think insurrection and overthrow of democracy is over due. Many who lean to the right want that.
If we aren't told what shit he's spouting, what agitation he is involved in, we may wake up one morning surprised to find we are living under a fascist dictatorship.
But that noise is influencing those who agree with what he says, who also think insurrection and overthrow of democracy is over due. Many who lean to the right want that.
Many who lean to the left are actively doing it.
So Musk said ""only the AfD can save Germany,". Six (count'em, six!) words that triggered an avalanche of snowflakes this Winter. And of course triggered thousands more words, mostly from the left who think those 6 words constitute 'election interference', and not just one person's personal opinion. Which I guess also means this article is 'election interference' given it's also an opinion piece.
"Germany is a strong and stable democracy – Musk can say what he wants. In Germany, the will of the citizens prevails, not the erratic statements of a billionaire from the USA," he said.
Sayeth Olaf Scholz, possibly the 2nd worst Chancellor in Germany's history. If Musk really can say what he wants, why all the fuss? If the wiill of the citizens prevails, why all the attempts to take down AfD? Of course Scholz sacked Lindner for not signing off on Scholz's expenses, causing his government to collapse, losing a vote of no confidence and Scholz will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history. Germans get to exercise their democratic rights on Feb23rd, and if that means they vote for AfD, that's democracy baby(s).
But politicians rarely let a crisis go to waste, so Scholz can blame Musk for 'election interference' and the EU can use this as an excuse to impose even more regulation and censorship.
But we're living in interesting times. Austria's kinda between goverments at the moment because the left refused to negotiate with the party that.. actually won the most votes. Nehammer's version of democracy tried to form a minority government that didn't reflect the will of a majority failed at the weekend. Over in Georgia, their French President finally recognised the will of the people and left her office, despite a lot of election interference from the EU to overthrow that election result.
Or in one of the most bizarre cases of 'election interference', this seems to have happened-
https://www.politico.eu/article/investigation-ties-romanian-liberals-tiktok-campaign-pro-russia-candidate-calin-georgescu/
According to the snoop.ro report, the Romanian tax agency found that the Liberals had paid for a social media campaign on TikTok through influencers and by promoting a hashtag which ended up being hijacked to benefit Georgescu instead. The Liberals are a junior coalition partner in the outgoing government and their candidate, Nicolae Ciuca, placed fifth in the annulled first round.
...The cancellation of the first round of the Romanian presidential election has thrown the country into a deep political crisis. The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into how TikTok manages risks of elections meddling in response to the situation in Romania.
So it seems that PNL (the currently ruling party) paid for a social media campaign to try and split the vote. But ended up promoting Georgescu and electing him instead. Then much wailing and claims of 'election interference' by Russia, China, maybe Musk.. But it turns out that the PNL may have interfered with themselves. This is currently being spun as the very Romanian 'Kensington Communications' somehow being hacked, although as yet I've seen no evidence for this. As for 'political crisis', I was in Romania for Xmas and saw no signs of this, other than laughter when news stories about the PNL fiasco were run. PNL wasn't exactly popular, hence coming fith.
And then of course there's Canada, and Turdeau's resignation. Also a deeply unpopular 'leader. Sadly the UK is probably going to be stuck with Starmer for another 4yrs, but I guess there's a chance that Macron get booted out first.
What are you, 12? Fecal-based jokes usually stop once you become a functioning adult..
Well, when folks stop hurling insults, I might stop as well. But it's too apt. Canada's turd is soon to be flushed and it's going to take Canada a while to get out from the mess he's created.
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" I guess he could set up a UK company to donate for him"
He already has one and was going to donate through it.
I do not know whether he is a troll or just an idiot. He (along with a few other Americans) seems to genuinely believe that Tommy Robinson is a "political prisoner" - it appears he has been claiming he was imprisoned for talking about the grooming gangs and people believed him. it takes about three minutes to find out the truth, but why bother?
When you see what Americans (not just Elon and people who share his politics, but quite a few others including the other side) often believe about the UK you can see how easy it is to be mislead about what is happening in other countries. One person got angry (and unfriended me) because I objected to her posting stuff from the jewish division of the EDL (they have separate Jewish and gay divisions because of the obvious issues you get if they mix with fascists) on FB - she is British but had been living abroad and was out of touch. A few friends abroad have done similar things too (although most people understand when you explain).
I have seen the same with British media coverage of Sri Lanka (which I know well) often complete and utter nonsense. The media are rubbish and get away with it because of Gell-Mann amnesia. Individuals on social media are even worse and just believe anything that fits their prejudices.
A UK company can donate to a political party, upto a maximum of their UK derived net profits for that year. Maybe he could do that with X(UK), although that would be brand-death for anyone in the UK who was advertising there... Tesla not so much, as they have shareholders to whom he has a Fiduciary Duty, and it would be legally debatable to say the least that they would be financially better off because he donated their profits to Reform.
> Mind you, it was hilarious watching Farage suck up to him so abjectly, only to be thrown under the bus later the same day for daring to voice disagreement with one of the drug addled fool's holy pronouncements.
it was a particularly stupid pronouncement though. I do not blame Farage for not anticipating that even Musk would be stupid or extreme enough to back Tommy Robinson.
He claims to have Aspergers, a form of Autism that is now deprecated as a diagnosis*
I don't know if he's ever discussed any actual details of this. Perhaps he could compare notes with Mark Zuckerberg?
*Asperger's diagnosis for a number of children during the 1930's in Austria and Germany got them sent for "special treatment" which permanently cured them of living.
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That's the bit I have trouble with. I really don't understand why his crank wingnut observations from an armchair 5000 miles away are even considered. I suspect he's more like Trump than I'd like - so batshit crazy people tune in to hear what he says next. I really just want an MP to respond with "whatever Pedo Guy, why don't you send your submarine to fix it?", although "don't feed the troll" comes an honourable second to that.
Two Hundred And Ten Million.
That's how many followers this extraordinarily rich duffus has hanging on every Ketamine and weed fuelled word he taps into his keyboard at all hours of the day or night. And it's fair to say some of those have poor inferencing and critical thinking skills. Musk would choose to use a less polite single adjective for them.
Even allowing for some of them being his sock puppet burner accounts and a chunk more being foreign trolls and chatbots (from "unidentified" countries) that's more than 1/2 the population of the entire US.
Don't feed the troll, and don't believe his "Freedom of speech absolutist" bu***hit either. He means, as long as they say things I like and don't criticise me or poke fun at what may be a burner account in Adrian Dittman (or not).
If it's hate speech, use the law. If he cites the 1st amendment list how many people his site has pulled their Blue Tick from, and why IE Because they poked fun at him.
I assume the reported number of followers is the number if followers "Funding Secured" wants reported. There is no reason to assume any more connection to reality then anything else reported on Xitter.
"God doesn't think he's Elon Musk."
Let's not worry. Trump's record includes amongst his many, many other unattractive behaviours a total disloyalty to those who have rallied to his flag. Sooner or later Musk will find that Cheeto-man* casts him aside, bad mouths him, and starts acting vindictively towards him. That'll be no shame.
* Wotsit-man for UK readers.
I find it actually hard to decide between a god complex and the most epic example of Dunning-Kruger I could ever witness.
Once SpaceX suffers a few more unscheduled disassemblies or borked orbits or even Tesla starts losing money due to customers distancing themselves from Musk, reality will start to settle in for the still rational parts of his fan base.
I expect things will start going south from there for Mr. Musk, the global expert for everything, pretty quickly.
"He is a canny investor and seems to mostly let the sensible folk run his companies once he's bought them (Cybertruck excepted)."
He really isn't. Hyperloop, Mars Oasis, Solyndra Investment... to count a few rather big failures. He seems to want to live off Government grants in the early days, and when that dries up, he gets out of dodge.
SpaceX survives getting ex-Nasa investment to get to ISS and sat-bird launching.
that this latter day Metternich, as doubtlessly Space Karen imagines himself, recklessly treads on such sensitive political bunions as say the Saudi regime that the repercussions put this popinjay back in box although the Saudis are unlikely to leave enough of the imbecile to put in a shoebox let alone a casket.
Musk has already trodden on enough of those. Many people already believe that he's going to be killed by state security agents of one country or another; the only dispute is over who it will be. It probably won't be the UK as the liberals are too decorum poisoned and the far right are getting what they want from him. I can see Germany doing it though, and also the US if Musk irritates Trump enough. In the latter case Musk is a tail that thinks it's the whole dog; he doesn't realise that with being a second term president, Trump has already had everything he needs from Musk.
Now that's the one I'm considering.
The time the FOCF decides to really exercise his newly minted SCOTUS right to complete criminal immunity for "Official" acts and decides a)Leon is a clear and present danger to him b)confiscates "Nationalises" his assets* (inc X) and transfer them into the stewardship of a "Suitably qualified" guardian, like (for example) Trump Social.
That might be the point at which people finally wake-the-f**k up that the FOCF is not just a clown with a bunch of dangerous SEL types standing behind him, he's dangerous in his own right.
Obviously I don't want anyone to die in order to demonstrate the FOCF is not just a narcissist but a full-blow psychopath as well, but if that is what it takes....
And remember if the FOCF dies of "Natural" causes the US is no better off. Shady has decades of life left in his invertebrate body.
I'm depressed.
I think I'll go off and rewatch "Eagle Eye" again.
*What's the easiest way to become The Worlds Richest Man? Simple. 1)Find out who that is 2)Steal all their money.
Farage is a blot on the UK. He should go an lick Trump's boots like a nice little doggy.
He will do anything to become PM and then sell us out to the Musk/Trump hegemony. Lust for Power is highly contagious. Farage got that when he visited the Florida White House and kissed Trumps' ring.
Very plausible.
$270 --> FOCF --> Whole country of 360m
$100m -->7x loser --> maybe get another country of 60m.
Musk must have felt like he'd been played like a banjo at an Ozark hoedown.
Like when he'd realised what "Parental consent for your child's gender reassignment surgery" actually meant.
I reckon there's a ton of money to be made off Leon if you come up with some really-plausible-but-very-expensive-plan-to-stop-all-gender-affirming*-surgery
*Excluding hair plugs, bottox and penis enlargement surgery of course.
Sadly I believe his staggering inability to cope with her transition is what sent him off on his war on the so-called "Woke mind virus."
Probably also the origin of the your-son-could-go-off-to-school-this-morning-and-come-back-your-daughter line the FOCF liked to spin.
What complete bo**ocks.
How fu**king retarded would you have to be to believe such rubbish. Then again I guess if you only watch Faux News you really will believe anything. :-(
If Musk is somewhere on the ASD you have to wonder if he can even acknowledge his own feelings, given his lack of empathy.
But lacking empathy does not make you an Ahole. Behaving like an Ahole makes you one.
Sad.
ASD does not equal lack of empathy. It CAN sometimes mean being so totally overwhelmed by empathy that you don't respond the way a neurotypical person would, or you simply shut down your feelings temporarily as a defence mechanism against public meltdown.
Which makes his behaviour even less defensible.
As I noted it's not the lack of empathy, it's his repeated ability to behave like an a88hole that makes him an a**hole.
He claims he has Asperger's Syndrome. I've no idea if he does or not. I'm sure there are many people with this diagnosis who are thought of as very decent people by those who deal with them.
He is not one of them.
As smart as mr Musk is, the only reasonable X-planation I can come up with is that he installed an AI to do his twittering.
The AI has figured out how to increase the engagement to sell more advertisements while Musk himself is working on his next invention.
Now he won't be so stupid to tell there is no AI, isn't he?
My thoughts precisely, it's why Grok was trained on posts on X, so he can leave his account on autopilot while he's not controlling it manually to big up Tommy Robinson or call members of the British government pedo guys (he hasn't changed in years).
Either that or he's almost constantly on a ketamine-fuelled 24/7 Xit binge. Which is also a possibility.
Reform may be the seventh largest party in the Commons, but they're third largest in terms of vote share. Reform only won five seats because they have no strongholds; their support is diffused across the entire country. But they were in second place in a lot of seats, and it wouldn't take much of a push to have them begin stealing seats from the Tories. And UK polling already indicates that Farage is the most popular candidate to succeed Starmer as PM.
When you see numbers like that (large vote share but few seats) it normally means that the party is mainly voted for by those that wish to protest at the 'main' parties but are not actually serious about voting in the party that they voted for. People are pretty much saying "Sort your fscking shit out, or I won't be voting for you again".
This time around they received a lot of these protest votes from people who would normally vote for the Tories, but currently loathe what the Tories have done but will still not vote for Labour. Past elections have seen the same thing happen to Labour, with the Lib Dems or Greens getting that large share of the vote .... but few seats.
If Reform (and Farage) ever did win a majority of seats then it is likely that we would see Liz Truss levels of chaos but going on for 5 years.
About 5 weeks, more likely
More likely as new RP MPs will treat attendance in the House much as Farage did attendance in the Eu Parliament..
How many times has farage been in Parliament since election? Or even held constituency surgeries?
"Liz Truss levels of chaos"
One thing I have noticed with the Labor apologists is a claim that the economy doesn't react very fast and the current mess is still a hangover from the tories rather than the effect of the last budget yet we also see the claim that the chinless wonder managed to tank the economy in a matter of days.
The markets, the Bank of England, large pension funds, they all had a hand in it. Bloody pinko left wing hippies the lot of 'em, sitting around with their long hair, smoking the mari-ju-ana, preaching fiscal responsibilty and singing "give peace a chance" - why can't they give unfunded spending promises a chance? String 'em up I say!
Indeed.
Won't people spare a thought for all the billionaires who've sunk 10 of £m in those Tufton Street "Think tanks" to justify unfunded tax cuts to cut their tax bills.
I mean how do people expect them to get their next £Bn in.
It's sooo unfair.
That's not fair. Kwasi Credible dined with his former employer, before the event. said former employeer fortuitously bet on the pound tanking https://www.thetimes.com/article/kwasi-kwartengs-ex-boss-crispin-odey-bet-big-on-falling-pound-weeks-after-lunch-with-him-rl57tt36f
They didn't let the right people wet their beak, as you can see the facts of life were explained to him. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-14/uk-treasury-chief-kwarteng-out-prime-minister-truss-u-turn/101539410
She was allowed to last a few weeks longer for the entertainment value alone.
It's very easy to smash something, much harder to glue it back together.
Market confidence is slowly gained and quickly lost. The effect of the stock & bond markets on the real economy is delayed a bit.
The Bank of England saved the UK from the full force of Truss, we very nearly went over the precipice.
More a case of the BoE looking for an excuse to ramp rates to cover up their incompetence over the last decade. The fact is the global economy is a giant ponzi scheme of money exchange run by a group of private companies not beholden to any government. With the media in their pockets they can make govts do their bidding. Sow a bit of instability via some news reports and bingo, the markets get the conditions they want for more profit.
Truss didn't cause any of these issues. They were brewing long before she got near power. She was simply the excuse.
@Richard 12
"The Bank of England saved the UK from the full force of Truss, we very nearly went over the precipice."
I was reading only last night how our current situation of bond interest is worse than under Truss. Seems we are still going over the precipice and at least Truss was going for growth unlike Reeves who is going for broke.
Might not be a protest vote - may be genuine Reform fans.
I'm a socialist, so in UK, not going to vote Tory, Reform etc. However, with Labour being Tory-Lite they are not an attractive option for me. If there had been a socialist party in my constituency they would have got my vote* & it would be a genuine vote, not a protest vote, as party most reflecting my views.
I would not be surprised if plenty of former conservative voters saw Reform as better representing their views than the Tories - never underestimate how much racism is (often barely) hidden under the surface in the UK
* There were no decent options in my constituency so I had to do the least bad option from the parties that were standing
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Plans, pledges, budget explanations - no plan survives first contact with reality. Macmillan's comment needs to be remembered by any politician in opposition and any voter reading their manifestos: "Events, dear boy, events".
What you really need to know is how they'll approach the first unexpected event and until you've seen them do that you won't know.
<....."... the Greens ........... they're the only party that gave real manifesto pledges, backed up by actual plans....."......>
Easy to to give firm pledges apparently backed by firm plans when you know you definitely won't have to actually put those plans to the test ;)
Not really, the parties that have some realistic chance of being elected are usually a bit more circumspect in making their pledges (or at least more ambiguous at any rate), because they know that they are probably going to break them.
Minority parties have no such worries.
You'll be one of those "Low information" voters like the types that voted for the FOCF.
In fact it's more like the Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum under Johnson.
No rules about putting whatever s**t you like on the side of your bus sooo let's put a massive lie and a question (that looks like a promise but is actually a question) on it.
There's nothing to stop us. Then "F**k, this is terrible. What are we going to do now." Well Boris you're going to have a day when 60+ members of your govt get tired of your s**t and do the walk.
BTW the Brexit "Dividend" to the EU is up to £23Bn and set to rise to about £30Bn when it's done. And with > than 2million of the old codgers who voted for it already in the ground there's fewer people working to pay for this. That's more than the black hole Labour found in the accounts.
Not to mention the running down of the UK car industry which supports 38 000 direct jobs (and a shedload more in the supply chain). In fact even the fisherman (who supposedly this was going to help) are pi**ed off about it.
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Unfortunately the notion that Reform drew its support from disaffected Tories isn't entirely accurate. They did get plenty, of course, but most of the Tory losses were the base staying at home and Reform did get some votes from Labour. The Tories are starting to come back in the polls, but Reform aren't declining to the same degree.
The polling that shows Farage is the most popular candidate to succeed Starmer also includes the statistic that he's the second most popular candidate among 2024 Labour voters; 20% of them want a Reform government in 2029. Labour already got in on the lowest vote share of any majority government since World War 2 - they can't afford to lose a fifth of their votes to Reform even if the Tories who stayed home don't come out again next time either. It may be a Tory government that takes over instead of Reform, but the Tories are chasing Reform votes so the net effect will be the same. And Reform would be close to locked in as the third party in British politics.
I have no idea why I got downvoted so heavily for reporting those facts and figures, either. It's not like I want the frog faced Nazi in Downing Street. But it's not going to be avoided by ignoring that if Starmer continues offering nothing but reheated Tory stew and telling us nothing can ever be better, fascism is ultimately what we're going to get.
Plenty of Labour voters knowing voted for an openly racist, pro-genocide authoritarian party. There is little difference between BlueKip, English Zionism, and Reform. They all want to sell us to the Septics and run off into the sunset.
The Green Tories, and the Yellow Tories are the wets of the respective factions.
A proper alternative is one where our country is run for our people, not for the donors and their dead-eye salespeople.
Three Billion a year promised in perpetuity as tribute to the US Arms industry rather than paying public sector workers properly.
We should have free universal health/social/child/adult care instead of the current patchwork provision. It would be considerably cheaper to renovate all housing stock, get them up to decent standard, than to deal with the generational ill health and associated costs of toxic housing / public buildings.
We're a country with tremendous capability to have a wonderful, way of life, and have it cost us all far less, but these grifters want to enrich themselves, and we let them.
Just doing the work alone would pump huge regeneration up and down the country, kickstart the skills, training, etc that would more than cover the start up costs of making our housing stock warm, efficient and well maintained.
Stop having cold houses, and old people who are too thin and too cold ending up in hospital. We should instead, just give them the money, and heat their houses, it's cheaper, not to mention the right thing to do.
Corbyn supporter?
If you call someone a globalist you get smeared as a right wing nut job. Rishi, Starmer etc are all cut from the same cloth. The wildfires in the US are so bad that Biden must be thinking he needs to send another few billion to Ukraine and Israel.
After the Romans threw out their last king (Tarquinius Superbus=Arrogant) in 509 BCE, they invented a pretty clever constitution, with TWO annually elected consuls, whose main job was to keep an eye on each other.
Then they accidentally acquired an empire, by sending out ex-consuls as generals.
The result was to create men who were bigger than the (city) state.
Things started to fall apart with Sulla in the early first century BCE. Then in the mid century it got serious, with the First Triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, who were so rich that they could corner the market in slaves/gladiators to create their own armies.
"Rubicon" by Tom Holland is an excellent account of this.
We are now seeing the beginning of the same process in the US, with the Tech Giants starting to become bigger than the state. We can almost name the new American Triumvirs.
> We are now seeing the beginning of the same process in the US, with the Tech Giants starting to become bigger than the state. We can almost name the new American Triumvirs.
While I'm always happy read about classical antiquity, I'm not sure how applicable the lesson is here. Yes, the major tech corporations control the distribution of news/information, but that's not new. Neither are ludicrously wealthy individuals in government.
The major radio syndicates and papers controlled news distribution (at least theoretically) all the way back to the Twenties—when the federal government was arguably *less* stable than today. I mean, we had the Sedition Act, a well-established Communist Party, and more. The economy was still overshadowed by the legacies of J.D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and the other "Robber Barons."
I think the present situation is par for the course in the world's wealthiest, most influential nation—it doesn't necessarily mean the system is deteriorating.
From Musk's point of view a small investment in his time and money causes huge benefit to his stock value.
If he can prevent EU (and EU adjacent) governments from working together to regulate his industries then his profit forecast, share value and bonuses go up. I don't know why he cares about more money now he has 'most' money but it's obviously important to him. He doesn't care about the human suffering he causes while getting to peak money.
On the other hand, he has a blind spot about the actual powers of government, I think he sees them as operating within the legal framework while he is outside it, but actually the opposite is true. If the British government wanted to manipulate the London Stock Exchange to tank his stock, the French wanted to send a special forces team to blow up SpaceX or the Germans to insert an exploit that causes every Tesla to overheat simultaneously, then those are both within their powers and could be justified as necessary to their national interests. It's only their recent habit of playing by the rules that Musk trusts to keep him safe.
Indeed I doubt if Musk is remotely aware of what happened to the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior following it's protest of French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
They've done it before.
I'm not sure any Musk companies are quoted on the London SE. But Tesla is quoted. Personally I think the Germans would be more transparent.
A little note on another part of history Leon is likely ignorant of.
During the 38 year long period of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland British troops carried 2 laminated cards. A White one for how to formerly arrest a suspect (basically a "Citizens arrest" since they weren't special constables or something like that) and a Yellow card with the Rules of Engagement for when they could open fire. Big boys games. Big boys rules.
Thing is Rules of Engagement can change, and if governments tire of his BS he might find himself pulling his plugs hair out in frustration.
You do make a good point. No matter how much money Musk has or how much ‘security; he can afford, it pales into insignificance as to what a 1st world nation state can bring to bear if absolutely, absolutely necessary.
At the moment he’s simply preaching to the converted, Musk is one of those people who is simply desperate to appear relevant, to seem important to apparently be directing events, there’s probably a medical term for this condition!
Although currently an annoyance and a distraction to the various governments in Europe, he can simply be ignored, give it a bit of time and he’ll get bored nd move on to something else.
But, and the ‘liberal’ European governments don't usually want to admit it and it’s all done quietly, behind the scenes, 'not us guv’ etc if absolute push were to come to shove, there are quite a few agencies who could arrange for an unfortunate accident to happen to him.
I have half joked about this, but the SAS and SBS would almost race to get the job done if ordered. Other countries have similar elite units.
When snipers can take out a target from over 2 miles away, no amount of money spent on security can keep you safe all of the time.
It's the age old thing of 'much wants more'. The more you have, the more you want.
I've heard it said about guys like Rockefeller who were or are rich beyond the dreams of avarice that they don't try to get richer because they want more, they get richer because deep down inside they're utterly terrified that they'll wake up tomorrow to find it's all gone, so having all the money in the whole wide world still wouldn't be enough..
"Specifically, a willingness to do whatever I tell him in order to beg like a puppy for the $100m I'm dangling in front of him."
I'm still wondering how long Trump will put up with Musk before being kicked to the kerb. Wouldn't surprise me if he got the boot before the 21st when Trump takes over.
I agree the fight is going to happen but I do not know how it will go after the initial name calling on Xitter. The free speech absolutist will obviously block the dictator for life and will probably post in his name. I would bet on Musk's security detail against a mob of Truth Social readers. Likewise I would bet on presidential security against a mob of Xitters. Lawfare against a sitting president will be difficult but Musk is an easy target.
@John Riddoch
"I'm still wondering how long Trump will put up with Musk before being kicked to the kerb."
Probably not too long but hopefully long enough to trim the gov effectively. For all the talk of Musk it is Trump who is the incoming President.
Elon Musk had told Nigel Farage that the imprisoned Tommy Robinson (aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) is apolitical prisoner and should be in the Reform Party. Farage has 'stood by his principles' and rejected that. But, here I have trouble separating Farage's 'principles' with his 'ego'. Farage wants the adulation of leading a party (which he actually owns as a limited company), rather than subject himself to 'the will of the people / members', who could vote him out of the leadership. DO Farage's 'principles' extend as far as democracy in his own party, or is it just an ego-trip? Can someone help me disentangle them?
"It's odd that most of the posts that might be seen as attacking Mush (typo but I'll leave it in) are only attracting a single downvote today. Are all the usual suspects on extended winter break?”
Well it is Christmas / New Year. Even the sock-puppet, troll, bot accounts deserve a bit of a break, no?
when your bank calls you a "Disingenuous grifter" I think "principles" is putting it a bit high.
Ego. Definitely.
Also holding out for a better deal (whatever "deal" is being offered).
BTW let's not forget that Reform has 4 actual MP's in Parliament, including the man-of-the-Paypal himself (8th time lucky, eh Nige?) and Richard "Obi" Tice, a former protege of John Smythe.
Handy for improving party discipline.
I wondered if their constituents have noticed them actually working for them since the election?
Didn't Labour send 100 staffers to help the Harris-Walz campaign? And how many European politicians, not to mention citizens, regularly weigh in on America's internal politics and policies?
If your elites can criticize us, ours can certainly criticize you. Deal with it. Shouldn't be a problem for such enlightened countries as yours.
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Didn't Labour send 100 staffers to help the Harris-Walz campaign?
They paid for it themselves, about 10 went to each state where the Harris-Walz campaign said they were needed, they stayed in other volunteers' houses, they canvassed a bit, and also went on a jolly holiday. As history shows, it wasn't enough to overturn the election.
X on everyone's phone with Musk at the controls making the algorithm push everyone right is a different order of magnitude.
"In 2015, a team organised by the US Young Republicans International Committee, a movement for those aged 18-40, helped out in the marginal seat of Enfield North, and the constituency of Aylesbury, where the Conservatives were being challenged by the UK Independence party." - quoted from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/23/why-are-labour-volunteers-causing-a-stir-in-the-us-election-race. It also says Tory volunteers were over there for the McCain campaign.
But fair's fair, you keep your fuckwits out of our politics and we'll do the same to yours. I suspect the UK will get the better end of that deal.
As for Whisky - mine's a Jura (10 or 20 years matured in the barrel, please) neat.
I've got some stuff called "whiskey" that claims to come from Kentucky - will that do?
(I find it makes an excellect furniture cleaner as long as you rinse well afterwards and apply furniture wax ASAP)
100 unpaid Labour volunteers went to help. None of which were MPs or elected officials. Several Tory/former Tory and one Reform MP have been making appearances to help Trump campaign(s).
This is common because it gives them opportunities to learn how to run campaigns and gain practical experience. Better than learning in a general election here when you have one opportunity every 5 years.
Rich by luck and rich family. (Peter Thiel and then ebay purchase of Paypal)
Bought it all.
Invented nothing.
A high proportion of current wealth is inflated by x100 value of Tesla shares. He's not realisable as the World's richest man. Most famous ego?
@Dostoevsky
I recall Musk ranting and court papers prepped as 100 Labour activists went door knocking and letterbox stuffing. Fast forward a couple of months and the UK is fair game for his political shenanigans and spleen venting. Normal double standards apply for alt right bigotry.
Musks only super power is he has employed a few good people who employ the rest that make up SpaceX, not too sure about the car company, lots of bumps in the road there. Tesla will probably be a future "just another car company". An industry whose output will decline as the need for you own individual piece of tin sitting in the driveway/car park 22 hours a day declines with convenient hireable auto driving transport callable by phone becomes ubiquitous.
All these politicians who are targeted by Musk have to do is to tell him see you in court[in the ring] or shut the fuck up.
He'll go running to Mummy.
Though it looks like he's got one up on Zuckerberg now that after the latter went for an audience at Trump's, Meta is going to follow the X model of moderation.
Indeed. I worked for an SA based credit management / debt collecting firm.
I always thought this little number could be edited into a very effective corporate promo for them. Featuring the star of "The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife" on lead vocal.
Anon, because.....
Musk is merely filling the role of court jester. He tells the truth as he sees it -- which is, note, not necessarily the truth as it actually is -- and in doing so treads on the toes of people and institutions who would prefer that 'their' truth prevail. There's no rule or law that says you actually have to listen to him.
The big fuss about 'election interference' is just a way of shutting down irritating voices who may rock the boat. We, in the US, have a long tradition of serious interference in others' elections using a combination of direct funding from the State Department and indirect funding to NGOs that ostensibly promote democracy but even so the noise about election interference by the bad actors du jour is quite strident these days. This has a definite "Me thinks she doth protest too much**" ring to it.
(**The actual quote from Hamlet is "The lady doth protest too much, methinks".)
Yeah. Just add them to a very long list that includes almost every country in Central and South America, Afghanistan*, African kleptocracies, Iran, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, The Philippines, etc.
* In the 80's, USA funded and armed the Taliban.
While this is true - modulo what the Orange Fuckwit decrees once he gets the keys for the Oval Office - it's very, very difficult not to *hear* from His Muskiness. Praise be upon him.
Musk's got his very own bully pulpit. Which has a global reach. Traditional mass media happily provides an echo chamber and amplifier for his deranged drivel. Even if you only listen to truthy news sources like the NYT or the Grauniad or the BBC, there's no escaping the batshit-crazy rantings of His Muskiness.
Even if you only listen to truthy news sources like the NYT or the Grauniad or the BBC, there's no escaping the batshit-crazy rantings of His Muskiness.
But this is cause and effect. Musk terifies the legacy media because he's kicking them out of their own bully pulpits. People, especially young people aren't buying what the old guard are selling any more, so they're no longer as influential as they once were. Or for 2 out of those 3, as wealthy. The Bbc still swims in their jacuzzi of cash thanks to their increasingly unique form of funding, but that's at risk as the Bbc becomes increasingly irrelevant and people stop buying licences to consume their pablum.
When Twitter under Dorsey was doing whatever the Democrats wanted, this was fine and wasn't 'election interference'. When Zuckerberg was flashing the Zuckbucks during Biden's campaig, this was fine, and wasn't 'interference'. When billionaires filled Harris's coffers with $1.5bn+, or the legacy media pointedly ignored Biden's cognitive decline, that wasn't 'election interference'. Biden just awarded Soros a Presidential medal, but Soros has never participated in any kind of 'election interference'. Nor did the OBN who declared we should own nothing, eat bugs, and be happy, ie the dear'ol WEF.
Who currently seem to be the biggest losers given 'progressives' are dropping like flies at the moment. No matter, garabaldi biscuit anyone?
"Musk terifies the legacy media because he's kicking them out of their own bully pulpits"
Not so. Legacy media *love* the musky one because (like Trump) he's an infinite source of cheap headlines and easy copy without any of that awkward fact-checking stuff getting in the way, They just report "Musk said X". Which is true. But they don't consider whether X is true or not. Or bother to attempt to verify X. For example, the last few days in mainstream media have been full of Musk's nonsense that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is a political prisoner and many of the current cabinet are enablers for child sexual abuse.
... is not a political party but a limited company. Musk could simply buy it, possibly cheaper than a 100 million "donation". Some multiple of 4.20, I dunno, 42.0 million, might be appropriate.
Chucking Farridge on to the scrap heap would be welcome, and should Reform.co.uk go the same way as twitter.com, so much the better.
-A.
Papa Musk says Elon would be interested in buying Liverpool FC
I don't really follow the game, but over at Manchester United, the attention of American Billionaires looks to have been a success - for the Billionaires*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.
In 2012, The Guardian estimated that the club had paid a total of over £500 million in debt interest and other fees on behalf of the Glazers,[228] and in 2019, reported that the total sum paid by the club for such fees had risen to £1 billion.[212] At the end of 2019, the club had a net debt of nearly £400 million.[229]
*For the Americans, and, lately, the British
Ah, yeh, Gates, Fink and Soros who used their wealth and influence to [checks notes] promote education, equity and public wellbeing.
Why would anyone object to that unless they were against those things? Only the mechanisms are the same but we cannot ignore the outcomes.
Soros was a victim of fascism, Musk owned an apartheid mine.
"making the same noises when Obama gave his opinion on the UK leaving the EU"
Perhaps because Obama wasn't in charge of a major personal communication platform, which gives Musk the ability to - literally - manipulate public opinion and discussion.
Plus, some of us did say "thanks Obama, but this one is up to us".
Well the clear difference is that Obama was answering a specific question at one press conference and was quite clear that the decision was up to the UK citizens to decide, rather than unprompted, just spaffing misinformation and personal insults across a social network.
That's probably why you don't recall a significant reaction from 'those' ( whoever 'those' are ), but I suspect you already knew that.
Norway's PM is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
In Norway we've suffered greatly because of the interconnects we built to Germany among others. The price of electricity has skyrocketed after Germany shut down their nukes. When we built the cables nobody believed anybody in their right mind would go through with something so foolish as shutting down fully workable nuclear power plants.
Unfortunately, the politicians in Germany are every bit as incapable as most of the Norwegian ones.
Soon one of the cables to Denmark will be retired and currently there is a debate about building a replacement. I doubt the voters in Norway will stand for it.
I get the criticism. At the same time: Musk is pointing out the bloody obvious. Many of the European countries are being systematically sabotaged from the top.
'I get the criticism. At the same time: Musk is pointing out the bloody obvious.'
I fail to see how your power prices and Musk's trolling are interconnected.
Given that 88% of your power is from Hydro and your national generation is pretty much self sufficient, I would strongly suspect your interconnectors are primarily used for export. Your pricing is driven by the larger market.
If you want cheap power, lobby your government for preferential rates or spend some of that sovereign wealth fund on some CCGTs and power them from your extensive gas fields.
Please don't put 2+2 together to get 5.
Prices shot up here after Russia's little folly because of the problem with gas and for some bullshit reason that seems to be "how can we scam the public [*]", the price of electricity was tied to the price of gas.
* - the other nice one being "the government has put a cap on the price per kilowatt, so instead we'll jack up the service charge".
<........"Given that 88% of your power is from Hydro and your national generation is pretty much self sufficient...."....>
Not just self-sufficient, when they have a surplus Norway exports electricity to the UK vis the NSL interconnector (and can import via the same link when the UK has excess generation from wind). As I write (at 22.25 on a Wednesday evening, Norway is providing slightly more than 4% of UK demand (source: http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/).
[as a side note, and not relevant to this thread, it is perhaps also worth mentioning that fossil gas is currently providing 52% as we have a fairly windless evening and wind is providing only 7%]
Interesting.
Not mad about the only HTTP connection or that it's a private company (they appear to be a firm of Chartered Surveyors), IMHO excellent UI.
This really shows what sources are supplying the UK market and it's fascinating.
It really lays bare how desperately dependent the UK is on gas powered gas turbines.
They say Hinkley Point C's twin reactors will supply about 7% of UK's entire energy demand.
Now, what happens to 3.55 of that when one of them goes offline for the 30-50days it takes to refuel one of these. From other plants the core takes 10 days but there's a lot of other stuff that can only be done (or is most convenient ) with the whole reactor shut down. That's what you get when you buy a design that was built to run submarine propellers on a single lifetime fuel load.
Not mad about the only HTTP connection or that it's a private company (they appear to be a firm of Chartered Surveyors), IMHO excellent UI.This really shows what sources are supplying the UK market and it's fascinating.
Minor caveat: If you look at their data sources, they make the point that not all generating data are available, but it captures a good enough chunk of it. So that plus the UI is why I tend to cite that one.
It really lays bare how desperately dependent the UK is on gas powered gas turbines.They say Hinkley Point C's twin reactors will supply about 7% of UK's entire energy demand.
Yep, and I keep pointing that out. So this view-
https://gridwatch.co.uk/Wind
Shows the intermittent nature of wind, and why we got hooked on gas. Yesterday is a good example of the problem-
minimum: 2.165 GW maximum: 13.446 GW average: 5.831 GW
with wind power tailing off as we headed into night time, and of course higher domestic demand because of the cold weather. Then it gets into the 'levelised cost' problem, so an installed capacity of maybe 40GW is one of those 'up to' problems, where actual can be as low as a couple of GW, or sometimes less. Hence 40GW of wind needs 40GW of.. something else to provide power when the wind isn't blowing. But the wind farmers don't pay the costs of intermittency, that's just loaded onto our bills. Nuclear doesn't have that problem and can power that 7% of demand 24x7x365 give or take the occasional shut down for inspections or refuelling.
From other plants the core takes 10 days but there's a lot of other stuff that can only be done (or is most convenient ) with the whole reactor shut down.
Oddly enough, they're designed to be refuelled quickly and not to require a complete shutdown. But this is something that can be planend for, and other generating capacity takes up the slack.. Unlike 'renewables', which are entirely at the mercy of the weather.
That's what you get when you buy a design that was built to run submarine propellers on a single lifetime fuel load.
Errm.. No, Hinkley is what we get when we buy from France. Other reactor designs are available, it's just G.Brown Esq decided to flog off Westinghouse and help bail out EDF. Where his brother worked. But I'm sure that was just a coincidence. It's also not a design based on a naval reactor. RR makes those, and they've been the only reactors to have gone critical since the lunatics took over the asylum, ie the ones powering our Astute attack submarines. Those run off HEU, and civil reactors could do that as well with a lot of politicing around nuclear non-proliferation. It is rather impressive though that a submarine can run for a predicted 20+ yrs of a single 'tank of gas' though. Unlike the French subs.. Especially when you consider the size of the nuclear kettle. But RR's SMR is derived from their naval reactor work, but runs of low-enriched uranium instead, and will require the occasional refuelling.
Yet people will still try to argue that wind is viable on the grid
Well, some people are making a lot of money from the subsidies. The ESO's put out a few warnings about wafer thin capacity margins, and it's one of those things where geopolitics doesn't help. Although if a ship 'accidently' anchor drags an interconnector, our 'leaders' can blame Russia/China for the resulting black-start and not their own incompetence wrt UK energy policy. There's been a few papers warning that the increasing complexity of our grid means a black-start might take weeks.
ps.. See also-
https://watt-logic.com/2025/01/09/blackouts-near-miss-in-tighest-day-in-gb-electricity-market-since-2011/
Yesterday saw a blackout near miss in what turned out to be the tightest day the GB electricity market has seen since 2011. Wind power was 2.5 GW through the evening peak, solar was (obviously) zero and there were significant interconnector outages leaving expected capacity at just 5.7 GW. Had just one large power station tripped this evening, demand control would have been a real prospect.
'our 'leaders' can blame Russia/China for the resulting black-start and not their own incompetence wrt UK energy policy.'
'Yesterday saw a blackout near miss in what turned out to be the tightest day the GB electricity market has seen since 2011. '
As the first line of defense, certain industries / users are contractually obliged, financially penalized or even just cut off if the don't reduce load on demand when requested by Grid.
You appear to be using black-start and blackout as inextricably linked or one and the same thing. Black-start is essentially restarting a section or sections of the grid.
In the event of a major failure, NG protection would immediately section that problematic part of the grid. That would result in a blackout for that particular section.The black-start would then be confined to that particular section / region.
Multiple sections can black-start relatively quickly in parallel running as independent frequency 'islands', supplying the local regions ( with probable limitations in place).
Its the frequency matching and reintegration to the grid which would probably take a longer period but you would not be sitting there in a blackout as seems to be suggested.
You appear to be using black-start and blackout as inextricably linked or one and the same thing. Black-start is essentially restarting a section or sections of the grid.
Nope, I'm aware of the difference, along with the warnings why grid complexity may mean blackouts become black-start situations, with some of the issues around resynchronisation. Especially as we still have a lot of expensive stuff that relies on a relatively stable frequency.
If he thinks that AfD is good for Germany, he really has no clue about them at all.
They are all set to destroy everything that is good about Germany and become isolationists. Even though I am now a German citizen and also the "right sort" of foreigner (i.e. I come from North and West of Germany), I live in fear that AfD will gain a foothold.
Musk needs to learn that the First Amendment doesn't apply outside the USA.
Freedom of expression does though, because that's one of those fundamental human rights.. But the bit people sometimes seem to forget is that's always qualified. Yelling 'Fire' in a crowded theatre and all that.
(on which point, I've been watching the Cali fire, and hope that's over soon.)
Indeed, article 19 of the UN universal declaration of human rights.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
His meddling in everyone else's politics is going to get boring soon. America's brand of free speech politics doesn't apply in the rest of the world and most people don't want it. After yesterday's speech by Zuckerberg saying that the US needs to basically teach other countries the meaning of free speech, the future's only going to get more volatile.
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I reckon Musk is only going anti-immigrant to maximise the effect of a fallling birthrate.
Think about it: fewer births and no short-term immigrant replacememt means fewer people to do the routine jobs, & so greater opportunity for AI & related tech solutions to fill the gap at a more profitable rate.
As always with entrepreneurs: follow the money, & possible returns on investment.
Muskrat has no empathy (his Dad is as bad so no wonder) so doesn't give a rat's ass about people impacted by his campaigns, he just wants money and power. Power and money.
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