Basically I blame that on how the "world" seems to operate, why should one tiny part of the world, USA, and it is tiny in global terms, have such a control over it. Maybe its time the "world" woke up and just moved on leaving certain parts behind, I think China maybe thinking along those lines, but personally, I really dont trust them either, its like they all want world domination. Surely we all just want a level playing field.
No @pete - Trump and co, Putin and China don't want a level playing field. They want supremacy. i found this article interesting and frightening. Republican Congressman Keith Self, during a House hearing on censorship and public discourse, looked into the camera and quoted Joseph Goebbels — Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda — as if he were citing a respected authority on governance. “It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion.” Let those words sink in. This wasn’t an academic comparison. This wasn’t a history lesson. It was a quote from the architect of the Nazi propaganda machine, spoken aloud by a sitting U.S. Congressman in defense of state control over speech. There is no context in which quoting Goebbels is appropriate. Ever. But in Trump’s America — where the line between fascism and patriotism has been deliberately blurred — it’s not just tolerated. It’s a signal. Make no mistake: MAGA’s flirtation with fascism is over. They’ve moved in, redecorated the place, and made it their home. We are no longer watching the slow creep of authoritarianism. We are watching the sprint. And Donald Trump, now back in the Oval Office after the most disgraceful and dangerous comeback in American political history, is not merely condoning it — he’s fueling it. When Trump praises dictators like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, it’s not hyperbole or entertainment. It’s aspiration. When he declares immigrants “poisoning the blood of our nation,” he’s not echoing Ronald Reagan — he’s echoing Adolf Hitler. And now, with Project 2025 well underway, his loyalists are pushing a roadmap that reads like a dystopian instruction manual: purge the federal government of dissenters, dismantle checks and balances, roll back civil rights, and crush independent thought. But quoting Goebbels? That’s a new low — even for MAGA. Let’s call this what it is: a brazen embrace of Nazi ideology. Goebbels was not a mere commentator on propaganda. He was its master, responsible for brainwashing a nation, silencing truth, and greasing the rails to Auschwitz with lies and hate. When a U.S. Congressman lifts his words to justify government control of speech, we are staring fascism dead in the eyes. And don’t for one second believe it was a slip. Keith Self sits on the same ideological team that celebrated January 6th as “patriotic,” that wants to erase uncomfortable truths from our children’s textbooks, that has outlawed books, banned history, and turned “wokeness” into a slur. These are not conservative values. These are authoritarian tactics. And they are working. They’ve already dismantled reproductive rights. They’ve gutted voting protections. They’ve weaponized the courts — including a Supreme Court so compromised it shrinks from defending democracy and instead shields billionaires, guns, and bigotry. Trump’s allies now wear the language of fascism like a badge of honor: “retribution,” “domination,” “the enemy of the people.” And we? We are told to be civil. To see “both sides.” To pretend that quoting Nazis from the House dais is just a political misstep and not a five-alarm fire. This is not a drill. This is not about taxes or inflation or even the usual push and pull of partisanship. This is about whether America remains a democracy — or descends into something far darker. MAGA isn’t offering policy. It’s offering control. It’s offering submission. It’s offering a future where dissent is treason, where truth is decided by decree, and where quoting Hitler’s inner circle is not only allowed — but cheered. The danger here isn’t abstract. It’s personal. If you’re Black, brown, LGBTQ+, Muslim, Jewish, disabled, poor, female, or an immigrant — you are the target. If you’re a teacher who believes in science, a librarian who stocks Beloved, a journalist who tells uncomfortable truths — you are the threat. If you believe that America is strongest when it defends liberty and not stomps on it — you are in the way. And if we don’t stop this now, quoting Goebbels in Congress won’t be a scandal. It will be the standard. History is screaming at us. The same tools used by fascists of the past — fear, propaganda, scapegoating, and the slow normalization of hate — are being sharpened by men like Trump and wielded by cowards like Keith Self. We cannot wait for it to get worse. It already has. This is the moment to speak, to act, to resist. Because when they start quoting Nazis without shame, the only thing left is whether we have the courage to say: Never again. And mean it.”
Excellent article, @Obelix-Vendée. It is not the right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion. Which is why our gov setting up Nudge units is so worrying. Fascism historically has always got a toehold by distorting patriotism. We need to take the rhetoric and theatre out of politics, the whipping up of crowds, the playing to base interests. The problem is not that US citizens voted in Trump as the better of the two options in front of them. It was their right to do so. The problem is the choice on the ballot was so poor … and that is a deliberate tactic by Big Money to ensure its interests always come first. If we want a level playing field, the first thing that needs levelling off is the wealth gap. Do that and you would solve almost all the world’s most pressing problems overnight.
Things are getting a bit disturbing here too. Ever tried to get a copper to come and help you with an anti social neighbour? Ever been told “we’re a bit busy just now” and never heard a thing more? What strange times we live in.
Not just seriously bizarre, seriously worrying. That case, along with another reported in the past few weeks where a couple were arrested for what they posted about their concerns about the school their daughter attended. In both cases, police didn't actually investigate the claims against the individuals before arresting them and sticking them in cells for hours. Are we really now in a position where anybody can make any claim they want against another and police will lock the supposed offender up without any investigation first?
I dare say “the man in his 40s” who sent them round to her house will be minding his back from now on.
I guess the only positive thing that can be said is at least it is still possible for journalists to report these things so we know what’s going on. I remember when Sarah Everard was abducted and murdered, someone in authority said she should have known it was not a justified arrest and resisted, but (a) that is unlikely to end up well, especially given officers seem to go around in groups now and (b) as it appears you can be arrested on any spurious allegation these days, how can you tell whether you should submit?
@Obelix-Vendée . NO ONE is losing their social security payments, where you get that from who knows. Each state can develop a better education system that has not happened for over 30 years, it was not working, to keep doing something over and over again that is not working is a sign of ignorance. The children separated from their parents would happen if any parent is deemed criminal. And Biden lost track of the children not Trump. Actually, he is finding some of them recently. The Veteran s issues have been going on long before Trump came about, 40 years. Trump just invited back all the vets that Biden got rid of because they refused to take the covid shot. I myself fought for more funding for the vets in the job I had so I know the care of vets was horrid for a long time Obama did nothing for them. And nothing is being done with Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. They're just trying to find out how several hundred of 150 year olds can still collect social security. They also are trying to find the Billion dollars sent to California for the homeless, where it went, because there is not a billion dollars of improvement there. Some democrats lined their pockets with that. And lots more money wasting /spending/ is being found, of course following the trail will lead back to democrats screwing. So far, have not heard one Democrat saying how horrid it is that they lost a Billion dollars. Instead, program officials are locking building and trying to delete emails and burn files, they know they did wrong. Did not know TDS crossed the pond, but seems it has.
@redstar - an example of how each state is taking control of its own education system: “I’ve spent the better part of my career listening to loud men talk tough to disguise their weaknesses,” Maine Governor Janet Mills said today, taking a not-so-subtle swipe at Donald Trump. Trump’s been threatening to cut federal funding to Maine because Mills won’t enforce his ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports, but she’s not having it. When he tried to strong-arm her back in February, she coolly fired back with, “See you in court,” and hasn’t flinched since. It’s no wonder so many people are rallying behind her. And let’s be real—why does it seem like it’s mostly women standing up to Trump? From Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde to Jasmine Crockett to AOC, it’s women who keep showing they’re not afraid of his loudmouth antics. Mills is right there with them, refusing to let Trump’s threats dictate what happens in her state. She’s made it clear this isn’t just about sports—it’s about protecting people’s rights and pushing back against what she sees as outright bullying from his administration. Mills’ calm but firm approach is such a contrast to Trump’s bluster. She’s proving that strength doesn’t have to come with shouting or threats—it comes from standing your ground, no matter how loud the other side gets. It’s inspiring to see someone so steady and focused when so many others cave under pressure.
That one was easily explained and it had nothing to do with 150 year olds. The records were recorded on an ancient coding system that had a default date setting of may 20th 1875. It meant that if the records didn't include a date of birth or were incorrectly recorded, it set the date to 1875. It was known when they mentioned it but it was an easy soundbite.
Is that TDS in the scientific sense? Total Dissolved Solids. Well, if they crossed the pond, where did they come from?
