UK crime statistics just published show recorded crime up by 13% this year. However, the crime survey data (which isn't affected by changes to police recording methods) is down by 9%. Here's the BBC view of whether there's a real increase or not.
Trump's view of the statistics is not so nuanced "Just out report: "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror." Not good, we must keep America safe!"
You've got to say this about Trump though. He may be divisive at home, but abroad he can act as a real unifying force. Here are comments showing a welcome cross-party consensus in UK politics: Conservative backbencher Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, responded to Mr Trump's tweet by calling the US president a "daft twerp" who needed to "fix gun control." Former Labour minister, Hilary Benn, told BBC News: "I am sure we would all appreciate it if we could see a reduction in the number of tweets like this from the president of the United States." Labour's Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, tweeted: "Officer, I'd like to report a hate crime." Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson also responded to the president's tweet, accusing him of "misleading and spreading fear".
More people were killed in Las Vegas by one man in one hour than all the terrorist attacks in the UK this decade.
If only the entire concert had been armed then things would have been so much better, right.
Once the gunman started firing I'm sure some 2nd amendment types would have totally fixed the problem and not just start to randomly shoot guns at each other.
You may or may not be aware that I fall into this group. Then again, I am not a Boomer, only the son of Boomers (both my parents were born in 1946). Of course, I don't expect anything to be handed to me either--if I didn't earn it I usually don't want it.
@FinneousPJ That is because they really don't work. Look at Chicago's shootings and homicides. Yes, I know--the guns are being brought in from other areas but that is the very proof that they don't work. Even if Chicago's laws were extended to the entire nation you could still bring in guns from Mexico (the cartels will gladly sell you some guns for the right price then you smuggle them across Falcon Lake) as long as you don't mind the risk of being caught. Of course, all criminals are gamblers by nature--they are betting they can get away with it before the police arrive or that they can get away with it and not be caught later on.
80% of Puerto Rico still doesn't have electricity; 1/3 of Puerto Ricans--American citizens, all--do not have a reliable source of clean drinking water. In many areas, cleanup after the hurricanes has not even begun.
Gee, would you look at that. By my count this is the third time since the Election when there has been an incident of Alt-right goons taking GUN SHOTS at protesters. There hasn't been a single incident of gun violence at these events from someone on the left. You can talk all you want about Antifa engaging in street violence, but they aren't the ones packing heat.
A few moments ago, Huckabee Sanders, despite Chief of Staff John Kelly being caught in a bald-faced lie, has now said that it is "highly inappropriate" to even get in a debate with or question a 4-star general. This is the talk of a military junta. And this article in the New Yorker today echos the exact thoughts I have been having the last 24 hours:
And while we're on the subject....I don't see how this new NRA ad (which is only a slight ramp-up from the one posted a few months ago) is anything less than calling for armed conflict in the streets, especially considering their main focus as an organization is making sure everyone is armed to the teeth. So liberals are going to "perish in the flames of their own fires". Good to know. Put me on the record as saying that the NRA is a far bigger threat to my (and nearly everyone's safety) than ISIS could ever hope of being.
And while we're on the subject....I don't see how this new NRA ad (which is only a slight ramp-up from the one posted a few months ago) is anything less than calling for armed conflict in the streets, especially considering their main focus as an organization is making sure everyone is armed to the teeth. So liberals are going to "perish in the flames of their own fires". Good to know. Put me on the record as saying that the NRA is a far bigger threat to my (and nearly everyone's safety) than ISIS could ever hope of being.
In the "elections have consequences" category, it now seems that Republicans are seriously considering capping the amount people can contribute to their 401k before taxes at a mere $2400/year. So apparently they not only want to take away your Social Security and Medicare, they also want to make sure you can't save your own money. So what is the Republican retirement plan, tent cities of senior citizens??
@Mathsorcerer UK has strict gun controls. Hence UK terrorists don't have access to assault weapons. Can you finish this chain of logic?
The vast majority of shooting incidents in the United States, though, are committed by handguns, not "assault"-style guns. (Incidentally, there is no clear legal definition of the word "assault" when used in connection to guns, other than "the victim was assaulted with a gun".)
re: 401(k) contributions That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Isn't punishing people for saving money the *opposite* what Republicans normally support? Besides, a 401(k) isn't the only way to save money for the future--just because you have an extra $100 left over this month doesn't mean that you have to spend it....
I will remind people that personal attacks are against the Site Rules. Suggesting other posters are stupid or dishonest is not acceptable on this forum.
@Mathsorcerer UK has strict gun controls. Hence UK terrorists don't have access to assault weapons. Can you finish this chain of logic?
The vast majority of shooting incidents in the United States, though, are committed by handguns, not "assault"-style guns. (Incidentally, there is no clear legal definition of the word "assault" when used in connection to guns, other than "the victim was assaulted with a gun".)
re: 401(k) contributions That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Isn't punishing people for saving money the *opposite* what Republicans normally support? Besides, a 401(k) isn't the only way to save money for the future--just because you have an extra $100 left over this month doesn't mean that you have to spend it....
Because it's not just that Republicans support tax cuts. They support tax cuts for the wealthy but are more than happy (and often EAGER) to rescind tax breaks or credits for the lower or middle class. What they are concerned about is corporate, capital gains, estate and income taxes. If the majority of the taxes you pay come out of your paycheck every two weeks, they have no qualms sticking it to you.
As for why 401k plans help immensely in regards to retirement, the reason is 3-fold. 1.) It come out of your paycheck automatically, so the risk of human temptation to spend the money instead of save it is removed. Once you tell your employer how much you want to go in, it just happens. Set it and forget it. 2.) Many employers match a certain amount out of each check, in many cases far beyond the $2400 these buffoons are proposing. 3.) It's tax-free. This is off-set by the fact that if you take the money out early (before the age of 60), you incur a 10% penalty. 401k plans are deliberately designed to basically force people to save for retirement rather than waste the money. The plan these two Republicans are putting forth would make it pointless.
As is most often the case, the end-result of this Niger ambush story is going to turn out to be 10x worse than similar scandals attributed to Democrats by the time all the facts come out:
Trump's been personally interviewing candidates for at least two of the potential candidates for U.S. attorney positions in New York.
Highly unusual for Presidents to personally interview potential DAs because they are supposed to be given some measure of autonomy. So why is this a big deal?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) laid it out "To be very blunt, these three jurisdictions will have authority to bring indictments over the ongoing special counsel investigation into Trump campaign collusion with the Russians and potential obstruction of justice by the president of the United States,” Blumenthal told Politico. “For him to be interviewing candidates for that prosecutor who may, in turn, consider whether to bring indictments involving him and his administration seems to smack of political interference."
So Trump wants to be able to pardon himself and his family and is actively working to ensure he will not face any state charges by directly ensuring whoever he picks for these positions will not bring charges against himself.
If you were wondering when we get to the point in Trump's America when a State Rep. advocates for the quarantining of HIV patients, well, your wait is over. I present Betty Price, wife of former HHS Secretary Tom Price. At panel about health care access, this is what she asked Pascale Wortley, the director of the HIV Epidemiology Section for Georgia Department of Health:
"And I don’t want to say the quarantine word, but I guess I just said it. Is there an ability, since I would guess that public dollars are expended heavily in prophylaxis and treatment of this condition. So we have a public interest in curtailing the spread. What would you advise or are there any methods legally that we could do that would curtail the spread,” Price added.
“It seems to me it’s almost frightening the number of people who are living that are potentially carriers, well not carriers, with the potential to spread, whereas in the past they died more readily and at that point they are not posing a risk. So we’ve got a huge population posing a risk if they are not in treatment,” Price said later during Wortley's presentation.
Let me translate: she thinks we may need to quarantine HIV patients because, as a result of better treatments for the virus, they aren't dying as fast as they used to. Imagine the conversations that go on in the Price home, and then remember that Donald Trump put her husband in charge of the nations's healthcare for almost a year.
Rich people want to put distance between the unclean riffraff? Nobody could have seen that coming.
Republicans, such as Trey Gowdy, who obsessively probed the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi have been silent on the raid authorized by Donald Trump, against military warnings, where four American soldiers were killed in an ambush thought to be led by ISIS. Wonder why these fake Patriots are silent now?
Rich people want to put distance between the unclean riffraff? Nobody could have seen that coming.
Republicans, such as Trey Gowdy, who obsessively probed the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi have been silent on the raid authorized by Donald Trump, against military warnings, where four American soldiers were killed in an ambush thought to be led by ISIS. Wonder why these fake Patriots are silent now?
Someone ordered that operation based on massively-flawed intelligence. It seems that it is entirely possible that Trump's decision to put Chad (of all countries) on his travel ban list caused the government of Chad to pull their troops from Niger last month, leaving our troops without any local support.
Let's juxtapose this with Obama giving the go-ahead on the Bin Laden raid. People need to realize that if the Bin Laden raid goes bad, if those soldiers die, or Bin Laden escapes yet again, his Presidency is OVER. There would have been no second term. Similarly, if they had decided to NOT go forward with the mission because they thought the risk to the troops was too great, and it word ever got out that he wouldn't pull the trigger, his Presidency ALSO would have been over. Everything was on the line for Obama in regards to that raid. And one of the reasons it worked is because they debated and planned it for months. Trump is likely making these decisions over a shrimp cocktail at Mar-a-Lago.
I'm guessing absolutely no one had heard about this up to this point. Any guesses as to why?? We all know that if this had been a Muslim, it would be the lead story on every news channel and plastered all over the internet. As it is, it's probably A-19 material. Somehow as a society we have actually convinced ourselves that violent acts committed by Muslims are inherently worse and more worthy of being concerned about than violent acts committed by anyone else. It's absurd. He didn't just make or ATTEMPT to use a bomb, he set one off near a college campus. Even on supposed liberal click-bait sites that aggregate news like Huffpost, it is nowhere to be found. The only mention of it in a Google search is from a local news sources. The bomb went off over 6 hours ago.
It's worth noting that the years here are 2008-2016. Just like in the Clinton years, the Obama years saw a rise in right-wing militia activity. It was assumed that it happened because their ideas were, in a sense, out of power. There was no such rise in activity during the Bush Administration. What we are seeing since Trump got elected however seems to be the exact opposite. They no longer seem content to lash out only during times when they view themselves as the opposition. With Trump, it's entirely likely they finally feel like they are part of a true movement, and that they have license to take the streets. We've seen what happens when they do so in Charlottesville, and just yesterday in Florida (and seriously, how is the fact that 3 Richard Spencer supporters getting arrested for attempted murder not getting more coverage??). We've seen the NRA ad which is going to reach the people with the most guns, which is basically telling them that if they don't take to the streets in some sort of vigilante crusade against liberals, that American society is on the brink of destruction. Get ready for more of this. Be especially wary of it if Donald Trump is on the ropes, whether from Mueller's investigation, or if it looks like he is headed towards an election loss in 2020. We've seen how he acts when he wins. Now imagine what he'll do if Republicans lose Congress in 2018 or he loses re-election in 2020. I'm not saying he will refuse to leave office. What I am saying is that he will ramp up his rhetoric to such a point that violence will almost certainly be the outcome.
Now imagine what he'll do if Republicans lose Congress in 2018 or he loses re-election in 2020. I'm not saying he will refuse to leave office.
I'll say he might do just that. When has he ever shown himself to be "reasonable" or "care what other people want"?
He lost the popular vote and refused to accept it. If he loses the election it's highly likely he'd do the same. He'd deny it. Why not? It's worked so far.
If you were wondering when we get to the point in Trump's America when a State Rep. advocates for the quarantining of HIV patients, well, your wait is over. I present Betty Price, wife of former HHS Secretary Tom Price.
That put me in mind of the decision just announced to make that shining example of health care advocacy and the rights of the LGBT community (that's Robert Mugabe in case the description isn't obvious enough) a goodwill ambassador for the WHO.
That put me in mind of the decision just announced to make that shining example of health care advocacy and the rights of the LGBT community (that's Robert Mugabe in case the description isn't obvious enough) a goodwill ambassador for the WHO.
This is so bizarre that I first assumed that I didn't understand your post and had to read through it again.
If you were wondering when we get to the point in Trump's America when a State Rep. advocates for the quarantining of HIV patients, well, your wait is over. I present Betty Price, wife of former HHS Secretary Tom Price.
That put me in mind of the decision just announced to make that shining example of health care advocacy and the rights of the LGBT community (that's Robert Mugabe in case the description isn't obvious enough) a goodwill ambassador for the WHO.
One of the most absolutely amazing things about FOX News and right-wing media in general during the Trump era is that, on a daily basis, they are still covering Hillary Clinton as if she was a sitting President. As far as I can tell, Hillary Clinton is spending most of her time taking hikes, reading books, and playing with her grandchildren. This would be like if MSNBC has spent ALL of 2013 doing nightly stories on Mitt Romney.
Granted, Clinton is on a book tour atm, promoting a book that explains why she thinks she lost the election.
Romney didn't attempt to cash in on his failure.
If Hillary Clinton died tomorrow they would have to exhume her body and haul it around Weekend at Bernie's-style simply so Trump could continue to have a foil.
Granted, Clinton is on a book tour atm, promoting a book that explains why she thinks she lost the election.
Romney didn't attempt to cash in on his failure.
Sure he did. Here he his a couple weeks after he blasted Trump during the campaign, grovelling to be the Secretary of State.
What's that if not trying to move on and cash in after being a failure?
His main run for Prez was in 2012 but after his failed 2008 Presidential run he too wrote a book called No Apology The Case For American Greatness. It's not unusual for failed candidates to write books and present an alternative view of how things'd be better if only they'd won. Hillary's is a little more on the nose than most of those but there were unusual circumstances clearly - a misogynistic pig beat the first female presidental candidate, Russian interference and more.
Comments
Once the gunman started firing I'm sure some 2nd amendment types would have totally fixed the problem and not just start to randomly shoot guns at each other.
@FinneousPJ That is because they really don't work. Look at Chicago's shootings and homicides. Yes, I know--the guns are being brought in from other areas but that is the very proof that they don't work. Even if Chicago's laws were extended to the entire nation you could still bring in guns from Mexico (the cartels will gladly sell you some guns for the right price then you smuggle them across Falcon Lake) as long as you don't mind the risk of being caught. Of course, all criminals are gamblers by nature--they are betting they can get away with it before the police arrive or that they can get away with it and not be caught later on.
80% of Puerto Rico still doesn't have electricity; 1/3 of Puerto Ricans--American citizens, all--do not have a reliable source of clean drinking water. In many areas, cleanup after the hurricanes has not even begun.
Gee, would you look at that. By my count this is the third time since the Election when there has been an incident of Alt-right goons taking GUN SHOTS at protesters. There hasn't been a single incident of gun violence at these events from someone on the left. You can talk all you want about Antifa engaging in street violence, but they aren't the ones packing heat.
A few moments ago, Huckabee Sanders, despite Chief of Staff John Kelly being caught in a bald-faced lie, has now said that it is "highly inappropriate" to even get in a debate with or question a 4-star general. This is the talk of a military junta. And this article in the New Yorker today echos the exact thoughts I have been having the last 24 hours:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/john-kelly-and-the-language-of-the-military-coup
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/theres-talk-of-capping-401k-contributions-at-2400-per-year-2017-10-20?mod=gennews_twitter&link=sfmw_tw
re: 401(k) contributions
That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Isn't punishing people for saving money the *opposite* what Republicans normally support? Besides, a 401(k) isn't the only way to save money for the future--just because you have an extra $100 left over this month doesn't mean that you have to spend it....
As for why 401k plans help immensely in regards to retirement, the reason is 3-fold. 1.) It come out of your paycheck automatically, so the risk of human temptation to spend the money instead of save it is removed. Once you tell your employer how much you want to go in, it just happens. Set it and forget it. 2.) Many employers match a certain amount out of each check, in many cases far beyond the $2400 these buffoons are proposing. 3.) It's tax-free. This is off-set by the fact that if you take the money out early (before the age of 60), you incur a 10% penalty. 401k plans are deliberately designed to basically force people to save for retirement rather than waste the money. The plan these two Republicans are putting forth would make it pointless.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/africa/source-niger-attack-resulted-massive-intelligence-failure-n812626
Highly unusual for Presidents to personally interview potential DAs because they are supposed to be given some measure of autonomy. So why is this a big deal?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) laid it out
"To be very blunt, these three jurisdictions will have authority to bring indictments over the ongoing special counsel investigation into Trump campaign collusion with the Russians and potential obstruction of justice by the president of the United States,” Blumenthal told Politico. “For him to be interviewing candidates for that prosecutor who may, in turn, consider whether to bring indictments involving him and his administration seems to smack of political interference."
So Trump wants to be able to pardon himself and his family and is actively working to ensure he will not face any state charges by directly ensuring whoever he picks for these positions will not bring charges against himself.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/356322-feinstein-trump-should-not-be-interviewing-us-attorney-candidates
"And I don’t want to say the quarantine word, but I guess I just said it. Is there an ability, since I would guess that public dollars are expended heavily in prophylaxis and treatment of this condition. So we have a public interest in curtailing the spread. What would you advise or are there any methods legally that we could do that would curtail the spread,” Price added.
“It seems to me it’s almost frightening the number of people who are living that are potentially carriers, well not carriers, with the potential to spread, whereas in the past they died more readily and at that point they are not posing a risk. So we’ve got a huge population posing a risk if they are not in treatment,” Price said later during Wortley's presentation.
Let me translate: she thinks we may need to quarantine HIV patients because, as a result of better treatments for the virus, they aren't dying as fast as they used to. Imagine the conversations that go on in the Price home, and then remember that Donald Trump put her husband in charge of the nations's healthcare for almost a year.
Republicans, such as Trey Gowdy, who obsessively probed the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi have been silent on the raid authorized by Donald Trump, against military warnings, where four American soldiers were killed in an ambush thought to be led by ISIS. Wonder why these fake Patriots are silent now?
Let's juxtapose this with Obama giving the go-ahead on the Bin Laden raid. People need to realize that if the Bin Laden raid goes bad, if those soldiers die, or Bin Laden escapes yet again, his Presidency is OVER. There would have been no second term. Similarly, if they had decided to NOT go forward with the mission because they thought the risk to the troops was too great, and it word ever got out that he wouldn't pull the trigger, his Presidency ALSO would have been over. Everything was on the line for Obama in regards to that raid. And one of the reasons it worked is because they debated and planned it for months. Trump is likely making these decisions over a shrimp cocktail at Mar-a-Lago.
I'm guessing absolutely no one had heard about this up to this point. Any guesses as to why?? We all know that if this had been a Muslim, it would be the lead story on every news channel and plastered all over the internet. As it is, it's probably A-19 material. Somehow as a society we have actually convinced ourselves that violent acts committed by Muslims are inherently worse and more worthy of being concerned about than violent acts committed by anyone else. It's absurd. He didn't just make or ATTEMPT to use a bomb, he set one off near a college campus. Even on supposed liberal click-bait sites that aggregate news like Huffpost, it is nowhere to be found. The only mention of it in a Google search is from a local news sources. The bomb went off over 6 hours ago.
But but but but the violent left! Both sides!
He lost the popular vote and refused to accept it. If he loses the election it's highly likely he'd do the same. He'd deny it. Why not? It's worked so far.
Romney didn't attempt to cash in on his failure.
What's that if not trying to move on and cash in after being a failure?
His main run for Prez was in 2012 but after his failed 2008 Presidential run he too wrote a book called No Apology The Case For American Greatness. It's not unusual for failed candidates to write books and present an alternative view of how things'd be better if only they'd won. Hillary's is a little more on the nose than most of those but there were unusual circumstances clearly - a misogynistic pig beat the first female presidental candidate, Russian interference and more.