I read the news today oh boy! Page 2,180

Quote: Firkin @ 1st July 2020, 6:34 PM

Do you expect us to believe that if Catherine Zeta Jones was out shopping, as George was, that copper would stand on her windpipe for 8 minutes 46 seconds?

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That incident was an aberration and an abomination. I have not heard a single person defend that cop's actions - not other cops, not any Republicans. Nobody. The cop was charged with murder and he will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. His actions have been condemned by everyone and he will pay a very large price under the law. President Trump issued an executive order preventing police from using chokeholds except in life-or-death struggles, but the narrative must remain unchanged and the crisis must continue...because it is an election year.

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 1st July 2020, 6:39 PM

I don't think BLM necessarily are advocating those things in fairness. Certainly not all or even most people supporting BLM.

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"We are trained Marxists." - BLM founder Patrisse Cullors

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 1st July 2020, 6:39 PM

All equal in the eyes of the law? Things are better than ever? Really?
Are we quite sure about all this?

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Yes, I am quite sure. I live here and I've seen it with my own eyes for the last 50+ years. Violent crime is down since its peak 25 years ago. Racism is a relic. Police killings are down. Cops are wearing body cameras. But the media and politicians would like you to believe anyone on the other side of the aisle is a vile racist. Ever wonder why non-American media so breathlessly report stuff like this on the other side of the ocean? Do you think you're being given an accurate report on what's really happening? Do you think China and Russia and the rest of the communists have any interest in those viewpoints being pushed to the masses?

Maybe it's true that people being killed by cops is down - but isn't it still the case in many states that the number of black people killed by cops as opposed to white people is still far far too high

I read today that 95% of people shot dead by police in the US are men.

That figure needs to come right down!

Quote: lofthouse @ 1st July 2020, 8:20 PM

Maybe it's true that people being killed by cops is down - but isn't it still the case in many states that the number of black people killed by cops as opposed to white people is still far far too high

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The number of people killed by cops will always be too high, just as the number of cops killed will always be too high.

You can't put a racial quota on the number of people killed by police. Almost without exception, people killed by cops are killed because they presented a deadly threat to an officer or the general public. A cop of any color will shoot a deadly threat of any color 100% of the time. In terms of sheer numbers, about twice as many whites are killed by cops every year. It may be politically advantageous to compare the racial makeup of our nation, but the only number that matters is how many people were killed because they were a deadly threat. Singling out a race and demanding parity without looking at the individual circumstances is as pointless as demanding parity in shootings by gender - men are killed at a rate 25x that of women.

The majority of our gun violence - both by police and by street criminals - involves gang members, drugs users/dealers, and common criminals. It's also worth noting that our police force is very diverse and parallels the nation's makeup as a whole.

So far this year police have shot and killed 506 people.
204 were white.
104 were black.

Last year it was 999 people.
403 were white.
250 were black.

The Washington Post has a database where you can perform your own searches. You'll see that the number of unarmed black men that are killed by police can be counted on the fingers of two hands, even if you've been careless with fireworks or electric saws. Do more research on the ones that say "unarmed" and you'll find that some of them actually were armed, or they were in the process of trying to grab a gun and/or attempting to kill someone.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/

tl;dr: We have a lot of police (of all races) shootings in this country and most are justifiable in any reasonable person's eyes. We also have a lot of police (of all races) who are shot in the line of duty.

"Racism is a relic."
Sadly, it is a relic which the current US president has upheld, re-enforced and promoted time and time again.

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 1st July 2020, 9:39 PM

"Racism is a relic."
Sadly, it is a relic which the current US president has upheld, re-enforced and promoted time and time again.

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Nope. The press has tried to twist his admittedly tone-deaf words, but only because they seem to feel it's their job. Being anti-illegal-immigration is not racism. Stating that Coronavirus originated in China is not racism. I know what real racism looks like, and non-politically correct speech isn't racism. We've watered down the meaning of the word, just as we've watered down the meanings of Nazi and holocaust with continual references to them when discussing unrelated subjects.

President Trump has probably done more for African-Americans than any president of the last 50 years. His criminal justice reform has been lauded by African-Americans and will certainly be contrasted against Senator Biden's punitive legislation over the last several decades.

President Trump's approval rating is 41% overall. It's only 6% for Democrats, but it's 30% for non-whites. I have a LOT of non-white friends and neighbors who will vote for him in November.

I'd be interested to hear which specific news sources you do consider reliable and which ones you are relying upon yourself.

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 1st July 2020, 10:09 PM

I'd be interested to hear which specific news sources you do consider reliable and which ones you are relying upon yourself.

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100% reliable and unbiased? None of them. Not CNN. Not the BBC. Not Fox. Not Aljazeera. Reuters and the AP do a decent job most of the time, but when your reporters and editors are overwhelmingly members of a particular party (Republicans for Fox and Democrats for everyone else) you're in for a big fat bowl of bias.

You'll be disappointed if you're thinking (or hoping) that I get my worldview from Fox News. I have never watched that channel unless forced to do so at an airport bar, and I usually ask them to change the channel. I read news reports from probably a hundred different sources per week. It's not hard to sift through the bullshit when you know that much of it is bullshit to begin with.

So just to be clear, when Trump said:
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have a lot of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
You are saying this was 'fake news'?
Even though it's clearly on film and he's never denied saying it.

Or when he defended a group dominated by White Supremacists involved in the Charlottesville violence in 2017. "You also had some very fine people on both sides."
You are saying this was 'fake news'?
Even though it's clearly on film and he's never denied saying it.

Or when he tweeted to four female ethnic minority members of Congress that they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" (even though three of them were born in the US anyway).
More 'fake news' I suppose?

Because to me, a white telling a group of black people to go back where they came from, is almost as clear cut an example of racism you can possibly get.

Chris, it's the modern-day equivalent of saying "some of my friends are black.". Invalidating one of the biggest world demonstrations in decades isn't going to work.

According to reports, Donald has bought up the world's supply of remdesivir - a drug used to treat Covid-19.

Other countries, as might be expected, are complaining that Donald's move has denied them access to this potentially very effective treatment.

Now, Donald may not be perfect either as a person or a president but, do you know what?

When he says "America first!", I believe he means it.

Selfish? If you say so - but it's an admirable sentiment for a national leader.

It's certainly preferable to Boris's "Me first, other rich bastards second, and bollocks to everyone else!"

Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on sex-trafficking charges, according to reports.

Will she "commit suicide" while in custody?

I'm going to phone Ladbrokes and see what odds I can get.

Talking about sex crimes, one-time pop singer Duffy has apparently complained to Netflix about their new film "365 days", saying that kidnapping and sex-trafficking should not be sources of cinematic entertainment.

It's a fair point but anybody who makes that point should surely be making a similar point about murder, shouldn't they?

Would she seek to ban that very innocent Ealing comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets" because it gets big laughs from a man's committing several ruthless murders in pursuit of financial gain?

I have my doubts.

I watched "Kind Hearts and Coronets" many years ago and I'm pleased to report that, since watching it, I have not been minded to murder anybody.

Now, thanks to Duffy's telling me how immoral "365 days" is, I'm just about to watch it on Netflix.

Hopefully, I shall not be tempted to embark upon a career of kidnap and sex-trafficking.

I'll keep BCG members informed.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 2nd July 2020, 3:52 PM

Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on sex-trafficking charges, according to reports.

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Right now - If he could sweat - Prince Andrew would be.

Yep she'll be falling down some stairs any time now

Accidentally