Elon Musk

I only log in once a week or so now as it’s so bad… The other day I reported a thing that popped up on my feed for hate speech… It was a picture of a migrant boat with a picture of chief Brody (from Jaws) saying “we’re gonna need bigger sharks”.

It’s the weird ai art they do with the extra fingers and toes that does it for me or the weird London pictures.

This is off topic but 1 in every 6 voters is not even close to 1 in every 6 people you pass in the street

No, but if 100 people don’t vote, then we must extrapolate that 14 of them would have voted Reform. That’s the problem with not voting.

Besides, I’d be confident in saying it is highly likely to be 1 in 6 people one passes in the street – 52% of people who voted in the 2016 referendum voted Leave. There is a fetid undercurrent of prejudice and bigotry in the UK.

No, but if 100 people don’t vote, then we must extrapolate that 14 of them would have voted Reform.

Lolwut? Care to show your working on that?

He appears to be like Johnson in not actually wanting to do the work other than campaigning/grifting

Funny you should mention the fly-tipped sofa, but he’s presently trending on Elon Musks platform for this, which Kemi and chums may want to bear in mind while having an opportunistic pop at Labour and Starmer…

Who’d have thought a child of apartheid South Africa would turn out to be a far right racist. Where’s James Bond or the Jackel when you need them.

Lolwut? Care to show your working on that?

14% of votes cast in the UK general election were for Reform.

Assuming those that didn’t vote were happy to be dealt whatever outcome those who did vote generated, then we must assume 14 of every hundred non-voters would have voted Reform.

It’s not that **** difficult to understand.

Having read what Starmer said I think thats a good counter and well said. Not just a sigh and move on but a detailed factual unemotive counter.

Agreed but the problem is in the world we are now living in a worrying amount of people seem to prefer to believe in a brief post on X vs watching Starmer’s statement on the news so ultimately it’s not really an effective counter.

I agree with some others that if Musk continues or escalates his garbage then we should legislate blocking X in interests of national security or similar, it’s not about stifling free speech when he’s just spouting lies to the gullible and uninformed which can have serious consequences in the long run. We all witnessed the bullshit on X last year that sparked riots and can clearly see the negative effect it’s having on US politics right now. We need to stop pretending it’s just a harmless platform for people to post nonsense and see it as one of the main sources of dangerous misinformation in this country.

I can’t see any realistic hope of it being banned though, not even just for use by government departments, especially whilst Musk still has Trump’s support.

It’s not that **** difficult to understand

I mean, imo you seem to be struggling! You simply can’t make the claim that you are making with any credibility.

I can’t see any realistic hope of it being banned though, not even just for use by government departments, especially whilst Musk still has Trump’s support.

Which is why Musk should have been more strongly discouraged before he got to this point.

I wasn’t entirely joking about special forces – he could easily have had it quietly pointed out to him that Twitter doesn’t have a military and especially not a SF capability.

If our military doesn’t exist to deter and/or counter threats to our democracy, what is it for?

Musk cannot be discouraged – his is not rational behaviour

it’s not about stifling free speech when he’s just spouting lies to the gullible and uninformed which can have serious consequences in the long run

Very much this. Jess Phillips is now receiving death threats and given recent history then these have to be taken seriously.

I don’t think for a second that that ketamine-fuelled moron gives a flying **** about the victims in Oldham or Telford, he’s just furthering his own agenda and to hell with the consequences.

Jess Phillips on the other hand, has fought for the rights of women and girls for decades and particularly the cause of victims of sexual and domestic violence. As those people are at lengths to pint out….

‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips

Not that it’ll register with the hard-of-thinking Musk fanboys, but I think that Kemi Badanoch and the other bandwagon jumpers should maybe consider their positions on this one and ask themselves where their shameless opportunism is leading them

Assuming those that didn’t vote were happy to be dealt whatever outcome those who did vote generated, then we must assume 14 of every hundred non-voters would have voted Reform.

I don’t think that logic holds up, a lot more people are very dissatisfied with the main parties, the election turnout was rather low, but most of the disenfranchised just couldn’t bring themselves to vote for any of the shitty options, even with such low approval of the right wing establishment (and labour are currently a right wing establishment party) they didn’t turn to reform, they are just added to the mass of disenfranchised voters with no real options.

they are just added to the mass of disenfranchised voters with no real options.

This was me.  there was no one I could vote for in my constituency

I wasn’t entirely joking about special forces – he could easily have had it quietly pointed out to him that Twitter doesn’t have a military and especially not a SF capability.

I know this is hypothetical joking, but if you think Musk doesn’t have access to military/SF given his wealth and contacts, I think you are being naive.

Kemi Badanoch and the other bandwagon jumpers should maybe consider their positions on this one and ask themselves where their shameless opportunism is leading them

They’re little different to Musk other than $$$$$$. Do and say whatever it takes to promote whatever agenda is motivating them this week.

If you don’t vote, you are accepting the result of those who do. The voters who exercise their right are considered representative. Therefore they are representative of non-voters too.

And the UK did vote 52:48 in favour of Brexit too – remember?

It all points to 1 in 6 people in the street being ‘Reform-minded’ for want of a better phrase.

Deny it all you like – doesn’t stop it being true.

Musk cannot be discouraged – his is not rational behaviour

If the purpose is to wreck the upcoming legislation that tries to force social media companies to do a better job of taking down child sex abuse material, then it is perfectly rational behaviour, albeit distasteful.

I agree with some others that if Musk continues or escalates his garbage then we should legislate blocking X in interests of national security or similar

Just feeds their paranoia, The only sensible option is to refute the allegations once and move on. They will eventually find some other nonsense that diverts the attention of the people that follow the Alt-right for the nano-second attention span that they’re all competing for.

They will eventually find some other nonsense that diverts the attention of the people that follow the Alt-right for the nano-second attention span that they’re all competing for.

Yes, but there’s always the general undercurrent of bigotry to fall back on. Specific issues are anathema to the populists because they can be backed into corners by facts. But the general feeling of being ruled over by immigrant-loving elites is always there for the next issue to be projected onto.

tjagain

Full Member

This was me. there was no one I could vote for in my constituency

I am struggling to understand how someone who constantly provides Scotland as a positive political example to the rest of the UK had zero confidence in any of the candidates in his constituency.

When did you first realise that you had so little faith in Scottish politics?

This latest nonsense has made me delete my Twitter/X/Whatever account. It was a handy tool for work but it’s now well beyond the pale. A far right cesspit.

I know that in the grand scheme of things it makes sod all difference, but I think if all the sane people do and it just leaves the far right and Russian bots on there, then I can’t see many reputable businesses wanting to carry on contributing to Musks advertising revenues.

Not that he cares, I’m sure. It’s obvious now that it was never about the money. He wanted a mouthpiece to air his toxic views and if you’ve got that much money then you can buy yourself one

I wasn’t entirely joking about special forces

Nah, not special forces. It sounds more like a job for a loan assassin type. Potentially a sauve mi6 agent, the type of bloke who looks good in a dinner suit and drives an Aston..

Tbh it would make a great film script. Genuinely surprised noone has thought of it before. I’d have Amber Heard playing the femme fatale..

I am struggling to understand how someone who constantly provides Scotland as a positive political example to the rest of the UK had zero confidence in any of the candidates in his constituency.

When did you first realise that you had so little faith in Scottish politics?

1) this was a westminster election not a scots one so its not about Scottish politics

2) the tories were never going to get in thus it makes no difference to who gets in government who I vote for

3) the Labour party support brexit thus I cannot vote for them
4) the SNP candidate lied to my face hence no vote for her

5)No lefties stood

6)No independents I could vote for
7)No green candidate

8) lib dems still have Carmichael the liar as a front bench MP and have nev er apologised or repudiated his lies

I thought long and hard about this.  Its the first time ever I have not voted but as my vote would make no difference to who the westminster government is and I had strong objections to all the candidates then I abstained.  If it had been a chance of a tory getting in then I would have voted for the candidate most likely to beat them

Packed in a couple of months back and don’t regret it for a second. Debate I can handle as well as different opinions but that place is so loaded towards the insane it’s not worth the time.

Bluesky seems better than Threads although I’ve pretty much weened myself of them all.

14% of votes cast in the UK general election were for Reform.

Assuming those that didn’t vote were happy to be dealt whatever outcome those who did vote generated, then we must assume 14 of every hundred non-voters would have voted Reform.

It’s not that **** difficult to understand.

Not difficult if you take such a one dimensional simplistic view.

Other, better informed views are available.

This will not come as a shock, but listening to Professor Jay this morning on R4 (1hr 33 in for those interested – Today – 07/01/2025 – BBC Sounds). highlighted the stark contrast to what an intelligent, informed person with the right motivations sounds like in comparison to some of the absolute melts such as Musk and Jenrick. Considering the cauldron of publicity I thought it was a stellar interview and really worth listening to for anyone coming at this from a social media and rabid headlines only perspective. It depresses me enormously that the great majority of members of the public will have an opinion on this stuff without actually listening properly to the people who genuinely matter.

Words here in summary, but I’d really encourage you actually listen. I don’t think you can have a proper opinion on Musk’s intervention until you understand what the experts in the field think, what has already been done, and what the experts actually think needs to happen next. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp836w074gko

This latest nonsense has made me delete my Twitter/X/Whatever account.

I only keep it for this account. https://x.com/footbalIfights

Just feeds their paranoia, The only sensible option is to refute the allegations once and move on.

It’s not just about Musk’s petulant outbursts though is it? These platforms are doing real damage in our society. Are you saying we shouldn’t regulate or control them because the likes of Musk and his acolytes will wail about free speech? Defending ‘free speech’ has been the cover of far right nutcases throughout history. They don’t need to be passively ignored they need to be aggressively stamped out. The longer we as a society shy away from this fight the more ground they take. Social media is the frontline, take away their platform(s) for spreading hate and disinformation and they’ll be reduced to standing on street corners shouting into the wind.

But the general feeling of being ruled over by immigrant-loving elites

Although a somewhat awkward one given Trump and his (admittedly almost certainly temporary) love for the immigrant Musk

loan assassin

Do you have one I can borrow?

This was me.  there was no one I could vote for in my constituency

There was an anti-Brexit Party standing in your constituency, seems from other posts you 100% want to rejoin so why didn’t you ‘hold your nose’ and vote SNP?

@tj the greens did field a candidate in the Edinburgh north and leith constituency Kayleigh O’Neill she came third

https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.edinburgh-north-and-leith.2024-07-04/edinburgh-north-and-leith/

Ta bikepawl. I must have forgotton.

intheborders – because the SNP candidate lied to my face to try to get my vote,   she is vile

Tbh it would make a great film script. Genuinely surprised noone has thought of it before.

Tomorrow Never Dies would be a good starting point.

5)No lefties stood
6)No independents I could vote for
7)No green candidate

BikePawl’s link suggests there were both Socialist Labour Party and Communist Party standing as well as an Independent (no idea where she fell on the political spectrum) in addition to the Green.   I can almost always find a reason not to vote for any particular candidate, based either on their personal characteristics or the party they are associated with.  So if that is TJ’s seat it doesn’t really add up.

Its the first time ever I have not voted but as my vote would make no difference to who the westminster government is

Individually almost nobody has any meaningful power to influence who the UK gov is.  However 37% of the electorate in that constituency didn’t vote… that’s more than the winning candidate got, so certainly the abstainers had the power to influence who their local representative was.  They also have the power to send a message which will influence future policy decisions (every vote for Reform is understood by politicians to mean “I care about immigration more than other things”, every vote for green is understood to mean “I care about the planet more than other things” and at one point every vote for SNP was understood to mean “Scottish independence matters a lot to me” – its a gross simplification but I think that is how other parties see those votes).

But of course political apathy is the biggest “party” in the UK and actually achieving that is what keeps the two big parties in power!  For those who look at the candidates and think there really is nothing here I can get behind, and with so many people not backing any candidate it does beg the question why not stand yourself.

Not difficult if you take such a one dimensional simplistic view.

Other, better informed views are available.

Are they?

What other, better informed views are out there than a full UK General Election with pretty much universal suffrage, a long campaign period and actual polling stations?

Opinion polls? Bless.

Conversations down the pub or in the office?

intheborders – because the SNP candidate lied to my face to try to get my vote,   she is vile

Johnson lied to the Queen, was her lie on this level?

Ok – I was wrong about the minor candidates in my post – apologies.

I know at the time I researched every candidate and couldn’t find one I could back.  I do not remember all the reasons now.  It was NOT an apathetic abstention – it was a  principled one

As for the lie from the SNP candidate – it was a couple of election cycles ago.  I run a pressure group about the Stasutory notice scandal.  We wrote to every major candidate asking to meet with them.  Most refused but she agreed and, then kept on putting it off until she was elected then ghosted us.  This scandal had the potential to both bankrupt me and make me homeless.  so yes to me a very serious lie.  I thought I had a politician who would help.  She lied.  My MSP on the other hand did meet with me

Are they?

What other, better informed views are out there than a full UK General Election with pretty much universal suffrage, a long campaign period and actual polling stations?

Which the people in question didn’t participate in.

You don’t know why they didn’t participate but I can almost guarantee that unless an ‘Apathy Party’ exists nobody avoids voting for a party they approve of. Splitting the results amongst non-voters makes absolutely no statistical sense, you’re just making stuff up at that point.

 I don’t think you can have a proper opinion on Musk’s intervention until you understand what the experts in the field think, what has already been done, and what the experts actually think needs to happen next. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp836w074gko

Remember though, we’ve had enough of experts…

I can remember before the election Labour’s futile gloves off campaign. (“Rishi doesn’t) – endorsed by many a centrist commentator – a la James O’Brien.  We need to play dirty was the reasoning.

I always thought it would be best to not engage like this as the bone-headed right will come back with something much worse.

Here we are.

I can’t see anything other than a race to the bottom because the arguments are no longer about inequality and material conditions; things that genuinely change people’s lives.

You fix the correct stuff for people and Farage and Musk become irrelevant especially when you have such a majority.

We are so far away from useful politics now.