General News/Current Affairs Thread

Did anyone hear about that missing Border Collie Jasper? His photo went viral in the search for him. Some guy when climbing for him at 2am this morn after a sighting yesterday. The MRT came for him at 3am and he's back with his owner. Amazing the kindness of some people. Kudos to the guy risking his life at 2am and to the MRT :)

Little bit of simple good news in the midst of all the bad news.
 
I was talking to someone the other day about the prospect of the Tories staying in come next year. Personally I can't see it - I don't think I dare imagine it - but it's a scary thought.
 
Mary Whitehouse lives!

Awesome. Britain's descent into police state where the elite decide what's best for us plebs continues. People are now no longer allowed sexual fantasies which the powers that be consider "unacceptable". Consenting adults? What are those? You're all basically children the state has to protect and teach proper morals. And if we can trust anyone to be protectors of the innocent and guardians of morality it's certainly the political class which are desperately trying to continue to cover up decades of widespread child rape within its ranks. Jimmy Savile. Margaret Thatcher. Look it up. Why are questions not being asked?

I actually attended a talk by the BBFC this week which was supposed to have a Q&A session where I intended to ask some questions I'd wanted answered for a while (namely "Why in a democracy that supposedly values freedom of expression is it *ever* acceptable to ban or censor fiction which is already restricted to purchase by adults?") but a single mildly controversial question was asked by someone else about non-mandatory cuts for rating (which the BBFC rep answered in a very defensive and condescending manner) and the whole thing was brought to an end because they were "running short on time". Disappointing, but hardly surprising.
 
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Ehh? I hadn't even heard about that - which apparently doesn't really matter as I can apparently still enjoy all of the smutty filth I want as it's only the regulated British porn industry and not a sleazy exploitative industry in the middle of nowhere that's being clamped down* upon?

I don't understand why they're banning the depiction of things any adult can see in person whenever they like anyway. What is this supposed to achieve, exactly?

Shame they chickened out of that Q&A, ayase. I wish that the BBFC would be forced to admit how irrelevant they are and go away before they drain the last drops of life out of our local film industry altogether.

R

* Perhaps I shouldn't use expressions like this any more either while I'm posting from the UK. It's only a matter of time.
 
Rui said:
Ehh? I hadn't even heard about that - which apparently doesn't really matter as I can apparently still enjoy all of the smutty filth I want as it's only the regulated British porn industry and not a sleazy exploitative industry in the middle of nowhere that's being clamped down* upon?
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I think few people had heard about it until the ban was actually in place - I'm pretty angry at the various campaigning websites whose mailing lists I'm on for failing to mention or attempt to do anything about this at all. I get the distinct feeling they thought sticking up for pornography would prove too controversial for them, so they just ignored it. Fight for freedom, except if it divides or upsets some of your userbase.

Rui said:
I don't understand why they're banning the depiction of things any adult can see in person whenever they like anyway. What is this supposed to achieve, exactly?
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Who knows, Rui? Clearly the current lot view themselves as possesing a higher moral authority than you and me, I get the feeling that it's just too hard for them to differentiate between real sexual violence and fantasies between consenting partners, so it was easier to just ban it all. It already happened with certain acts under the "violent pornography" ban and now they're adding ever tamer ones to the list.

I mean seriously, female ejaculation is banned? That seems incredibly anti-female sexuality to me, what would have happened if they'd tried to ban male ejaculation in porn? What the hell is so "unacceptable" about a woman's bodily fluids? But then I don't understand why anyone would want to ban any of the fantasies of consenting adults either. Control freaks at their worst.
 
Lawrence said:
According to the BBFC 'Female Ejaculation' doesn't exist, so any 'ejaculation' taking place during the film is deemed to be urination.
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I'm not sure quite how far to go down this hole (lol) on AUKN, but even if that were true my point re: bodily fluids still stands. What's wrong with people pissing on each other if they enjoy it BBFC? One person's degrading and offensive act is another's pleasurable kink. The idea that one person's disgust trumps another's enjoyment when no-one involved is coming to harm and no-one is being forced to watch or participate who doesn't want to is such a completely backwards, sex negative move I didn't see coming even from this government of out of touch toffs. Who exactly are they pandering to? Who wanted this?
 
So they banned female squirting, huh? But what about Male (non seminal) squirting? Oh yeah, that's a thing. I think the Japanese made that discovery, and may be the only people currently able to do it.
 
NormanicGrav said:
Oh dear this ain't good. Brace yourself for the worst whenever it happens. If we come across the same type of folks who caused the recent French Magazine attack then this won't go down peacefully.
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Trusting MI5 and Sky News? Not to diminish the awful events in France which were absolutely f*cking abhorrent (and the public displays in support of freedom of speech and in solidarity with the victims of those who believe people deserve to die for laughing at them give me hope for humanity) but I can't help but feel the powers that be wheel this same line out after every terrorist attack to keep people scared because it suits their purposes.

Terrorism has always been a thing, it will always be a thing. Terrorist attacks have happened with pretty much the same regularity for over a century - The "War or Terror" is unwinnable because terrorism is a method, the ideologies will change but it will keep on happening. But of course the people who started it knew that full well - It's a war they can keep going forever and ordinary people who (quite rightly) wonder what the ruling classes in a western world in decline are actually doing for their citizens can be constantly reminded "We're keeping you safe".

If you have a spare three hours...
 
ayase said:
NormanicGrav said:
Oh dear this ain't good. Brace yourself for the worst whenever it happens. If we come across the same type of folks who caused the recent French Magazine attack then this won't go down peacefully.
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Trusting MI5 and Sky News? Not to diminish the awful events in France which were absolutely f*cking abhorrent (and the public displays in support of freedom of speech and in solidarity with the victims of those who believe people deserve to die for laughing at them give me hope for humanity) but I can't help but feel the powers that be wheel this same line out after every terrorist attack to keep people scared because it suits their purposes.

Terrorism has always been a thing, it will always be a thing. Terrorist attacks have happened with pretty much the same regularity for over a century - The "War or Terror" is unwinnable because terrorism is a method, the ideologies will change but it will keep on happening. But of course the people who started it knew that full well - It's a war they can keep going forever and ordinary people who (quite rightly) wonder what the ruling classes in a western world in decline are actually doing for their citizens can be constantly reminded "We're keeping you safe".

If you have a spare three hours...
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If only I had a real death note :twisted:
 
And now a spot of thread necromancy.

Sharing revenge porn in the UK now carries a two year jail sentence

James Vincent said:
Revenge porn has officially become a criminal offense in the UK, with those found guilty facing up to two years in jail. The amendment to the law was proposed last October and came into affect this week. It specifically targets "the distribution of a private sexual image of someone without their consent and with the intention of causing them distress," and includes both physical and digital images, whether they're shared in person or over the internet.

The law covers "images that show the genitals but also anything that a reasonable person would consider to be sexual, so this could be a picture of someone who is engaged in sexual behavior or posing in a sexually provocative way."

Previously, individuals sharing revenge porn in the UK were prosecuted under different laws. In November, for example, a 21-year-old named Luke King was jailed for 12 weeks for harassment after sharing explicit photos of his former girlfriend via WhatsApp. In February this year, the UK also created a revenge porn helpline to offer victims support and help put them in touch with the police.

In the US, laws criminalizing revenge porn differ across the country, with sixteen states specifically targeting the practice. However, while the UK law seems aimed at individuals sharing pictures of people they know, the US has come down hard on those aggregating and distributing the explicit content. Earlier this month, Kevin Bollaert, the former operator of revenge porn site yougotposted.com, was sentenced to 18 years in prison — the largest conviction of its kind in the US.
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[Off Topic] Also, animefreak17? You probably should talk to someone about those violent fantasies you tend to spout in this thread. While most of the news here does piss people off, I don't think going 'And here's how they should be killed' is the right way to do things.
 
I'm not sure what's worse, that people are dickish enough to share private photographs or that other people are naive enough to trust them not to.

Either way, the problems of the naive and the dickish are of little concern to me, but I can't help but think the only reason people attempt to get "revenge" on others in this way is because they know it will be hurtful. Nudists and porn stars wouldn't find it hurtful. Maybe we all have something to learn from them and should let go of our shame, then it could no longer be used as a weapon.
 
ayase said:
I'm not sure what's worse, that people are dickish enough to share private photographs or that other people are naive enough to trust them not to.

Either way, the problems of the naive and the dickish are of little concern to me, but I can't help but think the only reason people attempt to get "revenge" on others in this way is because they know it will be hurtful. Nudists and porn stars wouldn't find it hurtful. Maybe we all have something to learn from them and should let go of our shame, then it could no longer be used as a weapon.
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You do realise that A) The revenge porn industry (Yes, there is one) is an incredibly scummy "business" and B) it is anything but sex positive, right? No need to blame victims for not having the hindsight to know they were dating pricks.
 
Most people are sadly incredible naive about the internet - the government chief among them. They think there's some magic button out there that they can press and suddenly all porn will be banned. LOL, think again...

It reminds me of the issue with piracy, and how when specifically prompted/questioned, people obviously get all up in arms about it, like 'Oh, it's awful!'.

But surely such is the price you have to pay for unlimited, on-tap access to services like Facebook etc. I bet if you tried to take access to these away from people in return for their privacy back, you'd have to drag them kicking and screaming. The internet feeds on data, is built on data - and these services can't be expected just to 'function' for nothing in return - whether that be hard cash or just personal deets.

But yeah - I think especially in the government, they're still stuck with some bizarre 1990s version of the internet in their heads or something, they don't realise quite what an incredible force for good it can be. That's why it annoys me when I read all those stupid scaremongering articles about kids watching Minecraft videos online - I'd rather that than my kids going out taking drugs, or being peer-pressured into a sport or something they don't enjoy, any day of the week.
 
theirsbailiff said:
ayase said:
I'm not sure what's worse, that people are dickish enough to share private photographs or that other people are naive enough to trust them not to.

Either way, the problems of the naive and the dickish are of little concern to me, but I can't help but think the only reason people attempt to get "revenge" on others in this way is because they know it will be hurtful. Nudists and porn stars wouldn't find it hurtful. Maybe we all have something to learn from them and should let go of our shame, then it could no longer be used as a weapon.
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You do realise that A) The revenge porn industry (Yes, there is one) is an incredibly scummy "business" and B) it is anything but sex positive, right? No need to blame victims for not having the hindsight to know they were dating pricks.
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No need for knee-jerk accusations against me either, tone doesn't carry in text. Did I suggest anything which contradicts A & B?

I guess I just live my life in constant expectation of being let down or betrayed, so I'm careful not to give anyone ammunition and largely nonplussed when it happens. Other people aren't so untrusting, yeah. But occurences like these probably suggest they should be.
 
Moving away from the discussion of 'Body autonomy of Women' (Because that discussion will not end up well)

As you all know, the General Election is next month (May 7th, to be precise). Your main options for Her Majesty's Dictatorship are as followed:

*The Conservatives - For voters who like five more years of the same terror and same '**** all ya'll, we're rich' nonsense, just with less Lib Dem rubbish.
*Labour - For voters who want 'Change but not really' change and are willing to pretend that Blair/Brown never happened.
*The Liberal Democrats - For voters who have no idea what they're even in favour of any more
*United Kingdom Independence Party - For voters who like their BNP/EDL nonsense hidden under American Style Libertarianism nonsense hidden under Daily Mail/Daily Express nonsense
*Green Party - For voters who don't think Labour go left enough and like to ignore certain areas of science (Mainly medicinal) for more 'Organic' pursuits.

As it's most likely we're going to have another hung parliment, whoever gets the most seats will have to deal with the designated 'Kingmaker' party, who just happen to be:

*The Scottish National Party - For voters who happen to be both Scottish and who yearn for the days of Clement Atlee style Labour.

There are other parties involved in this, but they either happen to be regional parties with less power than the SNP or incredibly minor parties with little to no hope in getting the seat.

More information
*May 2015 - If you want an idea of what the hell's going on
*General Belgrauniad's Daily Musings - For all you left wingers in this board
*Liz Hurley's Tory Graph - For all you right wingers in this board
*Boring Brown Chocolate - For the odd communist fascist lurking these boards.
 
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