Iz 🌟

Don't worry about it. Just a big long screed that that poster posted a couple of times, knew it was dodgy so would keep editing it out a couple minutes after posting it, largely to the tune of why the far right rioters might be justified. I removed it from the thread so we don't have that kind of rhetoric left standing on the main forum now they've been banned. There's little that has made me more indignant and angry then that overly-divorced manchild billionaire deciding to wade into British politics followed by his mouth-breathing sycophants trying to stoke up the fascist idea that society is one step away from 'civil war' if only people were ready to rise up. He's definitely a fascist now, in that he is signal boosting every single far-right deplorable figure that has gained popularity in the last decade. Starmer hasn't been as present as I'd have liked him to be, but it's difficult for any leader to look good through disorder.

Likewise, was very inspired upon hearing 'Casanova', hope it can do well - 'Happiness Of Marionette' is a track I've played many many times so I very much love what we've come up with.

Apropos of nothing @1820806535724904649 Reform voters all weirdos who want to hide their power level then.

True, though I have yet to see any evidence of any rioters that are anything other than far-right thugs. We do not have any tradition of "antifa rioters" and any people with that sort of disposition aren't getting involved in this. Hope you and everyone you know can stay safe like this. We got another emergency COBRA meeting tonight, and that people are getting charged should hopefully move it towards an end. Seeing it in even in left-wing cities like Bristol, Brighton and Liverpool is worrying - though the greatest pushback also seems to be there.

Quoting this before you coward edit it away again. 'Legitimate concerns', good lord. The peaceful protests are by-and-large the anti-racists, and non-white people are being attacked for their skin colour, nearly exclusively done by white people. You xenophobe.

Looks like Kamala has picked Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. Great choice, really, out of all the available options he very quickly underwent a rise as the best one of the lot as people started looking into his record, has very personable, everyman qualities that should help balance the ticket, has been relentlessly fiery in calling Republicans out (he was definitely one of the ones who popularised 'weird'), seems like a friendly Midwestern dad, should keep the momentum going. He's not quite as progressive, more pragmatic but he does seem like reasonably close to Bernie-Sanders-but-a-couple-of-decades-younger. (it's not officially announced as of this post but CNN is running with it according to sources)

Every video I've seen of the riots is a small collection of far right thugs clashing with police and a lot more anti-racists condemning it. Even the media (who shouldn't escape notice for their role in normalising this) have been pretty condemning. Which is hopeful IMO, it brings these idiots into the light.

St. Lucia and Dominica getting their first ever Olympic medals, golds, on the exact same day :heart: that's cute. Windward Islands eating good tonight.

Really rooting for her to get gold now. Those tears after she won and was guaranteed a medal... damn, credit to her for keeping composure after weathering a storm of bigots.

Really great to get an 18 at the end, thank you Yobnedorica - and Aelandor for the 15 x . Although I feel Aelandor rivalled me this time for having the most obvious 18 pick ever, I called max points going to Zanmatony from AEL from the start. Not a bad result overall, though I did feel this was one of my wide-appealing and better power metal songs so I was hoping to maybe sneak into the top 20 at least, sadly not to be. Well done blacksquare, the winner was quite far off my votes but I can see how it won, very pleased to see 'Summer Dreaming' and 'Zur Party' in 2nd and 3rd though. And excellent to see 'Power Of The Beast' in the top 10, that's one of the best songs entered to BJSC in a long time, all those combinations of influences with those glorious power chords, I was even hoping it could win at one point but that might have been a stretch. thank you Rob for hosting, been a great ride x

thank you Frank! really pleased to be getting good power metal marks for this one so far x

it may be pop but we got a lot of bangers up the top end of the scoreboard of all kinds

I'm loving this start, thank you everyone so far (!!!) for points, particularly Zanmatony, what a great month to join the rockbloc *.*

very eager to find out where me and my 18 will be placing xx

To be quite frank, any trans people who have been taking hormone therapy (and therefore on a regular if not harder playing field) should be competing, and not receiving endless abuse for daring to exist in their sport. You get crocodile tears about how they're taking some poor woman's place away - but 1) that's sport and other athletes beat you sometimes, get over it and 2) trans women are women, would anyone be saying this about any other kind of women? Not unless they're real racists, and it's exactly how white women used to treat black women. Hilarious that the idiots are going after cisgender women now, though that in itself is partly an anti-WOC movement, all this insisting that Khalif is a man - she was literally born female you freaks.

Ridiculous and stupid post. It's the only thing that actually makes this feel like a global event - where else would small countries have the funds to compete? Always good to see some different countries get medals where they can.

good grief this is nothing more than a long hot summer, and some horrible incidents being seized upon by agitators as a chance to stir some shit up because they are always looking to stir shit up as the violent thugs they are. It's not great, but it's just some dregs of society lashing out and not really a commentary on how the rest of the country is going. I see he has now been named.

This is the key, don't fear fascists, that's what they want. Ridicule them instead. It's far funnier and they don't know how to respond. This was why I said JD Vance was a hilarious VP pick, so many skeletons in the closet that have come out and they're all completely discrediting stuff that conflicts with any macho man vibes they want. I think Kamala's team are doing fantastically so far and this has suddenly turned into such a positive campaign, only minor movement in the polls at the moment but hopefully more later on.

Utterly tragic case and intensely worrying that misinformation is rife - I've noticed a lot of online discussion spaces have seen a huge influx of clearly racist people or bad actors pretending to be clearly racist people and it's exactly those that have been spreading the misinformation, like that fake name that went around, that has led to violence. I don't see what the first part of the sentence has to do with the second. He probably will be named in due course anyway due to the intense public interest in the case much like the murderers of Brianna Ghey, but those are completely separate laws.

My preferred choice is Cleverly. Tugendhat is possibly definitionally the least awful (or Stride, don't know much about him but he was a W&P sec so probably not great) but I see a route for Tugendhat where he restores the Conservative party's 'respectability', whatever that means it does mean something to the electorate, and puts them in with a shot of regaining 200+ seats in 2029, which is something we do not want to happen as it means more Tory governments in the future at some point. Or even winning, the electorate we know is now very transient and fickle. Badenoch and Patel I do not think could win an election, but they would definitely poison opposition rhetoric and polarise it so they would be awful - might have to hope the racism + sexism of Tory members keeps them from winning there? Jenrick much the same to be quite honest except for that last bit, hope he doesn't start gaining traction, though I don't think he will. Which leaves Cleverly who I think is both inept enough to not help the Tories recover and inoffensive enough that he won't (majorly) take us back towards Tories showing up in headlines with culture wars. Best way to make the Tories eventually fade quietly away and die as their voter base passes into oblivion.

In case anyone cares xx I really don't know what to do now these shitehawks have been put in opposition but they'll still be... around I guess so better discuss them The 6 candidates have been declared and nominations have closed - Suella didn't make it on to the ballot paper: Kemi Badenoch James Cleverly Robert Jenrick Priti Patel Mel Stride Tom Tugendhat Can any of these manage to keep the Tory party alive or manage to regrow it? Long old leadership contest, results on 2 November, at which point any decent politics nerds will be entirely focused on the USA I suspect.

Puberty blockers ban upheld by the high court. Despicable stuff that is going to turn trans teenagers to getting what they need from alternative sources. One of the most intolerant laws I can recall in the UK for a long time and just so unnecessary, this is something that should be between a doctor and a patient. Is there any evidence that they will repeal the ban once they actually do 'have enough evidence' that puberty blockers are safe? Is this even going on? Because without it it's just institutionally transphobic.

That media cycle last year was despicable, invasive and prejudiced AND as it turns out, Edwards has probably committed some awful crimes. Both things can be true.

Really tense finish, good race to have watched. Great start for Team GB in the medals with a silver too.

Those conditions for the road race look horrendous, really hope no one slips Also the Afghan female rider here has made me realise that this Afghanistan in the Olympics is the representative of the exiled Afghanistan Islamic Republic (and their IOC) and specifically not the Taliban, who would not let women compete in sports.