The Politics Thread

[TANGODANCER]

The image these ISIS terrorists present to the public, people waving automatic rifles and cutting off the heads of non-believers in Islam doesn't really bode well for their case of a brave new world. Nor does it bear much conviction that the " believe in Allah or die" mandate is anything but a power trip by fanatical zealots with a taste for torture and killing. Nothing much has changed really since the days of the Almohads and Almoravids. Even when the Moors had settled in half of Spain, the Imans back in Marakesh were still vying for control of it all. The Almohads wiped out their supposedly same-religion Almoravid mates in headquarters back in North Africa, and then proceeded to do a takeover in Spain.

All this was in the mid-twelfth century, so don't expect any solutions real soon.

[Hoboh]

I thought this was interesting: http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/fea ... xtremists/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I thought it to be frankly nothing other than mumbo jumbo, one persons assault on experts.

[Prufrock]

what does that even mean?

What experts? What assault?

[Lord Kangana]

Hoboh's just pissed off that someones trying to steal his job.

[Hoboh]

what does that even mean?

What experts? What assault?

You stop reading before here then?

It is truly scary to think that our counter-terrorism policy may rely on these polls and similar questions in other surveys (like the Citizenship Survey) in their estimations of likely terrorists. Given the absolute lack of reliability of public opinion on support for extremism and terrorism, one has to ask how MI5, the government, the so-called experts and the various MPs who have spoken on the issue are developing their estimates?

How are they deciding what brings the British Muslims to terrorism if they cannot even know how many share the soft support for terrorist activities? Can any of these numbers be trusted, or is it just a group exercise in increasing the moral panic around yet another Muslim threat?

I thought you lot saw even invisible full stops and comma's.

[Hoboh]

Hoboh's just pissed off that someones trying to steal his job.

Never knowingly bland dear boy!

[Prufrock]

what does that even mean?

What experts? What assault?

You stop reading before here then?

It is truly scary to think that our counter-terrorism policy may rely on these polls and similar questions in other surveys (like the Citizenship Survey) in their estimations of likely terrorists. Given the absolute lack of reliability of public opinion on support for extremism and terrorism, one has to ask how MI5, the government, the so-called experts and the various MPs who have spoken on the issue are developing their estimates?

How are they deciding what brings the British Muslims to terrorism if they cannot even know how many share the soft support for terrorist activities? Can any of these numbers be trusted, or is it just a group exercise in increasing the moral panic around yet another Muslim threat?

I thought you lot saw even invisible full stops and comma's.

Well she's said "so-called" experts, so she doesn't think they are. Unless you know who they are, I'm not sure what your point is. She's got numbers; you've got what? It's not brains.

[Prufrock]

Also, after today's ukip bollocks on halal, anyone who thinks that shower represent anything other than politics as usual ought to be treated as brain dead and put on a life-glug.

[Hoboh]

what does that even mean?

What experts? What assault?

You stop reading before here then?

It is truly scary to think that our counter-terrorism policy may rely on these polls and similar questions in other surveys (like the Citizenship Survey) in their estimations of likely terrorists. Given the absolute lack of reliability of public opinion on support for extremism and terrorism, one has to ask how MI5, the government, the so-called experts and the various MPs who have spoken on the issue are developing their estimates?

How are they deciding what brings the British Muslims to terrorism if they cannot even know how many share the soft support for terrorist activities? Can any of these numbers be trusted, or is it just a group exercise in increasing the moral panic around yet another Muslim threat?

I thought you lot saw even invisible full stops and comma's.

Well she's said "so-called" experts, so she doesn't think they are. Unless you know who they are, I'm not sure what your point is. She's got numbers; you've got what? It's not brains.

So I'd trust one person with a degree in media studies to be more aware of the threat to this country than MI5, MI6 and the experts they employ? Right okay Child!

[Bijou Bob]

It's a mildly interesting read, but badly let down by her opening, unevidenced premise that UK security policy is dictated by media polls or by statistical data. It isn't.

[Prufrock]

I agree there. I'm not convinced they do rely on yougov polls.

It's interesting re: the views of the general population though, I thought.

[Bijou Bob]

I'm not sure she nails that down Pru? The blog does strike me as trying to evidence a personal opinion, as opposed to reviewing the evidence. It raises some very interesting questions, but it's a very poor piece of work IMO due to its lack of objectivity.

[Hoboh]

I agree there. I'm not convinced they do rely on yougov polls.

It's interesting re: the views of the general population though, I thought.

The humility of the champagne socialist when falling is stunning,
for it's lack of absence!

[jaffka]

That article is a pile of shite.

[Hoboh]

Here we go again and it's not the mail this time!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/f ... k-for-work" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Gary the Enfield]

Here we go again and it's not the mail this time!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/f ... k-for-work" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The figures undermine the myth that “foreigners are taking all the new jobs”, as they show that the number of British workers in employment increased by 375,000 in 2014

[Hoboh]

The latest Office for National Statistics labour market statistics show the number of east Europeans working in Britain rose to 895,000 in December – an increase of 168,000 or 23% in the past year.
The number of extra migrants in work in Britain from western European countries such as France and Spain also rose last year, but at a slower rate of 10%, to 761,000 by the end of 2014.

Carlos Vargas-Silva, senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, said the new wave of migrants from the A8 countries, which include Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary, was a resumption of the pattern seen soon after they joined the EU a decade ago: “The key figure is migration from the A8 countries. In 2004-2008 there were significant increases in the number from these countries, then there was the recession and that declined.
“We have seen economic conditions in the UK improve and things are better, and now we see migration from those countries increasing again. The Polish economy is doing well but while it is growing a lot, it is not at the same level as the British economy. There is still a gap.
“Things are getting better but they are not at the same level of wages as in Britain. Wages and employment rates are lower there and the prospects of getting a job are better in Britain,” he said. “We can expect if the UK economy keeps growing we are going to see more EU migrants, particularly if the economic uncertainty in the EU remains very high.”

Here's were your now 'employed' Brit totals are coming from, sanctions and removals from the JSA!

Across all ELL boroughs, 28,000 people had their Jobseeker’s Allowance cut last year. This is a significant rise from the last full year – before the coalition came into power. These so-called ‘JSA sanctions’ mean that ELL residents hit with cuts have had to, in some cases, survive with no income for up to three months at a time.
In each of the boroughs, there has been a considerable increase in the number of ‘JSA sanctions ‘ being brought against claimants per year.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I'm confused. are all these foreigners coming over stealing all the jobs, or are they lazy scum claiming the dole and living in million pound mansions?

[Bruce Rioja]

What's Putin up to? Apparently we had a Russian warship in the English Channel yesterday, and now this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31530840?n ... ws_central" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Beefheart]

What's Putin up to? Apparently we had a Russian warship in the English Channel yesterday, and now this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31530840?n ... ws_central" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's have the rest of the world just agree to bomb the feck*, the guys a loon.