Nobody Cares about Britain

[bernold333]

I would imagine that both HMG and HM himself are feeling somewhat uncomfortable about what Trump might do during his state visit in September. His press conference on Monday was bad enough, giving Starmer (and his wife Victoria) the benefit of his views on what the UK should do about, among other things, immigration, wind farms and North Sea oil, and also what he thinks of the Mayor of London.

During his state visit, however, he'll be appearing not alongside the PM but at formal occasions alongside the king himself. For example, at the state banquet, he'll be replying to the king's speech and toast, and proposing a toast of his own.

The speeches are supposed to be non-contentious, but that's never stopped Trump before, and if he gets bored with his prepared speech and starts free associating to Charles about immigration to the UK and about wind farms with the cameras running, it's going to be pretty painful.

The scary part is that even if he stays “on script,” his mere presence in those settings sends a very loud message. That toast isn’t just ceremonial, it’ll be international headlines before dessert.

 

[detrius]

The scary part is that even if he stays “on script,” his mere presence in those settings sends a very loud message. That toast isn’t just ceremonial, it’ll be international headlines before dessert.

His stench is enough to make people throw up during the banquet.

Also, here's your welcome basket:

 

[Free]

HORRIBLE!

Police officers ‘also abused’ Rotherham grooming gang victims

One says she was raped from the age of 12 by a South Yorkshire Police officer in a marked police car.

www.bbc.com

Five women who were exploited by grooming gangs in Rotherham as children say they were also abused by police officers in the town at the time.

One says she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer in a marked police car. He would threaten to hand her back to the gang if she did not comply, she says.

"In a world where you were being abused so much, being raped once [by a police officer] was a lot easier than multiple rapes [by the gang] and I think he knew that," she tells the BBC.

That last sentence hurts so fucking much to read.

 

[Free]

VPN use soars in UK after age-verification laws go into effect

Proton VPN signups originating in the UK increased by over 1,400 percent.

arstechnica.com

Multiple VPN makers have also reported spikes in visitors and signups in recent days. In a post on X on Friday, Proton VPN claimed that “just a few minutes after the Online Safety Act went into effect last night, Proton VPN sign-ups originating in the UK surged by more than 1,400%.” David Peterson, general manager of Proton VPN, told WIRED that since then there has been a sustained 1,800 percent increase in daily sign-ups.

Also on Friday, the Windscribe VPN service posted a screenshot on X claiming to show a spike in new subscribers. The makers of the AdGuard VPN claimed that they have seen a 2.5X increase in install rates from the UK since Friday.

Nord Security, the company behind the NordVPN app, says it has seen a “1,000 percent increase in purchases” of subscriptions from the UK since the day before the new laws went into effect.

 

[Essence Lumin]

VPN use soars in UK after age-verification laws go into effect

Proton VPN signups originating in the UK increased by over 1,400 percent.

arstechnica.com

In the event you are looking for a vpn, nord might not be the best choice. I have read they make it quite difficult to cancel. As for privacy, Mullvad seems the best. You can buy a card from Amazon that has a scratchoff like a lottery ticket that gives you access. No one has personal information, in particular your credit card info to link back to you.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Are we to believe that the porn sites are all surprised that their UK traffic has all but vanished overnight while the Balkans et. al. are up 2,000,000%?

It seems like most of the time, legislators are astonishingly innocent of technological reality when they attempt to regulate the internet. Do they honestly have no one to advise them on such a simple dodge as vpn's? Or is it that they know, but cynically want to appear to be Doing Something?

 

[Tirellia]

Several of our less than bright politicians are now calling for bans on VPNs. A rather better idea might be to repeal the Online Safety Act.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Several of our less than bright politicians are now calling for bans on VPNs. A rather better idea might be to repeal the Online Safety Act.

I'm no web wizard, but wouldn't banning VPN's be about as pointless as banning excessive humidity or, as one of our stateside legislatures once pondered, declaring that pi is equal to 3?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Are we to believe that the porn sites are all surprised that their UK traffic has all but vanished overnight while the Balkans et. al. are up 2,000,000%?

It seems like most of the time, legislators are astonishingly innocent of technological reality when they attempt to regulate the internet. Do they honestly have no one to advise them on such a simple dodge as vpn's? Or is it that they know, but cynically want to appear to be Doing Something?

As I've said in other posts, I think the idea is to prevent young children and teens from encountering these sites accidentally rather than to prohibit access all together.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Several of our less than bright politicians are now calling for bans on VPNs. A rather better idea might be to repeal the Online Safety Act.

Considering this particular portion of the Act has been in force only since last Friday, I think deciding one way or the other about repealing the Act might be a bit premature.

 

[Casey Pelous]

As I've said in other posts, I think the idea is to prevent young children and teens from encountering these sites accidentally rather than to prohibit access all together.

I understood that -- I'm just pointing out that it seems a rather ineffective approach. If there lives a 14-year-old who is not clever enough to know how to install a VPN, chances seem very good he or she knows someone who does. In any case, the knowledge will spread like wildfire now. (I once got a huge unplanned laugh in a seminar for college students in China by saying something was unavailable, "like Facebook in China." It turned out every kid in China knew how to get around The Great Firewall with impunity, and so did I after the first break. I understand China has since beefed up the Firewall -- I'd bet the kids have beefed up their workarounds, too.)

Consider; the problem isn't youngsters seeing naughty bits, nor even seeing said naughty bits in action. The problem is the effects those viewings have on minds that are uneducated about such things. It would not be hard, nor even all that controversial, to have some sort of education that simply carries the message, "porn does not portray realistic adult relationships." Maybe educate them in how a lot of it gets made, too, which is not pretty. Rather than making it something that must be really, really great because it is so forbidden, make it something that's just a cartoon of what real grown-ups do.

I could be way off on this, but I'm pretty sure the age verification law is not going to be very effective in keeping porn away from young eyes.

 

[Free]

I understood that -- I'm just pointing out that it seems a rather ineffective approach.

Maybe for some, the idea is not to effectively pursue a goal, but rather to look like that's what they're doing.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Maybe for some, the idea is not to effectively pursue a goal, but rather to look like that's what they're doing.

Someone suggested something similar in an earlier post.

...Do they honestly have no one to advise them on such a simple dodge as vpn's? Or is it that they know, but cynically want to appear to be Doing Something?

 

[Free]

Casey? I have her on ignore.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Casey? I have her on ignore.

Seems like a good policy.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I understood that -- I'm just pointing out that it seems a rather ineffective approach. If there lives a 14-year-old who is not clever enough to know how to install a VPN, chances seem very good he or she knows someone who does. In any case, the knowledge will spread like wildfire now. (I once got a huge unplanned laugh in a seminar for college students in China by saying something was unavailable, "like Facebook in China." It turned out every kid in China knew how to get around The Great Firewall with impunity, and so did I after the first break. I understand China has since beefed up the Firewall -- I'd bet the kids have beefed up their workarounds, too.)

Consider; the problem isn't youngsters seeing naughty bits, nor even seeing said naughty bits in action. The problem is the effects those viewings have on minds that are uneducated about such things. It would not be hard, nor even all that controversial, to have some sort of education that simply carries the message, "porn does not portray realistic adult relationships." Maybe educate them in how a lot of it gets made, too, which is not pretty. Rather than making it something that must be really, really great because it is so forbidden, make it something that's just a cartoon of what real grown-ups do.

I could be way off on this, but I'm pretty sure the age verification law is not going to be very effective in keeping porn away from young eyes.

Yes, but it does mean that a ten- or eleven-year-old is less likely accidentally to encounter violent BDSM, or a 14-year-old to encounter extreme dieting influencers and anorexia promotion groups, whether because someone (whether a friend or some stranger they've encountered on Meta) has sent them a link or YouTube's algorithms have sent them there, bother of which apparently happen more frequently than you might think (YouTube's EU Anorexia Algorithm, Facebook's Metaverse — Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH).

 

[Casey Pelous]

extreme dieting influencers and anorexia promotion groups

I had not realized these were part of the "age verification for access" requirement. Interesting!

Of course, I'm all for reducing the chances of kids getting exposure to all that stuff, even the more traditional porn. I just think this simplistic approach isn't going to accomplish as much as a more creative approach might.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I'm no web wizard, but wouldn't banning VPN's be about as pointless as banning excessive humidity or, as one of our stateside legislatures once pondered, declaring that pi is equal to 3?

It would be a devastating blow to all companies, because VPNs are a much needed piece of technology for road warriors to safely connect to the intranet of their employers.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Adrian Mardell, the CEO of Jaguar, announced that he will step down. He is the one who initiated the failed rebranding of the Jaguar brand.

Jaguar Land Rover boss announces plans to step down

After 35 years of working at the firm and three years as ceo, Adrian Mardell is retiring

www.bbc.com

 

[detrius]

It seems like most of the time, legislators are astonishingly innocent of technological reality when they attempt to regulate the internet.

Neuland: It's full of tubes.