Off Topic Politics Thread

The lack of an agreement is not helping matters but I really think that immigration will still be an issue regardless of EU membership. A big factor is that English is so widely spoken throughout the world and this makes practical sense for immigrants to target the UK.

Immigration will stop when the Western world successfully redistributes it's wealth.

I do like the idea of one in , one out. All those people who decry Britain and say the country is unrecognisable are clearly unhappy here and I think would be better served by emigrating to Trump’s America where they would be happier. They can then be replaced by immigrants who genuinely want to be here. People like those who looked after me in hospital yesterday.

I would love Britain to deport people with extremist views to countries who share their ideology.

 

Hope all okay with your health, Ian.

 

Thanks...just minor surgery .

Got to say my treatment in Winchester was excellent. Really impressed.

 

To point out the facts as posted was greeted with the shrill scaremongering rhetoric of the leave campaign.

 

Video forensics experts are saying that the footage showing Geoffrey Epstein’s cell, the night he died, has been altered.


MAJOR BREAKING: Massive bombshell drops in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as metadata analysis reveals that the footage released by the Trump administration of Epstein's prison cell was likely "modified" with software.

And it gets so much stranger...

According to analysis by WIRED and independent video forensics experts, the 11 hours of footage released by the MAGA Justice Department does not appear to be a "direct export from the prison’s surveillance system." They reached this conclusion by reviewing metadata embedded in the footage.

The video footage was likely "modified" using Adobe Premiere Pro, which is a popular professional editing tool that is often used on big budget Hollywood blockbusters.

"The file appears to have been assembled from at least two source clips, saved multiple times, exported, and then uploaded to the DOJ’s website, where it was presented as 'raw' footage," data reporter Dhruv Mehrotra wrote in WIRED.

While this evidence doesn't tell us what if anything was changed, it is deeply suspicious when considered alongside the erratic behavior of the Trump administration and the flustered manner in which Trump himself responded to an Epstein question earlier this week.

When Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about a missing minute from the footage between 11:58 PM to midnight, she gave a difficult-to-believe explanation.

"The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide," she claimed.

"And what was on that, there was a minute that was off the counter and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every year, uh every night, they redo that video," she continued. "It's old from like 1999. So, every night the video is reset and every night should have the same minute missing."

"So we’re looking for that video to release that as well, showing that a minute is missing every night. And that’s it on Epstein," she added.

WIRED explained that their metadata analysis could be explained by the footage having been "processed for public release using available software, with no modifications beyond stitching together two clips." At this point though, only a fool would grant the benefit of the doubt to Trump and Bondi.

Trump himself was close friends with Epstein at one point and Elon Musk has alleged that Trump is in the Epstein files.

For those interested in the specific technical details of the analysis, WIRED provided great transparency—

"Working with two independent video forensics experts, WIRED examined the 21-gigabyte files released by the DOJ. Using a metadata tool, reporters analyzed both Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) and Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) data to identify signs of postprocessing," wrote Mehrotra. Adobe software embeds traces in exported files, meaning that the analysis was relatively point A to point B once the experts got under the hood.

The conclusion drawn by the analysts is that the footage is "not a continuous, unaltered export from a surveillance system" which was what the DOJ implied by calling it "raw" footage.

"If a lawyer brought me this file and asked if it was suitable for court, I’d say no. Go back to the source. Do it right. Do a direct export from the original system—no monkey business," Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley professor who researches digital forensics and misinformation, told WIRED. He also questioned why the video's aspect ratio seems to randomly change throughout the footage.

The Epstein scandal surged back into headlines this week after a Justice Department memo leaked which claimed that the Epstein client list does not exist, that there is no evidence that the billionaire ****phile blackmailed powerful people, and that there is no reason to believe that he was murdered. Previously, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that the Epstein client list was waiting on her desk to be reviewed.

At this point, only complete transparency will do. The Trump administration must immediately release everything it knows about Jeffrey Epstein.

Please like and share!

 

Are they really stoopid enough to think they can alter files without leaving ‘footprints’?!

 

I see that Trump is now claiming that the Epstein files, that “don’t exist”, were written by people such as Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama.
He is insane.

 

Problem is that he says it and fantasy becomes reality to millions of Americans. It sows enough doubt that when the files really come out, he can say they are fake.

 

Yes, you have to ask *why* he’s casting doubt on something. Usually because he’s worried.

 

And you have to not be down a rabbit hole and a reasonably level headed person to think that.

 

If I was the President of the USA and I was suspected of being on Epstein’s list, I would publish it to prove that I wasn’t on it unless, of course, I was on it. In which case I wouldn’t publish it.

 

Oliver Stone will probably make a film about it . Richard Gere would make a good Epstein.

From the attached photo, it looks that Epstein is actually sitting next to Emlyn Hughes and not Trump.

 

4 years 3 months. That's ridiculous as far as I'm concerned, especially considering prisons are so full.

Our justice system is in serious need of reform. Cutting down a tree can get you more time than manslaughter or grooming a child online.

 

I agree totally that punishments appear to be inconsistent but would suggest that it's because manslaughter, child abuse and IMO any act of violence are punished too leniently.

There are a number of things that I don't understand regarding sentencing but probably have some sensible reasoning involved somewhere along the line.
Concurrent sentencing and, in this case, only serving 40% is a puzzle to me.
There are though, a number of issues about this case that resulted in the lengthy sentence.

It wasn't "no more than drunken stupidity" like the defence claimed as it was a planned operation. They lived miles away from the site, it wasn't spontaneous.
They denied any involvement and pleaded not guilty.
It wasn't just any tree but one that was valued by a lot of people and a well known landmark. This was seen as the reason to target this specific tree.
Their actions damaged Hadrian's Wall, a world heritage site and protected monument.
They apparently enjoyed the notoriety they earnt through what they did and were happy to see that initially someone else had been arrested.

As much as I am a bit of a tree hugger, even the 2yrs they will actually serve seemed quite excessive at first. But when you take into account the the issues above, I think they explain the reasoning behind it.

The fact they are both 30yrs+ is worth mentioning. No vandalism is acceptable but most of it is generally carried out by immature teenagers. These two though are adults, one nearly 40 and the other a father of two children. What on earth makes someone in their position carry out an act so mindless?

 

I agree it's a ridiculous act and deserves punishment for it, especially as you say given the premeditated nature of it. But ultimately I still think it's hugely excessive for a criminal damage conviction, especially when one of the defendants had no prior convictions. Suspended sentence along with community service and a hefty fine would have been more appropriate imo.

You're absolutely right about there being too much leniency in other offences, but to me they can both be true, and I still think it jis overly harsh and not an offence which should carry a life changing punishment.

I'm also specifically talking in the context of the situation we find ourselves in with regards to lack of prison spaces. We're in a situation where we're having to let violent offenders out of prison early to free up room and this seems a massive waste of resources.

 

I will be interested to see how this compares to any sentence the protesters from Palestine Action receive.

To be honest, I was very annoyed that the tree was cut down as it gave so many people pleasure. It was really unnecessary but I was equally incensed by the 300 year cottage that was demolished in Nursling last week too. It will cause a problem for our prisons if they get filled with idiots as opposed to genuine criminals.

The tree issue is interesting because they would have gotten away with this had the scyamore not been so famous. I do not think it is harsh but I do feel are being lenient with.the water companies who feel they can get away with polluting our rivers. It does send a message out just as when people get caught not paying their taxes.

Not seen anyone supporting the 2 culprits on line and suggest most people will be happy for them to go onside. Quite interesting to read the comments on BBC and to read about how their communities felt about them. Issues of non payment of Council tax, abusing planning restrictions and threat of violence towards council employees , etc, etc.

They may both serve 4 years but think their future employment chances are zero.

 

To be fair, Hilary Clinton already has form as writer of Children's books.

The one promise Trump has not fulfilled is to.send 'Crooked Hilary 'to jail. I think will try to do that at some point. He has not pursued any Democrats to date and the MAGA headbangers have not pulled him up in this respect.

I think the state visit invite should now be revoked. We should have it harder for Americans to visit the UK.

 

There are many alternatives to imprisonment as has been discussed on here previously and many countries with better results with regard to reoffending. Whether those methods would transfer to the UK is debatable but when people guilty of conspiring to cause a traffic jam are locked up there's a need for change.

 

I think that one of the big challenges in life is dealng with idiots. People who do understand the harm they do or are too stupid to realise they are doing something that upsets third parties.

I remember discussing with a former boss and his comment was along the line that there are some people who are unemployable and to whom it would be too risky to offer employment. These people need to be supported by the welfare because they would be too much of a risk if they took a job. There 2 characters were clearly misfits and a 4 year sentence means that their accommodation is someone else's problem for the next 4 years.