UK's Civil Service to reduce spending by 15%.  The NHS to be dismantled and replaced with a more, ahem, efficient centralised entity.  £5 billion to be saved by benefit cuts by 2030.  Tens of thousands of potential job losses.  Government will be just as efficient as before, says Starmer, because of AI and other technology.  He's probably right.  It couldn't be much less efficient, anyway.  At least we'll have more money to spend on a massively increased defence budget.

We'll need it if the street prophets (we don't have any wilderness for prophets to cry in) are right. 

Russia and Western Europe keep each other occupied while the USA annexes Canada and Greenland to PROTECT them.  Then the USA keeps President Trump's promise of vengeance against China that he made during his previous term.  The US has its work cut out, having lost the war in all of the previous scenarios. 

China weaponises the Yellowstone supervolcano.  That's OK because the survivors can now move to Canada.  The USA's campaign is to make China unsurvivable, as so much of their defence capability is safely underground.

All very risky but it has to be done because Mr Musk MUST have sole control of the new quantum computing technology.  It can be presumed that Chinese agents have already obtained the technology and China must be stopped from developing it.

My money's on China to win.  To have the most influence, Mr Musk needed a thuggish administration to take his "advice".  However, a lowbrow administration cannot have the necessary intelligence and finesse that will be needed.

Of course, street prophets can be wrong.

President signs order against law firm for challenging his trans healthcare ban
It's just his latest attempt to hassle law firms that oppose his illegal and unconstitutional actions.
LGBTQ Nation - By Daniel Villarreal, Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Link to Full Article

The president has signed an executive order targeting the law firm Jenner and Block because it is involved in a court case challenging his executive order banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The law firm denounced the order, but it's just the latest example of the president persecuting legal firms that oppose his illegal actions.

Jenner and Block are working on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to block the president's ban on gender-affirming care.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the gender-affirming care ban. The lawsuit accused the president of trying to "unconstitutionally usurp congressional authority by withholding lawfully appropriated federal funds." The lawsuit also said that the president sought to violate the rights of trans youth by "depriving them of necessary medical care" solely on the basis of their gender assigned at birth and their transgender status, PBS reported.

Gender-affirming care is endorsed by almost all major U.S. medical associations as safe, effective and essential to trans kids' well-being.

-----------------------------------

This is not how a leader behaves. This is how a dictator behaves.
Somebody needs a Fitness For Duty Mental Health Evaluation.

We are in a dictatorship.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/26/university-of-sussex-fined-freedom-of-speech-investigation-kathleen-stock 

The University of Sussex has been fined £585,000 for having a policy syatement that transphobic propaganda will not ne tolerated.  So

Banning racist propaganda is good;

Banning homophobic propaganda is good;

Banning transphobic propaganda violates freedom of speech.

The UK isn't as trans-hostile as the USA yet but it's getting there.

Quote from: Lori Dee on March 25, 2025, 09:07:18 PM....
This is not how a leader behaves. This is how a dictator behaves.
Somebody needs a Fitness For Duty Mental Health Evaluation.

True but he has surrounded himself with equally unfit henchmen so it will not be easy.

Quote from: MaryT on March 24, 2025, 07:44:25 AMUK's Civil Service to reduce spending by 15%.  The NHS to be dismantled and replaced with a more, ahem, efficient centralised entity.  £5 billion to be saved by benefit cuts by 2030.  Tens of thousands of potential job losses.  Government will be just as efficient as before, says Starmer, because of AI and other technology.  He's probably right.  It couldn't be much less efficient, anyway.  At least we'll have more money to spend on a massively increased defence budget.

We'll need it if the street prophets (we don't have any wilderness for prophets to cry in) are right. 
....

A £2.2 billion increase in UK defence spending has been announced.

Even so,

We're doomed!

Now why do I hear corporal Frazier??

Quote from: MaryT on March 26, 2025, 11:03:14 AMA £2.2 billion increase in UK defence spending has been announced.

Even so,

We're doomed!

Yeah, to be fair, that's kind of a halfway measure of what's actually needed. They're apparently going to save that much by making terminally ill people look for work. Which is absurd. But even so... ever since the Falklands war back in the 80s, we've been stripping military spending for other things... and committing to more actions (sometimes on the coat-tails of the US, who've kind of turned round and stabbed people in the back under the Mango Mussolini). Putting more and more lives at risk because of woefully underfunded services. This has, if anything, been a massive wake up call.

There's a quote from the TV mini-series "Chernobyl" that I really like. It's Mikhail Gorbachev explaining to a room of people, after they were forced to explain that it had actually happened. He said "Our power is based on the perception of our power." And that's how it's been with the UK for years. Our armed services are absurdly underfunded for the tasks they're being asked to undertake. If there's one good thing Trump has done it's to make other countries look at their own house. And step it up.

I am biased because I am an ex-military lass, as was my brother. So I know firsthand how this affects people in that situation. And more spending on our armed forces is long overdue. Because the men and women being asked to potentially lay down their lives deserve it.

Welp history is going to repeat itself... Sadly.

Do you think it will be forced de-transition, internment/concentration camps, or extermination?

Quote from: Robbyv213 on March 31, 2025, 04:31:35 PMDo you think it will be forced de-transition, internment/concentration camps, or extermination?

None of the above. The people won't stand for it. Even members of the GOP are beginning to question some of the BS. You can only bend something so far before it breaks.

My biggest concern is rioting in the streets like we had with the COVID lockdowns across the country. We had police stations overrun, courthouses burned, and parts of cities destroyed. That would only provide an excuse for Martial Law.

Hopefully, the Democrats will get active and recruit some of the less-far-right GOP to help them thwart this madness.

I hope Lori is right. I hope there is a survivable worst case. But I don't think Robby was joking. And I don't think it was hyperbole. The Yellowstone Supervolcano Sabotage might be our last best hope.

I was joking in a dark sense knowing my luck one of those would be in my future. At least it would take my choice away from me having to struggle and go through all this shadow work and self reflection to discover that I have been gaslighting myself and that I am truly trans and then I get to under go the most difficult of paths anyone can take and transition.

It's kind of like suicide by cop. You don't want to kill yourself for what ever reason or you can't go through with it on your own, so you commit a crime where no one gets hurt and then you point a toy gun, something that looks like a gun or an unloaded gun at a cop so they shoot you and hopefully you do survive...

Anyways. Realistically I feel most of these executive orders that are being passed are things he said he would do to please his voters. He may not want to or even care about these issues, he may be doing it knowing that they won't stand up in the supreme Court. That way he looks like he tried to his voters but In reality he did it in a way that they would never become laws federally, and if one or two slips through the cracks then that's the lesser evil in his eyes. All so he can maintain his stance and image that got him elected.

But then I wake up from my day dream and get depressed even more since either way it's not doing anything positive for all of us.

Let's be honest. I really doubt Trump is going to do what he wants. People are turning agaisnt him and he caused the economy to crash, and I feel like people are waking up. I just hope Trump and The whole MAGA movement will be a cautionary tale for the future. The thing is we should have seen this coming but we didn't and that makes me sad.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 07:38:33 PMLet's be honest. I really doubt Trump is going to do what he wants. People are turning agaisnt him and he caused the economy to crash, and I feel like people are waking up. I just hope Trump and The whole MAGA movement will be a cautionary tale for the future. The thing is we should have seen this coming but we didn't and that makes me sad.

Part of me agrees with you, Rachel and the non-American in me is like "well duh!". But the thing is... like Jonathan Pie explains... people get sick of stuff. They want change, even if that change means the most unhinged lunatic this side of a padded cell. And when one side in a two sided system basically leaves people so disenfranchised and lost that they are willing to vote for a Hitler wannabe... the republicans and trump didn't win anything. The democrats lost it. It wasn't Trumps election to win. He got in because literally less people cared about the Democrats and Kamala Harris.

The only way to beat these kind of people is to give the right-minded, switched on people in your country an alternative. Instead of the lesser of two evils, you need the greater of two goods. That's the only way it's going to work. Or have more than a two party system. And run ads that aren't basically hit pieces trying to snipe at the other people.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 07:55:51 PMPart of me agrees with you, Rachel and the non-American in me is like "well duh!". But the thing is... like Jonathan Pie explains... people get sick of stuff. They want change, even if that change means the most unhinged lunatic this side of a padded cell. And when one side in a two sided system basically leaves people so disenfranchised and lost that they are willing to vote for a Hitler wannabe... the republicans and trump didn't win anything. The democrats lost it. It wasn't Trumps election to win. He got in because literally less people cared about the Democrats and Kamala Harris.

The only way to beat these kind of people is to give the right-minded, switched on people in your country an alternative. Instead of the lesser of two evils, you need the greater of two goods. That's the only way it's going to work. Or have more than a two party system. And run ads that aren't basically hit pieces trying to snipe at the other people.

Very true. We have 3rd parties but they don't mean much, there are basically 2 main ones. I do hope that we do get someone like that in the future, but who knows who that will be. It does make me sad and I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess that's me trying to be positive, and I hope we don't end up Like Titan in Megamind, Under New Management. Also, yes we need to stop the attack ads.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 08:06:11 PMVery true. We have 3rd parties but they don't mean much, there are basically 2 main ones. I do hope that we do get someone like that in the future, but who knows who that will be. It does make me sad and I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess that's me trying to be positive, and I hope we don't end up Like Titan in Megamind, Under New Management.

I think there are too many decent, kind, forward-thinking, globally minded folks in the US to let that happen, Rachel. Y'all just got kind of swept up in a monumental tidal wave of utter lunacy. And it's the orangutan at the top who's basically being enough of a wrecking ball that even Miley Cyrus would be envious. I think Trump will eventually do enough cretinous stuff that, rather like the first time he got elected, people will try to put him in jail... again. If you give someone enough rope, they will eventually hang themselves.

He's likely to want to take as many people down with him as he can before that happens but... yeah. Maybe this is the chance for someone to step up and offer an alternative. So that next time they can literally say "Well, it won't be as bad as what we've had!"

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 08:13:22 PMI think there are too many decent, kind, forward-thinking, globally minded folks in the US to let that happen, Rachel. Y'all just got kind of swept up in a monumental tidal wave of utter lunacy. And it's the orangutan at the top who's basically being enough of a wrecking ball that even Miley Cyrus would be envious. I think Trump will eventually do enough cretinous stuff that, rather like the first time he got elected, people will try to put him in jail... again. If you give someone enough rope, they will eventually hang themselves.

He's likely to want to take as many people down with him as he can before that happens but... yeah. Maybe this is the chance for someone to step up and offer an alternative. So that next time they can literally say "Well, it won't be as bad as what we've had!"

Most certainly. I hope we do get a  decent president this coming time, and I hope we get a decent alternative. I think people are slowly getting sick of orange man's BS. Of course I am trying to be positive here but I admit that it's hard.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 08:34:20 PMMost certainly. I hope we do get a  decent president this coming time, and I hope we get a decent alternative. I think people are slowly getting sick of orange man's BS. Of course I am trying to be positive here but I admit that it's hard.

Hang in there. I will say this, from someone not in the US... the rest of the world doesn't blame the people of the US for the magnificently stupid stuff Trump is doing. It's firmly at his door. You folks are probably going to get hurt by this tariff stuff more than any other country. Because like 99% of the things you buy will end up being more expensive. He ate too much cheese one night, went to sleep, and dreamed this crap up. And you all are going to suffer for it. Stay positive, Rachel. Things don't last forever. Whoever replaces this madman, though, they'll have a ferociously hard job trying to repair the damage he's already done... and he's not even a hundred days in yet. That's the scary part.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 08:41:22 PMHang in there. I will say this, from someone not in the US... the rest of the world doesn't blame the people of the US for the magnificently stupid stuff Trump is doing. It's firmly at his door. You folks are probably going to get hurt by this tariff stuff more than any other country. Because like 99% of the things you buy will end up being more expensive. He ate too much cheese one night, went to sleep, and dreamed this crap up. And you all are going to suffer for it. Stay positive, Rachel. Things don't last forever. Whoever replaces this madman, though, they'll have a ferociously hard job trying to repair the damage he's already done... and he's not even a hundred days in yet. That's the scary part.

I'm glad noone blames us. And your right whoever will replace trump will have a hard time getting stuff fixed.