German Election

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Sadly, the media (and social media in general) is conducive to strong and often simplistic messages from either end of the political spectrum. Those espousing balance and moderation are squeezed between the extremes.

You have long trumped the moderate , liberal line and if we had a strong liberal party in this country I would vote for them permanently

But you can't debate moderately with the majority of reform type voters as they vote on a one trick pony based on immigration and neo con right wing nonsense

So I would vote Labour, green , Plaid, independent or if there was no other choice conservative to keep out the farage nutcases

[Taunton Blue Genie]

You have long trumped the moderate , liberal line and if we had a strong liberal party in this country I would vote for them permanently

But you can't debate moderately with the majority of reform type voters as they vote on a one trick pony based on immigration and neo con right wing nonsense

So I would vote Labour, green , Plaid, independent or if there was no other choice conservative to keep out the farage nutcases

To be fair, judging by your outporings on here, you are not really associated with balance, nuance and weighing up both sides of an argument!

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

To be fair, judging by your outporings on here, you are not really associated with balance, nuance and weighing up both sides of an argument!

I think if you are giving any sort of nuance to the far right then no wonder the liberals rarely get more than a protest vote

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I think if you are giving any sort of nuance to the far right then no wonder the liberals rarely get more than a protest vote

You need to come up with a different schtick, old fruit. You are just in a tape loop and not really saying anything we haven't heard from you a few thousand times.

[Rjk]

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/28/h...rated-content/

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

You need to come up with a different schtick, old fruit. You are just in a tape loop and not really saying anything we haven't heard from you a few thousand times.

I really don't care what you think old timer

You are as welded to your apparent liberal slant as you think others are to being anti conservative 😉

In an ideal world your vote would count but until we either have a change of electoral process or the scrapping of the moderate and middle ground then you will be used to keep the nutters at bay

I suppose that's something positive for you to live by

[JamesWales]

I was listening to a program on the radio about the witch trials craze, and it was comparing it to the rise of far right populism in the social media age.

they suggested that with groundbreaking changes in the availability of information amongst the population there are always positive and negative effects.

the invention of the printing press led to the enlightenment, the renaissance and reformation.
suddenly new ideas were able to come from a much wider range of sources and reach people a lot more quickly.
unfortunately one of the ways this manifested itself was in the witch trials that led to the deaths of thousands of people (including 5 in Wales).

moving on to today, there are obvious advantages to the amount of information we receive today in many ways, but there is also a definite down side, especially with the amount of information we are bombarded with l, and the fact that how well a message cuts through has little to do with how accurate or factual it is.

It's true that there is a stunning amount of information and misinformation out there, but who is to say whether the parties in question are the witches or the witch hunters in that analogy?

To be a witchhunter you have to have the power in the first place.

I think to be honest most of what the "far right" parties want is a return to what many would view as pretty standard 20 even 10 years ago. There are some genuinely extreme right parties out there that are very different but I think that's the case for most of far-right parties the media talks about

[JamesWales]

Rubbish

All over social media , just like in this country the far right were proclaiming how big their vote was going to be ....to say they were cocky is an understatement of epic proportions

In the UK for your boys reform it was worse and they got 2 percent less than the polls had them down for

I know this is disappointing for you as a reform voter but tough luck

You are just factually wrong Sludge. The opinion polls were correct. They expected 20-21% based on those. Hoped for more, feared less, but they got 20.8% which is absolutely inline with what they expected.

You are just arguing against fact here.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/28/h...rated-content/

The influence of political lies on social media fed to the easily swayed and manipulated

And it spreads like wildfire just like the Southport news

Really don't think it can be stopped

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

It's true that there is a stunning amount of information and misinformation out there, but who is to say whether the parties in question are the witches or the witch hunters in that analogy?

To be a witchhunter you have to have the power in the first place.

I think to be honest most of what the "far right" parties want is a return to what many would view as pretty standard 20 even 10 years ago. There are some genuinely extreme right parties out there that are very different but I think that's the case for most of far-right parties the media talks about

There you go again making excuses for these extremists

At least it's obvious now

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

You are just factually wrong Sludge. The opinion polls were correct. They expected 20-21% based on those. Hoped for more, feared less, but they got 20.8% which is absolutely inline with what they expected.

You are just arguing against fact here.

I suggest you listen to the podcasts and scan the news with interviews with these nerks leading up to the election

They were expecting more than they got and they were pissed off about it , which is great

That being said 1 vote for the far right is one too many

You can argue the toss all day but you sympathise with reform and vote for them so clearly are not as nuanced as you tried to pretend you were

So anything you say is clearly biased these days or should I say more biased than you pretended you were

[JamesWales]

I suggest you listen to the podcasts and scan the news with interviews with these nerks leading up to the election

They were expecting more than they got and they were pissed off about it , which is great

That being said 1 vote for the far right is one too many

You can argue the toss all day but you sympathise with reform and vote for them so clearly are not as nuanced as you tried to pretend you were

So anything you say is clearly biased these days or should I say more biased than you pretended you were

You don't seem to have the faintest idea how opinion polls work but seem to be able to find some weird corner of the internet to find a blog that backs up your idea that they did terribly. They didn't. They doubled their vote and it was entirely inline with the opinion polls which is what they would base their expectations on.

I suggest you stop listening to cranks Sludge. They can offer opinions but they don't change facts!

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

You don't seem to have the faintest idea how opinion polls work but seem to be able to find some weird corner of the internet to find a blog that backs up your idea that they did terribly. They didn't. They doubled their vote and it was entirely inline with the opinion polls which is what they would base their expectations on.

I suggest you stop listening to cranks Sludge. They can offer opinions but they don't change facts!

Listen you mutton

I am not talking about the accuracy of opinion polls , they are often utter bollocks

Labour were predicted 39 percent , all the polls screwed up and they ended up on 34

I am on about the expectation over and above what the German goose steppers were predicted by the polls ......they were cock a hoop and were basically saying it's 20 percent but wait till you really see what we get !! ��

And they didn't get it

Now naff off

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I really don't care what you think old timer

You are as welded to your apparent liberal slant as you think others are to being anti conservative ��

In an ideal world your vote would count but until we either have a change of electoral process or the scrapping of the moderate and middle ground then you will be used to keep the nutters at bay

I suppose that's something positive for you to live by

I can't remember ever declaring support for the Liberal party on here.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I can't remember ever declaring support for the Liberal party on here.

You are always playing the look at me ain't I liberal and don't get involved in the main parties card

You clearly can't remember

You daft old fruit

[Taunton Blue Genie]

You are always playing the look at me ain't I liberal and don't get involved in the main parties card

You clearly can't remember

You daft old fruit

I do indeed remember expressing exasperation regarding some of the entrenched and predicatable Punch and Judy exchanges on here (and when you end up spouting the words 'Tory Boy' to all and sundry) and if that makes me 'liberal' in your eyes, that's up to you.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I do indeed remember expressing exasperation regarding some of the entrenched and predicatable Punch and Judy exchanges on here (and when you end up spouting the words 'Tory Boy' to all and sundry) and if that makes me 'liberal' in your eyes, that's up to you.

Well if you are at liberty to make assumptions despite you implying you are nuanced then I will do the same old chap

I can't stand tory boys and I have no desire to dance about with them and that is entirely my perogative

Etc Etc