Latest news with #RadioGenoa
New Statesman
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Far-right memes are poisoning British politics
Illustration by Sergio Ingravalle / Ikon Images A black man harasses a white woman in a railway carriage, then a white man comes up and punches him. Christians passing through Jerusalem are spat on by Jews, who then boast of killing Jesus. A softly spoken British imam explains that Muslims must take over the West completely, or describes the proper way to stone a woman to death. Reset. Repeat. Westminster has one kind of political conversation. It's to do with economics, the role of the state, legislation. Elsewhere a very different kind of talk is happening, the viral spread of well-produced vertical videos and mobile graphics designed to make people furious, destroy trust and ultimately upend liberal democracy. Almost always, conventional politics looks the other way. It must not. These demonisation machines come from both the left and right – but mostly from the right – fashioned and circulated by hundreds of usually anonymous accounts with names like The West Rises, Radio Genoa, and Truth Will Prevail. It's part of the same 'conversation' that asserts a senior British politician is being pursued by rent boys he failed to pay off. It also allows for filming asylum hotels across Britain, a practice the police refer to as 'video auditing'. This has been going on for years. But most people interested in conventional politics are resting happily in a fools' paradise. We comfort ourselves with the spaces in which well-informed adults debate moral and economic dilemmas. I think of it as the political imagination of James Stewart. This is being blown apart by online hate and conspiracy. A new survey by the think tank British Future says the UK is a 'powder keg' of social tension with polarised communities, leaving us 'more fragmented, fragile and less resilient to internal and external threats… The very basis of our democracy is at risk.' James Ball, author of The Other Pandemic, a book on the rise of web-fuelled conspiracies, argues that to ask Louise Casey to do a national study on grooming gangs was a memorable puncturing of conventional politics. For that moment, you could give the credit to Elon Musk after his denunciations of Keir Starmer and the British state for hiding and protecting paedophiles. Musk has just lost his CEO at X, Linda Yaccarino, which may or may not be related to his chatbot, the horribly named Grok, which repeatedly referenced white genocide in South Africa, praised Adolf Hitler, and referred to itself as MechaHitler. As the Times reported, the senior tech people around Musk describe the fight for online political direction as 'the memetic battlefield'. Buy Twitter and turn it into X. Soon enough, you have changed the layout of that battlefield. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe But it is a battlefield where conventional politics doesn't turn up. Downing Street and Tory high command remains obsessed by feeding Westminster journalists and trying to 'get' front page stories in newspapers. They're fighting drone swarms with muskets. Meanwhile, on immigration, crime and identity, the country is being driven hard towards the right. I have written here recently about the likelihood of a Reform government coming next. Whether that happens or not, there are much more extreme possibilities ahead, including some kind of communal or race war. On bad days, it feels as if we may be living through the end times for civil democracy. But at this point, I should ask: is the above overwrought? After all, we have had big changes in communication in the past and they have often spooked society. And most of the population is probably dodging the racist harangues, the fist-fights and the invitations to hate Jews or Muslims. They may be with the cat-and-cucumber videos, the line dancing and conspiracy theories about ancient civilisations, not to mention the soft porn. Perhaps we are mature enough to screen out the bad stuff. Even if I'm poisoned by some online hatred, a short amble through the streets of the real world, surrounded by smiles and help, is often an effective remedy. But then there is the 'stuff itself'. Yes, it's crafted to make us angry, but we'd be foolish to blame 'algorithms' for material which interacts with our fellow citizens' genuine fears for the future. If there wasn't a grain of anxiety already, these videos would slide across our imaginations leaving no trace. We have been experiencing unprecedented levels of non-Christian migration and fertility decline across the West, at a time when many traditional communities are beaten-down and despairing. It would be surprising if there wasn't some kind of reaction, and, indeed, if 'invasion' videos shot in Leicester, Barcelona and East Germany did not essentially share the same narratives. We should not be calm about this memetic war zone. The material I am talking about is, over time, highly effective. It's rhetorical heroin heading straight for the amygdala. You may think you are a rational liberal but, I promise you, after an hour or so of exposure to 'hate the African, hate the Jew, hate the lawyer, hate the Muslim' propaganda, you will be subtly different. After a while, you need an awful lot of time in the neighbourhood to walk it off. Although we have lived through media revolutions before, their effects have often been dramatic. When Johannes Gutenberg brought to Europe the movable-type printing press, he also brought Luther's 95 Theses – eventually the catastrophic Thirty Years' War followed, killing an estimated eight million people. Nearer home, I cannot believe the violence and mutual hatreds of the so-called English Civil War would have been anything like as extreme without those early newspapers and broadsheets spreading fake news of atrocities – the reports of slaughters by Irish Catholics, for instance, helping provoke Cromwell's response. Early-20th century fascism, too, was made possible by the radio. This is bigger. And it is only just beginning. Many of the early attention-hogging online memes were made, Ball reminded me, in the real world with technological wizardry, actors paid to play their part for confrontations in the park, and even aircraft interiors hired to make viral images of fighting passengers. But AI allows amateurs to craft realistic narratives almost from scratch. As the software evolves and becomes more user-friendly, anyone will be able to take their paranoid fantasy and rub it into everyone else's brainpan. We know that the younger you are, the more online you are, and that our form of capitalism has robbed younger people of the chance to own property, and is increasingly robbing them of decent careers. They are being disinherited. Brace for their reaction. And again, it is soft to blame evil outsiders. Just as the Remainer left tried to blame Brexit on Cambridge Analytica, the belief that today's corrupted conversation is largely the fault of Russian agents is too easy. The West's enemies are working with what the West gives them. For the most malign actors, we go to the obvious culprits: the tech bros trying to reshape our politics. The influences on Musk and Peter Thiel are not St Petersburg trolls. They are men like Curtis Yarvin, a blogger turned premier public intellectual of the Trump age, who argues that democracy has failed and must be replaced by a semi-monarchy, and who once dabbled in ugly race science. His thought has been labelled the 'dark enlightenment'. In Silicon Valley's hands these ideas have accelerated fear and race-hatred across the West. This is a complex picture with a tangle of different views. Screenwriter Jesse Armstrong threw himself into the writings and interviews of key figures, including Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Bankman-Fried for his satirical film Mountainhead. As some fictional titans are relaxing and joshing with one another in a mountaintop winter sports retreat, watching the world burn below them under the influence of extremist memes, they have the 'are we the evil ones?' conversation. One says that the answer wasn't to stop making movies: 'We are gonna show users as much shit as possible till they realise: nothing is that fucking serious. Everything is cool. Have your say, scream your worst, but fucking chill. Nothing means anything and everything is funny and cool.' Armstrong tells me he was mimicking the affectation of nihilism that began in the chaotic, conspiratorial websites 4Chan and 8Chan, which developed the signature 'hey guys, it's all a provocation' trickster tone. But under the affectation of nihilism, Armstrong argues there is a strong ideology. And here comes the lesson. Relative economic decline and mass migration do cause social tensions, and there are difficult discussions to be had about how we handle them. It is neither conspiratorial nor paranoid to say that the state has failed to control migration or to keep the streets properly safe. But we should be in no doubt that we are under a sustained, intentional attack on liberal democracy which has already won victories while those allegedly in charge weren't looking. The battlefields are on the newsfeeds of voters' phones where conventional politics rarely even turns up. This is because of institutional paralysis. No one in the British state dares to take on Trump and the tech provocateurs he protects. Further, as was confirmed by the recent 'reset' summit at Chequers, this government sees AI as the prime solution to most of its problems. It has gone full Tony Blair Institute: this new media revolution is unique in that the same technology disrupting the state is also the tech being embraced by the state as its saviour. We have some useful (if outdated) regulation to protect children. But the chances of an effective British onslaught against misinformation and online hate are nudging zero. There are lesser responses, however. We could rip up the contempt of court rules, injecting a dose of free speech as in countries with a civil law tradition. If jurors are thought capable of sending someone to prison for life, surely they should be believed capable of ignoring online voices? That would squash the idea of there being secret truths 'they' don't want you to know about. Beyond that, the political class has to spend more time engaging on Instagram, TikTok and X, learning how to create memes, and never letting lies go unanswered. We need a frank, non-hysterical attitude to migration, community tensions and race in which the political class engages in a two-way conversation. And the best answer of all: we break our gormless couch-potato addiction to the phones. Easier said, I find, than done. [See also: Donald Trump can't escape Jeffrey Epstein] Related
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Mount Etna eruption: Watch viral videos capturing moment of panic as tourists try to escape falling ash from volcano
Italy's Mount Etna erupted violently on Monday, sending ash, gas, and rocks high into the sky while lava flowed down its slopes. Tourists near the summit were seen running for safety as loud explosions echoed up to 50 km away, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology Observatory. The eruption, which began overnight, is said to be the most powerful since 2014. Tourists escape unhurt as panic spreads Viral videos on Twitter showed tourists running downhill in panic as the volcano spewed ash and rock fragments into the air. In several clips, thick clouds of dark ash were seen rapidly spreading across the sky while frightened visitors tried to flee. Some were heard shouting as the sound of explosions rumbled in the background. A local tour company confirmed that about 40 visitors were near the southeast crater at the time of the eruption. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo — RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) 'Mt Etna erupting during our tour – all safe but it was scary!' wrote one tourist on X (formerly Twitter), posting footage of the eruption in real time. No injuries or casualties have been reported. Live Events MORE STORIES FOR YOU ✕ « Back to recommendation stories I don't want to see these stories because They are not relevant to me They disrupt the reading flow Others SUBMIT Eruption caused partial crater collapse The eruption has been classified as a pyroclastic event. Reports said a part of the northern flank of the southeast crater collapsed, releasing fast-moving gases, volcanic ash, and rock fragments down the slopes. Authorities said the lava remained within natural containment areas, and no evacuations were needed. — EdgeE50124 (@EdgeE50124) Authorities respond, airports affected Sicily's regional president, Renato Schifani, said emergency plans were in place. 'There is no immediate threat to residents, and emergency protocols remain in place,' he said. — BritFirst (@BritFirst) The Sicilian Civil Protection Agency issued a Volcanic Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA), asking aircraft to avoid the affected zone. Airports in Catania and Palermo continued operations, though some flights were delayed or diverted for safety. Volcano remains under observation Mount Etna, located on Sicily's eastern coast, is one of the world's most studied volcanoes and Europe's most active stratovolcano. It draws over 1.5 million tourists every year. Experts said the volcano had shown increased seismic activity and gas emissions in recent weeks. Volcanologists continue to monitor it for further signs of activity. Authorities have advised tourists not to hike near the summit until further notice.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
29-05-2025
- Health
- First Post
Is eating food with hands ‘unhygienic'? Indian-origin woman's video on London Tube has stirred debate
A video of an Indian-origin woman eating with her hands on board a London Tube train has gone viral, sparking an intense debate. While some have pointed out it is a cultural practice, other users called it 'unhygienic' and 'inappropriate' for a public space. But is eating with hands, a widespread norm in many parts of the world, including Asia and Africa, unhealthy? read more A video of a woman eating with her hands on a public transport has gone viral. X/@RadioGenoa Is eating with your hands 'unhealthy'? A debate was sparked online after a video of an Indian-origin woman eating curry and rice with her hand on board a London Tube train went viral recently. While many social media users pointed out that it is a cultural practice in many regions, others dubbed it 'unhygienic' and 'inappropriate' for a public space. The West has always looked down upon the art of eating with hands, stigmatising a widely accepted practice in the Indian subcontinent and other parts of the world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So, is eating with hands not good for your health? We will explain. Indian-origin woman's food video sparks debate An Indian-origin woman was filmed on a London Tube train eating food with her hands and speaking loudly on the phone. The video, originally shared on TikTok and then X, went viral, triggering a fierce debate online. While some defended the act as a cultural practice, others advised the woman to use cutlery. Sharing the video, a user on X wrote, 'RIP London.' Another user commented: 'She's not bothering you. She's enjoying her food, leave her alone and mind your own business. She could have been very hungry and needed food. Don't mock others. I've seen white people eat burgers on the train with their HANDS.' 'If you're a guest in someone's country. Be grateful and adapt,' a second wrote. 'Aside from eating in public with your fingers like that… Imagine touching all those rails and ticket kiosks and handles and then just putting your fingers in your mouth,' said another. Defending her, a user chimed in, 'Plenty of Brits eat chips or sandwiches on trains, no one bats an eye. But an Indian woman eating rice with her hand? Suddenly, it's a crisis. Meanwhile London Tube at night looks like a drug den. Funny how harmless traditions bother people more than actual public safety issues.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Some also criticised the woman for speaking loudly on the call. The incident has put a spotlight on the chasm between the West and other countries about what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to eating habits. Where eating with hands isn't frowned upon People in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh love eating their food with their hands. Whether it is biryani in India or fish and rice in Bangladesh, food tastes better when consumed with hands. In other parts of South and Southeast Asia, the West Asia, and Africa, it is also highly common to eat with one's hands. And it is hardly an 'unclean' activity. People are expected to wash their hands before digging into their food, and not just after. In Indian culture, the correct way to eat is considered with the right hand. Eating with our hands helps us experience the food with all our senses. Art historian, academic, author and museum curator Alka Pande, told The Week that our (Indians') body and food are 'related'. 'We are a sensual lot ― the touch, taste and smell of the food are related. We believe in pressure points in hands and the physicality of food is important for us. The flavour of rice or roti is enhanced when had with hands. Where is the flavour in having it with knife and fork?' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, the West has attached a stigma to eating with one's hand. While some 'finger foods' like fish and chips and burgers are okay, eating with your hands is often met with disgust and discrimination. Is eating with hands unhealthy? Far from it. Instead, experts say it can improve digestion and prevent overeating. As per Ayurveda, each finger represents one of the five elements: the thumb symbolises fire, the index finger represents air, the middle finger represents sky, the ring finger symbolises earth and the little finger represents water. It is said that eating with your hands stimulates the five senses and creates intimacy with food. Eating with your hands is good for digestion. AI-generated image Some say that the practice makes the food taste even better. However, this may be subjective. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend that after washing hands, one should eat a meal with only the five fingers, without food touching the palm, while sitting on the floor cross-legged to improve digestion. Experts say that when a person eats with their hands, the portion size is in control and they tend not to overeat. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Speaking to The Week, Payal Kothari, gut health nutritionist and wellness coach, said that eating with hands helps people connect with their culture and heritage and it has other benefits. 'Hands and eyes can also detect the temperature and texture of the food, helping your body prepare for digestion.' According to her, people also become more mindful of what they are eating. Eating with hands can boost immunity as it can reportedly expose us to beneficial bacteria present in our skin, mouth, and gut that can protect us from harmful pathogens. With inputs from agencies
Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Gross' or cultural? Indian-origin woman eating with hand on London Tube divides the Internet
A video of an Indian-origin woman eating curry and rice with her hand aboard a London Tube train has triggered a fierce online debate, with reactions ranging from cultural appreciation to outrage. Originally shared by TikTok user @ub1ub2 and later reposted by X user @RadioGenoa, the clip shows the woman seated casually on the train, enjoying her meal in the traditional Indian style – using her hand – while speaking loudly on the phone. Sharing the video, the X user wrote, 'RIP London.' Watch the video here: RIP London. — RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) May 27, 2025 Since its upload, the clip has garnered over a million views and prompted a sea of reactions. While some users found the moment relatable or culturally significant, others criticised it. Many labelled the behaviour as 'unhygienic' and 'inappropriate' for a public setting like the London Underground. The woman's loud phone conversation also drew criticism, with several viewers noting that it could be disruptive to fellow passengers. Others commented that she 'should have used cutlery' to eat. 'Asians and Indians eat rice and fish with their hands, so what? She's not bothering anyone except maybe the curry smell. It is rather pungent to someone not used to it. But no one around her seems to mind except the person videoing her. At least she's not running around stabbing or assaulting people, eh?' a user wrote. 'If you're a guest in someone's country. Be grateful and adapt,' another user commented. 'Aside from eating in public with your fingers like that… Imagine touching all those rails and ticket kiosks and handles and then just putting your fingers in your mouth,' a third user reacted. 'Gross,' a fourth user said. Eating with hands is a rooted cultural practice in India. It is believed that the act of eating with one's hands engages all the senses, enhancing the overall dining experience. This practice is especially common in South Indian and rural households, where meals are enjoyed on banana leaves or metal plates.
Gulf Insider
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Watch: Macron's Wife Smacks Him In The Face
French President Emmanuel Macron faces international humiliation as he was caught on camera getting smacked by his wife during a diplomatic visit to entire world got a glimpse into the relationship between the French premier and his wife, who literally used to be his teacher when he was a little boy. As the door of the airplane opened, Brigitte Macron palmed him full in the face. Macron immediately saw the cameras and acted like nothing had happened, before going back behind the door of the plane and presumably begging his wife to stop physically attacking him. Bizarre moment Emmanuel Macron is slapped by his wife Brigitte — The Sun (@TheSun) May 26, 2025 POW. Let's see that again… Macron slapped by his wife Brigitte. — RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) May 26, 2025 As the pair then reemerged, Brigitte refused to hold his hand while walking down the steps. Imagine for one moment if Macron pushed his wife in the face like this? Imagine!! Domestic abuse against men is common and widely ignored. All violence is unacceptable. — Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) May 26, 2025 Macron looked extremely tense, and his fist was tightly clenched as he strained to hold back his anger. Breaking:French President Emmanuel Macron got slapped by his wife on face🇫🇷French President Macron's reaction after wife Brigitte Macron slapped him in the face🤔😂 — Manni (@ThadhaniManish_) May 26, 2025 This isn't going to do much to quell these rumours: Report: Claims Brigitte Macron is a Man Could Seriously Harm US-French Relations Conspiracy theory gaining ground in Trump circles. It's now known by every other world leader that the French President's wife pushes him around. The memes are forever: 🤣 — Jammles (@jammles9) May 26, 2025 — Adonis EL Comedor de ternera Pewpewski (@TheFlawdaKid) May 26, 2025 — Rob Zeeman (@zeeman_rob) May 26, 2025 Poor Macron — Scott Cheggs (@Mr_Scott_Cheggs) May 26, 2025 — Bepje (@tiel71) May 26, 2025 Trump knows how to treat Macron: Trump Greets Macron In Paris With Power Handshake Nearly broke his arm He's always been an idiot. Also read: Putin Isn't Ready To End War In Ukraine, Trump Told Allies In Private
