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AH Run-downs, summaries and general gubbins

I hate how true this is, Jason Z could literally gain Ashfield next election if the Ashfield Indies continue to see a swing towards them.

I put that in as you-bait.

He's probably something like sixth MP for Nottinghamshire under this system.

Does the whole concept work? Its a very unlikely scenario but I felt like writing SOMETHING Optimistic.
 
He's probably something like sixth MP for Nottinghamshire under this system
Oh god, but no it works.
Does the whole concept work? Its a very unlikely scenario but I felt like writing SOMETHING Optimistic.
Constantly doing dystopias is boring, it’s why I like doing mildly hopeful lists. Also nice use of Cat Smith, she often gets sidelined in FH stuff which is odd since she’s younger than Rayner, has ShadCab experience, is relatively of the Left and is openly Bisexual which whilst not going to impact on the opinions of everyone, does make her a cool choice as Labour’s First LGBT leader I guess.
 
Labour’s First LGBT leader I guess.

TBF, I was going to put her or Streeting. Although I was tempted to finally have Jess Philips in power after 3 or 4 leadership competitions.

I wasn't sure who to put for the Tories to get an LGBT DPM.

Also as a note. The treaty is probably something attempting Norway plus but a seperate treaty/organisation unto itself. Norway remaining very spiky and angry, saying "stay away from our relationship, even Londoners outnumber us two to one." .
 
I love the combination of weirdly socialist, smaller and still somehow white supremacists CSA. I feel often socialist CSAs end up somehow dealing with the inherent racism of the state - this feels depressingly realistic somehow

Thank you! I feel that an inexplicably victorious and surviving CSA would in many ways be a Latin American state in terms of political development, so I tried to graft on assorted South American inspirations on a Dixie frame (Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela the most obvious ones, I think). As for the racism, I didn't give it much thought beyond it obviously still being a thing, but it's certainly suspicious that in a country that's roughly half black all Presidential candidates and all but one of their running mates are white.

(Texas fucked off in the late 19th century after it - arguably correctly - made the calculation that it would be better off alone than tied to the basked case that was the post-war CSA. Virginia have tried to do the same since the 30s.)
 
kG8iYeu.png


"...Many followers of Vesperian politics (including, in last month's issue of this periodical, my colleague George Narsingh) have pointed to last year's election results as a sign that the 'Laurentian Consensus' is on its last legs: that the Liberal Party and the so-called 'Red Tories' are approaching a breaking point with their more conservative colleagues, potentially leading to a schism that would likely create a more durable competition between the left and the right. Certainly, the shifts between the People's Conservative and Liberal Parties, chiefly driven by the burgherization of areas like Anglophone Montréal and exurban Hamilton, speak to the difficult situation of the former party: John Baker Kennard's focus on solidifying Tory support in its strongholds of Assiniboia, Nipigon, and the Maritimes paid some dividends but was ultimately not enough to compensate for a feeling of alienation in Canada, Alldritt's 'Central Strategy' led only to her resignation, and Gordon McCarthy seems to be doubling down on Kennard's path rather than trying to seriously contend for Liberal votes. But they also speak to rightward swings within the Liberal Party on issues like urban planning. Indeed, since the election, Page has often appeared to be angling to totally displace the Tories, campaigning heavily in Battleford and Du Courant to take back the Prairie urban centers once held by such Liberal luminaries as Atkinson and Shelburne and tabling bills that would seriously undermine decades-old regulations on oil and gas extraction.
"Why, then, have the Constitutional Democrats, who formed government as recently as 2008, slid to their lowest share of the vote since their founding? In part this is due to internal factors: the dominance of the so-called Montréal Mafia has led to charges of cronyism and exclusionism. Serious malapportionment and gerrymandering have also played a role, with neighborhoods strong for the Constitutional Democrats tending to be packed into safe seats substantially larger than the average. But a more pressing concern for the party is demographics. Despite historical achievements on civil rights and the welfare state, the Constitutional Democrats and their predecessor parties have long been disproportionately comprised of educated white Anglophones - though Vesperia's first Prime Minister of African descent, the first-generation Bahamian immigrant Oswald 'Oz' Eakin, was a member of the Democratic Party of Vesperia, three of his four children joined the Liberals, with his daughter Rose famously referring to the Constitutional Democrats as 'only interested in Afro-Vesperians as a sort of statuary to use to display their Christian charity'. As the first generation of burgherish immigrants begins to age out of political leadership, a new generation, which largely views the Liberals' pro-business policies as in their communities' best interest, is solidifying its influence. Furthermore, the Constitutional Democrats are facing threats to their left, too: the United Left, which cast off its affiliation with the Workers' International and has focused on organizing low-wage service workers, has begun the long, arduous march to overtake the Constitutional Democrats' role as 'leader of the left'..."
-Walter James Whitford, The Liberator, April 2024
 
Boomers and Deano

Those sound like fictional British children's comics mentioned in the background of an AH scenario written by @Charles EP M. .

The end of the Battle of Britain hadn't just left much of Kent or London in ruins, it had left the publishing industries of southern England in ruins too. Comics - reliant on very marginal profit margins - were the first to be chucked out by regrouping publishers. When the war ended in 1944, DC Thomson in Dundee was left with a near monopoly, challenged only by American comics brought in by sailors and US airmen and Maurice Anglowitz's various short-run indies.

By the mid-50s, several artists were chafing under these restrictions and were won over to Maurice Anglowitz's newly consolidated Anglo Publications (named after a pre-war anglicisation he'd used) and its plans of empire. Great Big Laughs was one of the first 'professional' titles and a disgruntled Ken Reid, fed up of DC Thomson's strict rules, created the mischeavous Deano, the name a dig at one of DC Thomson's comics at the time. Deano ran around London's East End, scheming pranks and dodges with his chums to get out of school or win some extra pocket money.

Deano was a sign of the greater freedom at Anglo Publications: not only was the art more anarchic and Deano's schemes able to be naughtier than Dundee would allow, he was one of British comic's first black characters, as 1954 was seeing a generation of black kids in primary schools after West Indian and American migration during the 1940s. (A number of the earlier strips are, of course, a little too racist by modern standards and tend to not get reprinted)

The Baby Boomers were created in the 1960s by Leo Baxendale, another Dundee refugee, for Anglo Publications' New Fun title. A group of toddlers with destructive explosive powers that could - and always would - be triggered by tantrums, their long-suffering nanny tried to keep them calm but was always for some reason taking them to art museums, china shops etc.

In 1973, a failing New Fun was merged with GB Laughs! (as it was called then) to form GB News - the front page and editorial gimmick being that all the strips were in the same world and being reported on, trying to steal a lead on Marvel UK's 'shared universe'. One of the strips now was Boomers And Deano, worked on by John Geering. Deano was now babysitting the Boomers and was engaged in a battle of wills to get his pocket money for looking after them, or to use their powers in some new dodge he had. In 1975, Deano was split back into his own solo strip after the Ulster Emergency broke out and explosions didn't seem as funny anymore.

The Boomers would return a few years later in another comic, now one of Bananaman's villains, but otherwise haven't been seen since 1982. Deano would split away from the weekly funnies to star in the monthly Deano! (and the yearly Deano Annual), started in 1983 and still going in 2021, one of Britain's big cultural exports.
 
Members of Parliament within the Labour Action Group (Circa. 1993)

Current Members:

1982-1986 Parliament:

Ken Coates (Founder, 1983-)
Dennis Canavan (1983-)
Mark Fisher (1983-1986, 1990-)
Bob Cryer (1983-)
Bob Litherland (1983-)
Reg Race (1984-)
William McKelvey (1984-)
Tony Banks (1984-)
Jim Cousins (1985-)

1986-1991 Parliament:
Chris Mullin (1986-)
Maria Fyfe (1986- )
Alan Simpson (1986-)
Sharon Atkins (1986-)
Diredre Wood (1986-)
Diane Abbott (1986-)
Russell Profitt (1986-)
Bernie Grant (1986-)
Joan Walley (1986-)
Joan Ruddock (1986-)
Harry Barnes (1986-)
John McAllion (1987-)
Irene Adams (1990-)

1991 onwards Parliament:
Mark Meredith (1991-)
Lynne Jones (1991-)
John McDonnell (1991-)
Neil Gerrard (1991-)
Jill Cove (1991-)
Christine Blower (1991-)


Previous Members:
Michael Meacher (1983-1985)
Dave Nellist (1983-1985*)
Patricia Hewitt (1983-1985)
Jeremy Corbyn (1983-1985*)
Bob McTaggart (1983-1989)
Peter Tatchell (1983-1990**)
Clare Short (1983-1990)
Gavin Strang (1983-1991)
Stuart Holland (1984-1989**)
Keith Vaz (1984-1989)
Ken Livingstone (1986-1990)
Lawrence ‘Lol’ Duffy (1986-1992***)



*Joined the Socialist League (1985-1991), eventually disbanded due to Militant Tendency links.
**Retired, Holland to Academia, Tatchell would resign to co-head the Out-Number Group.
***Suspended due to connections to Socialist Action, still caucuses with LAG.


Extract from Stumbling Through The Wilderness, Marqusee, M. (1992);

“The Labour Action Group came about from the dead on arrival nature of the Socialist Campaign Group. With the failure of Benn in the 1982 Leadership Campaign against Kinnock and the subsequent disagreements about the direction of the group alongside other organisations like the Tribune Group and Militant lead to it’s collapse. Whilst the SCG would eventually become the Socialist League under a increasingly isolated Benn and Heffer, the Labour Action Group would emerge as it’s successor...

Ken Coates hadn’t been in the PLP for long, but he had experience in organising Left Wing groups. Deciding to base the group more on concepts of Municipal Socialism, Grassroots Organisation, Social Justice and Devolving Power to the Many, the LAG would begin to gain a place within the PLP and the Labour Party, much to the anger of Kinnock and Blunkett who saw them as a millstone around there neck.”

—//—

From a story I’m currently writing, Coates Trotskyist/Worker Democracy background means LAG is less of a Bennite State Socialist mess and more, Municipal Socialism/Democratic Socialist style organisation with groupings outside of the PLP.
 
This unnecessary sequel took way longer than it needed to, but now it's done.

"Unfortunately, the bad fairy made him a shit."

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>Make Post

>>The Fifth Official UK Party Political Rundown

>Green
: Afryie getting stuck for half an hour and showing up late to the Birmingham Expo because his train broke down is an incredibly ham-fisted metaphor, and user:Ozzie_Tim_Lolmeister should feel ashamed.

>Social Democratic: OH BOY I WONDER WHO'S GOING TO WIN THE LEADERSHIP CONTEST IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT
>>David Owen: has been campaigning with a tank for his battlebus. With multiple active duty soldiers tagging along. Very normal and cool democracy we live in.
>>Rob Flello: promised to put Owen in as deputy PM if he wins. Jesus, Rob, we all know you're controlled opposition, but at least try and have a little pride.
>>Paul Nuttall: claims that Red China are sending nukes to the Scottish Worker's Republic. Leaving aside the bit where they hate each other, surely if Xi'an had some nukes they'd use them on one of the other Chinas first?

-------------------------------------------
>Divinity International
: another Great Day of Disappointment as the cliffs of Kent once more fail to fall into the sea. Please get it right soon David, I want off this sinful rock already!

>British Section of the Fifth Internationale: Manny Cortes has promised to never punch fellow comrades on stage over disagreements about policy again. He didn't say anything about not punching people outside the party, though, so the next TV leader debate could get fun.

>Christian Soldiers: lots of internal wrangling over the party constitution--the current block system keeps things pasty, but member-vote would put the black Pentecostals in the driving seat because while they might not make up the most voters all of said voters are members. I appreciate that this is pretty dull but it was this or "Oh wowzers Stephen Crabb has done a homophobia again".

>Agrarian Justice: really contemplating quitting my job to go work at The New AJ Youth Policy Node. I mean, I have no experience in policy, but all I really need to do is reframe "farm subsidies good give farm subsidies pls" in such a way that it sounds profound. Who's up for it, lads?

>21st Century Socialism: officially launching a "Sixth Internationale" alongside some random left grouping from EuroFed and some LaRouchites for some reason. No, they aren't planning anything for local elections, why do you ask?

>CPGB (Anti-Revisionist): this week's entry for the list of "things that are bourgeoisie revisionism" is *drumroll* Ben Chacko! Which, like, I get that you and him had University beef, Josh, and sure, maybe he did insufficiently praise Comrade Stalin that one time, but perhaps you could save this announcement for some time after his [PROFANITY] funeral?

>Communist Workers Party: trying to paint themselves as the real Left feminists after BS5I recognised the bisexual grouping at their conference. Martin Smith is still on the Central Committee and Kat Trolle is still exiled from Scotland for defamation of Comrade Sheridan, so you've got to at least credit their brass cheek.

>British Defence Political Army: have pinky promised that after the most recent attack they'll officially disavow the Political Soldiers for real this time. You know that one friend who never keeps New Year's resolutions? They're like that, but with race war instead of beer.

>Unite4Change: since we've all got our jokes about Giant CGI Mandelson Walking Across The Ocean out of the way, I'd just like to say that my favourite part of the ad is the fact that the ABC still use the Palace of Westminster as their symbol for British politics, despite the fact that it's been in irradiated ruins for decades.

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


>London Free Zone: new satellite photos suggest that they knocked over that cargo ship last week because their potato crop failed. If only someone could have predicted that an irradiated former urban wasteland would have infertile soil.

>Cymru Fydd!: Obviously none of us have seen Wigley's post-prison escape video, because it's illegal, but hypothetically wouldn't it be weird if there was someone playing a freaking lyre in the background? I mean, is that the best musical accompaniment to an old man talking about forced feedings and waterboarding with two strapping lads in camo with guns standing by? ...or so I've heard.

>Political Soldiers: taking the credit for the death of Ben Chacko. And for the death of the Worker's Red Action member that was found dead a block from the scene of the crime holding the gun that killed Ben Chacko. And for the death of Harpal Brar, which hasn't even happened yet. Next week, they'll have gone back in time and assassinated Stalin.

>Meibion Glyndwr: are encouraging their members to turn in Dafydd Wigley to the police, because Welsh freedom, while a noble ideal, should be sacrificed for the greater goal of petty internecine squabbling.
 
Not quite an AH, I suppose

German invasion of Poland?

September 1st, 1939

Oswalddd said:
So I just found out this tweet:

tweet1.png

Is a war going to happen?
PittsburghPaddy said:
Is there a source that isn't from an OSINT account? I could count two spelling mistakes on this alone
CaptainSergeantLieutanentMajor said:
Besides that account isn't really trustworthy
Oswalddd said:
Is this good enough for you guys?
tweet2.png
RobertM said:
No no no no
MuesliMan said:
Anyone with friends and family in Poland, France, and in Continental Europe in general, get them out right NOW
tweet3.png

...

Second World War - Thread 100

June 28th, 1940

---
Charity links:

Royal Voluntary Service
British Red Cross
British War Relief Society (American organization)
Royal British Legion

So, as I understand it, it took five years for the British Politics thread to reach 100 threads, the Sino-Japanese War thread are on their 101st thread after three years, the Americans have yet to reach triple digits, but as for the thread it just took us a mere nine months

The United Kingdom

The War Government
: France has fallen, Italy has turned against us, the Japanese look like they are about to as well the Soviets are no help and the situation in America doesn’t look secure…

BuT aTleAst hitLerS aCcoUnt hAs bEen sUspenDeD

Conservative Party: “Churchill has been in charge for just a month! Give him a chance!” says party that has been in control for the past five years
Labour Party: The party leadership has gone mum over the government’s failures to deal with Hitler, seeing as how they literally agreed to the government. The same cannot be said of the grassroots - Michael Foot is now on his 100th tweet going on about “guilty men”...
Liberal Party: Much like the Labour Party has also decided not to cause too much of a ruckus lest it become a propaganda tool for the Germans. They don’t matter too much so I won’t write any more
National Liberal: They, on the other hand, do in fact have an opinion on Churchill and it is that he is good. Have essentially become indistinguishable from the Conservative Party accounts but then again this has been the case for a few years now
National Labour: lol

Nationalist Party: Have declared their support for the British war effort while not openly using any British national imagery. A bold strategy to be sure and one which has made the Independent Republicans a fair bit mad

Independent Republican: Is quiet but some of their more annoying hacks are just this close to openly declaring their support for a rebellion, which would always get them in legal trouble but now? Hope they enjoy prison food…

Scottish National Party: Everyone’s favorite Robert the Bruce LARPers also seem to be quiet which honestly I think is a pretty good strategy for parties right now literally calling for the dissolution of the Union

Communist Party: Too busy trying to justify the annexation of the Baltics too really talk about what literally everyone else in the world is talking about, but really after their behaviour during the invasion of Poland probably for the best

Social Credit: Seems to be campaigning against rations now


Our Allies + The Commonwealth

Remember when we used to separate the Allies and Commonwealth sections? The bygone days of… one month ago

France: Have given assurances that their fleet won’t go into Axis hands but honestly I don’t believe them and if Churchill fails to prevent it from happening then he can very well resign and spend the rest of his days wherever Chamberlain is in now.

Canada: Hopefully the Quebecois could help in espionage in France but then again there are probably just a good amount of differences between Canadian and European French that I think they may get caught.

Australia + New Zealand: Seems to think that the events in the Pacific and Japan are more worrisome than what just happened here in Europe. I’m not a fan of Japan either but come on, Japan’s too busy with a war against a country many times their size to really do anything to us.

India: Ok so the the Hindoos are with us, the Moslems are with us, the Christians are with us, the Sikhs are with us, the Communists are neutral, and much like Ireland there are a few nationalists who are just as religiously diverse as they are ignorant of incitement and treason laws going on about how Hitler is the greatest man alive. At least nobody can say that Indian politics are complicated nowadays

South Africa: Hopefully Smuts’s open support for us prevents some of the more extreme Afrikaners, who unlike the Anglos don’t have much of a connection to the Crown, from being swayed by the German racial theories

Egypt, Palestine, Iraq: Egypt is in near the Suez Canal so they are important but we can’t get the licentious tub of lard named Farouk to get on our side. Time to tap into our strategic reserve of prostitutes. As for Palestine the Mufti of Jerusalem is supporting Germany as long we don’t crack down on the Jews there. There seems to be a pro-German current in Iraq too and with Syria and Lebanon falling to German hands that’s something we need to deal with.

British West Africa: Hope these guys are prepared to fight, seeing as how there is a very little chance that French West Africa will remain in Allied hands.

British East Africa: Hope these guys are ready too, thankfully Italian East Africa seems to be a lot smaller than French West Africa. Not to mention all of the angry Ethiopians.

The Axis

Germany
: Don’t really follow German Twitter anymore because it has become boring after Hitler and Goebbels’s suspension but they are presumably very ecstatic at having done something in six weeks what their fathers couldn’t do in four years

Italy: Oh no, Italy stabbed us in the back! What about their history could have told us about this? You’d think that Hitler’s anger over Posen becoming Poznan would have him maintain those feelings for Tirol becoming Tirolo but apparently not.

Collaborationist France: Ok Hitler, fair’s fair, getting Phillipe Petain on your side was something I didn’t expect and honestly I have to respect getting a man who was renowned for killing Germans now becoming of puppet of Germans.

The Neutrals

United States of America
: Very heartwarming to see Americans despite their party affiliations add British flags and offer donations. A stark contrast to Lindbergh’s followers trending #EuropeIsNotMyProblem

Soviet Union: After having failed to vanquish the large and vast Finland, they have decided to pick on more equal challengers - the Baltic States

Japan: That Kipling quote now applies to Japan and Germany instead of Japan and us

China: Not to be a doomposter but reading about what Japan has done to China and honestly can’t imagine the Germans doing anything different

MuesliMan said:
Anyone remember what happened to @CaptainSergeantLieutanentMajor? Hasn't posted in the two weeks which I have been absent. I fear the worse
RobertM said:
Here's a thread on Twitter made by a Royal Navy vet during the First Great War in which he refutes all of the doomposters here. A must read:

tweet4.png
BoldEagle said:
RobertM said:
Here's a thread on Twitter made by a Royal Navy vet during the First Great War in which he refutes all of the doomposters here. A must read:

Cope
RobertM said:
BoldEagle said:

My God, you are as annoying as some of the Briteens on here. You aren't German nor are you even right-wing but for whatever reason you love to be a contrarian.
JonathanS said:
MuesliMan said:
Anyone remember what happened to @CaptainSergeantLieutanentMajor? Hasn't posted in the two weeks which I have been absent. I fear the worse

On the 15th, the Armed Forces prohibited any member of it, down to mere office workers, to use the internet for anything not related to work. I'm sure he's fine.
WillWay said:
Charles Lindbergh acting like he always does
tweet5.png
PittsburghPaddy said:
RobertM said:
My God, you are as annoying as some of the Briteens on here. You aren't German nor are you even right-wing but for whatever reason you love to be a contrarian.
Who are you talking to?
Karl said:
WillWay said:
Charles Lindbergh acting like he always does
He blocked me after I pointed out Lafayette and the Hessians. VULGAR REMARK REMOVED
John the Mod said:
Karl said:
He blocked me after I pointed out Lafayette and the Hessians. He can go fuck himself for all I care
Whatever opinions you may have of Lindbergh - indeed, I am not found of the man himself - it is unbecoming of a man of good standing to use such language. I am thus kicking you for a week.
 
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Electoral College of the Empire of Anbennar, 1444 AA

The Empire of Anbennar [Its name coming from the Elven word for Unity] was founded in 1221 by a cabal of mages to end the chaos of the Interregnum that followed the fall of the Jexisian Empire. Initially led by a Mage Emperor that combined the current positions of Emperor and Grand Magister; however, the positions were separated following the Wars of Rule. The Empire has just seen the end of a Century-long war, the Lilac Wars, that decimated the Empire, especially the Capital of Anbenncóst. Emperor Lothane III Sil Wex sits upon the throne, but at what cost?

Republic of Beepeck – A Halfling Merchant Republic in the western part of the Dameshead, serving as the representative of the interests of the Empire’s largest minority. Beepeck is notable for being the only remaining independent halfling nation and is a common point of entry for materiel for the Small Country.

Republic of Damescrown – Damescrown represents the Merchants of the Empire, with her Calasanni Trade Company the largest merchant company in the world. If Anbenncóst is the heart of the Empire, Damescrown is its ravenous mouth, as it is said that every foreign good that enters Anbennar passes through at least three Damescrown merchants to get there.

Duchy of Istralore – Istralore represents the interests of the East Damerians and inherited one of the Silmunas’ electorships.

The Magisterium – Simultaneously the most prestigious elector owing to its position as the leaders of Cannorian Magic, they are distrusted due to fears of a return to the magocracy of the Early Empire.

Elfrealm of Moonhaven – Moonhaven is the second greatest Elfrealm, succeeded only by Ibevar in the Forgotten Vale. However, Moonhaven’s true strength is in its soft power, acting as the unofficial capital of the Moon Elves, with many Moon Elves considering themselves Moonhaveners first.

Duchy of Pearlsedge – Pearlsedge is the representative of the West Damerians and inherited the other of Dameria’s electorships.

Dwarven Hall of Silverforge – Silverforge is the only Dwarven Prince, and acts as the voice of the Empire’s second-largest minority. Its Electoral Politics are idiosyncratic even by the standards of its Esmarian peers, with centuries-long blood feuds rendering any diplomatic venture a minefield of sore subjects.
 
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2025 is still the future

Weird dream thoughts that came to me last night while I was thinking about how different things may get this decade, it's not meant as a prediction, just plausibly very different. Or is it me channelling myself from the fuuuuuutuuure

Technology
Quantum Computing:
Quantum supremacy, the point at which quantum computers could achieve things no digital computer can, was reached in 2021. By now the Quantum computing market is worth $100 billion and is a quiet revolution changing how we do business. You probably won't see one though, unless you work in IT or a university.
AI: Procedurally generated content is getting pretty popular online. In 2023, FriendlyRobot.ai was a novelty as the first 100% AI written magazine. It sold to Google for a billion dollars this year, the data on what works is pretty useful. Since the News Consortium bought The Sun its become the first newspaper in the UK to regularly publish AI generated content. Of course you'll mostly see AI in more mundane places. On your phone, in your glasses, on websites, at work, etc.
Internet: About 75% of the world's population are now online although how and to what extend varies greatly. The Pandemic created a greater demand for internet connectivity and pushed us towards simple, cheaper, technologies in the third world. In the UK the percentage of people not online in a fraction of 1%. 6G is being released to the usual outcry. People are worried about it pushing malicious AI into our devices or something. But we need the technology. Modern boilers all have the internet and it's getting hard to find new ovens and fridges that don't.
Wearable Technology:
Smartglasses aren't about to replace mobile phones, but we're at the stage where most twenty somethings have them. The new models are trying to push the technology as stable, everyday technology. We'll probably all need one by 2030.
Crypto-Currencies: Are now banned in the US, China, the EU, Russia, and the UK, and in general aren't long for this world. The world's most volatile market is really winding down, with bitcoins now selling on the black market for under a dollar each. Not sure who is buying them, though.
Cars: It is now impossible to buy a new petrol car, even though the ban on selling them won't come in for five years. The sad fact is this means that only poorer people have petrol cars, and the price of fuel just keeps going up. Self-driving cars were meant to be a hard sell but they really haven't been. It's still a new technology but it'll likely be ubiquitous in the next generation of cars.
Space: The Artemis Mission is getting a lot of attention and we're expecting "boots on the moon" by the end of the year. It's a bit of a stretch but I don't think anyone realised how close China was until very recently. It looks like China is quietly pulling back and refocusing on getting to Mars by 2033, which the US will struggle to beat.
Fusion Power: Okay, so this was a surprise. We have fusion power now. I don't like it. It still generates irradiated lithium and its not the best form of the technology. Fusion power I am okay with will always be twenty years away.
Medicine: The universal flu vaccine is a big improvement. Though it's being rolled out hideously slowly. It's unlikely that I'll have a permanent immunity to the flu until 2027, and even the most ambitious plans don't include us wiping out the virus globally before 2050.

Science/Environment
Xenobiology:
Is a thing now! We've found evidence of photosynthesis on an exo-planet. The weird thing is, its a super Earth with a venus like temperature on the hot side. So if we went to visit we'd burn to death while being unable to move. General consensus is the planet is probably covered in black, monocellular slime, but you know. So finally we have an answer to the Great Question "Are we Alone?" No, there's some hot slime about 50 light years away. Great.
Astronomy: We're now detecting about five interstellar objects heading through the solar system every year. People are still trying to work out if Chronos counts as an outer-outer planet or an interstellar object. Of course when it was discovered it somehow reignited the Pluto Controversy in the commentariat. We also know about like two dozen exo-moons now. They're cool.
Climate Change: The ice caps finally melted this year, so, we're onto the next stage.
Particle Physics: Goodbye Standard Model is trending on BBC iPlayer. It's almost worth buying a subscription for. And it almost explains the ongoing paradigm shift in a way that makes any fucking sense at all.

Discourse
Outrage Culture:
Is the new enemy on the left, and it's no longer acceptable to throw shade on bigots unless they're actually doing something to you. I guess this sort of started with minority groups complaining about "allies" sharing too many examples of hateful behaviour. But now it's kind of a general social taboo.
LGBTQ+: The debate is still rumbling on in the UK but it feels like the grounds for it have changed since bathroom bills were banned in the states. This is good and bad - it's nice that trans kids are growing up seeing themselves in US media but there's a general assumption that it's a settled issue we keep dragging up again, despite nothing really changing here in the 20s. The new conversion therapy laws actually help, though. So there's that.
Black Lives Matter: Boris flying a BLM banner over Downing Street was weird, but weird in a way that seems completely normal at this stage.
Kink: A growing clusterfuck of an issue - with slave dynamics being derided as racist and people getting shunned for having "bimbo/himbo/thembo" in their bios back in 2021. Mind you, Dropped is doing well on Netflix and is about a hypno sub in the pandemic and that's changing minds but can we talk about how weird it is that we already have early 20s nostalgia?
Disability: Took a long time to enter the conversation but the Pandemic really pushed it to the fore. Our attitudes to disability have changed a lot since then and even the government is taking notice. I guess it's easier to get companies to make sweeping changes than reform fitness to work requirements.
Environment: Taking long distance cheap flights is really frowned on now. The protests outside of Gatwick last year seem to have even put people off. Middle Class people anyway. If you can afford to fly 1st class the protestors can't touch you.
Bright Greens: They're pro-nuclear power and pro-HS2 - both of which are looking sensible. They're also anti-vegetarianism and pro-flight. It's a weird mix of things, basically along the lines of "tech will solve our problems" meshed in with a whole lot of "murder, literally murder, protestors". We're still kind of sorting the radical fringes from the legitimate concerns.
The Free Peoples: A lot easier to sort out than the other lot, these people are pretty openly evil. Anti-vaxxers, anti 6G, anti-wearable tech. The kind of people who get worried because their phone can carry on a conversation with them. I guess they really emerged in the pandemic, but a lot of things led to this weird concoction of views. There's climate change deniers, zero-point energy believers, freemen-on-the-land. It's pretty wild.
Gender Critical Feminism: In academic circles there's a new generation of trans inclusive gender critical scholars. They're only just starting to come through but Prof. Kathleen Stock and her ilk are piiiiised. The thing is, there's money in gender critical academics in the UK, a lot more than in any other section of gender studies. And a lot more young scholars interested in taking that research money than there are people who want to bang on about trans people being awful all day. The Outrage addicts and other mumsnet exiles are furious and increasingly radicalised and also increasingly ignored. All this is good and bad - it's funny to see Stock and the rest argue for more GICs and shorter waiting lists because they know the alternative is informed consent. But it's kind of sad that radical TERFs regularly car horn protest trans prides and raid changing rooms and we're not supposed to mention it because they're probably mentally ill.

Social Media
Facebook:
Still the king of Social Media mainly because it's where mum, gran, and your kids can all hang out together. The disadvantages remain as obvious as the advantages with this.
Instagram: Quick, easy, light touch. Instagram is a bit more of a playful environment than Facebook.
TikTok: Since virtual avatars got good its really taken off as a way to communicate. Though not as much as you'd guess from the media - they do a lot of product placement and influencer advertising.
Twitter: RIP. I know its technically still in existence but since it was bought up for the third time in two years it's clear it's meant as a historical record and data mine rather than a profitable business. Oh well.
Discord: Google's answer to Twitter, TikTok, and increasingly, Facebook. It used to be cool. I remember when it was cool. Now it's just successful.
Portal: Trying to replace how people interact with video calls - no more waiting to call people, just drop into a shared area when you want and out when you want. It was designed for family but it also works quite well in politics. Have a few party activists staffing an online stall and people can come to you. It's kind of still experimental but I imagine every major constituency election campaign will have a stall by the next election.

Pop Culture
Doctor Who:
We finally have a black Doctor! Is anyone still watching?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting another series in 2026 but after that, that's... it? There's talk about new projects, but they'll apparently be utterly unconnected to the whole DIS/PIC/LD/SNW sequence, and the Kelvin Timeline, and the TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT sequence. It's all rumours at this stage and I'm expecting another hiatus
Eurovision: Finland won in 2022 and put on a stand out show in 2023 with all the stars you don't care about yet and probably still don't. 2024 was notable as The Year Australia Won Eurovision but thankfully they didn't host this year. This was the year that Britain entered Ed Sheeran, and also the year Ed Sheeran proved that he's no longer a star. Apparently we're going to have a selection show next year like a civilised country.
The Archers: The 2020s TV reboot got criticised a lot for being very... American. Hot and diverse cast of characters, ensemble comedy, a social conscience but no edge, blah blah. The point is, it's British comedy that is actually watchable and that's why it's managed two series and has a fandom overseas and Blackadder 5 doesn't.

Countries
USA:
Four more years of Trump and the rioting has been pretty constant. It's all looking a bit precarious.
EU: The referendums are in and it seem to be settled. In 2031 the EU will elect its first directly elected President. Integration has been pretty rapid since the Baltic crisis, but maybe it really started with COVID. Either way, what do you call a group of states with a shared army, an elected executive and legislature, a shared currency, and no internal borders?
Russia: Returning to a conciliatory tone post-Putin. Moscow Pride was pretty big this year. But we will wait and see how long this lasts.
China: The 21st National Conference of the Communist Party is two years away but it kind of feels like we're seeing the early maneuvering of campaign season. It's kind of a weird battle between sixth and seventh generation figures. Millennials are killing the traditional system of patronage within Chinese Communism. Like we killed the music industry, the property industry, avocados, and the acceptability of wearing your hair in a side parting.

Fashion
Packers and Binders:
are never going to be not weird to me when cis people wear them. But... whatever, whatever.
The Queer Undercut: is meant to be homophobic now because... something something something.
Ties: are increasingly just banned from offices but you still see them in parliament. It's, like, a weird outcrop of the culture wars that just appeared one day and nobody is quite sure why.
Puffed sleeves: Seem to be de rigour. Everything got a little bit more fancy after lockdown, it's been a good decade to look like a princess. But also,
Pyjamas: And onesies, basically comfort clothes. You're seeing them out and about more and more these days. It's kind of replace atheleisure and that's fine. That's good.
Face-masks: were exotic and oriental until 2020, suddenly became necessary, then a bit of a culture wars thing, then just kind of stuck around. They're not common, but like 20% of people would wear them if they have a cold and it would be surprising to go a day without seeing one but at the same time that depends on your neighbourhood and how acceptable beating up The Woke is there.
 
Internet: About 75% of the world's population are now online although how and to what extend varies greatly. The Pandemic created a greater demand for internet connectivity and pushed us towards simple, cheaper, technologies in the third world. In the UK the percentage of people not online in a fraction of 1%. 6G is being released to the usual outcry. People are worried about it pushing malicious AI into our devices or something. But we need the technology. Modern boilers all have the internet and it's getting hard to find new ovens and fridges that don't.

Hrm. How high is internet access in, say, Africa and Asia?

also this is a rather niche factoid but I hope the Runet still comprises a near-tenth of the web

Crypto-Currencies: Are now banned in the US, China, the EU, Russia, and the UK, and in general aren't long for this world. The world's most volatile market is really winding down, with bitcoins now selling on the black market for under a dollar each. Not sure who is buying them, though.

"President Nayib Bukele, cabinet forced to resign at gunpoint following the collapse of El Salvador's bitcoin-dependent economy..."

Xenobiology: Is a thing now! We've found evidence of photosynthesis on an exo-planet. The weird thing is, its a super Earth with a venus like temperature on the hot side. So if we went to visit we'd burn to death while being unable to move. General consensus is the planet is probably covered in black, monocellular slime, but you know. So finally we have an answer to the Great Question "Are we Alone?" No, there's some hot slime about 50 light years away. Great.

I wonder how this has influenced contemporary sci-fi.

Kink: A growing clusterfuck of an issue - with slave dynamics being derided as racist and people getting shunned for having "bimbo/himbo/thembo" in their bios back in 2021. Mind you, Dropped is doing well on Netflix and is about a hypno sub in the pandemic and that's changing minds but can we talk about how weird it is that we already have early 20s nostalgia?

Can't imagine that being very, uh, non-controversial, or all that popular with the "family values" crowd.

Well, not really. Folks are commonly having early 2010s nostalgia nowadays, so...

Environment: Taking long distance cheap flights is really frowned on now. The protests outside of Gatwick last year seem to have even put people off. Middle Class people anyway. If you can afford to fly 1st class the protestors can't touch you.

Can't imagine that being particularly appealing to, idk, a lot of cities and towns which benefit from international (and, frankly speaking, domestic) tourism. Presumably the people that frown the most on long-distance cheap flights come from small European countries?

LGBTQ+: The debate is still rumbling on in the UK but it feels like the grounds for it have changed since bathroom bills were banned in the states. This is good and bad - it's nice that trans kids are growing up seeing themselves in US media but there's a general assumption that it's a settled issue we keep dragging up again, despite nothing really changing here in the 20s. The new conversion therapy laws actually help, though. So there's that.

conversion therapy laws 🤔

Russia: Returning to a conciliatory tone post-Putin. Moscow Pride was pretty big this year. But we will wait and see how long this lasts.

YOOOOOOOOOOOO
:love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love:
brb, gonna visit the Manezhnaya square in my favorite puff-sleeved denim jacket, skull-bearing medimask and undercut-shaped wig
 
Can't imagine that being particularly appealing to, idk, a lot of cities and towns which benefit from international (and, frankly speaking, domestic) tourism. Presumably the people that frown the most on long-distance cheap flights come from small European countries?

I mean, Zak Goldsmith did well on a no to airport expansion ticket in London. There's noise issues, locally to airports

conversion therapy laws 🤔

The UK Government is currently working towards a ban on conversion therapy. They're trying to work out how to do this without impacting religious groups, and they seem to be concerned about talking therapy. I imagine we're going to end up with a ban on conversion therapy except for in the context of religion, therapy, or trans identities. An actual ban on conversion therapy has to be on its way.

I wonder how this has influenced contemporary sci-fi.

I think about this a lot. In the next few decades we could easily discover evidence of photosynthesis on another world - but all this really tells us is "something on this planet is capable of photosynthesis". Once the initial excitement wears off, what does this really change about our world view? We can know nothing about these worlds. Our best hope, I guess, is either massive scale engineering or maybe we can pick up chemical signatures that shown similarities between biological processes across nearby worlds indicating a common ancestry? Or even vague radio waves that tell us nothing but "someone is here, saying something". None of this is the exciting first contact we may want.
 
This, all of this, is incredible.

Thanks. I tried to give out bits and pieces of forum culture along with how people would view certain things back then compared to how we view them now. For example there is the most obvious one at the end where a guy was kicked for saying the F word, which is something that usually doesn't happen unless you are on a forum made specifically for children. I remember reading an article that said that, in the 1930s the F word was akin to what the N word is now. There was also Hindus being called "Hindoos" and Muslims being called "Moslems". At first I went with Muhammadan until I realized that even back in the 1940s that word was becoming out of date. It was replaced with "Moslems" as the transition word from the 1930s to the 1960s before everyone just accepted "Muslim". The whole "Briteen" thing was sort of based on how Americans went through the Great Depression much harder than the UK did, what with Hoovervilles and the Dust Bowl and all that, further along with the fact that America wasn't seen as #1 at the time may engender a culture where British users are the immature and naive ones whereas Americans are more mature and cynical.
 
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