The Weekly Weird #36

Bonkers Britain, boxing punches below the belt, China's killer robots, don't forget to root for CJ

Well, well, well, once again we meet online to marvel at the mysterious movements of the moods of the masses and the mediators that (try to) manage them.

If you haven’t checked it out already, make sure you while away an hour and change listening to my conversation with author and mensch Jerry Barnett.

Thankfully, not that much has happened this week, so this should be short.

Ha!

Bonkers Britain

An indescribably awful attack at a dance studio in Southport, in which a British teenager murdered three young girls (aged six, seven, and nine), and injured eight others as well as two adults, has sparked ongoing protests and violence in the UK.

The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, is 17, born in Wales to parents who immigrated to Britain from Rwanda. In the UK, minors accused of a crime are not usually named publicly prior to being charged, or even at all.

The attack took place on 29 July, and until 1 August, when Liverpool Crown Court permitted the release of the information, nobody knew the attacker’s name.

Unfortunately, speculation about the nature of the attack and the identity of the attacker built feverishly in the immediate aftermath, until a false claim was made on social media that the attacker had been a Muslim. Online pronouncements and insinuations by anti-immigration ‘influencers’ like Tommy Robinson, Andrew Tate, and Nigel Farage did not help.

From Reuters:

Internet personality Andrew Tate on Tuesday shared a picture of a man he said was responsible for the attack with the caption "straight off the boat", but the claim was also incorrect as it was a picture of a 51-year-old man arrested for a separate stabbing in Ireland last year.

Thousands of people online also falsely claimed another man pictured with a knife in French media after an attack in Annecy last June was the Southport suspect. The man, a Syrian refugee, has been in pre-trial detention in France since then.

[…]

Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform Party, on Tuesday said he wondered "whether the truth is being withheld from us" as he questioned why the incident wasn't being treated as terror-related and asked if the suspect had been monitored by security services.

What resulted was as ugly as it was predictable: After a vigil for the victims, in Southport, a mob attacked a mosque nearby.

From The Guardian:

Demonstrators gathered in the area surrounding Hart Street, where Monday’s killings took place. The crowd of hundreds were heard shouting Islamophobic slogans as well as “no surrender”, “English till I die” and “we want our country back” as a police helicopter circled overhead.

Riot police charged at the demonstrators after a police van was set alight and other police vehicles were damaged . Officers used teargas on the angry crowds of predominantly men covering their faces.

Some officers were injured after plant pots and empty bins were among the missiles hurled at them and the Southport mosque building. A group of people attempted to overturn a riot van. Some men were seen pulling down a crumbling wall to use the bricks as weapons, pelting officers with them. Others ripped open black bin bags looking for objects to throw.

Some spectators watched from front gardens, while passersby looked on, saying: “I can’t believe it, it’s horrible isn’t it?” Another said: “This doesn’t achieve anything.”

In the wake of the violence, Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “mindless thuggery.”

From the Daily Mail:

'It's not protest. It's not legitimate. It's crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice.

'And so on behalf of the British people who expect their values and their security to be upheld. We will put a stop to it.'

Starmer then came out in favour of a heavy police and legal response, and future deployment of facial recognition and other surveillance measures to prevent the “far right” from doing this sort of thing again.

From the Daily Mail again:

As part of a crackdown on organised riots and the 'far right', the PM said a new 'national capability' across police forces would tackle violent disorder.

This will see forces share intelligence - such as spikes in train ticket sales that could be linked to rioting - and deploy facial recognition technology. 

Police chiefs will also be encouraged to restrict the movement of known agitators in a similar way to how football banning orders are used to stop hooligans attending games.

Since then, riots and protests have been taking place across the UK, often outside of or involving attacks on places helping or housing immigrants.

Britain has been burning a long fuse on public discontent over immigration. According to Statista, annual net immigration was last negative in 1993. In 1994, annual net immigration to the UK was 77,000. In 2023, it was 685,000. In the intervening period, it grew consistently and, since 2013, net immigration has not been below 200,000. All of the above figures are only for legal immigration.

Detected illegal immigration (the British government calls it “irregular migration to the UK”) was 52,530 to the year ending June 2023. 85% of that was via ‘small boats’, and the detected figure by its nature is an undercount.

None of these figures, or the impact on British society that they describe, excuses mob (or any) violence. Immigration, however, is a known issue in the UK, one that is regularly flagged as a key concern for voters.

Since the rioting began, Starmer has been dubbed “Two-Tier Kier” by critics and lovers of rhyme, for a perceived difference in the government’s response to crime, depending on who is committing it. Regardless of the accusation’s merits, there is a widespread perception in the UK that immigrants and certain minorities are policed less stringently, especially on speech, public protest, and political issues. The media is also often accused of misrepresenting, exaggerating, or playing down events based on the ethnic identity of the perpetrators.

An example of how this perception is fed is the case of a counter-protest organised by members of Birmingham’s Muslim community in response to a rumoured “far right” gathering that never materialised. Some participants in the counter-protest attacked a pub, an individual, and several vehicles.

The BBC Midlands team ran a very short item about the violence under this delightfully vague headline:

The article’s description of what took place is equally vague, taking great pains to use phrasing that distances perpetrators from the community and the cause (relevant delicacy emphasised in bold by me):

Some disturbances have taken place after hundreds of people gathered in part of Birmingham, following false reports that far-right protesters planned to march.

The hundreds had been near a McDonald's close to Heartlands Hospital in the Bordesley Green area.

During the evening several vehicles and a pub, The Clumsy Swan in Yardley, were attacked by a group of Muslim youths, who broke away from the main demonstration and were wearing masks and carrying weapons.

No crowd or mob here, just ‘hundreds of people’ gathering near a McDonalds. They’re lovin’ it, it isn’t even across the whole city, it’s just in ‘a part of’ the city. Seriously, why even report it?

There is some footage of the ‘group of Muslim youths’ who ‘broke away from the main demonstration.’

Sky News’ communities correspondent Beck Johnson was present, and her report was taken off the air when masked members of the Muslim community interrupted her with swearing and calls to “Free Palestine.” Shortly afterwards, the Sky News team was followed by “a man in a balaclava holding a knife” who was filmed attempting to stab the tyres of their van. That video was then apparently removed from the Sky News X account although it remains up on YouTube.

Note the ‘ANPR THIS’ plate on the bicycle in the video. ‘ANPR’ stands for ‘Automatic Number Plate Recognition’, a nationwide system for tracking registered vehicles.

West Midlands Police (WMP) commented to the Independent:

“No arrests have been made at this stage but there were sporadic incidents and we are investigating reports of an assault, incidents of criminal damage to a pub on Stoney Lane, a car which had its windows smashed on Alcombe Grove, Stechford and further criminal damage to a vehicle which had its tyres damaged on Belchers Lane, Bordesley Green,” WMP said.

All of this contrasts notably with the rightful description of the anti-immigration side’s “attacks”, “riots”, “violence”, and “thuggery,” and the strident calls for the swift application of “the full force of the law.”

So some people in Britain think they are striking a blow for law and order by attacking police, fellow citizens, and immigrants, while others seemingly cannot be described using accurate language for fear of playing into the hands (and feeding the victimisation mindset) of the wrong people.

Meanwhile, the government’s response is justice, served quick and hot: trial “within a week” and prison for the 400 or so people already arrested if they are found guilty. This is the same government that, immediately upon being elected, approved early release for prisoners to ease crowding but somehow found over 500 prison places virtually overnight. Starmer also continues to call for more surveillance and more policing of speech, including a possible crackdown on social media.

Quoted in The Guardian:

“Inciting violence online is a criminal offence and that is not a matter of free speech. It is a criminal offence.

Clearly, in relation to platform providers, there’s a balance to be struck. Social media platform providers, it’s an amazing opportunity that we all enjoy as a country that is very important to us that these platforms are there to be used for the great opportunities that they provide.

There is also a responsibility that goes with it. That’s a space for a mature conversation to take place.”

Starmer also announced that a new “violent disorder unit” will coordinate anti-riot (anti-protest?) efforts across Britain’s police forces:

“We make no distinction. Crime is crime. And so, to that end, I can announce today that, following this meeting, we will establish a national capability across police forces to tackle violent disorder.

These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. We must have a policing response that can do the same. Shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventive action, criminal behaviour orders to restrict their movements, before they can even board a train. In just the same way that we do with football hooligans.

Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.

That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”

With 30 more ‘protests’ scheduled so far, the story is still developing.

Boxing Punches Below The Belt

Two boxers competing in the women’s competition at the Paris Olympics, Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria, have drawn controversy due to previous International Boxing Association (IBA) ineligibility on gender grounds.

Both athletes have previously failed gender eligibility tests due to the presence of XY chromosomes, according to the IBA.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has claimed that the tests were illegitimate, and that the boxers are eligible women.

The IBA has fielded its own panel to defend its findings, and to reiterate that, according to Dr Ioannis Filippatos, “The blood result looks and says, the laboratories, that these boxers are male.”

The summary, from Reduxx Mag on X:

*Both boxers were initially subjected to a chromosomal test by an independent laboratory in Istanbul after the IBA received complaints from coaches and competitors during the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships.

*Both boxers were re-tested in India again during the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships to clarify and confirm prior results.

*Both boxers were found to have XY chromosomes. *Both boxers were informed of the results of the tests in writing.

*Both boxers were given the opportunity to appeal the findings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

*The IBA offered to pay for the majority of the costs to allow both boxers to appeal.

*Lin Yu-Ting did not appeal the decision.

*Imane Khelif appealed the decision, and then withdrew the appeal.

It seems to be a matter of “he said, she said.”

China’s Killer Robots

You’ll be delighted to know, via The Epoch Times, that:

Autonomous drones, tanks, ships, and submarines have become a reality alongside such exotic iterations as quadruped robot dogs armed with machine guns, already seen in China.

Roping in a variety of AI bods to fill us in on the next generation of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), a pretty picture is drawn showing that the complexity of war requires the genius of AI:

On a broader level, multiple nations are working on AI systems that are capable of informing and coordinating battlefield decisions—essentially acting as electronic generals, according to Jason Ma, a data research lead at a multinational Fortune 500 company. He asked not to disclose the name of his company, to prevent any impression he was speaking on its behalf.

The People’s Liberation Army recently conducted battle exercises in which an AI was directly placed in command, and the U.S. military also has projects in this area, Ma said.

“It’s a very active research and development topic,” he said.

The need is obvious; battlefield decisions are informed by a staggering amount of data, from historical context and past intelligence, to near-real-time satellite data, to millisecond-by-millisecond input from every camera, microphone, and whatever sensor on the field. It’s “very hard” for humans to process such disparate and voluminous data streams, he said.

“The more complex the warfare, the more important part it becomes how can you quickly integrate, summarize all this information to make the right decision, within seconds, or within even sub-second,” he said.

Are we talking about the same AI that ‘hallucinates’ answers to even simple questions about celebrity birthdays or presidential assassination attempts?

Don’t worry, it’s not just Black Mirror-style kill-bots. We can also look forward to autonomous vulnerability-seeking AI that zeroes in on civic infrastructure like a heat-seeking missile tracking a jet engine.

Killer robots and drones are not the only cause for concern; various unconventional AI weapons could be developed, such as one to find vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure including the electric grid or water supply systems.

Controlling the proliferation of such technologies is a daunting task, given that AI itself is just a piece of software. Even the largest models fit on a regular hard drive and can run on a small server farm. Simple but increasingly lethal AI weapons, such as killer drones, can be shipped in parts without raising alarm.

But never fear, a “human in the loop” is the fail-safe we need.

“Under no circumstances should any machines autonomously, independently, be allowed to take a human life—ever,” De Ridder said.

The principle is commonly referred to with the phrase “human in the loop.”

“A human has a conscience and needs to wake up in the morning with remorse and the consequences of what they’ve done, so that they can learn from it and not repeat atrocities,” De Ridder said.

Cute.

According to Future of Life, “Slaughterbots are officially here” already.

According to a recent UN report, a drone airstrike in Libya from the spring of 2020—made against Libyan National Army forces by Turkish-made STM Kargu-2 drones on behalf of Libya’s Government of National Accord—was conducted by weapons systems with no known humans “in the loop.”

All of this bodes un-well for world affairs, since China is the elephant in the war room.

It’s not clear how such regulations could be enforced against China, which has a long history of refusing any limits on its military development. The United States has long vainly attempted to bring China to the table on nuclear disarmament. Recently, China refused a U.S. request to guarantee that it wouldn’t use AI for nuclear strike decisions.

Regulations that might constrain developments in democratic countries simply don’t work the same way in the People’s Republic, and internationally could even be a lever the Chinese Communist Party can use strategically.

If the United States regulates its own AI development, it could create a strategic vulnerability, multiple experts suggested.

“Those regulations will be very well studied by the CCP and used as an attack tool.”

Well, how about a diplomatic agreement between, if not friends, then strategic adversaries capable of self-interest?

As Bradley Thayer, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, put it:

“Any agreement is a pie crust made to be broken.”

Cool.

Don’t Forget To Root For CJ

Author, satirist, and all-round good egg

CJ Hopkins

is up before the beak on August 15 in Berlin, to defend his acquittal for thought-crime against the German prosecutor’s (baseless and senseless) appeal.

The trial has been made subject to shocking anti-terror controls, and the German authorities have been ramping up their objections to thinking and saying things that aren’t double-plus good.

He beat the rap the first time, but they want a second bite of the cherry, and thumbs are pressing down on scales as I write.

You’ve heard me say this before so I’ll make it brief:

CJ is putting it on the line for free expression, free speech, and the right to call the government totalitarian even if they don’t like it. Send a letter, an email, light a candle, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, whatever works for you wherever you are, spare a moment for a good man with a good heart and a sassy wit as he stares down the naked power of Der Staat.

Fingers crossed for another win.

That’s it for this week’s Weird, everyone. Thanks as always for reading.

Outro music is Kaiser Chiefs with I Predict A Riot, since our main story is Britain’s new look as a tinder box / basket case and London Calling is all played out.

Stay sane, friends.